Day: July 9, 2018

Marsha Blackburn Praises President Trump’s Selection of Brett Kavanaugh for SCOTUS, Phil Bredesen Silent on the Pick

John Bryant
Marsha Blackburn, Brett Kavanaugh, Phil Bredesen

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), the GOP candidate to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) in the November general election, led Tennessee Republicans on Monday evening in praising President Donald Trump and his nominee for justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh. “Judge Brett Kavanaugh will make a fine Supreme Court Justice, and I thank President Trump for nominating a strong constitutionalist with a proven track record of upholding the rule of law,” Blackburn said in a statement included in this tweet sent out at 9:27 pm eastern, just 20 minutes after Trump announced his pick: Tennesseans will be well served by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and I encourage the Senate to consider his nomination expeditiously and to continue to confirm strict constitutionalist judges to our federal courts. pic.twitter.com/CD3NclJiop — Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) July 10, 2018 In contrast, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, offered no comments on the president’s pick of Kavanaugh. Instead, Bredesen’s campaign released this statement during the day on Monday “in advance of President Trump’s nomination of a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court,” which largely restated the words Bredesen used in a campaign commercial last month: “An important…

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President Trump Nominates Federal Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump announced on a live television broadcast Monday night that he is nominating federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kavanaugh, 53, will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Court. Kennedy, long considered the “swing vote” on the nine member Court, retired in June after thirty years on the highest bench in the land. Trump selected Kavanaugh over three well qualified finalists who were also on the list of 25 potential Supreme Court Justices he announced during his campaign for president. Kavanaugh has served as a federal circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2006. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, Kavanaugh is considered a protegee of Ken Starr, who he worked for during Starr’s special counsel investigation. He also clerked for Justice Kennedy and served in the administration of George W. Bush. The three finalists who Trump did not select this time around were: federal appeals court judge Raymond Kethledge, federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett, and federal appeals court judge Thomas Hardiman. Judge Raymond Kethledge, 51, is a native of Michigan and graduate of the…

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Mt. Juliet Youth Missionaries Stranded in Haiti Amidst Fuel Protests

Jason M. Reynolds

A Mt. Juliet-based ministry reports that two youth missionary teams, including one from Tennessee, are safe despite violent protests in the Caribbean nation. My LIFE Speaks said Sunday on Facebook that the teams are staying on the organization’s compound in Neply, Haiti. The missionaries are from The Glade Church in Mt. Juliet and Woodland Community Church in Bradenton, Florida. The protests over fuel prices, along with road blocks, blocked the teams from the airport, FoxNews said. Major protests erupted in Haiti on Friday as the government announced a sharp increase in gasoline prices. But the hike was suspended Saturday after violence broke out in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the northern city of Cap-Haitien. At least three people were killed in the protests, including two protesters who were fatally shot as demonstrators clashed with police, The Associated Press reported. It was unclear who shot the two men. The Washington Post reported church members from several other states are stranded as well. Chapin United Methodist Church in South Carolina posted online that its mission team is safe but stranded. A North Carolina doctor and his son were part of another medical mission group that’s unable to leave. The U.S. Embassy in the…

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GOP Candidate Brent Moody Supports Controversial Medical Marijuana Proposal

Chris Alto
Brent Moody

Republican candidate for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 Brent Moody, a Nashville dermatologist looking to replace Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) as the district’s representative, tweeted a trifecta of support for medical marijuana and the two state legislators who have tried to legalize it in Tennessee: I am in favor of medical marijuana and support ⁦@DickersonforS20⁩ and ⁦@JeremyFaison4TN⁩ in their efforts to bring this therapy to TN. I was told by a prominent oncologist ‘We need this for our cancer patients.’ That is a compelling argument. Dickerson has failed several times to pass some version of a medical marijuana bill, but has vowed to continue trying. After withdrawing this year’s bill because it became “so watered down,” State Senator Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville) announced a new approach and a new House sponsor for the 2019 session. This time he is joined by conservative House member Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro), who like Dickerson, is a practicing physician. Terry served as Chairman of the House Health Subcommittee during the most recent legislative session and was a co-sponsor of Dickerson’s most recently failed Medical Cannabis Only Act. Dickerson and Terry’s new bill is named the Tennessee Responsible Use of Medicinal Plants Act…

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller Will NOT Present ‘Collusion’ Evidence at Manafort Trial

