Day: April 24, 2018

Retiring House Members Throw Curveball at Harwell’s Bid for Governor

Chris Alto

In an unexpected turn during the House Finance Committee yesterday, two long-time supporters of Speaker Beth Harwell, voted against the anti-sanctuary city bill which 67 members of her Republican caucus is co-sponsoring. Finance Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) and Rep. Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads), both listed as co-sponsors of the bill, voted to effectively kill the bill by sending it to a summer study by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Both Sargent and McDaniel are retiring from the Tennessee House of Representatives and are not on the ballot in 2018. The motion was made by Rep. Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain), who does not support the measure. Harwell is listed as a co-sponsor of the bill. After being elected by the Republican caucus as Speaker, Harwell appointed Sargent to serve as chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee, a position he has held throughout Harwell’s tenure as Speaker. McDaniel has also held choice committee assignments under Harwell’s leadership and was the House member she appointed to lead the Ad Hoc Select Committee that put in motion the eventual ouster of former representative Jeremy Durham for alleged sexual conduct at the legislature. Tennessee currently has a narrowly tailored law prohibiting…

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Radio Host Dave Ramsey and Churchill Mortgage Founder Mike Hardwick Endorse Carol Swain for Nashville Mayor

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Conservative Republican Dr. Carol Swain picked up two more key endorsements Monday in her bid to become the Nashville’s next Mayor as financial expert, best-selling author, and nationally syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey, along with businessman and Churchill Mortgage founder and president Mike Hardwick, added their names to the growing list of area leaders backing the former Vanderbilt professor’s campaign. “Carol Swain is fabulously intelligent, articulate, and stands on principle. Her wisdom and values makes her the perfect answer to what Nashville needs right now in a Mayor,” Dave Ramsey said in a statement. Mike Hardwick added, “I give my strongest endorsement to Dr. Carol Swain’s mayoral bid. I have known Carol for over 15 years. She is a person of high integrity and courage. Carol is a visionary who will exercise good judgment as she works with others to keep Nashville strong and vibrant.” Swain’s campaign notes she has published a “Blueprint for Nashville” that lays out the policy agenda she will pursue during her term as Mayor. Among them are to develop a common-sense solution to Nashville’s transit woes; to improve Davidson County’s infrastructure, to end cronyism and bring transparency and merit back to City Hall.              …

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Amy Swearer Commentary: If Current Laws Had Been Followed, There Would Have Been No Waffle House Shooting

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by Amy Swearer   On Monday afternoon, Tennessee law enforcement officers captured a 29-year-old Illinois man suspected of opening fire on diners at a Nashville Waffle House, despite the man having had his firearms seized on multiple occasions in the last two years. Four people died and several others were wounded by the attacker—who wore nothing but a green jacket—before a Waffle House employee heroically wrestled the firearm away and threw it over a counter. The attacker fled the scene naked and evaded police for over 24 hours before being apprehended. As often happens in the aftermath of highly publicized shooting incidents, blame has already been placed on the lack of “common-sense gun control.” But, once again, this blame is misplaced—had already-existing laws been properly followed and enforced, this individual would not have had access to a firearm. What We Know About the Shooter [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] The attacker has a long history of mental health issues, including recent run-ins with law enforcement and an observational stay in a psychiatric unit. The timeline of concerning events, as most recently reported by major media outlets, is…

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Sharp Partisan Divide over Arming Teachers to Provide Protection for Davidson County Schools

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School safety - armed versus unarmed protection

In the wake of the terrible school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many have suggested that allowing teachers who have been trained in the use of firearms, and who choose to be armed, be added as a level of protection at schools throughout the U.S. Some Tennessee schools have armed Student Resource Officers (SROs) but many others rely upon unarmed security officers or have no security on site at all. A recent Tennessee Star poll by Triton Research, which conducted an automated poll of 607 likely voters in Davidson County over a two day period April 12-13, 2018, asked respondents: Do you support or oppose allowing teachers who have a permit to carry a gun being allowed to have their gun with them at school if they wish, after they have had some additional training and certification? Davidson County self-identified “likely voters” opposed arming teachers by a 54.6% to 38.8% margin, with 6.6% undecided. However, there was a clear distinction between the views of Republican and Democrat voters on the issue. Republicans SUPPORTED allowing trained and certified teachers to be armed on school campuses by 74% to 19%. 7% were undecided. Democrats OPPOSED the idea…

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Conservatives Want a House Speaker Who Will Deliver on Promised Reforms

