Month: September 2018

Nashville Christian Music Event Gives People Sense of Purpose

Chris Butler

Philadelphia resident Melissa Taggart, in Nashville for the Getty Music Worship Conference 2018 – Sing!, knows Christian music can renew one’s soul. “Having the songs there to give voice to what I am experiencing is healing and also draws me closer to God and who He is. The primary thing is it gives voice to what I have experienced,” Taggart said. “I have had to learn through major life changes that my work is only in Christ and not in fame or in the state of what my body is in. Over time and the older you get and the more you are on your journey the words (to the songs) actually start meaning something.” Pastors, musicians, and theologians gathered at the Nashville Music City Center this week to discuss how worship transforms people and churches, said Josh Sutton, vice president of marketing and development for Getty Music. This year’s theme examines the book of Psalms for the church today, he added. Brentwood Baptist Church in Williamson County hosted last year’s event. About 3,500 people attended then. About 7,500 people attended this year’s event, Sutton said. “What we consistently hear from registrants is that this conference helps us think of…

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Gillibrand: I Never Meant Abolish ICE When I Said ‘Abolish ICE’

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York stated Wednesday that her calls to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were misconstrued, claiming that despite saying “we need to abolish ICE,” she believes America still needs an agency that will fulfill the goals that ICE was created to achieve. Claiming that the agency has strayed from its intended duties, Gillibrand argued that ICE in its current form should be eliminated, but that a new agency should replace it that will execute the same mission of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and investigating criminal activity of foreign nationals residing within the country. “Give [ICE] a new name and a new directive,” Gillibrand told The Post-Star‘s editorial board. Gillibrand recommended that the government “reimagine” the agency, however, her office did not respond to requests from The Daily Caller News Foundation to clarify what her proposed agency would look like and how it would differ from ICE’s current form. The New York senator said that she does not support open borders, and she agrees with ICE’s mission, but claims President Donald Trump and his administration have ruined the reputation of the agency by cracking down on immigrants who illegally cross the border.…

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Special Report: Planned Parenthood’s Main Collector Sells Aborted Tissue At Over Double Real Price

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by Grace Carr   A major tissue collection company is allegedly selling aborted baby body parts for double to triple their price, according to a Monday report. A Center For Medical Progress (CMP) special report reveals that Advance Bioscience Resources, Inc. (ABR) — a 501(c)3 non-profit — is allegedly selling aborted body parts for much more than their real cost even though federal law forbids the transfer of fetal tissue in exchange for “valuable consideration.” Profit from the sale of fetal tissue does not indicate a violation of the law, but commercial sale of an item at a cost greater than reimbursement value is illegal. ABR charged customers separately for two eyeballs from the same aborted baby, according to transaction records. Despite multiple charges for the specimens, however, ABR sent the eyeballs to the researcher together so that there would only be one transaction cost as opposed to two, according to CMP’s report. Adding up ABR’s fees, a tissue’s reimbursement cost should be no more than $1,090 effective of Jan. 1 2015. ABR charged customers $5,000 and $6,000 for specimens in 2012, according to CMP’s special report. ABR charged a University of Utah customer $12,000 for two tissue samples that arrived in too poor of a condition to be…

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San Francisco Is Removing Statue That Shows Founding Of California Over Racism Concerns

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by Neetu Chandak   The San Francisco Board of Appeals unanimously voted Wednesday to remove a statue that showed the founding of California over racism concerns. Some American Indian activists found the “Early Days” statue degrading and racist as it showed an American Indian at the feet of a Spanish cowboy and a Catholic missionary. American Indian groups have tried to remove the statue for over 30 years, but efforts were renewed by the San Francisco Arts Commission in October 2017 following the clash in Charlottesville, Virginia over removing Confederate statues the previous August, according to the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday. San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission was on board to remove the statue in February as long as a plaque was placed that explained the reason for the removal, KQED reported. The appeals board decided not to remove the statue in April. Board member Rick Swig said removing it would impede free speech, according to East Bay Times. The statue is one of five bronze statues that make up the Pioneer Monument and shows the founding of California, the Chronicle reported. The five-member board decided to look into the issue again in June. San Francisco Arts Commission spokeswoman Kate Patterson didn’t give the exact date…

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Bredesen May Compare Senate Democrats to ‘Circus’ for Kavanaugh Hearings, But They Donated $30,000 to Campaign

