Day: May 24, 2018

Boyd Versus Black: Battle of the Illegal Immigration Ads

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Anybody who doubts whether Tennessee voters, especially Republican Primary voters, are concerned about illegal immigration needs to watch a few of the early political ads that are starting to pound the airwaves. Candidates at every level, from state legislative races to Congressional races to the Governors race, are embracing a “tough on illegal immigration” stance intended to align with Tennessee voters. Support for President Donald Trump’s border wall gives prospective office holders a double bump, as they demonstrate their focus on illegal immigration and tie themselves to a political figure who still enjoys extremely high approval ratings among GOP primary voters. The air war between Republican gubernatorial rivals Diane Black and Randy Boyd is the latest example of competing ads trying to “out illegal” their opponent. In Boyd’s ad, he declares that “professional politicians have made a mess of our immigration system” – a not very thinly veiled shot at Congresswoman Diane Black. For those who might miss the point, the screen simultaneously shows a picture of the U.S. Capitol with the words “Washington Has Failed Us” in large capital letters. Boyd says “illegal is illegal” and promises to crack down on illegal immigration, support President Trump’s border wall, “no sanctuary…

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Briley Leads Swain 57% to 23% After Early Voting Results Reported in Nashville Special Mayoral Election

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Mayor David Briley took a big lead over former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain in early voting results in the Nashville special mayoral election reported by the Davidson County Election Commission at 7:15 pm, 15 minutes after polls closed. Vote totals in early voting, by top candidates, were as follows: David Briley–20,140  (57 percent) Carol Swain–8,772   (23 percent) Erica Gilmore–1,658 (5 percent) Harold Love–1,691 (5 percent) jeff obafemi carr–1,251 votes (4 percent) Ralph Bristol–1,895 (5 percent) Total–35,508 Election day turnout was reportedly low. Results from the city’s 160 precincts are expected to be fully reported by about 11 pm tonight. Early voting results in the May 1 transit plan referendum election were almost the same as the final results, when the plan was overwhelmingly rejected by Nashville/Davidson County voters, 64 percent to 36 percent. If the final results tonight reflect early voting results, Acting Mayor Briley will avoid a runoff with Swain and be elected mayor, serving out the remaining 1 year and 3 months of Megan Barry’s term. For up-to-the-minute updates on the latest election results from the City of Nashville, CLICK HERE.        

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NHL Allows Predators to Break Rules, Politicize League, with Endorsement of Far Left Democrat Briley

Tennessee Star Staff
David Briley, the NHL, and Gnash, the Predators mascot

Officials at the National Hockey League are maintaining a zone of silence for the third straight day when it comes to responding to The Tennessee Star’s questions about whether the Nashville Predators’ endorsement of far left David Briley in tomorrow’s special mayoral election in Nashville/Davidson County violates league rules. The NHL’s failure to act has now established a very bad precedent: every sports franchise in the NHL can now feel free to act as a partisan political action committee without fear of reprisal. The NHL precedent could well spread to other sports franchises in the NBA, the NFL, and Major League Baseball, though presumably the leadership of those leagues may have more backbone then the leadership of the NHL. The conversion of the Predators from a sports franchise to a Democratic political action committee, however, has potentially significant consequences for the franchise in Nashville, as well as politics and governance in Metro Nashville/Davidson County, as well as the state of Tennessee as a whole. Here are the five questions The Tennessee Star posed to the NHL on Monday, which remain unanswered as of today: 1. Did the Nashville Predators ask the NHL for permission to make this endorsement of Acting…

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OFF THE RECORD: Moonbeam’s Husband Bruce Hangs the Barry Albatross Around Briley’s Neck

Chris Alto

Bruce Barry, Vanderbilt professor and cuckold of felon former Mayor Moonbeam Megan Barry, tried helping David Briley’s no-energy campaign for mayor with a column in the Nashville Scene on Tuesday. If elected, Briley will continue Moonbeam’s, big government, progressive policies and insider dealings administration. In that typical long-winded way ultra-liberal elitists pontificate, Barry-the-Briley-surrogate launched an irrelevant attack on Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain wherein Bruce tries to prove that Swain misused a single word and he can see that needle in the haystack. What we do know about Bruce the Goose is that he was good for at least two years of turning the other cheek while Moonbeam traveled internationally  with her bodyguard and did those early morning cemetery meditation sessions with the same bodyguard. But during that entire time Moonbeam never ever once misused a single word. She just didn’t mean most of them. Even when she was lying to everyone around her – except of course not to her staff who arranged her travel and approved the bodyguard expenses on behalf of Chief Anderson. But according to Bruce, Carol Swain misused a single word – a red flag that Bruce warns is a red flag that Ph.D. Swain is incompetent.…

