Day: March 14, 2018

Diane Black on In-State Tuition Bill: ‘I Would Veto It’

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Diane Black Would Veto in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrant students

Gubernatorial front-runner Diane Black unequivocally rejected the current efforts underway in the legislature to grant in-state tuition benefits to illegal immigrant students. “I have said many times that if the state legislature were to pass a bill providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, I would veto it. In-state tuition is a benefit provided to legal residents of our state, and it should stay that way,” Black said in a statement, adding: Too many times, so-called conservatives get elected promising to fight against liberal policies, only to embrace them once in office. It’s a shame to see our state legislature do just that, particularly without real debate or even a recorded vote in committee. It’s time for the true conservatives in the legislature to stand up and say no. As The Tennessee Star previously reported, State Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) rammed his newest in-state tuition benefits proposal through the Education Subcommittee Tuesday with a voice vote and no discussion: The Education Subcommittee of the Tennessee House of Representatives passed State Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis) bill granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students in Tennessee on a voice vote Tuesday afternoon. Mark White – Education SubcommitteeWith the exception of State Rep. Dawn…

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Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee Would Veto the In-State Tuition Bill

Christina Botteri
Bill Lee

Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee reiterated his strong opposition to extending in-state tuition discounts to illegal immigrant students in a statement to The Tennessee Star on Wednesday: It is unfortunate that Washington and Congress have failed us on this issue. While I have deep compassion for any young person facing challenges, I believe a governor’s primary duty is to enforce and defend the rule of law. And extending a taxpayer-funded benefit to illegal immigrants that we would not extend to an American citizen makes the problem that congress has left to the states even worse. For those reasons, I would veto this bill. The bill to which Lee is referring is HB2429, sponsored by State Rep Mark White (R-Memphis), which would provide in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students by changing the definition of “public benefit.” White’s bill passed the Education Subcommittee Tuesday on a voice vote without discussion. This is not the first time Lee has spoken out against proposals to provide in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. As The Star reported in January, while at the SCORE Gubernatorial Forum, one of the questions posed by moderator Rory Johnson asked the candidates about their positions on the controversial idea, and answers fell along…

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Education Subcommittee Passes In-State Tuition for Illegals Bill That Dismantles Public Benefits Law on Voice Vote with No Discussion

Chris Alto

The Education Subcommittee of the Tennessee House of Representatives passed State Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis)  bill granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students in Tennessee on a voice vote Tuesday afternoon. With the exception of State Rep. Dawn White’s (R-Murfreesboro) strongly worded statement opposing White’s bill, no discussion was had by the subcommittee before they passed the bill on a voice vote. Bill sponsor State Rep. Mark White (no relation to State Rep. Dawn White), who chairs the Education Subcommittee, opted to move his bill up from number thirty-five on the agenda to the first one voted on by the subcommittee. White’s bill, HB2429, is his fourth attempt to give illegal immigrant students access to taxpayer subsidized in-state tuition. To do this, White’s bill dismantles state law by removing reduced college tuition from Tennessee’s definition of “state or local public benefit. Stating her opposition to the bill, State Rep. Dawn White noted the high fiscal impact from illegal immigration on Tennessee taxpayers estimated to be $793 million in 2017. She also referenced the magnetizing effect that offering the reduced college tuition would have on Tennessee, a point worth noting since none of Tennessee’s border states offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Among the…

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Shane Reeves Wins 14th State Senate District Special Election in 2 to 1 Blowout Victory

Tennessee Star Staff

Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves, a Republican, won a crushing victory over Democrat Gayle Jordan in the 14th State Senate District special election on Tuesday by more than a two to one margin. The final numbers were a blowout victory for Reeves, who won 71 percent of the vote to 28 percent of the vote for Jordan, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s election website. Reeves received 13,139 votes, while Jordan received only 5,179 votes. He is expected to be sworn in as a member of the Tennessee State Senate this week, and will join the deliberations of the Tennessee General Assembly, which is now in session. With Reeves’ victory, Republicans now hold 28 seats in the 33 member Tennessee State Senate, while Democrats hold only five. Tennessee Republican Party Scott Golden introduced Reeves at the victory celebration held at the Five Senses Restaurant in Murfreesboro Tuesday evening. “We had an amazing team. Matt Herriman, my campaign chairman, has an amazing future with this party,” Reeves said. “Gregory Gleaves did a lot of great mail for us,” he added. “We had an amazing ground team. Daniel,Tyler, Taylor, raise your hands guys! Thousands and thousands of phone calls, thousands and thousands…

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Representative Diane Black Calls Out the U.S. Senate for It’s Continued Funding of Planned Parenthood

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Representative Diane Black appeared on FoxNews’ ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ to discuss the how it is that the Republican Congress continues to fund the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. In his set-up to the interview with Black, Carlson said, “Congressional Republicans have repeatedly promised to defund Planned Parenthood. It’s hasn’t happened or even come close to happening. Even now, the country’s biggest abortion provider gets more than 500 million taxpayer dollars every year.” “Would Democrats be okay if the NRA [National Rifle Association] got half-a-billion a year? Would they let that stand?” After introducing Representative Black, Carlson said, “You’ve said many times on the record – and you seem like one of the more sincere Republican members on this question – that you’re opposed to giving half-a-billion dollars to Planned Parenthood, which is just an adjunct to the Democratic Party. Why hasn’t the Republican Congress defended it? Specifically, why?” Black replied, “That goes over to the Senate. Twice now with my leadership we have passed, in 2015 and 2017, a measure in the House, sent it over to the Senate, and they have not done their work. “I want to challenge anyone watching this show who is pro-life to call your senator and ask them where…

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Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty for Florida School Shooter

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Prosecutors in Florida said Tuesday they will seek the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old who killed 17 people last month in a shooting rampage at his former high school. “The state intends to seek the death penalty against defendant Nikolas Jacob Cruz,” the state attorney for Broward County, Michael Satz, said in a court filing on the eve of the next hearing in the case.

