Day: August 17, 2018

Grammy Winner Chris Tomlin Releases Advance Music Today Ahead of New Album

Bethany Bowman
Chris Tomlin

Grammy winner and world-renowned worship leader Chris Tomlin surprised fans with the release of early music today: the launch of a new radio single and EP, Nobody Loves Me Like You. USA Today reported Friday the previously unannounced four-song digital-only EP is part of a bigger release plan as Chris’ highly anticipated full studio album set for October 26, Holy Roar, and the companion book Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change the Way You Worship available October 23. “I am so energized by this new music, I couldn’t wait to share a few songs ahead of the Holy Roar album,” Tomlin said in a statement. “Holy Roar is the freedom, the experience, the wonder of worship. It is seeing the church come together, hands lifted to God, pouring out our praise with an eternal song in our hearts. It’s every voice together, changing the way we worship.” The Nobody Loves Me Like You EP includes four songs from the soon-to-be-released Holy Roar album and is available now at all digital retailers here. The official radio impact date for “Nobody Loves Me Like You” single is September 14. HOLY ROAR includes tracks produced by Ed Cash and Bryan Fowler and…

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Blackburn Launches TV Ad Highlighting Work To Shut Down Backpage, Human Trafficking Site

Jason M. Reynolds
Marsha Blackburn

The “Marsha for Senate” campaign on Thursday announced it launched its third television ad, this time featuring her work to shut down human trafficking site backpage.com. The ad will air in media markets across the state and on digital platforms statewide. Tennessee U.S. Senate Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) is running against Democratic former governor and Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen in the Nov. 6 election. They are vying for retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s seat. Regarding the ad, Blackburn campaign manager Kevin Golden said, “Marsha Blackburn has led the fight against human trafficking, and she was instrumental in shutting down backpage.com. She is a mother and grandmother, who will make keeping our children and our communities safe a top priority. In the Senate, she will continue her work to stop this horrific crime.” In her ad, Blackburn says, “backpage.com operated in over 97 countries. Billions of dollars, trafficking human beings, even our children. It’s sick, it’s immoral, and it’s why I fought to shut them down. Human trafficking is a tragedy that must be stopped. I’m Marsha Blackburn. I approve this message because I’ll always fight those who prey on our most vulnerable.” Backpage.com was taking advantage of the internet to…

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David Hawk Wants to Succeed Beth Harwell as Next Tennessee House Speaker

Chris Butler
David Hawk

State Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) has joined the list of legislators who want to succeed Beth Harwell as the next Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Hawk told The Tennessee Star he will do things differently than his predecessors. Hawk’s first priority — creating a committee system that he said reflects Tennessee’s values. “The first responsibility the speaker will have is to place legislators into positions on committees creating leadership on those committees and committee members,” Hawk said. “The approach I will bring to filling those committees is recognizing the strengths and skillsets of my fellow legislators and then placing them on the committees where they will be most successful. That will help them be successful in formulating good policy.” The second priority, Hawk went on to say, is not showing favoritism. “I will not create a committee system based on rewards,” Hawk said. “I don’t plan to place someone on a particular committee just because they voted for me. Likewise, I will not penalize someone if they don’t vote for me (as speaker). I want each legislator to be able to succeed in their role in the general assembly.” The Star asked Hawk if he thinks his predecessors…

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Corker Uses ‘Banana Republic’ Analogy Again to Attack Trump’s Yanking of Brennan Security Clearance

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker must have bananas on his mind a lot, as he continues to use them as an analogy while criticizing the president who handily carried his state in the 2016 elections. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Corker (R-TN) criticized President Donald Trump’s removal of former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance as “kind of a banana republic kind of thing,” Breitbart reported. And part of a “tearing down of institutions” instead of building them up. Trump won 60.7 percent of the presidential vote in Tennessee against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Ballotpedia says. Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said, “Look, I thought it was kind of a banana republic kind of thing. There’s been a continual sort of tearing down of institutions, causing Americans to lose faith in institutions, instead of building them up. I mean, that’s what’s made our country function in the way that it is.” “Yet again Senator Corker has shown he is willing to embrace any individual or wacky position that is critical of President Trump regardless of its legitimacy. He’s done everything except put on a black facemask and march with Antifa – but there is always next week,” Tennessee…

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Richard Cordray, Dem Candidate for Ohio Governor, Hopes to Continue Monitoring Consumers Just Like He Did at CFPB

Anthony Gockowski
Richard Cordray

Democratic-hopeful Richard Cordray recently announced in his bid for Ohio’s governor seat that he intends to enact failed policies from his time at the Obama administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In April, it was revealed that under Cordray’s direction the CFPB allegedly faced at least 1,000 different hacks, including 240 data breaches, while the bureau was in the process of gathering 991 million American credit card accounts, The Daily Caller reported. During a 2014 hearing, Cordray explained that his agency was “collecting aggregated information,” and was unable to guarantee that “consumer information is 100 percent secure.” Acting Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed Cordray’s comments while testifying before Congress in April, saying that “everything” the CFPB collects is “subject to being lost.” The CFPB has been at the center of controversy ever since its 2011 founding, and was criticized in November by President Trump’s Treasury Department as having an “unaccountable structure.” “The CFPB was created to pursue an important mission, but its unaccountable structure and unduly broad regulatory powers have led to regulatory abuses and excesses,” the Treasury stated in a report, according to USA Today. “The CFPB’s approach to enforcement and rulemaking has hindered consumer choice and access to credit,…

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Commentary: When Did It Become Okay to Disrespect the Culture, Traditions, and Values of America?

