A private college in Minnesota refused to allow conservative author and commentator Ben Shapiro to speak on the anniversary of a hate crime hoax at the school.
Read the full storyCollege Rejects Ben Shapiro Speech on Anniversary of Hate Crime Hoax
Month: March 2018
Commentary: Corporatists Like Google, Reddit, and Citibank Use Their Commercial Might to Cancel The Bill of Rights
by George Rasley, CHQ Editor This past week major corporations made several announcements that should be profoundly troubling to liberty-loving Americans. The first was that Google’s YouTube would takedown and begin censoring gun-related content. They were not talking about content advocating violence or illegal acts, such as the Antifa and jihadi content that has often been reported on the platform. Instead, the search giant announced it was censoring perfectly legal demonstration and entertainment content they decided they didn’t like – even if it was legal. According to anti-gun news outlet Bloomberg, which first reported the news: YouTube will ban videos that promote or link to websites selling firearms and accessories, including bump stocks, which allow a semi-automatic rifle to fire faster. Additionally, YouTube said it will prohibit videos with instructions on how to assemble firearms. The video site, owned by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has faced intense criticism for hosting videos about guns, bombs and other deadly weapons. For many gun-rights supporters, YouTube has been a haven. A current search on the site for “how to build a gun” yields 25 million results, though that includes items such as toys. At least one producer of gun videos saw its page…
Read the full storyHouse Ethics Committee Finds Luis Gutierrez And Bobby Rush In Violation, Orders Payments
The House Ethics Committee announced two Illinois Democrats were in violation of chamber rules Thursday, ordering they both pay back thousands of dollars to the government for their actions. Illinois Democratic Reps. Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez were both formally reproved by the Ethics committee on the same day, but for separate violations. Both cases were…
Read the full storyProfessor Says It’s ‘Miserable’ to Work with ‘Evil’ Conservative Groups
Jennifer McErlean, a philosophy professor at Siena College near Albany, New York, is evidently no fan of today’s conservative students — and not a fan of apologies, either. And though Siena calls members of its college community “saints,” the behavior of at least some of those in power appears to fall short.
Read the full storyPresident Trump Praises Marchers Protesting School Gun Violence Nationwide
As hundreds of thousands of students, parents and teachers marched on Washington and other cities Saturday against gun violence, the White House said President Trump praised their activism. “We applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights today,” said White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters.
Read the full storyTennessee Firearms Association: Nashville Gun Control March ‘Does Nothing But Show A Disdain for Our Entire Constitutional Republic’
The far-left organizers of the Nashville gun control march that drew some 10,000 people of all ages to the city’s downtown on Saturday portrayed the event as an exercise in political democracy to “keep students safe in school,” but Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) Executive Director John Harris told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive statement it “does nothing but show a disdain for our entire constitutional republic.” Organized by the far-left “Women’s March,” the national series of gun control marches held on Saturday, dubbed by the organizers as a “March for Our Lives” (using the language of the decades long pro-life anti-abortion movement), were said to have been a demonstration “by and for students” to support stricter gun legislation in the wake of the school shooting at Marjory-Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “The March for Our Lives demonstrates yet again how some will implicate the First Amendment in a misguided attempt to trample the rights recognized and protected from any infringement by the Second Amendment,” TFA’s Harris told The Star. “Sadly, such an exhibition does nothing but show a disdain for our entire constitutional republic, which is the only form of government proven to recognize and protect individual rights,” Harris added.…
Read the full storyDemocrats Busing Supporters To Student Gun Control March
Democrats from nearby states are busing adults and students to Washington, D.C., for the student gun control control march Saturday. Pro-gun-control students at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School organized the march in response to the mass shooting at their school in February. Teacher’s unions and progressive groups including Women’s March and Planned Parenthood and helped…
Read the full storySuperPAC Targets Diane Black with New Ad About Her 2001 Vote to Give Tennessee Drivers’ Licenses to Illegal Aliens