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Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee Launches New Website Dedicated to Reinstating Faith in the Public Square

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Bill Lee Faith in the Public Square

Franklin-based businessman Bill Lee launched a new website Tuesday that discusses the gubernatorial hopeful’s views on Faith in the public square, along with a list of events with faith-based community organizations, and a video introducing the effort called, “Faith in Tennessee.” (embedded below) “Too often, our leaders in government work to create government-first solutions to address some of the challenges we face,” Lee said in a statement. “This comes at the expense of many fantastic organizations that are already doing the work and are looking for willing partners, not a government-sponsored competitor.” The website’s singular purpose is to lay out Lee’s thoughts on how to better engage leaders in the faith and nonprofit groups and also lists more than a dozen events scheduled across the state with nonprofits and faith-based organizations.  The tour, which the campaign says will continue through the end of March, highlights groups Lee sees as some of Tennessee’s most effective organizations. “People of faith have been called to serve,” Lee said. “Faith and community leaders are consistently at the forefront because they are often the ones on the front lines battling addiction and improving education.  As I continue to travel across this state, I know that engaging them even more will lead to better results. Also,…

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Stephen Hawking Has Died

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Stephen Hawking, who has died aged 76, was Britain’s most famous modern day scientist, a genius who dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe. Born on January 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day after the death of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei — he believed science was his destiny.

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House Republicans Call For Tennessee Monument to The Unborn For The Victims of Abortion

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Fifteen House Republicans joined State Representative Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) as he announced a bill calling for a monument to the unborn for the victims of abortion. The bill sponsor, Representative Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station), requested co-sponsor Bill Dunn, who is one of 22 co-sponsors, to fill in for him as he deals with a family medical emergency, which Dunn said is “truly a life or death situation.” Rep. Dunn related Rep. Sexton’s situation to the topic at hand, saying “What he’s going through right now reminds us how important life is, and how fragile it is, and how devastating it is when a life is lost.” House Bill 2381, said Dunn, will have an amendment “that will call for establishing a memorial at the Capitol for the victims of abortion.” Dunn, pointing out two monuments currently on either side of the Capitol grounds, one to the victims of slavery and the other to the victims of the holocaust, reflected “Both of these monuments that are already here recognize that atrocities occurred because human beings were treated as less than human. In both cases, the vulnerable and defenseless were subjected to the will of the powerful.” The two…

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Tennessee Pastors Network Calls on Tennessee’s Legislators to Reject Sunday Sales of Alcohol

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Pastor Dale Walker

Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker called on Tennessee legislators to reject a bill moving through the legislature that would allow for sales of wine and liquor on Sundays in Tennessee Tuesday. “We have more than enough problems with alcohol abuse in Tennessee without making it even more easily and readily accessible, especially on the Lord’s Day,” Walker saidn in a statement, adding: We are praying that the legislators will focus on the dangers of fueling even more addiction and harm to Tennessee families from these products rather than bowing to the demands of the liquor lobbyists and their large campaign donations. Alcohol continues to devastate more and more lives, and our politicians are to blame when they allow an increasing number of venues for alcohol to be sold. Now they not only want more venues, they want to add an additional day for the sale of these products. Do legislators really believe the problems and challenges we face in Tennessee will be solved by more of our neighbors and family members consuming more alcohol? I pray that Tennessee wakes up and defeats this liquor industry push for more alcohol sales. Sunday sales of liquor and other alcoholic beverages will not make…

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Commentary: The Obama Administration Stripped Religious Liberty from Our Military, and It’s Up to Veterans to Reclaim It

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by Dr. William Scott Magill, founder of Veterans in Defense of Liberty   Despite the election of the very pro-religious liberty President Trump in 2016, there are still many anti-religious liberty policies in place for those who serve in the military. Many of those policies engineered by former President Obama and his civilian bureaucrats in the Pentagon erase freedom of expression of Christian faith and religious liberty from the U.S. Armed Forces. Some Obama-era rules even criminalize the open expression of religious faith by men and women in uniform. With President Trump in the White House, we have a real opportunity to reverse one of the worst legacies of the Obama Administration – its aggressive attempt to erase Christianity, religious liberty and even Chaplains from the United States military. But it will be up to veterans to lead the charge to undo the damage Obama has done to our military. One of former President Obama’s first acts as President was to ban Bible verses traditionally included with daily briefings from the Pentagon, and that was just for starters. Over the following years his Pentagon bureaucrats, among other outrageous acts: Banned guests from bringing Bibles and other Christian symbols into Walter Reed and…

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