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Trump Has ‘Enormous Strategic Steadiness,’ Says Gingrich

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Newt Gingrich

by Ginny Montalbano   Among all the presidents he has dealt with, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says Donald Trump is “the most unique” and is “changing history.” The former House speaker has worked with many presidents, and said that although President Ronald Reagan “was remarkable in his own right,” Trump “is, in some ways, the most unique person I’ve ever worked with.” He added: “Behind that tactical fluidity is enormous strategic steadiness.” Gingrich made his remarks Tuesday at The Heritage Foundation, where he discussed his forthcoming book “Trump’s America: The Truth About Our Nation’s Great Comeback.” [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] The book is a follow-up to his 2017 book “Understanding Trump.” Gingrich says he wrote the new book in order to capture the entire picture of the Trump presidency. “With all due respect to the president, who is a remarkable figure and is changing history and has shown a level of calm, steady perseverance under circumstances that normal people would have buckled and collapsed under, this is only half the story of Trump,” the former congressman from Georgia said. “This…

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Commentary: Why So Many Intellectuals Can’t Understand Patriotism

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by John Miltimore   Sam Haselby says this “should be the end times” for American patriotism. Yet the opposite seems to be happening, and he can’t understand why. America has no national education system, he notes. No conscription. No government agency that enforces the red-white-and-blue rituals performed at schools and sporting events coast-to-coast. Nor does America have a territorial rival, as France has in Germany, or China in India. “Patriotism is the organising passion of modern political life in the United States,” writes Haselby, an Ivy League-educated historian and senior editor at Aeon, “yet its vitality defies obvious explanation.” Whatever the cause of this strange phenomenon, it’s an idea that must be rooted out, Haselby makes clear. Patriotism is a sinister force, “the most deadly form of identity politics.” Haselby’s hostility toward American patriotism is related to his confusion of the concept. First, he views it as a “salubrious version” of European nationalism. European nationalism was indeed a pernicious force with an ugly history, but are it and American patriotism truly one and the same? Are they two ideas separated by nothing more than geography? The answer is no. But Haselby fails to see this because he prematurely rejects a second “old-style” idea…

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Bredesen-Backed Company Silicon Ranch Has History of Ethics Issues

Chris Butler
Bredesen Solar Ranch

If Tennessee voters send former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to the U.S. Senate this fall then Bredesen will step down as chair Silicon Ranch, a company he founded that has ethics problems. Silicon Ranch Corporation helps finance the construction of solar arrays. According to the Tennessean, Silicon Ranch owns or operates 100 energy facilities in 14 states and employs 30 people in Nashville, San Francisco, and Denver. In 2010, before he left the governor’s seat, Bredesen had to report about his role at Silicon Ranch to the Tennessee Ethics Commission. Bredesen had a personal interest in a company that benefits from policies he enacted as governor. Bredesen, however, only made the disclosure because the Tennessean revealed Bredesen’s involvement in the company five days prior. Also involved were the state’s former Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber, who serves as the company’s president, and former state Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr, who serves as its vice-chairman. Tennessee Watchdog broke the story eight years ago. “One can argue that Bredesen’s personal interest in Silicon Ranch may violate the state’s Guiding Principles of Ethical Conduct for Public Officials because of conflict of interest issues, or at least the appearance of them,” according to…

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Nashville Firm Files Class Action Lawsuit Against United Community Bank For Alleged Improper Overdraft Fee Practices

John Bryant
United Community Bank for Alleged Improper Overdraft Fee

Nashville, Tennessee-based law firm Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings has filed a class action lawsuit against Georgia-headquartered regional bank United Community Bank, which has locations in three additional states, including Tennessee. BS&J filed the lawsuit with Cohen & Malad, LLP of Indianapolis, Indiana. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday, May 16. According to The Chattanoogan.com, “Plaintiff Dennis A. Jones, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated throughout the U.S., filed the suit seeking redress for UCB’s alleged routine practice of assessing overdraft fees on debit card transactions that did not overdraw checking account available balances, along with multiple insufficient funds fees on a single transaction. The lawsuit is brought as a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” “United Community Bank’s improper debit card fee practices are costing Dennis Jones, and many others like him, exorbitant sums and taking away a substantial percentage of income,” said Gerard Stranch, managing partner of BS&J. “Their practice of conducting authorized-positive, settled-negative transactions is deceptive and bears potential impact on all of UCB’s clients. UCB’s customers should be aware of the bank’s practices and the…

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Trump: We’ll Know Fate of N. Korea Summit by Next Week

