Day: April 17, 2018

Diane Black to TNReady System Administrators: ‘I Am Disappointed the State Continues to Waste Their Time’

Admin

On the heels of a disastrous first day of failures across the state of students’ series of troubles accessing the TNReady system Monday; on Tuesday, the system failed again. Gubernatorial candidate Diane Black released a statement excoriating the the state’s inability to administer the program: For years the state has chosen to force sweeping education reform and more standardized tests into our classrooms and time and time again, the state has failed to keep up their end of the bargain. This week’s delays are not the fault of the educators or the students, but they are the ones who suffer from the missed class time as they sit and wait for the state to get its act together. Tennessee teachers are some of the hardest working in the nation, and I am disappointed the state continues to waste their time. As The Tennessee Star previously reported: After months of preparing for the annual year-end assessments, many Tennessee students struggled to log on to the TNReady testing platform Monday morning. The Department of Education says the problem was quickly fixed by the vendor, and over 20,000 students took the test after the problems were resolved. “We share the frustration that some…

Read the full story

Carol Swain Raises More Than $40,000 in First Two Weeks of Her Campaign for Mayor of Nashville

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain has raised more than $40,0000 in the two weeks since she announced her campaign for Mayor of Nashville, her campaign said on Tuesday. “It is clear that there is a groundswell of support for a leader that can bring integrity, honesty and fairness to City Hall,” Swain said in a statement released by her campaign. “My administration will restore faith and trust in the metropolitan government. I will work tirelessly to ensure all Nashvillians’ right to live and work in a safe and affordable environment. I will not let you down,” Swain added. “Donations are streaming in from the citizens of Davidson County and from supporters around the country. The campaign is pushing ahead, asking supporters to share Carol’s vision for a better Nashville; one that works for and with the people, not against them,” the statement said, adding: Dr. Carol M. Swain is running for Mayor of Nashville because she is the only candidate that can bring common sense leadership and transparency to City Hall. Dr. Swain’s “Blueprint for Nashville” lays out the policies that she will advocate for during her term as Mayor. As a political outsider, Dr. Swain is not beholden to…

Read the full story

Dr. Mark Green’s Campaign for Congress Closes Out the First Quarter with Over $750,000 Cash-On-Hand

Admin
Mark Green FRC endorsement

In Federal Election Commission filings, congressional hopeful Dr. Mark Green reported his campaign to date has raised nearly $1.2 million, with a reported $769,000 cash-on-hand heading into the all-important second quarter of 2018. Since January 2018, the campaign reports it has received $467,949 in receipts through April 2018. “Camie and I are honored that more than 750 people have given to our campaign to bring conservative leadership to Washington. We are committed to running an aggressive grassroots campaign from now through election day, and these resources will enable us to do that,” Dr. Green said in a statement. The sole Republican in the race, Green’s campaign notes the candidate has “received broad support from the conservative movement both in Tennessee and nationally,” adding: He is endorsed by 100 grassroots conservative leaders in the state, 20 mayors in the district, and over 60 legislators serve on Green’s finance committee. National groups supporting Green include the Club for Growth, FRC Action, GOPAC, and the House Freedom Fund, and FreedomWorks. Green currently serves in the Tennessee State Senate, where he is currently working to pass several pieces of legislation including an anti-sanctuary cities measure to close certain loopholes in the current law, as…

Read the full story

Rep. Peter King Claims IG Report On McCabe’s Lies Is ‘Devastating’ for Comey

Admin
James Comey, Andrew McCabe

Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Michael Horowitz’s report is “devastating” for former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” The DOJ’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its internal report Friday reviewing the department’s conduct during its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct official business while serving as Secretary of State.

Read the full story

Commentary: What White Privilege Lessons Did to My High School

Admin

by Owen Rickert During my last year in high school, all seniors were required to write a speech about the topic of their choice and present this speech to the student body and faculty. My essay, titled “Division,” dealt with how identity politics ruined the last few years at the high school that I attended. It was summarized well here. In the weeks following the presentation of my speech, I remember being asked what led me to choose the topic, a topic of which could very likely lead to ridicule and even hostility from those listening. What defining moments compelled me to challenge the way in which I was being taught? Also, did I receive any backlash from my essay? I had been raised in a conservative household, with a father who was especially staunch in his conservative beliefs. It was often pointed out, while watching the news, and reading articles, the obvious slant towards the Left. Because of this, it was easy to recognize when topics were being presented in school that were favorable towards the beliefs of the Left. A few examples stood out clearly. During my sophomore year of high school, a mandatory lesson for the entire…

Read the full story

Problems Reported on First Day of TNReady Testing

Bob Goodwin

After months of preparing for the annual year-end assessments, many Tennessee students struggled to log on to the TNReady testing platform Monday morning. The Department of Education says the problem was quickly fixed by the vendor, and over 20,000 students took the test after the problems were resolved. “We share the frustration that some students had challenges logging into Nextera this morning. Questar has fixed this issue, and thousands of students are on the platform now. Over 25,000 students have successfully completed TNReady tests as of this point today,” the Department of Education tweeted. “No server has crashed, and the issue was not statewide. This issue was not related to volume. Testing has resumed.” Some districts saw the early errors as a warning of what was to come and chose to cancel testing for the day. “In Williamson, most of our 5-11 students could not log in,” said Jason Golden, Deputy Superintendent of Williamson County Schools. “Williamson County Schools early reports indicate that those who did get logged in apparently finished the test, but we can’t measure the distractions they were dealing with in each classroom as other students couldn’t get logged in. We shut it down for the day & are…

Read the full story

Three Cases to Watch as the Supreme Court Begins to Wrap This Term

Admin

by Sarah Williams   This week marks the start of the Supreme Court’s final oral argument sessions of the current term. The justices will hear arguments in several important cases, including challenges to the constitutionality of administrative law judges, state sales taxes for out-of-state online retailers, and the infamous Trump “travel ban,” making this month one to watch. South Dakota v. Wayfair Can states require online retailers to collect sales taxes even if they do not maintain a physical presence in those states? That is the question before the court April 17 (fittingly, Tax Day). The court will consider whether it should overturn Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a 1992 ruling that forbade states from requiring mail-order retailers to collect a state’s sales tax if they do not have a physical presence within that state, such as a store or employees. Given the rapid growth of online sales, many states complain they are losing out on millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue. [Americans need an alternative to the mainstream media. But this can’t be done alone. Find out more >>] South Dakota passed a law directly challenging the Quill case by requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax if they…

Read the full story

Williamson County Election Records Show Democratic Candidates Voted in GOP Primary – An Effort Intended to Stop Republican Julie Hannah?

Admin
Anne McGraw and Bill Peach

Early voting is underway in local elections across the state and runs through April 26, with the Election Day itself occurring May 1. In deep red Republican Williamson County there has been some concern among conservative Republican leaders that local Democrats may cross over to vote in the Republican Primary. Because Tennessee does not have party registration, voters can pick which primary in which they choose to vote each election, although Tennessee state law does require that the “choice” is a legitimate expression of party allegiance. Those concerns have been confirmed as at least two high profile Democrats have already voted “as Republicans” in the Republican Primary during early voting.  One of the two has qualified as a candidate for the State House as a Democrat in the Democratic Party primary slated for August 2; the other is currently running as a Democrat for a county office in the May 1 primary and therefore did not vote for herself in the Democratic Party primary in which she is a candidate. Bill Peach (pictured, right) has run previously for the State House as a Democrat against Jeremy Durham and failed to get 30% of the vote in 2014. He is a candidate again,…

Read the full story