Day: July 20, 2018

Whiskey Myers Finds Musical Home on the Range With Kevin Costner Series, “Yellowstone”

Bethany Bowman
Whiskey Meyers

Whiskey Myers has tapped an enthusiastic audience on the Kevin Costner Paramount Network drama “Yellowstone.” With an on-camera appearance and three songs featured on the hit series so far, Whiskey Myers’ music is reaching a new, fervent audience that has propelled three of the band’s albums to the Top 10 of the iTunes Country Album Chart. Mud topped the chart while Firewater followed at No. 2 and Early Morning Shakes reached No. 9. All three albums peaked in the Top 50 All-Genre with over 250,000 sales. “Getting asked to be on ‘Yellowstone’ was a cool opportunity and we are very honored to be a part of it since we are all big fans of Kevin (Costner) and Taylor (Sheridan),” said lead vocalist and guitarist Cody Cannon. “It’s really awesome to see people reacting to our music, taking a two-year-old album to the No. 1 spot on iTunes and five of our songs to the Top 200, with “Stone” even hitting the Top 10 for Country Songs. We are very thankful that people are digging it.” “I’m very humbled by how positive the reaction has been with all the fan interaction digging the music,” added guitarist John Jeffers. “We knew that you just have to hang in there and put out…

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Beth Harwell’s ‘Major Announcement’: She Supports Legalizing Medical Marijuana in Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff
Bath Harwell

GOP gubernatorial candidate Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) held a press conference this morning, which she had promised would be a “major announcement,” in which she restated her support for legalizing medical marijuana in Tennessee. “Alongside two doctors at a news conference Friday, Harwell said she supports use of oils and additives, not smoking marijuana. She said she isn’t supporting recreational marijuana,” the Associated Press reported shortly after noon on Friday: State House Speaker Beth Harwell is running a TV ad about supporting medical marijuana as she tries to separate herself from the Republican field for Tennessee governor before the Aug. 2 primary. In the ad, Harwell says she’s the only Republican gubernatorial candidate who supports doctor-prescribed medical cannabis. The ad includes a 2015 clip of President Donald Trump saying he thinks “medical should happen.” Harwell first indicated she was inclined to support the legalization of medical marijuana in Tennessee back in August 2017, a position she restated in January. In February, Harwell cast the tie breaking vote to move “The Medical Cannabis Act” out of a committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives, despite opposition from the law enforcement community, as The Tennessee Star reported. That bill…

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Commentary: Trump Steamrolls DC Ruling Class on the Road to American Rebrand

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Donald Trump

by Jeffery Rendall   If we’ve learned anything about Donald Trump in the three years he’s been a full-time politician it’s he’s concerned with restoring and bolstering the American “brand.” It goes without saying that the reputation of the red, white and blue took a beating during Barack Obama’s eight years behind the president’s desk. Obama famously ordered the White House lit up with rainbow-colored lights but refused to wear an American flag pin. What a disgrace. Not so with Trump. Whether it’s a state visit to Europe to persuade Europeans to pay their committed share of GDP for their own defense or simply insisting that the United States government bring back the words “Merry Christmas” every December, Trump exudes the implication that under his stewardship American exceptionalism is back and we’re no longer afraid to show it. Now comes word Trump would like Air Force One to be repainted to show a little more outwardly American distinctiveness. Katelyn Caralle of the Washington Examiner reported, “President Trump is looking to give Air Force One a new paint job to give it a ‘more American’ look. “Instead of keeping up with the 55-year-old tradition of white and robin’s-egg blue, the president wants it to be…

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Early Voting Republicans Trending to Set Records Across the State