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would know by next week whether he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore as scheduled. “It could very well be June 12th,” Trump said.”If we go, it’ll be a great thing for North Korea.” Trump had earlier said that if the June 12 date did not work out, the summit could be held later. North Korea has hinted it may call off the summit because of U.S. demands that it unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he was “very hopeful” there would be talks, but said that whether they happened would be”ultimately up to Chairman Kim.” Pompeo, who has already met with Kim twice, told the lawmakers the U.S. position had not changed and there would be no easing of sanctions on North Korea “until we see credible steps taken toward the complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” He said the U.S. would not hesitate to walk away from the talks if a bad deal was on the table. But visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at…

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Andy Ogles, Bucky Rowland Lead in Races for Maury County Mayor and Sheriff

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Most political observers are focused on the major races in Tennessee heading up to the August 2 Republican and Democratic Party primaries. Yet, there are several key local county races that are hotly contested in some of the fastest growing counties in the state, including Wilson and Maury, that merit attention as well. In Maury County new poll shows Republican Andy Ogles leading in the race for Maury County Mayor and Independent Bucky Rowland with a substantial lead in the race for Maury County Sheriff. Ogles is former State Director for Americans for Prosperity who considered a race for U.S. Senate earlier this year before opting out when Congress-woman Marsha Blackburn entered the race to fill the seat being vacated by Senator Bob Corker. The August 2 election is the General Election for that position. In the race for County Mayor Andy Ogles currently leads his nearest competitor, Inde-pendent Charlie Norman, by 7 points 32.4% to 25.4%. Independent candidates Sonny Shackelford 18.2%, and Amanda Kelton 5.2% trail while 18.8% remain undecided. Andy Ogles – 32.4% Charlie Norman – 25.4% Sonny Shackelford – 18.2% Amanda Kelton – 5.2% Undecided – 18.8% Incumbent Sheriff Bucky Rowland has a commanding lead in his…

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Trump Wants Aid Cut to Nations Not Helping US Stem Illegal Immigration

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Trump illegal immigration

by Steve Herman   President Donald Trump called Wednesday for a “radical change” to the structure of U.S. aid to countries deemed not sufficiently assisting the United States in keeping violent illegal immigrants from heading here. “We’re going to work out something where every time someone comes from a certain country, we’re going to deduct a rather large amount of money from what we give them in aid,” promised Trump. “We may not just give them aid at all, because despite the reports I hear, I don’t believe they’re helping us one bit.” Trump did not specify any countries. The president’s remarks came at an event, held inside a homeland security center in Bethpage on New York’s Long Island, which the White House said was intended to be “a call to action for legislative policy changes.” Focus on MS-13 Much of the conversation among the president and others, including family members of victims of gang violence, at the round-table event focused on MS-13 — a criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to much of North and Central America. It draws many of its members from El Salvador. The Central American country, plagued with drug gang violence,…

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Trials for Violent Protest Framed as Trump vs Resistance

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Attacking Trump supporters

When police arrested more than 200 anti-Trump protesters on Inauguration Day 2017, it touched off a long-term battle of wits and wills. On one side: a Justice Department that has sought to incarcerate scores of people over a violent protest that smashed downtown storefront windows and set a limousine ablaze. On the other side: an intensely coordinated grassroots political opposition network that has made Washington the focus of a nationwide support campaign, offering free lodging for defendants, legal coordination and other support. The stand-off entered a home stretch last week when a trial began for four people, the first in a series of group trials for 58 defendants that should last the rest of the year. Charges include property destruction and conspiracy to engage in a riot. The trial represents a fresh start for prosecutors, who were forced to abandon most of their charges after a serious defeat last year. For the opposition — a network of activists and organizations loosely grouped as the Defend J20 Resistance movement — the new trial represents a chance to kill the government’s case. Defendants and their supporters have framed the case as an indiscriminate police round-up followed by a concerted Justice Department effort…

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Election Day: Nashville Finally Votes for a New Mayor Today

Tennessee Star Staff
David Briley and Carol Swain

Voters in Nashville/Davidson County go to the polls today to elect a new mayor to serve out the remaining one year and three months of the term of former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in disgrace on March 6 after pleading guilty to a felony earlier that day. If none of the 13 candidates on the ballot receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the two candidates who receive the highest vote totals will be held on June 28. Though Acting Mayor David Briley, who was sworn in on March 6, the day disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry resigned after pleading guilty to a felony earlier in the day, is considered the front runner, this special mayoral election has been so unusual anything could happen today. The long odyssey that shocked Nashville and caused the need for today’s special election began when former Mayor Barry admitted at a press conference on January 31 that she had conducted an almost two year long affair with her bodyguard, former Metro Nashville Police Department Sergeant Rob Forrest. After five weeks of investigations, stonewalling, and lurid details, Barry finally and mercifully resigned on March 6. Though she pleaded guilty to…

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