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Paul Manafort

by Chuck Ross   Special counsel Robert Mueller said in a court filing Friday that his prosecutors will not present evidence regarding Trump campaign collusion with Russia at an upcoming trial for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. “The government does not intend to present at trial evidence or argument concerning collusion with the Russian government,” reads a filing submitted by Mueller’s team in federal court in Virginia on Friday. The filing sheds light on one of the largest questions looming over the Manafort case. Mueller’s prosecutors have indicted Manafort in federal court in Virginia and Washington, D.C., on a slew of charges related to his consulting work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort ended the work in 2014, and it has been unclear whether Mueller’s team planned to reveal evidence about Trump or the campaign. Manafort is accused in the unverified Steele dossier of directing the Trump campaign’s efforts to coordinate with the Kremlin to help Trump in the 2016 election. The dossier, which was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and DNC, claims that Manafort worked with former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page on the effort. Both Page and Manafort have said they have never met each other. Manafort has…

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Commentary: The Next Supreme Court Justice Must Uphold the Principles of Individual Liberty

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Supreme Court of the United States

By Natalia Castro   Each year on Independence Day, we celebrate the historic achievement our Founding Fathers made when they left an oppressive government to form a new country based around the principles of freedom. The Founding Fathers learned from the actions of their previous government and, after outlining the principles of equality and justice in the Declaration of Independence, created a new government which protected every individual’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Today, we cannot forget why our Founding Fathers left their previous government and why we must continue protecting our liberties with a Supreme Court candidate who sees the value in individual freedom as much today as our Founding Fathers did over 200 years ago. Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. English common law made criticizing the government in print a crime in the colonies. In 1733, John Peter Zenger was arrested for writing critical articles against the British Governor of New York. Before the Revolutionary War, the British placed a ban on imported firearms and gunpowder. These are only some examples of the very reasons our Founding Fathers desired independence. These are also some of the reasons why the Bill of…

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Pompeo: North Korea Can Replicate Vietnam’s Ties with US

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Mike Pompeo, Kim Jong Un

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged North Korea on Sunday to replicate Vietnam in forging a new relationship with the United States, much like Hanoi has done five decades after the Vietnam War against the U.S. ended. The top U.S. diplomat, visiting the Vietnamese capital after two days of talks in Pyongyang aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, said 23 years of normalized U.S. relations with Vietnam should be proof to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the U.S. can create new ties with former foes. “We know it is a real possibility because we see how Vietnam has traveled this remarkable path,” Pompeo said. Pompeo downplayed North Korea’s accusation that the U.S. had made “gangster-like” demands that it abandon its nuclear program and that their talks were “regrettable.” “If those requests were gangster-like, the world is a gangster,” Pompeo said, as he noted that the U.N. Security Council has demanded numerous times that the North dispose of its nuclear weapons and end its ballistic missile program. He said the fact that the U.S. is “cooperating— and not fighting” with Vietnam “is proof that when a country decides to create a brighter future for itself alongside…

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Feds Freeze ‘Obamacare’ Payments; Premiums Likely to Rise

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Obamacare

The Trump administration said Saturday it’s freezing payments under an “Obamacare” program that protects insurers with sicker patients from financial losses, a move expected to add to premium increases next year. At stake are billions in payments to insurers with sicker customers. In a weekend announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the administration is acting because of conflicting court ruling in lawsuits filed by some smaller insurers who question whether they are being fairly treated under the program. Risk adjustment The so-called risk adjustment program takes payments from insurers with healthier customers and redistributes that money to companies with sicker enrollees. Payments for 2017 are $10.4 billion. No taxpayer subsidies are involved. The idea behind the program is to remove the financial incentive for insurers to cherry pick healthier customers. The government uses a similar approach with Medicare private insurance plans and the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Major insurer groups said Saturday the administration’s action interferes with a program that’s working well. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, whose members are a mainstay of Affordable Care Act coverage said it was “extremely disappointed” with the administration’s action. The Trump administration’s move “will significantly increase 2019 premiums for…

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Thousands Shut Down Major Chicago Highway In The Name Of Gun Control

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Shut Down the Dan Ryan protest

by Molly Prince   A major thoroughfare in Chicago was shut down on Saturday after thousands of anti-gun protestors overtook the highway, refusing to let any vehicles pass. The demonstration was organized to bring awareness to the city’s joblessness, high poverty rate, poor education system, skyrocketing crime and was demanding stricter gun laws, reported The Guardian. Father Michael Pfleger, the chief organizer of the march, had been calling for Dan Ryan Highway to be shut down for weeks prior to the event. “Inconvenience is the point. We want [people] to be inconvenienced, to think about what the South Side and West Side go through every day,” he told the Chicago Tribune.   Illinois State Police, who have jurisdiction over the highway, initially said any disruptors would be arrested. However, the state police backed down, allowing protestors to occupy half of the northbound lanes, according to The Chicago Tribune. Shortly after the demonstration began, Pfleger and Rev. Jesse Jackson again called for protestors to shut down the entire highway and bring traffic to a total standstill. Chicago Police complied with the march’s request, against the apparent request of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. I’m disappointed in the Mayor. There was an agreement in place. I…