Jason M. Reynolds

Democrats have turned Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination into a circus, U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen said, and the Tennessee Republican Party has released a new ad to point out his ties to those Democrats. The ad is available to watch here. Four Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have donated money to Bredesen’s campaign. The senators are: Cory Booker (D-NJ), $5,000; Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), $10,000; Kamala Harris (D-CA), $10,000; and Dick Durbin (D-IL), $5,000. The GOP cited this campaign finance report in a press release. “Phil Bredesen says he’s ’embarrassed’ by his fellow Democrats’ antics, but it’s hard to take his complaints seriously when he’s received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from those very same people,” Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said in the press release. “The makeup of the Supreme Court is a priority for Tennesseans. Phil should quit waffling and tell them where he stands.” Former Tennessee Governor Bredesen said he cannot make a decision until he has more time to watch the confirmation hearings and study the selection, according to a story in The Tennessean. The Democratic candidate, who is pro-abortion, said Kavanaugh’s pro-life stance would not matter to…

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Nowville: Senators, Governors and Celebrities Set to Flock to Tennessee in Upcoming Months for Election Support

Julie Carr

On Thursday’s Gill Report –broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am– Star News Digital Media National Political Editor Steve Gill discussed the upcoming onslaught of Senators, Governors, and Celebrities slated to hit Tennessee soil in the upcoming weeks to support their chosen candidates and the motivation behind each parties voters in the November election. Gill went on to assure that Trump voters will turn out to defend and support their President if the Democrats make this election all about him. He continued: And you know that you’re going to see a lot of outside folks coming in to Tennessee to try to help things along for Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn in the Senate race. And a lot of these out of town Senators, and Governors, and Celebrities already coming in, you’re going to see a lot more of it over the next fifty, sixty days or so. Now the latest for Marsha Blackburn is Mike Pence. The Vice President is going to headline a fundraiser in Knoxville for her Senate bid on September 21st. Now the cost is going to be a $1,000.00 per person, $5,400.00 per couple with a photo, or $25,000.00 per couple…

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Judge Brett Kavanaugh Addresses His Encounter With Parkland Dad in Written Supplement To Testimony

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Brett Kavanaugh

by Kevin Daley   Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh submitted written responses to over 1,000 follow-up questions from lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee late Wednesday night. The judge’s responses run over 250 pages, though many referred back to answers given during his confirmation hearings and other public writings. As in the hearings, Kavanaugh was evasive when pressed for his views on abortion and related social issues. “As a sitting judge and nominee, principles of judicial independence prevent me from speculating about hypothetical contingent events, particularly involving a controlling precedent of the Supreme Court,” he wrote in response to a question about the events that would follow the overruling of Roe v. Wade. GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the committee, asked Kavanaugh to address his fleeting encounter with Parkland, Florida, parent Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was killed during the Feb. 14 massacre. Fred Guttenberg approached the judge as he left the witness table for a recess — images of Kavanaugh avoiding the advance circulated widely in social media. “As I was leaving the hearing room for a recess last Tuesday, a man behind me yelled my name, approached me from behind, and touched my arm,” Kavanaugh…

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This Economy Belongs to President Trump, not Former President Obama

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by Robert Romano   You got to give former President Barack Obama credit, at least he’s consistent. When he came into office, the economy was in a deep recession that began when financial markets crashed in 2008, and, he said, he was blameless for the 8 million job losses that occurred, even as they continued into 2009 and the unemployment rate kept rising through 2010. But after that, he deserves all the credit, apparently. Speaking to a crowd at the University of Illinois on Sept. 7, Obama bragged, “[W]hen you hear how the economy is doing right now, let’s just remember when this recovery started. I’m glad it’s continued, but when you hear about this ‘economic miracle’ that’s been going on when the job numbers come out…” To be fair, the number people with jobs did increase after 2010 substantially when the worst of the recession was over at a rate of a little more than 2 million a year, about what it is right now. That’s the point Obama wants to make. But here’s what he doesn’t want to hear. It wasn’t good enough — by a long shot. During Obama’s tenure in office, the economy never grew above 3 percent,…

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Judd Matheny Commentary: Phil Bredesen Put Partisan Politics over People in the Fight Against Meth