A SuperPAC targeting Republican gubernatorial candidate Diane Black is back on the air with a radio ad that focuses on her vote to give Tennessee drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens when she served in the Tennessee State House of Representatives. The latest 60 second radio ad from a group called Tennessee Jobs Now PAC (TnJobsNow.com) is airing on several stations across the state and follows up on an ad campaign in January that featured a man and woman talking about “Dishonest Diane” directing state contracts to her husband’s company while flushing money down the toilet — to keep Diane Black from getting her hands on it. FULL TRANSCRIPT: MALE: Are you in this country illegally AND in need of government ID? If so, come on down to the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles. We’re here to help. No questions asked. If you’re an illegal immigrant who’s a drug dealer, human trafficker, even a terrorist, we’ll make sure you get ID to stay in the United States undetected. FEMALE: What you just heard, isn’t a real ad. But career politician Diane Black actually thought it was a good idea to give illegal immigrants drivers’ licenses in Tennessee. It wasn’t — and…
Read the full storySteve Gill Eviscerates Biased Polling Firm During Appearance on WKRN
Conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star contributor Steve Gill eviscerated the biased poll findings of PPP Polling in his regular appearance on Friday’s edition of WKRN’s “This Week with Bob Mueller.” “A second poll in a row shows Phil Bredesen leading by a 5 point lead over Marsha Blackburn [in the U.S. Senate race]. Let’s talk about the poll first. But that’s a bit of a surprise,” host Bob Mueller said. “There’s also a lot of problems in this poll,” Gill responded. “They polled registered voters rather than likely voters. And the polling company that did this is a Democrat, left leaning polling company, PPP, that did polls in the battleground states last year during the presidential election, and they missed Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida, that all went for Trump, contrary to what they were saying, and vastly underestimated what he was doing in Ohio,” he added. “The national eyes are on this race. Charlie Cook says it’s a tossup, do you agree with that?” Mueller asked Gill. “I think it will be a close race, but I think Marsha Blackburn wins, in large part because, while Phil Bredesen may pretend to be a moderate, he’s ‘Bill-I-Voted-For-Hillary’ Bredesen.…
Read the full storyTrump Signs Spending Bill, Averting Government Shutdown
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $1.3 trillion compromise federal spending bill despite being “unhappy” with many of its provisions — thereby averting what would have been the third government shutdown of 2018. Trump said he signed the measure that had passed the Senate just hours earlier “as a matter of national security,” because it dramatically expands military funding and provides for “the largest pay increase” for US troops in over a decade.
Read the full storyCommentary: OmniBUST: Congress Fails to Secure Border
By Robert Romano A year late, Congress has finally approved the President’s supplemental request to begin construction of the southern border wall at $1.6 billion. The supplemental was requested in March 2017. It was supposed to be included in the May 2017 omnibus spending bill affecting spending levels for Oct. 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2017. This would have paved the way for the full funding for the wall being included this year. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Because Congress did not get started with the supplemental last year, the odds they were going to get to full funding for the wall for fiscal year 2018, that is, spending levels for Oct. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018, dropped markedly. Now those who were warning of precisely this outcome have been vindicated. This was a broken promise from the get-go. After the election, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were promising $12 billion to $15 billion for the wall. On Jan. 27, 2017, Ryan told the American people that, “This is something, [the wall], we want to get on right away. And so we do believe this is urgent. We believe this is one of the most…
Read the full storySuit Seeks Info on Illegal Migrants’ Impact on Federal Lands
A Washington-based organization that favors tighter restrictions on immigration filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking records from the U.S. Forest Service related to the impact of illegal immigration on federal lands under its management.
Read the full storyZell Miller, Former Georgia Governor and Senator, Has Died at 86
ATLANTA — Zell Miller, a former two-term governor and U.S. senator who gave birth to Georgia’s HOPE scholarship, has died at the age of 86, his family said Friday in a statement. Miller was a keynote speaker at a Democratic National Convention — and a Republican National Convention.
