Day: July 10, 2018

Big Government Bredesen Wants TVA in the Internet Business

John Bryant
Phil Bredesen

Liberal Democrat Chuck Schumer’s handpicked U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has said he wants to get the Tennessee Valley Authority “to help expand broadband internet access to rural areas if elected.” Bredesen made the remarks Tuesday in Clarksville, TN. There’s video of him speaking here. He said he is committed to having Congress amend the federal TVA Act to allow the government-owned electricity provider to bring broadband access to underserved rural areas in Tennessee. Bredesen says the “foundation” has been set by the TVA’s board approval in 2017 of $300 million to expand its network fiber capacity to improve the reliability of its transmission system— and by a law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam last year giving electric cooperatives the authority to provide broadband service. His conservative Republican opponent, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, hit back immediately. The leading GOP candidate to replace Corker is U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn. In a statement Tuesday, Blackburn said “broadband as a utility is a big government solution that will raise taxes.” The focus should be on implementing the broadband access act signed by Haslam, Blackburn said. “TVA should stay focused on its core mission, which has served Tennesseans well for decades,” she said. This also…

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Carol Swain Commentary: Why I Support Diane Black for the GOP Gubernatorial Nomination

Tennessee Star Staff

By Dr. Carol M. Swain For weeks I have been telling folks the only viable GOP gubernatorial choices for Christian conservatives are Representative Diane Black and business owner Bill Lee.  These two candidates are competing for and splitting the votes of Christian conservatives.  Because I have friends supporting both candidates, I initially decided not to publicly endorse anyone; however, I believe too much is at stake to not voice my support for the candidate I will support. I will be voting for Representative Diane Black for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.  I believe Diane can defeat Karl Dean and become the next governor of Tennessee.  Our state would benefit from having the steady hand of a strong conservative at the helm. I am for Diane Black because she is a natural leader who has established herself over many years as a strong champion for conservative values and principles. She has always been a defender of the unborn and an advocate for adoption and healthcare reform.  Her issues include human trafficking, protection of our Second Amendment rights, workforce training, protection of small towns, and the restoration of law and order.  Diane’s conservative stances have earned her endorsements from the National Rifle Association…

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OFF THE RECORD: GOP 6th Congressional District John Rose – Will Little Brother Track Big Sister’s Farm Bureau Agenda?

Chris Alto
John Rose, Rhodena Rose

Multi-millionaire John Rose is running in the GOP primary for Diane Black’s seat to represent the 6th Congressional District. He will face off with proven ultra-conservative state Rep. Judd Matheny, self-described conservative retired judge Bob Corlew, and the whoever-heard-of-them candidates Christopher Monday and “U-turn” LaVern Vivio. Roses’s big sister is Rhedona Rose, head of the Tennessee Farm Bureau (TFB). TFB’s parent is the American Farm Bureau Federation, a non-profit organization with affiliate farm bureaus in all 50 states, including Tennessee. The TFB is reputed to be the largest farm bureau in the country. Little brother John Rose, former Commissioner of Agriculture during governor Don Sundquist’s administration, is running on a “I’m a non-career politician” type platform. Oh yeah, right, you were never elected to any political position, you were just a political appointee, chaired the Tennessee State Fair Association and held a seat on the boards of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. And then there’s big sister’s head honcho position with the Tennessee Farm Bureau. No politicking there – sure. Big sister Rhedona Rose is the first woman head of the statewide TFB. She used to be the executive…

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President Trump’s Fuel-Efficiency Reality Check Revs Up the American Economy

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automobile factory

by Derrick Hollie   Despite rampant speculation that President Donald Trump’s trade policy might increase some car prices, how his regulatory relief agenda may lower sticker prices and increase safety goes largely ignored. How did this happen? The Trump administration is revising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards imposed on automakers during the Obama era. In particular, they are no longer holding manufacturers to a 2025 fleet mandate of 54.5 miles per gallon. When the rollback was first announced, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao declared it “a win for the American economy.” Then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt called it “good for consumers and good for the environment.” While a victory for all consumers, it’s a particularly welcome relief to those in poor and minority communities looking to ascend the socio-economic ladder and get an equal shot at achieving the American Dream. [The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] CAFE standards have been around for 40 years, but green crusaders in the Obama administration put them on steroids. During the Obama presidency, the industry was required to increase fuel efficiency by around nine miles per gallon. In 2012,…

