Day: April 11, 2018

BREAKING: Paul Ryan Retiring as Speaker of the House

Tennessee Star Staff

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced on Wednesday he will not seek re-election and will be retiring as Speaker at the end of his term, Reuters reported: U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, told Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday he will not seek re-election in November, his office said. Ryan will serve his full term and retire in January, Brendan Buck, spokesperson for the Speaker, said in a statement. “After nearly twenty years in the House, the speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father,” Buck said. Ryan’s retirement sets off a mad scramble to succeed him. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steven Scalise (R-LA) are considered the leading candidates to replace Ryan as leader of the GOP in the House. Whether or not that translates into the job of Speaker in January 2019 will depend on the outcome of the November 2018 midterm elections. Democrats are hopeful they can win a net gain of 23 seats to take back control of the House.          

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$3,000 Scholarship Added to The Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Grand Champion Prize Package

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The Polk Foundation announced Wednesday that a substantial $3,000 scholarship has been added to The Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Grand Champion prize package will be provided by the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. Set to be held Saturday, April 28th, Constitution Bee’s scholarship prize is in addition to the trip to Washington, D.C. for the winner and a parent. The Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation Scholarship will be awarded to the first place winner at the April 28 Constitution Bee and can be used for college tuition or any expenses related to college or post-secondary education. The Tennessee Star Constitution Bee will be held in Franklin, Tennessee beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 28 at the Williamson County Administration Building. All secondary students, whether enrolled in public schools, private schools, or home school programs, in grades 8 through 12 are eligible to participate.  Students can sign up for the event here. April’s event is a follow-up to Tennessee’s first-of-its-kind statewide Constitution Bee held last September 23, where a total of sixteen students vied for the Grand Championship. The first-place winner was Noah Farley, a 17-year-old homeschooled senior from Spring Hill, who won a free trip to Washington, D.C., along with a parent. Second place went to Alexandria Anderson, 14, a…

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Early Voting Opens In Crucial Nashville Transit Referendum

Jason M. Reynolds

Early voting has begun in Nashville-Davidson County, and groups seeking an alternative to the $9 billion light rail transit plan are urging voters to head to the polls early. Election Day — and the transit referendum —are May 1, but early voting began April 10 and will run through April 26. Poll locations for early voting are posted on the NoTax4Tracks website. “We need as many people as possible to vote against this costly and fiscally irresponsible transit plan,” the group says in a newsletter. “Otherwise, Davidson County will have the highest sales tax of any major city and households will pay an extra $43,000 for a transit plan that does NOT solve the traffic congestion problem and does NOT serve the whole county. “The other side is making false claims so it is essential we fight back to provide residents with all the facts. Reaching out and communicating with potential voters is the most important thing we can do during this critical time.” NoTax4Tracks also reports that the neighborhoods with the worst traffic will see little relief from light rail. Better Transit For Nashville posted what it calls the Top 100 reasons to vote against the light rail plan.…

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Anti-Sanctuary City Legislators Hold Their Ground in Committee to Move Strong Bill Toward Full House for Vote

Chris Alto
State Rep Jay Reedy

After an hour of debate rehashing Rep. Jay Reedy’s anti-sanctuary city bill, including more testimony in opposition from the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and procedural moves by Democrat Jason Powell to “gut” the bill, 6 of the 7 Republican members of the House State Government Committee voted “yes,” sending HB2315 toward a vote by the full House. The Committee’s three Democrats voted no and Chairman Bob Ramsey, a Republican, passed. Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville), offered an amendment which TIRRC’s lawyer explained to committee members. Thorough questioning by Reps. Bud Hulsey and William Lamberth, however, revealed that the amendment was intended to neuter key parts of the bill. Anti-sanctuary city Reps. Daniel, Hulsey, Lamberth, Littleton and Rudd, held their ground to vote down Powell’s amendment; all five are named co-sponsors of the bill. Chairman Bob Ramsey voted “yes” with the Democrats and Republican Bill Sanderson passed. Sanderson then offered his own amendment that would have weakened the strong state policy Reedy’s bill would establish to combat shielding illegal aliens who have committed crimes unrelated to their immigration status, from possible deportation. The same five anti-sanctuary city legislators again held their ground and voted against Sanderson’s amendment. This time,…

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Nashville Mayoral Candidates React to Tennessee Supreme Court Decision to Move Special Election Date Up to May