Read the full storyMarch for Our Lives Event: An ‘Expose of the Highest Hypocrisy’
After the horrific display of ineptitude in Parkland, Florida by people wearing uniforms and carrying guns — people who could have acted to — a young political activist and Parkland survivor, David Hogg (shown above), rose up. He tweeted shaming threats to several car companies, airlines and other service industries that support or give special bonuses to those who belong to Planned Parenthood.
Read the full storyRoseanne Barr Pushes Back on Jimmy Kimmel’s Trump Criticisms
Agree with her or not — you have to at least give credit to Roseanne Barr for refusing to back down. While many right-leaning artists and creative people are facing more and more today, Barr continues to defy the status quo. She is open about her varied opinions and her support for President Donald Trump.
Read the full storyTrump Trade Guru Peter Navarro Pledges No Trade War: ‘We Come in Peace’
President Trump’s top trade adviser on Friday reassured jittery investors and business leaders that the U.S. was not starting a trade war with China, after new tariffs start Wall Street selloff. “We are not trying to pick a fight with anybody. We are just trying to get a better deal for the American people.
Read the full storyJubilant Democrats Toast GOP’s ‘Freddy Krueger’ Spending Nightmare
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) praised the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill approved Thursday by the House of Representatives — lauding Democrats’ ability to “accomplish more in the minority” than when they controlled the White House and Congress. He also proclaimed the “era of austerity” is “coming to an end.”
Read the full storyDaily Signal Exclusive: Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Trump’s Job-Creation Success
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta spoke to The Daily Signal’s Rob Bluey about the Trump administration’s approach to job creation, reducing government regulations, and what it’s like to work for President Donald Trump. Acosta spoke Thursday at Generation Next, a White House forum for millennials. An edited transcript of his Daily Signal interview is below.
Read the full storyLiberal Dirty Tricks: Deceptive ‘Middle of the Night’ Phone Calls Target GOP State Senator’s Bill to Require Work for Medicare Benefits
Tennessee Senate Republicans issued a statement Friday condemning deceptive “middle of the night” robocalls made to voters by the far left Tennessee Justice Center opposing a bill introduced by State Sen. Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield). The bill “directs TennCare to submit a waiver to the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to require able-bodied working age adults, without dependent children under the age of 6 to work for their benefits.” “State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) and Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) today strongly condemned the Tennessee Justice Center for placing robocalls in the middle of the night regarding legislation Roberts is sponsoring in the Tennessee General Assembly. Roberts said the unethical calls were made by Justice Center with the ‘call back’ number going to his legislative office. The calls were made during the late hours of Thursday and the early hours of Friday morning,” the statement issued by Tennessee Senate Republicans said. “These robocalls are outrageous and the information disseminated is false and misleading,” Roberts said in the statement. “They were conducted in the middle of night with the call back number, for those who thought that it might be a dire emergency due to the late hour, going…
Read the full storyMarsha Blackburn, Diane Black, Scott DesJarlais, and Jimmy Duncan Vote Against Deficit Increasing $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Budget Deal
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04), and Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan (R-TN-02) were the only four Republican members of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against the deficit increasing $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Budget Bill to fund the federal government for the remainder of FY 2018 that passed the House on a 256-167 vote Thursday afternoon. A total of 90 Republicans and 77 Democrats voted against the bill. The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote on Friday. If it passes in the Senate, President Trump will have until midnight on Friday to either sign or veto the bill before non-essential offices of the federal government shut down. Three Republican members of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the huge spending bill: Republicans Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN-01), Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), and Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-08). Kustoff’s yes vote could spell trouble for him in August, as he faces a tough primary challenge from Dr. George Flinn, who is a staunch conservative on fiscal matters and is running a well funded and aggressive campaign. The two Democrats in the U.S.…
Read the full storyHypocrisy Reigns In Media Slamming EPA’s Pruitt for Travel Costs
Major liberal mainstream media outlets lambasting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent travel costs said nothing when his predecessors under former President Barack Obama ran up much bigger bills on their official trips.