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Dr. Bradford Smith, NASA’s ‘Tour Guide for Voyager,’ Missions Dies at 86

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Bradford Smith c.1981

Bradford Smith, a NASA astronomer who acted as planetary tour guide to the public with his interpretations of stunning images beamed back from Voyager missions, has died. Smith’s wife, Diane McGregor, said he died Tuesday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of complications from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder. He was 86. Smith led the NASA team that interpreted pictures taken by Voyager space probes as they passed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and then presented the images to the public. He was a retired professor of planetary sciences and astronomy at the University of Arizona and research astronomer at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. At NASA press conferences on Voyager discoveries following their launch in 1977, Smith was a star, and known for a certain dry wit. At a press conference showing a multicolored, pockmarked moon of Jupiter called Io, Smith quipped, “I’ve seen better looking pizzas than this.” A video of the conference ran on national broadcast news and his quote was on front pages around the world, said Ellen Hale, a former Associated Press communications director and friend of Smith’s. A 1981 People magazine profile called Smith “the nation’s tour guide” who showed the…

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More People Use a Gun in Self-Defense Each Year Than Die in Car Accidents

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Mark W. Smith, David Hogg

by Mark W. Smith This is an excerpt from “#Duped: How the Anti-gun Lobby Exploits the Parkland School Shooting-and How Gun Owners Can Fight Back”. How is it that so many kids raised on “Harry Potter”, “The Hunger Games”, “Star Wars”, and all the Marvel action figure movies manage to miss a critical point of the stories? The lesson being: If you want to prevail over evil villains, you must have the proper tools to fight back. Millions of people protect themselves and their families with guns every day in the United States. They choose guns as a means of self-defense for the same reason the Secret Service uses them to protect the president: guns stop bad people from doing bad things to good people. It’s absurd to speak about the right of self-defense in theory but then deny people the tools they need to exercise that right. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Without a gun, most Americans are defenseless at the hands of a violent criminal. How many of us have training in hand-to-hand fighting, the physical strength, and the mental resilience…

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Mexican President-Elect Lopez Obrador Proposes Border Force To Contain Illegal Immigration Into Mexico

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Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

by Will Racke   Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is planning to create a specialized border force to combat illegal immigration across Mexico’s borders, according to his hand-picked security chief. The new force is aimed at stanching the flow of illegal immigrants and contraband from Central America and will also be deployed to Mexico’s northern border, Alfonso Durazo said, according to Bloomberg. It is part of Lopez Obrador’s broader strategy against regional violence, corruption and poverty. “We’re going to create a border police force that will be highly specialized,” Durazo, who is set to become Mexico’s public security minister when Lopez Obrador takes office in December, told Bloomberg in an interview. “They need to apply the law” against illicit migration and human trafficking, he added. A left-wing populist, Lopez Obrador won the presidency on July 1 on the strength of a campaign against the Mexican political establishment, which he blamed for Mexico’s seemingly intractable cartel violence and public corruption. Though he sparred with President Donald Trump over the U.S. government’s treatment of Mexican migrants, he has promised to contain illegal immigration in his own country by using a combination of tighter enforcement and humanitarian aid. In a meeting of Lopez Obrador’s…

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There’s No Evidence Nevada Democratic Senate Candidate Rep. Jacky Rosen’s Touted Business Ever Existed