Tennessee Star Staff

by State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma)   As Phil Bredesen runs for Senate this year, he’s asking you to look back on his time as governor. He is highlighting what he did but he is misleading voters about what that record actually is. He regularly claimed that he “cut meth production in half” while Governor of Tennessee until the Washington Post fact-checked the ad and gave it “Three Pinocchio’s” for being untrue. While that’s bad enough, the real story is much worse. I was elected to the legislature in 2002 and wanted to use my experience to solve problems. Having spent most of my adult life in law enforcement, I saw how the scourge of meth and meth labs were impacting rural communities: overdoses and death, children removed from their homes and toxic meth lab cleanup sites. The problem was huge and required a non-partisan approach.  Throughout 2003 and 2004 I worked with both Democrats and Republicans to create the Tennessee Comprehensive Methamphetamine Prevention, Treatment and Control Act of 2004.  But when it came time to seek Governor Bredesen’s help to pass the bill into law, I was shocked at his response. Ushered into a meeting with Bredesen’s Deputy Governor…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Blackburn Leads Bredesen by 3, Lee Beating Dean by 16

Tennessee Star Staff

A new Tennessee Star Poll of likely voters in Tennessee provides further evidence that the race for the U.S. Senate is very tight, while the Governor’s race is firmly in the control of Bill Lee. The survey indicates that Republican Marsha Blackburn leads Democrat Phil Bredesen by a 48.3 percent to 45 percent, with 6.7 percent undecided. That three point margin for Blackburn is consistent with a Fox News Poll released earlier this week., which also showed Blackburn leading by three points. Like the Fox News Poll, the Tennessee Star Poll has the two candidates within the margin of error. The Tennessee Star Poll was conducted by Triton Polling and Research from September 10-12, 2018 and surveyed 1038 likely voters. The poll has a three percent margin of error. The Governor’s race is not close at this stage of the campaign. Republican nominee Bill Lee is well ahead of Democrat Karl Dean, 53.7 percent to 37.3 percent with 10 percent undecided, a 16 point lead for the Williamson County businessman. Again, those numbers are consistent with the Fox News poll that had Lee leading by 20 points. Other polls have indicated that Bredesen’s personal approval rating is enabling him to pull…

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MTSU Pays to Recruit International Students

Chris Butler

A spokesman for Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro said the school pays for all efforts to recruit international students from the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. “Those (recruiting) trips are funded by the International Affairs allocated recruitment budget,” said MTSU spokesman David Schmidt, vice provost for the school’s International Affairs. Schmidt made his comments in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star Tuesday. Schmidt also said MTSU recruiters generally take three to four recruiting trips a year. When asked, Hart said MTSU officials are not pushing for more international students because the school is hard-up for money. Many of the school’s previous exchange programs focused on European countries, Schmidt said. MTSU currently has about 1,000 international students, who all pursue “a wide variety of degrees, ranging from the sciences to the arts,” Schmidt said. “Being a part of a more diverse and global campus benefits Tennessee students by exposing them to other cultures that they may not otherwise interact, and it also prepares them to better compete in a global marketplace,” Schmidt said. As The Star reported this week, more and more international students attend universities in Tennessee. They take the knowledge and the skills they acquire here and apply them…

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Political Correctness Detours Us from Biblical Truths, Visiting Scholar Kelly Kullberg Says

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Socialism is a less loving form of government than one that nurtures human creativity. Building walls and teaching a nation to rebuild its faith and its culture is sometimes important. Pansexuality or an anything goes culture shepherds no progress. You won’t hear these things come out of the mouths of the trendy and the politically correct among us, but they are some of our most important Biblical truths. And the world suffers because it seems to have long forgotten those truths, said Kelly Kullberg with the American Association of Evangelicals. AAE is a growing and informal coalition of Christian Americans who want to do three things. One is get back to a Christ-centered Gospel. The second is to explore Biblical worldviews on many issues. The third is to stand up to Gospel opponents. Kullberg was in Nashville this week and spoke with The Tennessee Star. She is most well-known for starting the Veritas Forum at Harvard University in 1992. Veritas has expanded to more than 200 universities and explores hard questions about the Bible and Jesus Christ. “Politically correct people need to use their brains and their hearts and think about what causes suffering and what causes flourishing,” Kullberg…

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Illegal Immigration in TN Increased During Karl Dean and Phil Bredesen Administrations