Read the full storyTrump Boosts Tariffs on Chinese Imports
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tougher economic sanctions on China on Thursday, setting the stage for $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports that could quickly lead to a trade war with Beijing. The U.S. leader targeted China’s alleged years-long theft of U.S. intellectual property, imposing new restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S. that mirror regulations that American companies face when they invest in China.
Read the full storyCommentary: Why Are the IRS and Congress Ignoring the Millions of Cases of the Life-Altering Crime of Identity Theft Committed by Illegal Aliens Each Year?
By Printus LeBlanc Despite the media and amnesty proponents on both sides of the aisle declaring illegal immigrants don’t commit crimes, a recent report from CNS News should shut down the amnesty debate. After reviewing several Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports, CNS found the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) routinely ignores massive numbers of possible identity theft. According to the report, there were 1.2 million cases in 2017 in which illegal aliens filed tax returns using Social Security Numbers (SSN). Why are the IRS and Congress ignoring a problem costing American citizens billions of dollars and countless years to fix? This is not the typical identity theft most people think of, but employment identity theft. Employment identity theft is when someone uses another person’s identity to get a job. The IRS can identify the theft through the ITIN/SSN mismatch process. The process detects instances in which an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is listed as either the primary or secondary Taxpayer Identification Number on form 1040, and the Form W-2, included with the return has an SSN. What is most infuriating about the recent report is the lack of enforcement of federal law. The IRS found 1.3 million cases of…
Read the full storyReport: Capitol Hill Republicans Sick and Tired of White House Leaks
“I guess you just operate under the assumption that everything is going to be leaked.” Between the outrageous and dangerous leak revealing secret details of President Trump’s telephone call with Vladimir Putin or Wednesday’s flurry of leaks about the behind-the-scenes negotiations over the omnibus spending bill, it’s clear that Chief of Staff John Kelly has not plugged the leaks in the West Wing.
Read the full storyFed Raises Interest Rates Slightly, May Push Them Higher Later This Year
Top officials of the U.S. central bank raised the key interest rate slightly Wednesday, amid strong job gains and moderate economic growth. The rate is one-quarter of a percentage point higher, putting it in a range between 1.5 and 1.75 percent.
Read the full storyTrump Stormy Daniels Affair Allegations of ‘Very Little Importance’ to the Nation, 49 Percent Say
Eight-out-of-10 Americans have heard the news of an adult film actress who says she had an alleged sexual encounter with President Trump in 2006 – a percentage which is shared almost equally between Republicans, independents and Democrats according to a new Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday.
Read the full storyPaul Ryan: Democrats Are the Reason There are No DACA Protections in the Spending Bill
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that Democrats are the reason the spending bill does not include DACA protections. “We said let’s do multiyear funding for the wall for multiyear relief for the DACA kids, and they walked away from that. They wouldn’t take that,” Mr. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said on Fox News.
Read the full storyRepublicans’ $1.3 Trillion ‘Pass It to Read It’ Boondoggle
Republicans, following months of negotiations with Democrats, finally came up with an omnibus spending bill, and in a word, it “sucks.” It’s 2,232 pages of $1.3 trillion taxpayer expenditures. And lawmakers only have until Friday to pass it, or face yet another shutdown.
Read the full storyTrump Boom Continues as Personal Earnings Up In Most States
Statewide personal income increased at a significantly faster rate in 2017 than in 2016, according to data released Thursday by the adding to the growing evidence of a sustained expansion since President Donald Trump took office. The increases averaged 3.1 percent last year, compared to only 2.3 percent in 2016, the last full year of President Barack Obama’s tenure in the Oval Office. The BEA is a unit of the Department of Commerce.