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The Mind Behind the Muppets Showcased in Traveling Exhibit

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Jim Henson

For decades, the Muppets, created by Jim Henson, have captured the imagination of children and adults worldwide. A traveling exhibit, “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited,” is now at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. It features some of the most beloved Muppets and shows what happens behind the scenes for characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and The Count from Sesame Street to come to life. “If you learn from Sesame Street, he (The Count) teaches you how to count. There’s Cookie Monster, he does the ABCs every episode,” said 9-year-old Elli Fire, who worked on a hands-on display that shows how a puppet character is created. “We’re excited for people to understand that he was a very multifaceted artist, a very adventurous, creative mind,” said Jim Henson’s eldest daughter, Lisa, who is the president and chief executive officer of The Jim Henson Company, which is also based in Los Angeles. Family business Lisa Henson described what it was like to be in the Henson family, which included five siblings. “As family members, we were always quite included in the productions. He [Jim Henson] was encouraging us to be with him on set all the time,” she…

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Trump White House Has Smaller Staff, Spends Less on Salaries Than Obama White House

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Tennessee Star

by Jeremiah Poff   Over $20 million in taxpayer funds could be saved at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term in office due to his leaner White House operation. A new report on the White House Office Personnel revealed that Trump has a significantly smaller staff than his predecessor did at this time, according to an analysis by Open the Books, a government watchdog organization that focuses on spending. “Although the White House personnel budget is an infinitesimal part of the $3.9 trillion federal budget, it is an important forecasting indicator showing Trump’s deep commitment to cut the size, scope and power of the federal government and reign in waste,” wrote Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of Open the Books, in an op-ed for Forbes. As of June 30, 2018, the White House currently employs 374 people, three fewer than were employed in 2017. It’s also significantly lower than the 469 that were employed in 2010 by then President Barack Obama. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] In addition to maintaining a smaller staff size, Trump’s White House has also cut payroll by…

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Robots Will Continue to ‘Take Jobs,’ and Humans Will Continue to Create More

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robot automation

by Joseph Sunde   Given the breakneck pace of improvements in automation and artificial intelligence, fears about job loss and human obsolescence continue to consume the cultural imagination. The question looms: What is the future of human work in a technological age? Innovators such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates have done their share to affirm the predominant pessimism, painting a grim picture of a future defined by robot overlords and diminishing human contributions. “At least when there’s an evil dictator, that human is going to die,” Musk recently observed. “But for an AI, there will be no death — it would live forever.” The most recent strides and achievements in artificial intelligence are certainly unique in the scope of human history. But as it relates to their impact on the future of human work, the questions have less to do with robotic genius than they do with our faith in human creativity. In a short film from Freethink, we get a helpful reminder of the historical record. Despite the immediate pain and suffering caused by the various waves of automation and creative destruction, we have yet to see an overall reduction in our opportunities for work and creative service. “If you think about it,” the narrator…

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Ireland’s Government Confirms: Randy Boyd’s Irish Tax Records Cited in Tennessean Article Not Available to Media or Public

Chris Alto
Randy Boyd

The government of Ireland has confirmed to The Tennessee Star that the Irish tax records cited in a recent Tennessean article about the Irish subsidiary of GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s company are private, and not available to the public or the media through legal means. Ms. Leann O’Kelly, Press & Media Manager for Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners, the body in the Irish government that addresses tax matters has confirmed that tax records of “any individual, company or entity,” are not available to the public or the media and that “Revenue is legally precluded from providing public comment on the tax affairs of individuals or entities.” The Tennessean newspaper reported earlier in the month that the Irish subsidiary (PetSafe Ireland) of Radio Systems Corporation, the company founded and majority controlled by Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, is a tax haven that enables Boyd’s Knoxville-based company to significantly diminish its U.S. tax obligations. However, The Tennessean failed to publish, produce, or explain the legal provenance of the alleged unverified tax documents upon which its story relies, despite a direct request from The Star. The claim made by The Tennessean, therefore, in the headline of the article,  “How Randy Boyd’s company avoided millions in taxes,” is unproven and…

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