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Jacky Rosen

by Joe Simonson   Nevada has no records Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV-03) ever ran a small business in Nevada, despite her repeated claims that she started a consulting firm, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Rosen, a Democrat, is challenging Republican Sen. Dean Heller for his seat in the upcoming November election and is considered former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s handpicked successor. In April, a public records request was filed with the Nevada secretary of state seeking a copy of any “Sole Proprietor Exemption” or “Sole Proprietor Registration” under Rosen or her maiden name between 1995 and 2005. Less than a week later, a public information officer from the Nevada secretary of state responded in an email that no such records existed. Those registrations are necessary for any business owners in Nevada. Rosen has routinely flaunted her business credentials, claiming her one-woman shop consulted with her former employer, Southwest Gas, and Radiology Specialists, where her husband was once a partner. Rosen told a radio station in November that she “raised my family, I built a business – a woman in technology.” When the Reno Gazette Journal asked her campaign about this discrepancy, a representative said Rosen “did not keep…

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Scott Pruitt’s Parting Gift: Nixing One More Obama-Era Regulation

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by Michael Bastach   A regulation to strictly limit the sale of refurbished truck engines was effectively repealed on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s final day in office. Pruitt’s last day at the agency was Friday, but that same day, EPA shifted its policy towards glider kits, which are trucks with refurbished engines. EPA would not enforce limits on glider kit sales until December 2019. Pruitt announced his resignation on Thursday amid a slew of ethics investigations. EPA officials told The New York Times “that, through the end of 2019, the EPA will not enforce an annual cap of 300 gliders per manufacturer that had been imposed in January.” The change comes as EPA prepares to finalize its repeal of regulations on glider sales. Glider manufacturer Fitzgerald petitioned Pruitt in 2017 to lift Obama era regulations. EPA was supposed to submit a finalized repeal of glider regulations earlier this year, but bureaucratic delays have kept Obama-era regulations in place. The Obama administration issued glider regulations in 2016, getting around the Clean Air Act by reclassifying gliders as “new motor vehicles.” Gliders are refurbished truck engines placed inside a new chassis. Environmentalists and major truck manufacturers, including Volvo, oppose lifting regulations on gliders.…

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Commentary: Immigration Quagmire Exposes Both Parties’ Leadership Deficit in D.C.

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Donald Trump

by Jeffery Rendall   It’s no secret to regular observers of American politics that the Republican Party has its problems with leadership; fractures have developed within the caucus over time and by all appearances the leaders of both the House and Senate have frequently worked against conservatives in their drive to thwart certain aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda. One such fissure sprung up last week over immigration. In a last-ditch effort to make it seem like he was “doing something” about solving the lingering border dilemma Speaker Paul Ryan allowed a pair of “moderate” compromise amnesty bills to receive floor votes in the House of Representatives. Neither passed and afterwards the measures’ RINO supporters had a hard time explaining why. David M. Drucker of the Washington Examiner reported, “[Republican Reps. Jeff Denham, R-Calif. and Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.] and a group of other centrists strong-armed House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., into allowing a vote on immigration reform legislation after they threatened to use a rarely-used parliamentary procedure to require a floor vote on legislation that might have been far less conservative than the twin packages that ultimately received a vote. Both failed after receiving tepid support from Trump. “Had Democrats provided significant support…

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UK PM Theresa May’s Pick To Replace Boris Johnson Hates The ‘Arrogance’ Of The EU

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Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson

by Evie Fordham   United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has tapped Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt as foreign secretary, hours after outgoing Boris Johnson announced his resignation. Hunt was not for Brexit at the time of the 2016 referendum, but he changed his tune because he could not stand the “arrogance” of the European Union, reported the Guardian in 2017. Hunt, the longest-serving health and social care secretary in the U.K.’s history, was seen entering the prime minister’s office at Number 10 Downing Street on Monday, and British media was already guessing that May would ask him to replace Johnson. The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon @Jeremy_Hunt as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. — UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 9, 2018 A proposed Brexit deal constructed by May and her cabinet on Friday spurred a wave of resignations, reported The Guardian. Johnson reportedly called promoting the weak deal “polishing a turd.” “It is more than two years since the British people voted to leave the European Union on an unambiguous and categorical promise that if they did so they would be taking back control of their democracy,” Johnson wrote in his resignation letter. “We…

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