Day: May 9, 2018

Very Low Early Voting Turnout in First Four Days of Nashville Special Mayoral Election

Tennessee Star Staff
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Turnout for the first four days of early voting in the Nashville special mayoral election is abysmally low, with a total of only 845 ballots cast so far. Only 277 votes were cast on Friday, 89 on Saturday, 220 on Monday, and 259 on Tuesday, according to a report sent to The Tennessee Star and other local media outlets by the Davidson County Election Commission late Tuesday. Only ten more days of early voting remain between Wednesday and Saturday, May 19, the last day of early voting (early voting is not open on Sundays). The election date is Thursday, May 24. The Howard Office Building downtown is the only early voting location open between now and Thursday. On Friday, another ten early voting locations will be open until May 19: Belle Meade City Hall Bellevue Library Bordeaux Library Casa Azafran Community Center Edmonson Pike Library Goodlettsville Community Center Green Hills Library Hermitage Library Madison Library Southeast The low early voting total so far for the May 24 special mayoral election contrasts dramatically with the early voting for the recently completed May 1 transit referendum, when just a little more than 59,000 residents of Nashville/Davidson County early voted, an average of…

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New Randy Boyd Ad Focuses on Immigration: ‘Illegal Is Illegal,’ Build the Trump Wall, and No Licenses for Special Benefits for Illegals

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Randy Boyd

A new Randy Boyd television ad airing across the state starting Monday hits hard on the issue of illegal immigration with “professional politicians” in Washington getting the blame. “Illegal is illegal,” Boyd says in the ad, which specifically pledges Boyd’s support for President Trump’s border wall, opposition to sanctuary cities, elimination of violent gangs like MS-13 and “no driver’s licenses or special benefits for illegal immigrants.” Notably, while two of Boyd’s primary opponents–Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-07) and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee–have issued public statements on the anti-sanctuary city bill sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and State Rep Jay Reedy (R-Erin) passed by the Tennessee General Assembly last month that is awaiting Gov. Haslam’s signature, Boyd has not offered a comment yet whether Haslam should sign or veto the bill. Black has urged Haslam to sign the anti-sanctuary city bill, while Lee has said as governor, he would sign the bill. You can watch the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdIenUt5hTk&app=desktop Rep. Black has also been the focus of ads sponsored by Tennessee Jobs Now PAC for her support for legislation in 2001 that granted Tennessee driver’s licenses to illegal aliens (see pages 921-922). That legislation was repealed following the 9-11 terrorist…

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Bob Corlew Commentary: To Secure Our Nation’s Future, We Must Secure Our Border

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by Judge Bob Corlew   Throughout the course of my campaign, I have visited every county in Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District multiple times. Each and every community in our district faces different challenges, but one constant refrain I hear from voters is they want our Congressman to stand with President Trump to secure our nation’s future for our children and grandchildren. I also hear concerns from voters about illegal immigration and problems at the border. I share these concerns, and believe that if we don’t secure our border, then we can’t secure our nation’s future. Voters are no doubt skeptical of those who promise a secure border because they have heard it all before. Many in elected office get to Washington and forget the promises they made to their constituents on illegal immigration and securing the border. I believe one reason is because these politicians don’t fully comprehend the problem and what needs to be done to secure our border. When I get to Congress, I want to help President Trump finish the wall and stop illegal immigration, but I believe actions speak louder than words. That is why I visited the U.S-Mexico border last week to understand what are…

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Trump’s ‘Rescission’ Package Would Save Unspent Tax Dollars

