Day: April 30, 2018

Nashville Transit Plan: On Track or Off Track?

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Gill Transit plan

by Steve Gill   As Nashville voters head to the polls on Tuesday to determine the fate of the $9 billion/$5.4 billion Transit Tax there are few public polls that give insight into what voters are thinking. One of the only public polls was one conducted by The Tennessee Star a few weeks ago that showed Nashville likely voters overwhelmingly opposed to the interim Mayor David Briley-supported plan.  (Briley himself faces voters in a May 24 election that will decide whether or not he keeps his temporary job.) While there have been rumors that other polls have been conducted, none have been released publicly. Presumably, if the pro-transit forces had a poll showing an imminent win they would have primed the pump with that information to energize their voters. They haven’t. Another indication of what may be coming with tomorrow’s election results is the bleed of support among Metro Council Members and mayoral candidates. Few, if any, notable public leaders in Nashville have moved TOWARD the plan in recent weeks. Plenty have moved AWAY. Meanwhile, the increasingly hysterical pro-transit reporting by The Tennessean has moved from encouraging taxpayers to embrace the plan to demonizing any and every individual or group…

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Nashville Mayoral Hopeful Carol Swain Urges Responsible Gun Ownership

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Carol Swain at the Nashville Armory

Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain took to the Nashville Armory last Wednesday to keep up-to-date on her permitting education requirements, putting  the “walk” with the “talk” on her support for 2nd Amendment rights. “After the terrible tragedy at Waffle House, I began to think about my responsibilities as a gun owner,” Swain said in a statement released by her campaign on Monday. “It isn’t enough to have a carry permit. One has to train and practice to become proficient,” the former Vanderbilt professor continued. “I am a permit holder and I, like every gun owner, have a responsibility to spend time at the firing range practicing and familiarizing myself with my weapon. The knowledge needed to pass the written test is only the first step to responsible gun ownership,” Swain added. Briley made gun control the second major issue in the mayoral race with his far left call for “more gun control” made in a statement he read in a press conference last Sunday just hours after an emotionally unstable 29-year-old allegedly shot and killed 4 people at a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee in the early morning hours earlier that day. Swain is the leading challenger to Briley in…

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Diane Black: Passing the $9 Billion Nashville Transit Plan Will Hurt The Tennessee Economy

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Diane Black discusses the transit plan

In a weekend interview with WSMV, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, said that in her opinion, passage of the $9 billion transit plan up for a public vote on Tuesday would hurt the Tennessee economy. “It would cause the cost of living to go up substantially, and you know who this hurts? And do you know who this hurts? The low-income folks,” Black said. Today, the Volunteer State boasts some of the lowest tax burdens in the nation, which many economists point to as the reason  why people from across the country are choosing to relocate here. But Black warns all that could change should the transit proposal pass. “Why would we want to do something that would cause the taxes to be the number one highest tax of any city in the entire country?” she asked rhetorically. A decade ago, voters in California passed a similar measure, with the goal to better connect the northern and southern cities in the state. However, delays, poor planning, and budget overruns have increased costs to taxpayers seven-fold. “California has their transit system – it started out ten years ago at $10 billion,” Black noted. “It’s now over $70,…

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Predators Win Double Over-Time Thriller 5-4 to Tie Series With Jets

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Preds

The Nashville Predators won a thriller against the Winnipeg Jets 5 to 4 in double over-time Sunday night at the Bridgestone Arena to tie their second round Western Conference Semi-Finals series in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs at one game apiece. Kevin Fiala hit the game winner 5:37 into the second over-time period, after the game ended tied 4 to 4 in regulation, and neither team scored in the first over-time period. “Craig Smith and Fiala skated up on a 2-on-1, and Jets defenseman Byflugien failed to block Smith’s cross-ice pass to Fiala who beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a backhander,” ESPN reported of the winning goal.   Video: OT GWG. #StandWithUs | #WPGvsNSH https://t.co/FScfJSDSnv — p-Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) April 30, 2018 ESPN provided this game summary, via the Associated Press: Ryan Johansen scored two goals, Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and two assists, and P.K. Subban had a goal and an assist as Nashville won both its 100th postseason game as a franchise and coach Peter Laviolette’s 50th with the team. Filip Forsberg also had three primary assists for the first time in the postseason in his career. Mark Scheifele scored two goals and had an assist. Byflugien had a…

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Democrats Ignore Dossier In Russia Report, In Stark Contrast To Their Early Rhetoric

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by Chuck Ross   What a difference a year makes. At a House Intelligence Committee hearing just over a year ago, Democrats on the panel focused heavily on the infamous Steele dossier, the salacious and unverified report alleging that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee, made numerous references to Steele’s claims during an opening statement for the hearing, which was held on March 20, 2017. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro pressed then-FBI Director James Comey about specific allegations made about Trump associates in the dossier, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele. Indiana Rep. Andre Carson and California Rep. Jackie Speier, two other committee Democrats, also hyped the dossier. Democrats seemingly had high hopes for the dossier back then. The report, published two months earlier by BuzzFeed News, included damning allegations that if true would likely lead to Trump’s impeachment. “According to Steele, it was Manafort who chose Page to serve as a go-between for the Trump campaign and Russian interests,” Schiff said in the hearing, referring to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Steele’s dossier alleged…