Read the full storyRocklin High Student Tests Teacher’s Theory, Plans Pro-Life School Walkout
A California high school student is trying to plan a walkout to protest abortion after his history teacher was recently placed on administrative leave when she questioned whether there’s a political double-standard concerning school-sanctioned protests.
Read the full storyUS: Plans Being Made in Case Iran Nuclear Talks With Europeans Fail
The U.S. says it had constructive talks with its European partners last week on changes to the Iran nuclear agreement, but it is making contingency plans in case the talks fail and President Donald Trump decides to pull out of the landmark 2015 deal. Lead negotiator and State Department Policy Planning Director Brian Hook told reporters Wednesday he cannot predict whether U.S. talks with Britain, France and Germany on forging a supplemental agreement to address what Trump sees as deficiencies in the Iran nuclear agreement can meet a May deadline.
Read the full storyGoogle’s $300 Million Fight Against Fake – err, Conservative – News
Google just kicked off a new initiative to fight what it regards as fake news – a new $300 million, three-year initiative that will help news publishers earn more money from subscriptions; help readers disseminate fact from fiction, particularly on breaking items of interest; and help journalists do their jobs. Sounds great.
Read the full storyVictory for the Rule of Law as Tennessee Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Appeal of Special Election Date Decision
The Tennessee Supreme Court reaffirmed its role as champion as the rule of law in the Volunteer State on Thursday when it agreed to hear an appeal of a lower court’s decision to set the date for the Nashville mayoral election at August 2. You can read the Court’s Order Granting the Motion to Assume Jurisdiction here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Order-Granting-Motion-to-Assume-Jurisdiction.pdf” title=”Order Granting Motion to Assume Jurisdiction”] The Court granted mayoral candidate Ludye Wallace’s petition for an expedited hearing of his appeal of Chancery Court Judge Claudia Bonnyman’s decision to set the special election date at August 2 rather than May 1, the date Wallace’s attorney Jamie Hollin said was required by a plain reading of the law. Hollin has until March 29 to submit the Petitioner’s Brief to the Court. Metro Nashville Government has until April 4 to submit Respondent’s Brief. Oral arguments will be heard on Monday, April 9. “We are grateful that the Supreme Court decided to assume jurisdiction of this case as it involves the election of Metro Nashville’s most important elected office, Mayor,” Wallace’s attorneys Hollin and Daniel Horwitz said in a statement. “We are optimistic that the unambiguous terms of the Metro Charter and the clearly…
Read the full storySteve Gill Is Back on the Radio!
Long-time Nashville radio host Steve Gill is back on the radio. The veteran conservative political commentator and frequent Tennessee Star contributor is hosting a 30 minute program, The Gill Report, which airs on Knoxville’s WETR 92.3 FM from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm each weekday evening. Gill joins an all-star lineup on the conservative talk radio station that includes Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, and Lars Larson. Here’s an example of the kind of insight listeners of The Gill Report receive: Steve’s analysis of a recent poll that says Phil Bredesen leads Marsha Blackburn by 5 points in a hypothetical general election matchup for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). (You can listen to the program live here). Plans are currently in the works to syndicate the program to other radio stations across the state.