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Trump-captial-spending-money

by Justin Bogie   President Donald Trump on Tuesday submitted a special message to Congress requesting that $15 billion in unspent funding be rescinded. That’s a good first step toward re-establishing fiscal responsibility. Congress should embrace it and quickly adopt the president’s rescission package. Still, the package does nothing to claw back the tens of billions of additional dollars in wasteful spending authorized by the 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Act. Nor is it the answer to the nation’s long-term debt problem. Congress and the president should work together on additional rescission packages that target 2018 spending and pass a fiscal year 2019 budget that rolls back the latest budget deal and addresses the programs driving the national debt. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] The president’s rescission package would take back $15 billion in previously provided spending authority. Of that, $7 billion would come from funds provided in 2017 to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. No authority was ever actually granted to CHIP to spend that money. The obvious question: If the money was never going to be spent anyway, then how is it “saving” taxpayers money…

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EXCLUSIVE: Emails Cast Doubt On House Democrats’ Latest Claim Against Scott Pruitt

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Scott Pruitt

by Michael Bastasch   Democrats mischaracterized emails between top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials to claim Administrator Scott Pruitt wanted “misuse” of taxpayer dollars by creating a new agency office in his hometown. Pruitt directed his staff “to establish a new EPA office in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma,” sparking a wave of media coverage that added to the growing list of complaints against Pruitt, House Democrats claimed. “This most recent case of questionable financial management adds to the growing concerns about Administrator Pruitt’s misuse of taxpayers’ funds and potential ethical lapses in judgement,” alleged House Democrats, led by Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson. However, The Daily Caller News Foundation reviewed emails that show Pruitt asked EPA officials to find a place “where he could work” when he was home in Oklahoma, not “questionable financial management” as Democrats suggest. EPA officials asked questions about how Pruitt could periodically work from his hometown, Tulsa, in a way consistent with past administrators, utilizing existing office setups or working with federal officials to find suitable office space, emails show. Pruitt is under fire for alleged overspending and ethical lapses, including flying first class at taxpayers’ expense and renting a room from the wife of a D.C.…

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Nashville Metro Council Member Angie Henderson Calls on Acting Mayor David Briley to ‘Break Cleanly from Hidden Deals of Dean/Barry Era’

Tennessee Star Staff

On Saturday, Nashville Metro Council Member Angie Henderson (District 34) called on Acting Mayor David Briley to “restore trust in Government ASAP before May 24 election.” “He should break cleanly from the hidden deals/arrangements of the Dean/Barry era,” Henderson said in this tweet: Noticing a common thread? It is imperative that @MayorBriley restore trust in @MetroNashville Government asap before May 24 election. He should break cleanly from the hidden deals/arrangements of the Dean/Barry era. https://t.co/0dnLBHpe4R — Angie E. Henderson (@angienashville) May 6, 2018 Days before the May 1 $9 billion transit plan referendum, which Nashville/Davidson County voters rejected by a 64 percent to 36 percent, Henderson, who graduated from Bryn Mawr, where she majored in “The Growth and Structure of Cities,” said she would vote no on the transit plan and criticized the Briley administration for its handling of that proposal, as The Tennessee Star reported: In an episode of the Nashville Sounding Board podcast discussing the light rail transit plan. Nashville Metro council members Freddie O’Connell and Angie Henderson were guests. O’Connell said, “I think that as a councilmember trying to do the best job of representing my constituents… I will say I think a mistake was made by…

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Swain Blasts Acting Mayor Briley: He ‘Mismanaged Funds in Times of Plenty,’ His Budget Is ‘Dependent on Property Sales That Don’t Have Council Approval’

Tennessee Star Staff

Mayoral candidate Carol Swain came out swinging on Tuesday against Acting Mayor David Briley’s last minute proposal to come up with an extra $38 million shortfall in his proposed 2019 Metro Nashville budget by selling three existing properties currently owned by the Metro Nashville Davidson County Government. Swain’s campaign issued its pointed response in a tweet on Tuesday morning: The Dean, Barry and now Briley administrations have mismanaged the city’s funds in times of plenty. Our reserve fund is almost empty, we have a ballooning balance sheet, & next year’s budget is dependent on property sales that don’t have council approval. #budgetonaprayer 🙏🏻 https://t.co/v8WokfOaB1 — Carol M Swain For Nashville Mayor (@CarolSwain4Nash) May 8, 2018 In an article titled “Mayor Briley is banking on land sales, parking overhaul to make up $38M in budget,” The Tennessean on Tuesday reported on Briley’s proposal, the details of which were apparently finalized over the weekend between his State of the Metro speech on Friday and the communication of the plan to the Metro Council on Monday: Briley last week proposed a “status quo” $2.23 billion operating budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year that would be just a $22 million increase over the current year, meaning…