Tennessee Star Staff

Several of the 14 candidates who will be on the ballot in the special election for Mayor of Nashville reacted on Tuesday to the news that the Tennessee Supreme Court has decided that the date of the election should be set between May 21 and May 25, rather than on August 2 as previously determined by the Davidson County Election Commission. “The Supreme Court has ruled, and I’ll be ready for the election,” Acting Mayor David Briley said in a statement, Fox 17 reported. “I appreciate all the support I’ve already received, and I’m looking forward to a strong campaign over the next six weeks,” Briley added. “Congratulations to Chief Justice Bivins and the Tennessee Supreme Court for its unanimous decision upholding the rule of law in Tennessee,” former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain, who earlier in the day received the endorsement of conservative author and film maker Dinesh D’Souza for her candidacy for Mayor of Nashville, said in a statement. “I especially applaud former NAACP President Ludye Wallace for his courage and leadership on this critical matter,” she added. “We the People can individually and collectively ‘Be the People’ who change colonies, states, and nations,” Swain noted. At-Large Metro Council member…

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Dennis Prager Commentary: Whatever the Left Touches, It Ruins

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by Dennis Prager   The only way to save Western civilization is to convince more people that leftism—not liberalism—is a nihilistic force. Quite literally, whatever the left touches it ruins. So, here is a partial listing of the damage done by the left and the Democratic Party: The most obvious—and, therefore, the one more and Americans can resonate with—is the near destruction of most American universities as places of learning. In the words of Harvard professor Steven Pinker—an atheist and a liberal—outside of the natural sciences and a few other disciplines (such as mathematics and business), “universities are becoming laughing stocks of intolerance.” If you send your children to a university, you are endangering both their mind and their character. There is a real chance they will be more intolerant and more foolish after college than they were when they entered college. Americans need an alternative to the mainstream media. But this can’t be done alone. Find out more >> When you attend an American university, you are taught to have contempt for America and its founders, to prefer socialism to capitalism, to divide human beings by race and ethnicity. You are taught to shut down those who differ with…

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I Questioned Mark Zuckerberg: What Concerns Me Most About Facebook’s Handling of Personal Data

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by Senator Chuck Grassley   The history and growth of Facebook mirrors that of many of our technology giants. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook has exploded over the past 14 years. Facebook currently has 2.13 billion monthly active users across the world, more than 25,000 employees, and offices in 13 U.S. cities and various other countries. Like its expanding user base, the data collected on Facebook users has also skyrocketed. It has moved on from schools, likes, and relationship statuses. Today, Facebook has access to dozens of data points, ranging from ads you’ve clicked on, events you’ve attended, and your location based on your mobile device. It is no secret that Facebook makes money off this data through advertising revenue, although many seem confused by, or altogether unaware, of this fact. Facebook generated $40 billion in revenue in 2017, with about 98 percent coming from advertising across Facebook and Instagram. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution.  Find out more >> Significant data collection is also occurring at Google, Twitter, Apple, and Amazon. An ever-expanding portfolio of products and services offered by these companies grant endless opportunities…

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Diamond and Silk Open Up About their Censure by Facebook: ‘It’s Discrimination’

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Facebook may be realizing it made an error in its censorship of two of President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters: Diamond and Silk. Fox News reports that the tech giant is reconsidering its recent classification of videos from Diamond — Lynnette Hardaway (shown above left) and Silk (Rochelle Richardson, above right) — that it currently labeled “unsafe to the community.”

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‘My Mistake’: Key Zuckerberg Quotes in Senate Facebook Grilling

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Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg appeared before US lawmakers Tuesday to apologize for how his company has handled the growing furor over online privacy, to promise change, and explain the social media giant’s policies. The wide-ranging questions — including about Cambridge Analytica, which used data scraped from 87 million Facebook users to target political ads ahead of the 2016 US election — put the 33-year-old billionaire under a microscope for several hours at a joint Senate committee hearing.

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Metro Council Member Robert Swope Unveils Alternative to $9 Billion Barry-Briley Light Rail Plan with ‘Intelligent Transit Plan For The It City Nashville’

Laura Baigert
Robert Swope unveils transit alt

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Metro Council member Robert Swope unveiled a new plan with a play on words, “Intelligent Transit for the It City Nashville,” Tuesday at an event at the Wildhorse Saloon on 2nd Avenue North in downtown Nashville. Joining Swope on-stage were Tennessee State Senators Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Mark Green (R-Clarksville). Senator Ketron spoke of his personal experiences with increasing traffic issues as he travels to the state legislature, and Senator Green talked about the benefits of autonomous vehicles, including increased roadway capacity due to the ability to have vehicles in closer proximity to each other. Swope put on a high-tech presentation in conjunction with Paul Doherty, President and CEO of The Digit Group, Inc., (TDG) who connected to the meeting via telecomm from Japan, where he had been meeting earlier with the Prime Minister. TDG specializes in holistic smart city solutions, “using technology solutions as the basis” for planning, designing, building and manufacturing smart city solutions that provide safe and comfortable transportation, among other elements with solutions implemented in China, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Europe and through the U.S., according to the TDG website. Swope told The Tennessee Star that he has served on the…

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