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by Rachel del Guidice   Conservative lawmakers say they want the next speaker of the House to be committed to issues Republicans ran on, and to making important procedural reforms. “More important than who the speaker is next year is what Republicans do this year,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told The Daily Signal. “And if we don’t get focused on and stay focused on what the American people elected us to do,” Jordan said, “then there’s not going to be a race for a Republican speaker. It will be a race for who is the minority leader. So that is what we have to be focused on.” Jordan and two other House conservatives spoke recently with The Daily Signal about what they want to see in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s successor. The lawmakers and two GOP aides emphasized following through on issues Republicans campaigned on in 2016 and earlier, including repealing Obamacare, fixing the immigration system and building a border wall, and reforming welfare programs. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] As for changes in process, one senior aide said, conservatives want more clarity…

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TFA Criticizes Briley for ‘Calling for Gun Control Rather Than Encouraging Citizens to Own and Learn How to Safely Use Firearms for Self-Defense’

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The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) issued a stinging rebuke of Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley’s call for more gun control on Monday. “In the early morning hours of Sunday, April 22, 2018, shots rang out as 4 innocent victims were murdered and others were injured. One man chose to confront the naked, apparently mentally unstable, killer and fortunately was successful in using only physical force to do so. Not a single victim, however, responded in self-defense or defense of others with their own handgun or other weapon” said John Harris, Executive Director of the TFA in a statement released by the group on Monday. “Tennessee Firearms Association has worked for more than two decades to improve the laws in Tennessee so that average citizens can chose whether to carry a firearm for self-defense and to eliminate or reduce the numbers of gun free zones in Tennessee. However, those efforts are frequently resisted by those in law enforcement and elected office,” continued Harris. “We saw evidence of that again on Sunday as within hours of the deaths, Nashville’s temporary mayor, David Briley, and its feckless congressman, Jim Cooper, seized opportunities to grab microphones as cameras were rolling to make the plea…

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Democrats Clear Path For Pompeo’s Nomination as Secretary of State

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Mike Pompeo

by Robert Donachie   Three Senate Democrats have announced their support for President Donald Trump’s pick to replace former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, making it almost a virtual guarantee the Senate will confirm the nomination of Mike Pompeo. “When I met with [CIA] Director Pompeo, we had a productive conversation about the complex security challenges we face, including the dangerous threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear missile program. I strongly believe that a successful, peaceful outcome will require a comprehensive strategy and a full team on the field, including an effective State Department, to leverage all available tools,” Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana announced on Twitter Monday. Joe announced his support for the nomination of Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State. READ Joe’s statement: pic.twitter.com/ASsYpX869k — Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) April 23, 2018 “I believe Director Pompeo is capable of advancing U.S. interests and leading the State Department, and I will support his nomination,” Donnelly said. Senate Democrats and one of their hawkish Republican colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) are looking to shoot Pompeo down Monday evening. The SFRC is currently composed of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Every Democrat on the panel has committed to voting against Pompeo’s nomination, which…

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SOURCES: Most Of What EPA’s Leaker Told Dems About Scott Pruitt Is ‘False’

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EPA Chief Scott Priutt

by Michael Bastasch   A former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official likely behind negative media stories about Administrator Scott Pruitt doesn’t have all his facts straight, according sources familiar with EPA’s inner-workings. Former Trump campaign official Kevin Chmielewski, who’s also former EPA deputy chief of staff operations, gave congressional Democrats a list of accusations against Pruitt, detailing the administrator’s alleged “wasteful spending” and “disregard for ethical and legal requirements.” Chmielewski is the likely source for media reports surrounding Pruitt’s spending habits and alleged ethical lapses. Chmielewski was removed from his position at EPA for challenging Pruitt, but that hasn’t been confirmed, reports said. But many of Chmielewski’s claims have been called into question by two sources familiar with Pruitt’s security detail. One source told The Daily Caller News Foundation of Chmielewski’s that “more than 60 percent is false, the other 40 percent is information he distorted.” In one instance Chmielewski alleged “a $30,000 contract with private Italian security personnel entered into by Mr. [Pasquele] Nino Perrotta,” ahead of Pruitt’s attendance of a G7 summit in Italy. However, two sources familiar with Pruitt’s security said that never happened, adding Perrotta, the special agent in charge of Pruitt’s security detail, would have had no authority…

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Author of The Book ‘Gosnell’ Pens New Play ‘$18 Billion Prize’ Exposing the Climate Change Fraud

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by CHQ Staff   Regular CHQ readers will recognize the name Phelim McAleer from the Gosnell book and movie about now-imprisoned abortionist and murderer Dr. Kermit Gosnell or the Ferguson Play. Mr. McAleer tells stories that the establishment and the mainstream media want to ignore, so we thought we’d tell CHQ readers about his latest play and how you can help get it on the stage. McAleer’s new play exposes how environmentalists carried out the world’s biggest fraud, how the media and Hollywood helped promote the fraud, and how they almost got away with it. The play, The $18-Billion Prize, will open at the Phoenix Theater in San Francisco on May 19th and run until June 3rd. McAleer co-wrote the play with Jonathan Leaf and it tells the story of a lawsuit, led by New York lawyer Steven Donziger, against the Chevron oil company. The lawsuit alleged Chevron destroyed the rainforest in Ecuador and poisoned the natives. It was successful, and an Ecuadorian court awarded the plaintiffs a staggering $18 billion. Yes, BILLION. This was the biggest ever award in a civil court, but it was ALSO the biggest fraud in history. Haven’t heard about it? Funny, but not surprising, says McAleer,…