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SPLC Hates Trump and Christians But Still Gets Invited By Nashville Jewish Community Relations Committee to Speak Later This Month

Chris Alto

The Nashville Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Committee (CRC) has invited Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) co-founder Joseph Levin (pictured) to speak at a community event on May 23rd. The CRC’s Director would not provide a written description of Levin’s talk advertised as Then and Now: Hate in the Mainstream, but based on Levin’s previous presentations, it is reasonable to expect that he will continue to target President Trump conservative groups and other Tennessee-based organizations. Levin didn’t wait long after the 2016 election to start marketing a new narrative for SPLC alleged hate-based fundraising. Having attacked the religious underpinnings of Christian conservative organizations like The Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and The Alliance Defending Freedom, to name a few, and distorted protected political speech of other conservative groups so as to grow the hate lists, Levin realized that combining the election of Trump and the rage of Clinton losers could be the next cash cow for the SPLC. Speaking at a church near New York City, Levin blamed the election of Trump and the President himself for the re-emergence of white nationalist groups and demonstrations like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia last year. True to form, Levin perpetuated the false narrative that…

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Congressional Candidate Bob Corlew Launches New Ad Focused on Border Security

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Former judge and current Republican congressional candidate Bob Corlew announced on Tuesday the launch of a new campaign ad focused solely on his commitment to support President Trump’s efforts to shore up the United States’ national security by securing the southern border and reforming the immigration system to reflect the ‘America First’ agenda. The 30-second spot (seen below) features footage of Corlew walking border fence with two agents. In it, the former judge vows to support President Trump’s now-familiar promises to: Build the wall End chain migration Stop the flow of drug Deny amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the countru Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) SCRIPT: V/O: How do we secure our future? It starts at the border. CORLEW: In Congress, I’ll stop criminal illegal aliens from entering our country by working with President Trump to build a wall, end chain migration, stop the flow of illegal drugs, no amnesty. And I’ll fight unfair trade deals, because open borders also costs Tennessee jobs. I’m Bob Corlew and I approve this message because securing our border and protecting jobs are values I’ll never stop never stop fighting for. Watch the commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIma2hlbDgI              

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State Senator Mark Green Posts Petition to Urge Governor Haslam Not to Veto Anti-Sanctuary Cities Bill

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Governor Bill Haslam and State Senator Mark Green

State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) launched a petition Friday to urge outgoing Governor Bill Haslam not to veto his anti-sanctuary cities bill. The bill is widely supported by both Tennesseans and legislators, passing the Senate 27-5 and the House 64-23 – and under Tennessee statue, a bill may pass into law without the Governor’s signature after a period of 10 days (excluding Sundays). “Enforcing our laws and protecting our citizens should not be controversial. I’m asking all Tennesseans to stand with me and call on our Governor to sign this bill that protects our citizens,” noted Senator Green in a statement. SB 2332 adds teeth to existing sanctuary cities laws by prohibiting local governments that enact sanctuary cities from receiving future economic development grants from the state. It also expands the definition of an illegal sanctuary city policy to verbal directives and other means, not just written policies. The bill appears to be serving as a kind of litmus test for many candidates as they seek to earn the support of Republican primary voters, the overwhelming majority of whom soundly reject so-called sanctuary city policies. As The Tennessee Star reported, Rep. Diane Black was the first candidate to urge Governor Haslam – who she hopes to…

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