Chris Alto

Estimates from both ends of the political spectrum on the issue of illegal immigration show steady and dramatic increases in the number of illegal aliens in Tennessee during the Nashville mayoral terms of Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean and during Bredesen’s two terms as the state’s governor. Bredesen served as Nashville’s mayor from 1991 – 1999 and Tennessee governor from 2003 until the middle of January, 2011. Dean served as Nashville’s mayor from 2007 – 2015. According to the Soros-funded leftist Migration Policy Institute (MPI), between 1990 and 2000, the increase in foreign-born arrivals to Tennessee more than doubled from 59,114 to 159,004. By the year 2000, almost 40% of foreign-born arrivals to the state, 63,484 were listed as “[b]orn in Latin America (South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean).” Within this same ten-year span, the number of “non-citizens” as reported by MPI rose from 32,523 to 105,819 representing 66.6% of arrivals. For purposes of its reporting MPI’s definition of “U.S. born” excludes illegal aliens as does its definition of “foreign-born” which: refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens,…

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Commentary: Clowns to the Left of Us, Jokers to the Right, and Media All Around

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by Jeffery Rendall   Living in the news bubble that is Washington DC it’s easy for swamp dwellers to lose perspective on their own actions and how they’re being viewed by others. Last week’s media circus surrounding the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh must’ve given outsiders the impression American politics is one gigantic sideshow full of freaks and mutants all in search of the spotlight in the center ring. Perhaps they think the average American politician has three mouths, speaking out of two simultaneously and using the other to gulp mass quantities of super-caffeinated designer coffee. There’s good reason to think Americans are nuts too. On one side Republicans worked feverishly to appear impartial by probing Kavanaugh with questions about precedents, philosophies and belief systems. On the other, Democrats were hell-bent on (figuratively) disemboweling the man before his own family just to score political points with party base voters. Then there was the infamous “anonymous” New York Times op-ed which sought to discredit the American president in the eyes of…well, everyone. The implication someone close to Donald Trump was busy thwarting the president’s authority from the inside is a mighty scary proposition considering that person wasn’t elected by over…

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Walter Williams Commentary: Brett Kavanaugh’s Opponents Aren’t Really Against Him, They’re Against the Constitution

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Brett Kavanaugh

by Walter E. Williams   One of the best statements of how the Framers saw the role of the federal government is found in Federalist Paper 45, written by James Madison, who is known as the “Father of the Constitution”: The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. … The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people. Today’s reality is the polar opposite of that vision. The powers of the federal government are numerous and indefinite, and those of state governments are few and defined. If confirmed, Brett Kavanaugh will bring to the Supreme Court a vision closer to that of the Framers than the vision of those who believe that the Constitution is a “living document.” Those Americans rallying against Kavanaugh’s confirmation are really against the Constitution rather than the man—Kavanaugh—whom I believe would take seriously his oath of office to uphold…

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Fox News Guest Who Called Out Abortion Advocates For ‘Irresponsible Sex’ Now Faces Death And Rape Threats

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DC McAllister

by Grace Carr   Fox News guest and PJ Media contributor Denise McAllister stated that abortion advocates regard the procedure as an easy solution for irresponsible sex and has since been met with death and rape threats, she told The Daily Caller News Foundation. After McAllister sent out a Sept. 6 tweet “reacting to the Kavanaugh insanity,” she said she received a deluge of direct messages calling her “hateful, awful, terrible,” and that she should be aborted, she said Wednesday. https://twitter.com/McAllisterDen/status/1037678444967079937 She said her tweet prompted a slew of threats against her life and family’s safety. “The vitriol and the way they were delivered is quite frightening,” McAllister told TheDCNF. “I am facing legit death & rape threats because I have dared to call out women who are hysterical about abortion and to challenge them to be responsible and not to elevate sex to the point that they’re willing to kill human life to avoid their responsibilities,” she tweeted Sunday. McAllister also said a number of people had gotten hold of her private number and have been threatening to rape and strangle her over the phone. Her home is now on police watch. “I can’t go outside with having someone who is armed accompany…

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Trump-Endorsed Eddie Edwards Wins Crowded Primary for New Hampshire’s Toss-Up Congressional District

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Eddie Edwards

A former police chief backed by the Trump administration won the Republican nomination Tuesday in New Hampshire’s toss-up congressional district, while Democrats picked experienced, establishment-backed nominees for both that seat and for governor. Eddie Edwards, who was endorsed by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, defeated six Republican opponents in the 1st Congressional District, which covers the eastern half of the state. A Navy veteran who also served as enforcement chief for the state liquor commission, Edwards is the second African-American to be nominated to a U.S. House seat in New Hampshire. The district was once reliably Republican but has flipped in each of the past four cycles. In 2016, it returned Democrat Carol Shea-Porter to Congress but backed President Donald Trump. Shea-Porter’s decision to step down after four nonconsecutive terms resulted in a swarm of candidates seeking to replace her, including Levi Sanders, son of Vermont senator and former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. He came up far short Tuesday in an 11-way race won by restaurateur Chris Pappas, who would be New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress. Former Obama administration official Maura Sullivan raised more money than the 10 other candidates combined, but she faced criticism for being both…