Read the full storySteve Gill Analysis: Beware of Polls That Hide Key Details
On the Wednesday edition of The Gill Report, broadcast on Knoxville’s 92.3 FM WETR, Steve Gill explained the perils of giving too much credence to polls that hide key details about their methodology. Case in point: A recent poll conducted by the Democratic polling firm PPP on the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee between Democrat Phil Bredesen and Republican Marsha Blackburn. “I mentioned at the outside of the show that PPP had done a new poll that is being reported across the state showing that former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, is leading Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, the front runner for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, 46 percent to 41 percent in a new poll that they’ve conducted,” Gill said. “I just wanted you to be aware of some of the problems that may be contained in that poll,” he added, noting: This particular polling company is a Democrat polling company, a left leaning polling company, that is paid to do a poll by a group that supports Obamacare. So they produce a poll that shows that Phil, ‘I Voted for Hillary’ Bredesen leads Marsha Blackburn by 5 points. Not surprisingly, their poll shows that Tennesseans oppose repeal…
Read the full storySchool Protection and Student Privacy Act Moves Forward In Tennessee House
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The School Protection and Student Privacy Act, sponsored by Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) in the House, moved forward from the Civil Justice Committee Wednesday. After more than an hour of debate and testimony by five witnesses, House Bill 2620 passed by a vote of 4 ayes, 2 nos and 1 abstention. Following the vote at the bill’s first stop, Holt told The Tennessee Star, “Now more than ever, it’s important that we empower and encourage local school districts to protect boys and girls from being compelled to use the restroom, shower or undress in the presence of those of the opposite sex.” He further explained, While in a sense it’s very sad that we even have to address things like preventing girls in public schools from having to shower with or undress in the presence of boys, there’s a small but vocal minority determined to dismiss these objective biological distinctions. We can’t just sit idly by and pretend that this will all work itself out in a good way. We have to take a stand now. If not now, then when? The bill expands the duties of the State Attorney General and Reporter (AG) to “include representation…
Read the full storyTN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition Leaders Finally Admit to Legislative Committee They Want to Keep Illegal Immigrants in Tennessee
During testimony by the co-Directors of the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), opposing Rep. William Lamberth’s bill that would prohibit municipalities from creating their own local identity card programs and from accepting the matricula consular card as an identification document, the TIRRC leaders admitted that immigrants who primarily rely on the matricula card are “people who do not have immigration status.” Lamberth’s bill is consistent with Tennessee law that prohibits using the matricula consular card to get a state driver license. During Nashville’s last mayoral race, all of the candidates including Megan Barry endorsed creating a local identification card program that would include illegal aliens. This has become a popular program in sanctuary cities that help illegal aliens access certain public services and appear as if they are lawfully present. In other cities the cards have also helped illegal aliens avoid arrest and possible deportation during traffic stops. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago-issued municipal ID card available to illegal aliens will be accepted as valid voter identification. In Cincinnati, working with local law enforcement and city officials, Catholic Charities is producing and providing the municipal ID card to immigrants in the city who don’t have or can’t obtain…
Read the full storyMiddle Class Workers Are Bailing On California And Making For These Red States
Middle-class families are leaving California in droves and heading for red states as rental prices and gas taxes continue sky rocketing in the Golden State, according to a Wednesday CNBC report. California’s high housing prices and rising gas prices are driving away what remains of the state’s low income citizens.
Read the full storyTrump Says Hillary Clinton’s Gaffes Prove Democrats ‘Lost Touch’ with Regular Americans
Few things delight President Trump more than watching Democrats run away from Hillary Clinton. And the president believes Republican candidates in this year’s midterm elections should put Democrats’ aversion for their party’s former standard-bearer to the test. “Democrats never have been more vulnerable because they’ve lost touch with normal, everyday working people,” the president said at…
Read the full storyCommentary: ‘Social Justice Philosophy Is a Blank Check for Government Power’
by Brian Balfour This key passage from Thomas Sowell’s 1999 book, The Quest for Cosmic Justice, frames Sowell’s thoughtful analysis and rejection of arguments advanced by “social justice warriors,” or more briefly, SJWs: In politics, the great non-sequitur of our time is that 1) things are not right and that 2) the government should make them right. Where right all too often means cosmic justice, trying to set things right means writing a blank check for a never-ending expansion of government power. Although written nearly 20 years ago, Sowell’s insights are especially relevant today, when you consider the heights of influence social justice activism has reached—especially on college campuses—in 2018. For a blueprint to understand and refute today’s increasingly vocal SJWs, Sowell’s book proves to be an indispensable resource. What Is “Social Justice”? First, Sowell provides clarity to the concept of social justice, which he labels “cosmic justice.” Social justice seeks to “eliminate undeserved disadvantages” for selected groups. Sowell explains “undeserved disadvantages” by quoting Thomas Nagle, a professor of philosophy and law, as akin to an “unequal starting point” certain people have through no fault of their own. These conditions—be it race, gender, family income, etc.—are from mere chance of…
Read the full storyRep. Dave Brat Rips Immorality of GOP Spending Surrender
A massive omnibus spending bill headed for a vote in Congress this week is bad policy and bad politics, according to Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.). But it’s worse than that, he argued Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.” “I think it’s important to make the moral argument,” said Brat (shown above).