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Exclusive Interview: Ben Carson on Draining the Swamp, Fighting Poverty, and Kanye West

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Ben Carson

by Genevieve Wood   Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson spoke to The Daily Signal’s Genevieve Wood about his policy goals at HUD, what it’s like to serve under President Trump, and Kanye West’s recent tweets. An edited transcript of their interview is below. Genevieve Wood: Secretary Carson, thank you for talking with the Daily Signal. Ben Carson: Absolutely. My pleasure. Wood: So you’ve been in office now a year and a half almost, right? Carson: Almost. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Wood: Coming up on it. What have been the biggest challenges for you at HUD? Carson: There have been several challenges, but the biggest challenge is when I first came in there were no assistant secretaries or deputy secretaries, so it was like drinking from a fire hydrant every day. But it worked out OK, and we had some tremendous people—career staff and political appointees—who were able to really step up to the plate and help. But that has worked out extremely well. Probably one of the things that surprised me the most was how disorganized the financial structure was. Wood: Of…

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Three Revelations From New York Times Reporter’s Book on Hillary Clinton

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by Katrina Trinko New York Times reporter Amy Chozick’s new book on her time covering Hillary Clinton doesn’t show either her employer, The New York Times, or Clinton herself in a particularly flattering light. Chozick, a member of the largely female press corps that followed Clinton on a near-daily basis at times, crisscrossing the country with her, reported on Clinton’s 2008 campaign for The Wall Street Journal and her 2016 campaign for The New York Times. And in “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling,” Chozick talks about what it was really like. I’ve assembled three of the revelations I found most interesting. But first, a couple of caveats: I’m not familiar with Chozick’s reporting for the Times, so all my assessments are based on a reading of the book itself. And secondly, Chelsea Clinton is already alleging Chozick got facts wrong, although Chozick is pushing back, noting her book was reviewed by a fact-checker. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Now to dive in … Hillary Clinton didn’t act like a feminist heroine on the campaign trail. For years, it’s…

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The Mooch Goes After Michelle Wolf For Tasteless ‘Atrocity,’ Compares Her To Michael Wolff

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by Nick Givas   Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci expressed disgust at comedian Michelle Wolf for her attacks on White House press secretary Sarah Sanders at the White House Correspondents Dinner. “I think what you guys are missing is, you think it’s totally okay to take a cheese graters to somebody’s face, grate their face, drop the cheese grater and say, geez, part of your job is to have the right side of your face bleeding,” Scaramucci said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday. Scaramucci called the insults to Sanders an “atrocity” and compared Michelle Wolf to “Fire And Fury” author Michael Wolff. “I think the hostilities need to be de-escalated on both sides,” Scaramucci added. “It’s not just the White House. What happened last night was an atrocity, and it was like literally watching Michael Wolff with a wig on. I thought Michelle Wolf was Michael Wolff, actually.” Host Brian Stelter appeared shocked at Scaramucci’s use of the word atrocity and said there are worse tragedies in America more deserving of attention. “Okay. I’ll tell you why it’s an atrocity,” Scaramucci shot back. “Because it doesn’t help what you’re trying to achieve and what I think all of us are trying to…

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Commentary: Cleaning House Is Not Enough

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by George Rasley, CHQ Editor   The appointment of Ambassador John Bolton as President Trump’s National Security Advisor and the confirmation of CIA Director and former Representative Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State brought two solid conservatives with great credentials and a commitment to President Trump’s national security policies into his administration. Gone are the ineffective Rex Tillerson, who never seemed to click with Trump and his policy goals, and the near-treasonous H.R. McMaster who, as National Security Advisor, was a Fifth Columnist for maintaining Obama’s disastrous policies on the Iran nuclear deal, the war Islam has declared on the West and Chinese expansionism, to name just three of his more obvious betrayals of Trump’s campaign promises. But what about the staffers and underlings that Tillerson and especially McMaster brought into the Administration? Ever since General Mike Flynn was ousted as President Trump’s National Security Advisor the NSC has slid steadily back toward Obama-like postures toward the war Islam has declared on the West and especially on dealing with Iran. The reason for this slide back to Obama’s policies is the hiring of LTG H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor, who in turn retained many of Obama’s staff that Flynn…

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Kasich Squashes Rumors Of POTUS Bid But Promises To Restore Pre-Trump GOP

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by Chris White Ohio Gov. John Kasich dismissed rumors of a presidential bid Sunday shortly after suggesting he can bring the GOP “back” to where it presumably was before President Donald Trump was elected. “We should care about people from top to bottom, not just those at the top,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I can bring that party back. That’s what I’m going to do in one way or another.” Kasich did not specify how the party had been led astray, but he did suggest that the “Republican Party left me.” Kasich did not directly address his opinion of Trump during the interview, but he has been critical of the president and the Republican party since his 2016 presidential campaign ended ignominiously. Ohio Gov. John Kasich: "I didn't leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me" https://t.co/UOBi8kKD5g pic.twitter.com/MHl9tVibp3 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 29, 2018 He called Trump’s response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville “pathetic,” pilloried Trump’s executive order on refugees and migrants, and sided with NFL players in an ongoing dispute over the appropriateness of staging protests during the observance of the national anthem. Speculation ratcheted up in 2017 that Kasich was considering a bipartisan presidential bid…

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