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State Senator Bo Watson Calls for Review of UT Nike Contract

Jason M. Reynolds
Bo Watson

Taking a stand on Nike’s support of National Anthem kneeler Colin Kaepernick, State Senator Bo Watson (R-TN-11) is calling for a review of university endorsement deals with the seller of running apparel. Watson’s request was reported by Campus Reform. “I have asked the TN Office of Legislative Budget Analysis to review what TN state-financed colleges & universities have Nike contracts and report findings,” Watson, who is the Senate Finance Chair, tweeted. I have asked the TN Office of Legislative Budget Analysis to review what TN state-financed colleges & universities have Nike contracts and report findings. @TN_SenateFWM @TNGOP @tnsenategop @ltgovmcnally #WeStand @robints https://t.co/RoolkmWOY4 — Bo Watson (@SenBoWatson) September 7, 2018 Catherine Haire, Senate budget analysis director in the Office of Legislative Budget Analysis, confirmed to Campus Reform that the office has launched the inquiry and should have the findings by the end of the week. Currently, the University of Tennessee is locked into a deal with Nike as the official apparel supplier until the 2025-26 academic year, The Tennessee Star reported. Tennessee Star political editor Steve Gill says that legislators might have a say about the issue. “Similar contracts with Nike reduce the amounts paid to schools if athletes or coaches cover…

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Double Standards at Orange County California High School Results in False Racism Claims from School Principals

Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s Gill Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am – Star News Digital Media National Political Editor Steve Gill was flabbergasted regarding an “alleged” incident at a recent football game at Santa Ana High School in Orange County, California. According to principals of the schools and further spun by the Anti-American media, students were chanting “USA, USA” and holding up posters that read, “we love white.” The posters actually read, “we love red, white, and blue.” He goes on to describe the principals’ blatant attempt to label that schools students racist and a offense to ‘dreamers’, however,  the other team’s school was allowed to proudly wave their Mexican flags during the game. Gill said: As we look back on 911 and look at the way that some in this country don’t appreciate America it’s not just the NFL athletes on the field. We’ve now got school systems that are attacking students for shouting, “USA, USA” in the stands during a football game. An Orange County high school football game, Orange County, California, was marred by allegations of racism earlier this week. An issue where posters allegedly seen at the Friday night game between…

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Bredesen Budgets Like Bernie Sanders Does, New Ad Says

Jason M. Reynolds
political ad

Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen had a “rare rendezvous with the truth” in Chattanooga Tuesday, according to the Tennessee Republican Party, saying about the federal deficit, “Democrats — my own party — have never been great on the subject.” To mark the occasion, the GOP released a new ad showing how Democrats budget — just like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) does. The ad is available to watch here.   The ad mentions how Democrats’ plans to provide Medicare to everyone would cost $32.6 trillion over 10 years, citing a study by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University and reported on Fox News. “If Phil Bredesen is elected and Senate Democrats regain control, they would choose current ranking member and socialist Bernie Sanders to lead the Budget Committee,” said Gillum Ferguson, the Tennessee Republican Party press secretary. The ad will run digitally statewide. “Bredesen’s claims to care about the federal debt are downright laughable since he would vote to put socialist Bernie Sanders — whose healthcare proposal would cost $32 trillion — as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee,” said Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden. “As governor, Bredesen irresponsibly raided hundreds of millions of dollars from the state highway fund and rainy…

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Commentary: Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools

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professor

by George Leef   Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice concerns, not just how to best design objects for performance and safety, as Michigan State professor Indrek Wichman pointed out. A recent article published on Inside Higher Ed, “B-Schools That Don’t Boast About Billionaire Alumni,” similarly informs us that some business school professors have decided that they should teach students about their own social justice concerns, not just how to best manage an enterprise. Writer Marjorie Valbrun explains that increasing academic concern about income inequality is justified because, in the words of the leftist Institute for Policy Studies, income inequality “has been growing markedly by every major statistical measure for some 30 years.” In fact, there is good reason to doubt that income in the United States is distributed much differently that in other major industrial nations. Former Senator Phil Gramm and John Early (former commissioner in the Bureau of Labor Statistics) explained in this…