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homes

by Jeffery Rendall   Wake up any particular morning and glance out the window. Do you notice anything different from the day before? Changes in weather or the seasons don’t count. Chances are you’ll see things appear pretty much the same – and if you’ve lived in one place long enough that’s true from year to year as well. Time slips by unobtrusively, so much so we don’t easily recognize all the transformations going on around us. Sometimes the changes are quite noticeable, however. Fox News host Laura Ingraham disturbed the liberal hornet’s nest last week with one such keen observation. Rick Moran of PJ Media reported, “It’s really too bad we can’t have a civil debate about anything anymore because Laura Ingraham’s observation that the ‘American we know and love doesn’t exist anymore’ in some parts of the country is a ripe topic for serious discussion. The Fox News host’s remarks were triggered by idiotic comments from nitwit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez… “Ingraham acknowledged that Ocasio-Cortez was right ‘in a general sense,’ but was missing the point about what’s been changing in America: “[Ingraham said:] ’In some parts of the country it does seem like the America we know and love doesn’t…

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The Same Successful Reforms From the ‘VA Accountability Act’ Could Apply to Rest of Government if MERIT Act Passes

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Barry Loudermilk, David Perdue

By Natalia Castro   Labor Day – coming up on September 3rd – presents a pivotal opportunity for Members of Congress. As members of the House return from recess and just eight weeks before midterms, representatives can show their support for American workers by passing bipartisan civil service reform. In the first year of this Congress, passing bipartisan Veterans Affairs legislation did not just rally public support; it improved the agency significantly. Passing the MERIT Act can do the same for the rest of the federal workforce, setting Congress on a strong trajectory for the second half of Trump’s first term. The VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act passed with such overwhelming support it only required a voice vote in the Senate. In the House, it passed 368-55. Following the passage of this legislation, which provides management with expedited removal processes for poor performing employees, firings within the agency rose by 26 percent. This VA reform represented a bipartisan achievement that was praised across the aisle. Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester helped push the bill alongside Florida Republican Marco Rubio. At the time, Tester explained, “This bill will crack down on bad employees who jeopardize veterans’ health care while also protecting the hardworking folks…

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Double Standard Democrats Get Blind Eye from the MSM

Julie Carr
Stephanie Chang

Conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill of The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, marveled at the left’s oblivious double standard the left has when it comes to their own wielding racist and divisive language towards others and the media’s obvious blind eye. Said Gill: You know we were regularly lectured by the left and their proponents in the mainstream fake news media about how it is the Republicans it is the conservatives that are so intolerant and so divisive in our use of language. And it’s always important I think to point out what the left and their leaders do in the name of tolerance and diversity when we have good examples to point out the truth. This one comes from Detroit where two Detroit state representatives had been running against each other in the Michigan primary that just ended, the Democratic primary that just ended. Detroit Representative Bettie Cook Scott was running against another Representative, Stephanie Chang for a state senate seat. They were both trying to move from the state house to the state senate. Well it turns out that Representative Bettie Cook Scott, who’s African American referred to…

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Wisconsin and New Jersey are Among the States Looking To Copy Minnesota Model Of Using Federal Funds To Lower Insurance Premiums

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Minnesota capitol

by Evie Fordham   Several states including Wisconsin and New Jersey are seeking to copy Minnesota’s model of federal reinsurance program funding that contributed to a 13-percent drop in premium rates in the state from 2017 to 2018. The Minnesota legislature adopted the program, which uses mostly federal funds to help insurers cover people with medical bills typically between $50,000 and $250,000, in 2017, reported Kaiser Health News. The program enables insurers to lower premiums and is a policy encouraged by the Trump administration. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is focusing his campaign on his health care accomplishments, including support for his state’s reinsurance program, reported RealClear Politics. He says premiums will be 11 percent lower than they would have been without the program in 2019, reported HealthLeaders Media. Minnesota’s 2018 reinsurance program received $131 million from the federal government, and many other states have applied or are applying for reinsurance program funding. Alaska and Oregon have programs similar to Minnesota’s in place. The main difference between Alaska’s program, which started in 2016, and other states’ is that Alaska’s covers all costs for people with “highest-cost conditions.” Wisconsin and Maine were approved in July, while Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland and New Jersey are working toward having programs set up by…

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Trump Campaign Manager: Big Tech ‘Is Actively Trying To Silence’ Conservatives