Read the full storyIs Push to Close Primaries Dead For the Year?
The push to close primaries in Tennessee is dead for the year, a legislative source says. SB 0772 aims to require a voter to declare a statewide political party affiliation before voting in a primary. That bill was assigned March 20 to the Senate’s General Subcommittee of the State and Local Government Committee. However, Pamela McCary, legislative assistant to State Rep. Tim Wirgau, said on March 21 that it has not been moved onto the calendar in the House, so that chamber cannot take action on it this year. Wirgau, R-Buchanan, is chairman of the Local Government Committee in the House. There has been a lot of “buzz” on the topic for some reason, despite the status in the House, she said. The House bill number is HB 0887. Also on March 21, the main sponsor of the House bill changed from Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, to Rep. Tilman Goins, R-Morristown. Williams is still a co-sponsor. State Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, is the Senate sponsor.
Read the full storyJoe Biden: I Would Have ‘Beat the Hell Out of’ Trump in High School
Former Vice President Joe Biden boasted to a crowd of University of Miami students Tuesday that he would have “beat the hell out of” President Trump in high school. Speaking during an anti-sexual assault rally at the private university in Coral Gables, the Democrat mentioned Mr. Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” recording that captured the real estate…
Read the full storyReal Estate Magnate Bill Freeman Will Not Run for Mayor of Nashville in Special Election
Real estate magnate Bill Freeman, who finished third in the 2015 election for Mayor of Nashville behind David Fox and eventual winner, former Mayor Megan Barry, said on Wednesday he will not be a candidate for Mayor of Nashville in the upcoming special election. “I think Nashville will be best served by having Mayor Briley focused on what’s best for our city for the remainder of this term. As a result, I’ve chosen to refrain from entering the race,” Freeman said, as NewsChannel 5 reported: Freeman said he considers his decision a personal one and did not discourage others from entering the race. “It is certainly within the capability of Nashvillians to determine what’s best for Nashville. To discourage anyone from running for office is downright un-American,” stated Freeman. “I simply feel that Mayor Briley is the right person for Nashville right now. I’ve weighed the options, and I feel that my continued role with Freeman Webb will serve Nashville well, with our strong initiatives to meet Nashville’s needs for affordable housing.” Freeman also added Mayor Briley must “remain balanced in his approach,” and he cautioned against allowing undue influence on key decisions from outside interests. The co-founder of Freeman…
Read the full storyLaura Ingraham Rips House GOPers Pushing ‘Freddy Krueger-Like’ Spending Bill
Fox News host Laura Ingraham challenged House Republican leaders Tuesday on “The Ingraham Angle” to “start really helping President Donald Trump drain the swamp” instead of adding to it by passing their $1.3 trillion spending bill by Friday to avoid another government shutdown. If bitterly divided Republican and Democratic lawmakers don’t reach an agreement ahead of…
Read the full storyFBI Director Christopher Wray Rejects McCabe’s Accusations About His Firing
FBI Director Christopher Wray dismissed former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s claims that his firing was politically motivated, telling NBC News in an interview Wednesday that it wasn’t “based on political or partisan influence.” McCabe oversaw the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and address to conduct official U.S. diplomatic business. Attorney General Jeff Sessions accepted the recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) that he fire McCabe Friday — just two days before McCabe was to retire with full pension benefits.