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Former State Representative Jeremy Durham Continues to Fight for Vested Insurance Benefits

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Despite the fact that in 2016 Connie Ridley, Director of Legislative Administration for the Tennessee General Assembly, specifically confirmed that State Representative Jeremy Durham was entitled to retain his health insurance benefits even if removed from the Legislature, the State of Tennessee subsequently terminated his health insurance access after he was expelled in a vote of the State House in Special Session. Durham continues to contest what he and his lawyers have termed an “unlawful” termination of his vested benefits. The case is currently awaiting a ruling by the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals on whether a dismissal of the case for “lack of standing” by the trial court was proper or not. Unlike other former lawmakers who have been convicted of felonies and retained their health insurance benefits, Durham has never been charged with nor convicted of any crime. Nor was any complaint ever filed by any alleged “victim.” As noted by the Tennessean, former Sens. Ward Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga, and Roscoe Dixon, D-Memphis, were enrolled in the plan even after they were convicted of crimes related to the “Tennessee Waltz” bribery scandal. Crutchfield died in April, 2016. State Representative Roger Kane (R-Knoxville), who joined with legislators who voted…

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Fox News Poll: Blackburn Leads Bredesen by Three in Tennessee Senate Race, 47 to 44

Tennessee Star Staff

A new Fox News poll of likely Tennessee voters indicates that Republican Marsha Blackburn is leading Democrat Phil Bredesen in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat by a three point margin, 47-44, with eight percent remaining undecided. The Blackburn lead is within the poll’s margin of error. In the Governor’s race, Republican Bill Lee enjoys a significant twenty point lead, 55-35%, over Democrat Karl Dean. Ten percent remain undecided. Backburn’s television ads in the campaign have relied heavily on tying her to President Donald Trump. With the Fox News poll revealing that the President has a 58-38% approval/disapproval rating among Tennessee likely voters her strategy seems to be on track. Blackburn and Bredesen enjoy similar approval/disapproval numbers, which may indicate that the Trump factor is the difference in the race at this point. Blackburn has a 51-39 approval/disapproval gap while Bredesen’s is slightly better at 54-36. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill cautions that the Fox News poll seems a bit more heavily weighted to the Republicans than Democrats so the results should be viewed with that in mind. “The poll construction has 35% Democrats and 53% Republicans with 12% described as Independent,” Gill notes. “I think the…

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Google Video Leaked to Breitbart Confirms Tech Giant Wants to Destroy Trump Agenda

Anthony Gockowski

A new video leaked exclusively to Breitbart News Wednesday shows high-ranking Google executives plotting to use their tech resources to thwart the Trump agenda during an hour-long weekly rap session. The video, recorded during a 2016 “all hands” meeting at Google’s headquarters, features co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Vice Presidents Kent Walker and Eileen Naughton, CFO Ruth Porat, and CEO Sundar Pichai. At one point in the recording, Porat breaks down into tears and vows to “use the great strength and resources and reach we have to continue to advance really important values.” Naughton, meanwhile, assures Google employees in the audience that the company’s policy team in the nation’s capitol is “all over” the immigration issue and will continue to “keep a close watch on it,” later discussing options with employees who wish to leave the country. Brin, one of the company’s co-founders, states that “most people here are pretty upset and pretty sad,” saying she was “deeply offended” by President Donald Trump’s election, and adding that Trump’s agenda “conflicts with many of [Google’s] values.” “Fear, not just in the United States, but around the world is fueling concerns, xenophobia, hatred, and a desire for answers that may or…

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Wisconsin GOP Senate Hopes Rely on Underdog Leah Vukmir

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Leah Vukmir, Tammy Baldwin

Leah Vukmir is used to being the underdog. Few gave the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Wisconsin much of a chance of defeating her better-funded primary challenger last month, but she prevailed thanks largely to support from the party establishment. Now Vukmir faces another opponent with deeper pockets – Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin – in one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. The contest could determine control of the Senate and will be closely watched as an indicator of whether Wisconsin might return to its traditional status as a Democratic state during the 2020 presidential election. Vukmir is taking a big risk by tying herself to President Donald Trump, who won Wisconsin by less than 23,000 votes in 2016, and Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who faces a tough re-election contest in November. “I don’t think any of that intimidates her,” said former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, Vukmir’s mentor when she was first elected to the Assembly in 2002. “She is the underdog, but she likes that position.” Vukmir, 60, is the daughter of Greek immigrants, a lifelong resident of the Milwaukee area and a registered nurse. Until the Senate campaign, she worked as a nursing instructor.…