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Wednesday’s Gill Report – broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill discussed the early voting trends and the possibility of a new early voting record that could be set across the state of Tennessee. Gill said, “As voters have headed to the poll over the last about a half week, early voting started on Friday across the state. It continued for a half-day on Saturday in most locations, a lot of counties across the state are still limiting the early voting to having to go to one location in the county – and it’s not really that convenient in a lot of counties.” He continued: And yet we’re seeing very heavy turnout with early voting already to date. As we look again with the numbers through the 17th which would be yesterday. Basically, the secretary of state’s office puts the numbers out each date to kind of give us guidance into what the numbers are and where they are headed. Well as of through yesterday, there were 93,961 republicans who had voted early. 41,182 Democrats across the state. So, you are still seeing about a 35% Democrat, 60%-65% Republican vote across the…

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President Trump Looks Forward to More Talks with Vladimir Putin

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Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

by Steve Herman   U.S. President Donald Trump, amid the uproar over his initial summit this week with Russia’s president, is indicating there could be a second such meeting with Vladimir Putin. Trump, writing on Twitter, called Monday’s summit in Helsinki “a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media.” The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media. I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear…….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018 In another Thursday morning tweet, the U.S. president accused mainstream media in the country of desiring “so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war.” The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war. They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19,…

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Senator Bob Corker Indicates He’ll Support Judge Kavanaugh Regardless Of What President Trump Does

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Bob Corker, Brett Kavanaugh

by Thomas Phippen   Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, said his disapproval of the president’s actions and comments would not stop him from supporting Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Corker said he received calls from Democratic colleagues after Trump’s controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Monday, urging the departing Tennessee senator to block Kavanaugh’s nomination. After the Helsinki press conference, which was “one of the worst” Corker said he’s seen, a leading Democrat called the Republican with a request to block Kavanaugh. “He said, ‘Corker, you need to block the Supreme Court nominee,’” Corker recalled. “Well, I could hit myself in the knee with a sledge hammer too. But why would I block someone that I generally like over what the president has done?” Because Corker is departing the chamber when his term ends in 2019, and because of his frequent criticisms of Trump, he is among a group of GOP politicians activists hope will cross the aisle to block a conservative justice from ascending to the Supreme Court. Along with Corker, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Jeff Flake of Arizona, all frequent…

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Illegal Aliens Charged In Heroin Scheme That Led To Overdose Deaths In Tennessee

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ICE arrest

by Will Racke   Two illegal aliens have been indicted on multiple counts of conspiracy and drug distribution for allegedly running a drug trafficking operation that led to the overdose deaths of at least two people in Tennessee, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Juan Manuel Morales-Rodriguez, 39, and Juan Samudio-Castro — both Mexican nationals — directed a heroin and fentanyl delivery service in Williamson County, Tenn., according to the nine-count indictment returned Wednesday. Along with two U.S. citizen partners, the men allegedly delivered the potent opioids up and down the I-65 corridor, just south of Nashville. In March, at least two people in nearby Maury County, Tenn. died as a result of overdosing on the heroin and fentanyl they purchased from the operation, according to the indictment. Samudio-Castro and Morales-Rodriguez are both in the U.S. unlawfully. Morales-Rodriguez was previously deported and has also been charged with with aggravated illegal reentry. Don Cochran, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, described the case as a result of “unchecked” illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the southwest border. “This is yet another tragic example of the consequences of a long unchecked immigration system and the ease in which these illegal drugs enter our country,”…

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Senate Rejects Symbolic Gesture ‘Backing Intelligence on Russian Meddling’

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US Senate

The Republican-led Senate on Thursday rejected two symbolic measures to support U.S. intelligence agencies in the face of President Donald Trump’s  clarifying statements on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential contest and the Kremlin’s continuing threats to U.S. elections. The chamber’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, objected to a bipartisan non-binding resolution backing intelligence reports on Russian election meddling and last week’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers. The resolution also urged full congressional examination of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and called for full implementation of U.S. sanctions against Moscow. Moments earlier, Kentucky’s Rand Paul objected to a similar Democratic resolution that added support for the special counsel in the Justice Department’s Russia probe, Robert Mueller. Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, who co-authored the bipartisan resolution, said congressional action is needed after Trump “let down the free world [in Helsinki] by giving aid and comfort to an enemy of democracy” and “dimmed the light of freedom ever so slightly in our own country.” “We should stand and be counted in defense of our democracy,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who crafted the resolution with Flake. Speaking in support of the Democratic measure,…

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OFF THE RECORD: In Case You Missed This From the GOP Primaries . . .

