Day: August 11, 2018

Report: Illegal Aliens Were On Their Way to Several Tennessee Destinations

Chris Butler
arrests

An SUV was apparently transporting illegal aliens to Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Cookeville, Knoxville and even Atlanta, Georgia when Williamson County sheriff’s deputies pulled it over on I-840 eastbound last week. Eleven people were inside. And, yes, arrests were made. Deputies noticed the SUV had crossed the center line several times. They did a traffic stop. “The driver told us they were headed to several different places, so we’re not sure what is correct — if it was lying or the truth,” said Williamson County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Sharon Puckett. “They mentioned several different cities in Tennessee. They said they would drop off some of these men in East Tennessee and then continue on up north and drop off the remaining men before going back to Phoenix, Arizona,” the spokeswoman said. According to WKRN, the SUV was a Hyundai Santa Fe. The driver, Ivan Santana Sanchez, had a drug pipe on him, according to the station. The station reported that two people were up front. Five people were in the back seat. Four more illegal aliens, meanwhile, were laying on top of each other in the rear. Sheriff Jeff Long told reporter Andy Cordan that Sanchez and Mary Louis Perez, 60, smuggled the illegals from…

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Pokémon World Championships Coming to Nashville

Chris Butler
Pokemon

Later this month people from around the world will converge in Nashville for the 2018 Pokémon World Championships at the Music City Center. Pokémon is a video game, card game, or other inventory of toys featuring certain Japanese cartoon characters. More than 5,000 Pokémon players, supporters, and fans are expected to attend, according to a press release from the Pokémon Company International. To sweeten the pot, the event will have more than $500,000 in scholarship money and prizes up for grabs. Also up for grabs is the title of Pokémon World Champion. People from more than 35 countries are expected to attend, the press release went on to say. No one from Pokémon Company International returned a request for comment Friday. “Alongside intense head-to-head battles, the family-friendly event set in a festival-like atmosphere will feature colorful Pokémon cosplay, a thrilling Pokkén Tournament DX competition, costumed characters, non-competitive play, and energetic Opening and Closing ceremonies,” the press released stated. For a taste of what you can expect at the event, check out the recap video of the 2017 Pokémon World Championship. According to Nintendo.com, “Pokémon are creatures of all shapes and sizes who live in the wild or alongside humans. For the most…

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We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: ‘Drag Queen Readings’ No Longer in Far Off Places, Now in Tennessee

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

In the audio below, conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill of The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville discussed his concern regarding the new trend to expose our young children with ‘drag queen readings’ and how it has slithered it’s way into Tennessee. He continued: You’ll find a story at TennesseeStar.com today about this move to start bringing in guys dressed as women, drag queens to read to young students aged three to eight in kindergarten through 1st and 2nd grade. Their bringing in these drag queens to read to children as part of their gender expansion. To try and get into the heads of these kids and teach them that there is no boy thing or no girl thing it’s all just people things. This is a big deal in apparently some of the big cities. We’ve got the story up TennesseeStar.com you can actually watch some of the video of these very effusive and dramatic drag queens reading to children. Now again if your reading to children you want them engaged you should be effusive and dramatic, it’s what you do with your own kids. The question is whether or…

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PAC Releases New Ad in Support of Marsha Blackburn

Chris Butler
Marsha Blackburn

A Super PAC that has the stated goal of protecting the people from “an army of left-wing activists” has a new commercial endorsing Marsha Blackburn for the U.S. Senate. That PAC, called the Senate Leadership Fund, released their commercial this week. According to the PAC’s website, the organization is devoted to protecting and expanding the Republican Senate majority. Members of the organization also say they want to stop the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Chuck Schumer from gaining more power. “The $1.3 million ad buy will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital,” according to a press release the organization put out this week. No one at the Senate Leadership Fund returned a request for comment Friday. The ad about Blackburn, entited “Tenacity,” highlights Blackburn’s working class background, along with President Trump’s full support of her candidacy. “Phil Bredesen is a liberal elitist who will oppose President Trump’s agenda at every turn,” said Chris Pack, spokesman for the Senate Leadership Fund. “Marsha Blackburn has the support of President Trump and is the only candidate who can be trusted to carry out his agenda that has the economy roaring back to life.” The ad describes…

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Tennessee Mayor Questions Certain TDOT Spending Priorities

Chris Butler
James Mayberry

Take two pieces of infrastructure. Maybe one is a road. Maybe the other is a sidewalk. Both of those things are under the oversight of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. One project might need more attention than the other. Sometimes the project that doesn’t need as much attention is TDOT’s priority, said Crossville Mayor James Mayberry. Mayberry told The Tennessee Star he sometimes doesn’t grasp why. But Mayberry did say he’s grateful for a new $1.3 million grant to pay for sidewalks in his city and that the money is needed. The money will also pay for new streetlights and crosswalks in Crossville’s downtown area. With that new grant money city officials will bring up sidewalks to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, among other things. Main Street, where much of this work will take place, is a state highway, Mayberry said. “If you drove on it right now you’d understand why it needs to be paved. Having said that, I don’t agree with everything TDOT does,” Mayberry said. “I’ve been told not to ask ‘Why’ sometimes, because it’s hard to get a good explanation as to why certain things get done. I’ve been told not to ask why…

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JC Bowman Commentary: Time to Separate PACS from Lobbying

JC Bowman
dealmakers

Professional Educators of Tennessee will continue to lobby for public education.  However, we will never endorse political parties or candidates as an organization on behalf of our members.  We also do not have a PAC, nor do we plan to ever start one.  It would harm our effectiveness.  We must advance public education without the divisive tribalism of partisan politics, and we will only get involved in education related issues.