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Steve Bannon’s Documentary, Trump @War, Premieres on One America News Network Tonight

Jason M. Reynolds

Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) for a Steve Bannon exclusive look into the socialist war on President Donald Trump with supporters being attacked in the streets and leftists using the label “racism.” The Trump @War documentary will be available here on One American News Network (OAN). “It’s a film that every American, regardless of political belief, should watch,” according to the network’s press release. “It’s a historic time for our country, and no one should be sitting on the sidelines during the upcoming elections.” There will be a 30-minute roundtable discussion starting at 8 p.m. EST, with the film immediately following. Trump @War highlights the challenges faced by Trump and economic nationalists with the left and the mainstream media as the president fights to fulfill his America First Agenda. To find OAN and their availability in your area, click here. You can watch the trailer here: A veteran documentary film maker, Steve Bannon served as executive chairman of Breitbart News until August 2016, when he was selected by Donald Trump to serve as CEO of his presidential campaign. Bannon served as chief strategist in the Trump White House from January until August of 2017. One America News Network is…

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Pence to Headline Knoxville Fundraiser for Blackburn

Jason M. Reynolds

Vice President Mike Pence will headline a fundraiser in Knoxville for Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) in her Senate bid. An event invitation says the fundraiser will be Sept. 21, WATE reports, citing the Associated Press. The cost will be $1,000 per person; $5,400 per couple, with a photo; or $25,000 per couple, including a photo and round-table with Pence. Contributions will benefit Blackburn’s joint fundraising committee. President Donald Trump appeared at a Blackburn fundraiser and rally in May. Pence attended a Chattanooga fundraiser and related event in Cleveland in July. At the Cleveland event, held at Lee University, Pence praised Blackburn and Representative Diane Black (R-TN-06), The Tennessee Star reported. Black eventually lost in the Republican gubernatorial primary to Bill Lee. “The former Indiana governor called the 2017 tax cuts the biggest in a generation and a generator of American jobs in front of a raucous crowd,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported: “His wide-ranging 33-minute speech at Lee University addressed immigration, tax cuts, Supreme Court nominations, environmental rollbacks and chastised the ‘liberal left’ before narrowing his message to tax cuts.” Blackburn’s opponent is Democratic ex-Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen in the November general election. Blackburn last week received…

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New Ad Touts ‘Out of Touch’ Bredesen’s History of Supporting Tax Increases

Jason M. Reynolds

Senate Leadership Fund on Tuesday launched a new advertising blitz targeting Phil Bredesen’s fixation with raising taxes on Tennessee families. The $1.1 million buy will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital. The ad is available to watch here. Bredesen, a former Democratic governor, is running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), who is retiring. His opponent is U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07). The ad, titled “Out of Touch,” highlights Bredesen’s 30-year record of supporting higher taxes and fees, and his opposition to the recently passed tax reform legislation. “Phil Bredesen is an out-of-touch multimillionaire who raised taxes and fees on Tennessee taxpayers by over $1 billion,” said Senate Leadership Fund Spokesman Chris Pack. “Bredesen never saw a tax hike that he didn’t like, which explains why he was so resolutely opposed to the Trump tax cuts that are helping Tennessee’s families and jobs.” Senate Leadership Fund’s website says this about the organization: “As an independent Super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund has one goal: to protect and expand the Republican Senate Majority when Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, together with their army of left-wing activists, try to take it back in 2018.” The $1…

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Commentary: How C.S. Lewis Predicted the PC War on Literature

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by Grayson Quay   What makes for a good book? There are many possible answers: beautiful prose, interesting characters, a well-crafted plot, and so on, all of which contribute to literature’s power to make us feel or experience things in new and different ways. For some, though, a good book is one that aligns perfectly with the reader’s political and ideological agenda. In his book An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis lumps professional literary critics and scholars who read this way into what he calls “the Vigilant school of critics” and accuses them of treating “criticism as a form of social and ethical hygiene.” “Nothing for them is a matter of taste,” Lewis writes. “A work, or a single passage, cannot for them be good in any sense unless it… reveals attitudes which are essential elements in the good life. You must therefore accept their (implied) conception of the good life if you are to accept their criticism. That is, you can admire them as critics only if you also revere them as sages.” Although Lewis refrains from specifying which ideologies make up the Vigilant school, today the culprit is obvious: progressive identity politics. Last year, the New York Post ran an article about…