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EXCLUSIVE: In Private, Trump Aide George Papadopoulos Denies Collusion

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Robert Mueller, George Papadopoulous, Donald Trump

by Chuck Ross   More than six months have passed since George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and began cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In that span, speculation has swirled about whether the President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser holds the keys to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. Democrats, including California Rep. Adam Schiff, routinely cite Papadopoulos as a possible Trump campaign conduit to Russia, and his Oct. 5 guilty plea and subsequent cooperation with Mueller has fueled speculation that he has provided damaging information about the Trump campaign’s activities. Papadopoulos, an energy consultant who lives in Chicago, has not spoken publicly about the case against him. But two sources familiar with his thinking say that he has privately denied that he was involved in any collusion scheme. Sources say he has also downplayed the significance of conversations that he had in London with two separate diplomats in which Hillary Clinton’s emails were allegedly discussed. Those alleged discussions about emails would later prompt the FBI to open a counterintelligence intelligence investigation into the Trump team. As part of his plea deal with Mueller, Papadopoulos acknowledged Joseph Mifsud, a professor and former Maltese diplomat, told…

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Lynn Ahrens, the Artist Behind Schoolhouse Rock’s ‘The Preamble’

Christina Botteri

  Thanks to the wildly popular Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon series, if you were a child of the 1970s or 1980s, chances are you hum a certain song whenever anyone mentions The Preamble. In fact, you’re probably humming it right now. In three minutes, the folksy tune with the catchy chorus provides viewers a foundational understanding of the what the U.S. Constitution – and especially The Preamble – are, exactly and why they’re important. Schoolhouse Rock! was the brainchild of David McCall, of the advertising agency McCaffrey & McCall. The idea came to him as he watched his young son struggle to learn his multiplication tables, but could rattle off all the lyrics of the latest Rolling Stones hit without a second thought. McCall realized he if he could place good educational material inside of catchy music with kid-friendly animations,  he would be able to help children just like his son.  In true free market fashion, he pitched his idea to ABC television – his biggest client at the time. The network behemoth bought the idea, and the 3min shorts were headed for air a few months later. The first-ever installment of Schoolhouse Rock – “Three is the Magic Number” – was broadcast January 3, 1973. The…

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Delta Air Lines Customer Fined $500 By Customs For Apple She Received On The Plane

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by Nick Givas   A Delta Air Lines customer was hit with a $500 fine from customs, for saving an apple she’d received on her flight from Paris back to the United States. Crystal Tadlock from Arvada, Colo., said a flight attendant gave her the apple in a plastic bag. She wasn’t hungry, but decided to save it in her bag for later, Fox31 Denver reported. When she went through customs her bag was searched and the apple was discovered. Taldock explained the situation and asked if she could eat it or throw it out, but she was told “no.” Customs then handed her a $500 fine for possessing the apple. “He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said, ‘It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500,’” Tadlock told Fox31. Part of the blame should fall on Delta for not reminding passengers they couldn’t take fruit off the plane, she said. She thinks it’s ridiculous that she was ticketed when the apple was clearly from Delta Air Lines. “It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that…

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Nashville Mayoral Candidate Carol Swain Raises $20,000 in One Day with Rick Santorum and Pete Hegseth Events

Tennessee Star Staff
Carol Swain with Pete Hegseth and Rick Santorum

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–About two hundred supporters of Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain donated more than $20,000 to her campaign on Monday at events with former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth held at the Ray Stevens CabaRay Showroom, the new entertainment venue owned by and featuring Music City legend Ray Stevens. Monday’s haul increased the amount Swain’s campaign has raised in just three weeks to more than $60,000, further solidifying her position as the only serious challenger to Acting Mayor David Briley in the May 24 special mayoral election for Nashville/Davidson County. Both Santorum and Hegseth spoke at a 4 p.m. fundraising event at the CabaRay, but due to scheduling reasons, Santorum was unable to attend the 6 p.m. fundraising event, also held at the CabaRay. At the later event, Hegseth explained to the audience why he had flown down to Nashville from New York City and planned on making his own contribution to Swain’s campaign for Mayor of Nashville. “You just meet certain people you resonate with,” Hegseth said of Swain, who has appeared as a guest on Fox & Friends Weekend several times. “They are a truth teller amidst a sea of the wrong…

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