Read the full storyMajority of Nashville Metro Council Wants Tennessee Supreme Court to Accept Special Election Date Appeal
Twenty-one members of the Nashville Metro Council signed a letter to Metro Legal Director Jon Cooper on Tuesday asking him to request of the Tennessee Supreme Court that it “reach down” and hear the plaintiff’s appeal of a Chancery Court Judge’s decision to hold the special mayoral election on August 2, rather than May 1. The Tennessee Star reported that earlier this month the Davidson County Election Commission ignored the plain meaning of the law and voted 3 to 2 to hold the special mayoral election on August 2, rather than May 2. Last week, attorney Jamie Hollin filed an appeal of that decision on behalf of his client, mayoral candidate Ludye Wallace in Davidson Couny Chancery Court. Later that week, Judge Claudia Bonnyman ruled against Wallace and in favor of the Davidson County Election Commission, and confirmed August 2 as the date for the special election. The Star subsequently reported that, according to Arizona State University Law School Professor Judith M. Stinson, a national expert on “dicta” and legal holdings, if Judge Bonnyman’s decision was based on “dicta”–that is, facts cited in an opinion that are not directly relevant to the legal holding of the court–the legitimacy of the…
Read the full storySteve: A New Kind of Aurora Demystified by Scientists
Few things compare to the dazzling light show performed by nature’s northern and southern lights – but they’re not alone. It was only in the past few years that a new type of aurora was found. Thanks to the watchful eye of citizen scientists and photographers, we can now add to program an exquisite short-lived shimmering purple ribbon of plasma called Steve. Meanwhile, scientists have had time to carefully study the phenomenon in an attempt to learn what makes it tick.
Read the full storySenate State & Local Government Committee Passes Two Important Anti-Ilegal Immigration Bills
A bill to strengthen Tennessee’s law prohibiting sanctuary cities was passed by a majority vote of the Senate State & Local Government Committee with only Democrat State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) voting no. Among other features of SB2332, sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville), is a broadened definition of “sanctuary policies or practices” that help shield criminal illegal aliens and encourages more illegal immigration to those locations. Several weeks ago, the State and Local Director from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) spoke to the committee reminding them that “sanctuary policies come in all shapes and sizes:” Some are written, some are not. Some are enacted through local laws while others masquerade as ‘welcoming resolutions; some even appear as internal law enforcement agency policy. Despite these differences in appearance, the uniting factor is that sanctuary policies place a greater emphasis on the welfare of illegal aliens than the welfare and safety of citizens and legal residents in their own communities. Tennessee’s current statute only addresses written sanctuary policies. Nashville promotes itself as a “welcoming city” – in fact, so welcoming that in June 2017, two ordinances were introduced by Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge promoting practices that…
Read the full storyBill Allowing Trained Teachers To Carry Concealed Firearms On School Property Passes House Committee
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The bill allowing private certified firearms instructors and the local law enforcement agency to train teachers who are allowed to carry concealed firearms on school property passes the House Civil Justice Committee by a vote of 8 to 3 along party lines. House Bill 2208, sponsored by David “Coach” Byrd (R-Waynesboro), after about an hour and a half of debate, passed another hurdle Tuesday. As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, the bill expands a previous bill by Byrd that was restricted to the distressed rural counties of Wayne and Pickett, after local law enforcement did not conduct the training and following the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Byrd, a teacher, coach and principal before retiring and joining the Tennessee General Assembly, would prefer to have a School Resource Officer (SRO) in every school. But, across there state there are approximately 800 SROs for the 1,800 schools, providing coverage to only about 40 percent. The financial reality is that, at a cost of approximately $45,000 per year, rural distressed counties cannot afford to have an SRO in every school. The bill is “permissive,” in that each individual Local Education Agency (LEA) can opt in but is not compelled…
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