Chris Alto
Barry Doss, Randy Boyd, Clay Doggett, Beth Harwell

What do you get when horse-race gambling meets legal weed? Beth Harwell for governor! There was an “interesting” welcome line-up for Harwell’s June meet and greet in Jefferson City putting Harwell and company only about 20 miles northeast of GOP challenger mega-millionaire Randy Boyd’s home of Knoxville. Four state legislators from the counties surrounding Jefferson City showed up to show their support for Harwell’s campaign – House members Dale Carr and Andrew Farmer from Sevier County, Jeremy Faison from Cocke County and Sen. Frank Nicely who represents Jefferson and Grainger Counties. Carr and Farmer are supporters of in-state tuition for illegal alien students and voted to pass that bill in 2015 – except it failed by a single vote in the House. When that bill came up, Beth walked out of the House chamber so she wouldn’t have to vote on it and could wait to take a position once she knew whether her colleagues had managed to give a state benefit to illegal aliens. Faison owes his rise in committee leadership to Beth although his “skunks for sale” bill and let’s-make-marijuana-legal bill-because-God-gave-us-this-plant-for-a-reason, really should be enough to distinguish him from his peers all on his own. And then there’s Frank Nicely…

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JC Bowman: A Few Thoughts on Educational Assessment and Evaluation

JC Bowman
JC Bowman

The risk of misidentifying and mislabeling teacher performance based on test scores is too high for it to be the major indicator of teacher performance, especially when you look at issues such as student demographic characteristics. A number of states, including Michigan, have since taken steps to lessen the impact test scores have on teacher evaluations, repeatedly mentioning factors outside an educator’s control which can influence a student’s academic performance. 

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Is Bredesen Running Away From President Trump?

John Bryant
Donald Trump, Phil Bredesen

Left-leaning Vanity Fair has a feature item up on the Tennessee U.S. Senate race featuring Marsha Blackbrun vs. Phil Bredesen. The item appears to confirm everything  people have been saying about Bredesen, from his playing “duck and cover” on issues, to his simply not being willing to take a real stand on anything. Bredesen is making personal and political blandness the theme of his Senate campaign. He has come out against the president’s tariffs, but he has otherwise cannily refused to make the race a referendum on Trump. “Look, I’m not running against Donald Trump. I’m running for a Senate seat to represent the people of Tennessee,” he says in a campaign TV ad. In the wake of Robert Mueller’s indictment of 12 Russians for hacking into Clinton’s e-mails, Bredesen was asked if the president should cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin. “I don’t think that the actions of those indictments rise to the level that somebody ought to interfere with the president’s right to meet with whom they choose and when they choose, and so on,” he said. When Democratic Party leaders quickly denounced Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, Bredesen went defiantly anodyne: “I’ll be watching the…

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After 150 Years, Secretary Zinke Unveils Plan to Reorganize the Department of Interior

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Ryan Zinke

By Printus LeBlanc   When Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke was sworn in, he came into a department that has not reorganized in 150 years. However, in the same timeframe new agencies were created, miles of red tape were introduced, and volumes of rules were added. The mammoth bureaucracy and inefficiencies have made the department one of the more despised government arms. Secretary Zinke sees that as a challenge and has embarked on an ambitious reorganization mission to make Interior more user friendly and less hostile to the people it is supposed to serve. The Department of Interior is responsible for conservation and management of most federal land and natural resources. The agency is operating in 2,400 locations with over 70,000 employees around the U.S. Interior sites get over 500 million visitors to them each year. Everything from the food in the grocery store to the raw materials used to make used to make Navy ships has at some point fallen under the purview of Interior. It would not be a stretch to say the department touches more lives everyday than any other federal agency, with the exception of the IRS. For this reason, it is important the agency run smooth…

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