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Brad Parscale

by Kyle Perisic   President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, blasted big tech companies’ censorship of conservatives in an op-ed Thursday, saying the censorship must stop before the internet becomes “Big Brother.” “Big Tech’s anti-conservative bias is positively institutional. Facebook, Google (YouTube), and Twitter all work with the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left organization with a proven track record of anti-conservative bias, to decide what is and isn’t ‘hate speech,’” Parscale wrote in the Washington Examiner op-ed. Parscale pointed to the many examples of Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube’s recent bans on outspoken conservative pundits. The few examples he lists are: Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng, whose ad was banned on Facebook, and controversial commentator Alex Jones and his website Infowars, who was de-platformed on Facebook and YouTube. Additionally, Parscale called out Twitter hypocrisy for temporarily banning Candace Owens, but not Sarah Jeong. Owens is the Media Director of Turning Point USA — a college student organization. She parodied tweets written by Jeong, The New York Times’ new editorial board member, who has a history of racist anti-white tweets. Owens restated Jeong’s tweets, except made them anti-Semetic.Twitter later said it was “an error.” The censorship, Parscale alludes to, is borderline illegal under the Communications Decency…

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Music Spotlight: Adam Doleac

Bethany Bowman
Adam Doleac

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – -When I heard Whiskey’s Fine, on Sirius XM the Highway, I always stopped talking and turned it up. There was something about the lyrics to this bluesy, country song that got me. It was that good. Several months later at an event I attended during CMAFest, Sirius’s Storme Warren said to me out of the blue, you need to interview Adam Doleac.  Since I loved his song, I decided to pursue it. The thing I like most about interviewing up and coming artists is hearing their “where I came from” stories.  And Adam Doleac’s is definitely different than anyone else’s. Adam Doleac grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where is he was strong, athletic boy.  By high school, he was really into basketball and golf and was even offered a golf scholarship from  Delta State University his Junior year. But in his Senior year, friends stated they needed one more player for their high school baseball team.  Having not played since Little League, he went to the batting cages and played in a game that night. By the end of his senior year, he was offered a baseball scholarship from Southern Mississippi University where the hometown boy led the…

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Prosecutors: Reality Winner Faces ‘Longest’ Sentence Ever Imposed For Media Leak

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Reality Winner, NSA

by Chuck Ross   Former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner’s 63-month prison sentence will be the “longest” ever served by a federal employee in a case involving leaks to the media, prosecutors said Tuesday. Winner, who worked for an NSA contractor based in Augusta, Georgia, pleaded guilty in June to transmitting secret government documents to the media in 2017. She faces sentencing August 23. Prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday that Winner’s sentence is the “longest” imposed in a media leak case. “The government advises the Court that despite the agreed-upon sentence being below the applicable guidelines range, it would be the longest sentence served by a federal defendant for an unauthorized disclosure to the media,” prosecutors said in the filing, according to The Associated Press. Winner, 26, acknowledged stealing and leaking NSA documents to The Intercept, a news website, about Russian cyber attacks against election officials throughout the U.S. Winner was arrested June 3, 2017. The Intercept published the stolen documents two days later. Winner was caught after a reporter at The Intercept contacted the NSA to verify the documents, which were visibly creased because Winner snuck them out of her office in her pantyhose. Winner, whose social media…

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Poll: Conservatives See Democrats Working for Minority Rule Through Supreme Court

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Brett Kavanaugh

by CHQ Staff   Conservatives see Democrat opposition to Judge Brett Kavanaugh as opposition to majority rule itself, according to a poll by FedUp PAC. An almost unanimous 99% say that liberal Democrats “rely on the courts to overrule the majority” of Americans and that they oppose any judge who “would rule impartially according to the Constitution and the laws.” Democrats have relied on Supreme Court rulings to impose abortion on demand and homosexual marriage, as well as to nearly abolish the death penalty through a maze of restrictions and limitations. Kavanaugh is known as a judge who can be expected to rule in accordance with the text and intent of the Constitution and the law, and is unlikely to discover “rights” that had somehow escaped notice during more than two centuries under the Constitution.   By replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh would reduce to four the number of Supreme Curt justices who have shown a propensity for rewriting the Constitution. The four justices appointed by Presidents Clinton and Obama have often treated it as a “living” document subject the change by a five-vote majority on the Court rather than by the amendment process. President Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh, who is…

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New Funding to Combat School Shooters Coming to Tennessee

Chris Butler
security at schools

Tennessee’s public schools will get more money for trained school resource officers in the event a disturbed student goes on a shooting spree. State officials identified the lack of trained resource officers as a major area of risk in the event another such tragedy was to occur. School Resource Officers are sworn law enforcement agents selected and trained to serve at designated schools. They are typically employed by local law enforcement agencies or even state police. Some schools, according to a new school safety plan put forward by Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, don’t have SROs due to lack of funding. “The governor’s proposed budget and school safety plan doubles the amount of recurring school safety grant funding for schools, which can be used toward SROs or other facility security measures,” according to the plan. Haslam announced the plan in March. This week Haslam announced $35 million to improve the state’s school security situation. Haslam spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals, in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star, said 99 percent of schools have already completed a safety assessment as part of that plan. According to Knoxville TV news outlet WATE, this is the first-ever statewide assessment of school facilities, safety procedures…

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