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Tribune Media Terminates Merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Files Lawsuit Alleging Breach of Contract

Admin
Tribune - Sinclair

by Nick Givas   Tribune Media Company killed its merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group on Thursday and filed a lawsuit against the media conglomerate, claiming breach of contract. Tribune is seeking financial compensation for losses it claims it suffered as a result of Sinclair’s breach of the merger agreement. Tribune is accusing Sinclair of using questionable negotiating tactics when it was talking to the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission over regulatory requirements, according to a statement obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. It also said Sinclair wouldn’t sell certain media stations to assure the deal’s approval. The lawsuit seeks compensation for all losses incurred as a result of Sinclair’s material breaches of the Merger Agreement. In the Merger Agreement, Sinclair committed to use its reasonable best efforts to obtain regulatory approval as promptly as possible, including agreeing in advance to divest stations in certain markets as necessary or advisable for regulatory approval. Instead, in an effort to maintain control over stations it was obligated to sell, Sinclair engaged in unnecessarily aggressive and protracted negotiations with the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) over regulatory requirements, refused to sell stations in the markets as…

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Republican Governor’s Association Comes Out Swinging Against Richard Cordray, Ex-Obama Official Running for Ohio Governor

Admin
anti-Richard-Cordray ad

Three months after Richard Cordray soundly beat Ohio mainstay, former congressman Dennis Kucinich for the chance for the Buckeye State’s top executive, the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) launched a withering attack ad impugning Cordray’s performance as President Barack Obama’s first Director of the constitutionally dubious Consumer Bureau of Financial Protection – or CBFP. From 2012 through 2017, the empowered progressive stripped over $12 billion from Wall Street, as reported by Vox. In the same time period, however, the newly created bureau was hacked hundreds of times, exposing the financial records of Americans, sticking them with years of risk from identity theft and other financial crimes. In a statement, the RGA said the new television ad launched Thursday highlights “Washington D.C. Bureaucrat Richard Cordray’s secret collection of financial information from millions of Americans that he then failed to protect from hacking.” “After collecting personal financial data from millions of American consumers without their knowledge, Richard Cordray failed to safeguard their information, leaving it vulnerable to be hacked over 200 times,” said RGA Communications Director Jon Thompson. “When Americans needed Cordray to protect them, he failed. Cordray’s record of incompetence as a Washington D.C. bureaucrat shows that Ohioans can’t trust him to…

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Craig Fitzhugh Waits A Week To Endorse Karl Dean After Getting Crushed In Primary

Jason M. Reynolds
Craig Fitzhugh, Karl Dean

State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh on Friday endorsed Karl Dean, the candidate who crushed him in the Democratic primary for the governor’s race last week, trying to show they are now best buds. Former Nashville Mayor Dean took 75.1 percent of the vote to the outgoing Democratic House minority leader’s 19.5 percent, Ballotpedia reported. Fitzhugh (D-TN-82) must have decided one week and one day was enough time to heal all wounds, as he tweeted his endorsement on Friday: “I’m all in for @KarlFDean and you should be, too. For more #jobs, higher wages, for #educators & #MedicaidExpansion—there’s only one choice. #TeamDean” A Republican leader pointed out the brittle Democratic coalition. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said in a statement, “More than a week after the primary elections, Tennessee Democrats have just now managed to get their two candidates on the same stage. Their delay stands in stark contrast to the quick unity shown by the Republican party, where all four of gubernatorial candidates came together in a strong show of support for Bill Lee just two days after his nomination. While Dean and Fitzhugh scramble to bring their supporters together, Bill Lee continues to energize Tennesseans from all walks of…

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Trump Goes Where No President Has Gone Before: Establishes A Space Force as Sixth Military Branch

Jason M. Reynolds
Donald Trump

Space … the final military frontier to Make America Great Again. President Donald Trump has ordered the creation of a sixth military branch, The Space Force. His 2020 presidential campaign sent an email out earlier this week soliciting votes for a logo for the branch. Supporters may vote for one of six options (see below). “President Trump wants a SPACE FORCE — a groundbreaking endeavor for the future of America and the final frontier,” the email said. “As a way to celebrate President Trump’s huge announcement, our campaign will be selling a new line of gear. But first we have to make a final decision on the design we will use to commemorate President Trump’s new Space Force–and he wants YOU to have a say.” Trump in June announced he was instructing the Pentagon to take steps to establish “a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” Business Insider reported. Liberals have jeered the president’s proposal while lawmakers and military leaders have received the call with a lukewarm response at best. One American hero with a unique perspective is embracing the proposal: former astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin cheered President Trump’s plan to develop Space Force, The Washington…

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