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A New Report Details How Nonprofits Are Funneling Millions To Democratic Governors To Further Their Global Warming Agenda

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by Michael Bastach   California Governor Jerry Brown’s upcoming global warming activist summit is part of an effort to funnels millions of dollars from nonprofits to state politicians to advance a liberal climate agenda, according to a new report. Brown’s so-called “Global Climate Action Summit” begins on Wednesday, and is sure to garner media attention. Its list of speakers includes former Vice President Al Gore, actor Alec Baldwin and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Indeed, the whole point of the summit is to give politicians and activists a platform on global warming ahead of the November elections. However, Competitive Enterprise senior fellow Chris Horner wants people to remember one thing about the summit: “this is what activist government for hire looks like, and how it is brought about.” “Open record productions reveal that this summit is part of a major climate industry that funnels donor money through nonprofit organizations to staff up politicians’ offices,” Horner wrote in a new report published Tuesday. And what an industry it is, Horner’s report reveals. Democratic state governors hope to mobilize $50 million by 2020 from nonprofits towards promoting liberal climate policies, including meeting the goals of the Paris climate accord. This is…

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Kavanaugh Supreme Court Confirmation Vote Puts Red State Democrats in a Bind

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by Robert Romano   Nine Senate Democrats are standing for reelection this year in states President Donald Trump carried in 2016: Jon Tester on Montana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bill Nelson of Florida. And they could be facing the vote of their political lives when it comes to the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. So far, of those nine, Tester, Heitkamp, Nelson, Donnelly, Manchin and McCaskill have not said they will support or oppose Kavanaugh. They’ve been very quiet. For good reason. The political left in the U.S. is having an apoplectic fit that less than two years into President Donald Trump first term of office, he has had not one but two Supreme Court picks. More than any other decision, who a president puts on the Supreme Court is often one of his most enduring legacies, as the appointments often last decades. To them, Kavanaugh, a constitutionalist who promises to interpret the law as written represents everything they oppose—a firm, consistent, predictable rule of law within the boundaries set by the…

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Lee Douglas Commentary: The Six Reasons I’m Voting for Dr. Mark Green on Election Day

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by Lee Douglass, DDS   Six years ago I quizzed Mark Green about his principles and values.  In November I’ll take all of my family and friends to vote him into Congress for six reasons. 1. Mark is a scientist, doctor, and an economist.  He understands law.  The law of economics says that a mandated minimum wage abolishes entry level jobs for young and unskilled workers and the same law says that services required by government mandate drive up costs…as with Obamacare.  The law of human nature first says that any person or group of persons given power will inevitably misuse their power and tend toward corruption and tyranny.  Secondly, any individual or class of individuals given free stuff or special privileges will both learn to expect and then demand special treatment and free stuff.  Out of respect for natural law, Mark Green will go to Congress with the intent to cut back the power and role of government in American life. We are desperate to have this done, ignoring all of the squealing and whining from those accustomed to expanding their power by increasing government power. 2. A friend asked if Mark Green is ambitious.  I replied, “Are you…

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White House Lawyers Actively Reviewing Docs For Declassification

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President Donald Trump

by Saagar Enjeti and Chuck Ross   White House lawyers are actively reviewing controversial FBI and Department of Justice documents relating to the 2016 presidential campaign for possible declassification, multiple sources with knowledge tell The Daily Caller News Foundation. The review process is being led by Emmet Flood of the White House Counsel’s office at the urging of an insistent president, two sources with knowledge of the process told TheDCNF. A source close to the president noted that Flood and his colleagues within the counsel’s office are generally opposed to declassification, out of the concern for the precedent it would set as well as any unintended consequences of making the information public. Sources cautioned that declassification could occur as soon as this week, though the uncertainty reflects the nature of the review process itself. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders demurred on declassification in a Monday briefing saying, “I can’t get into that right now.” Trump himself told The Daily Caller in a Sept. 4 Oval Office interview on declassification “we’re looking at it very seriously right now because the things that have gone on are so bad.” At issue within…

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Amazon: The World’s Most Dangerous Crony Capitalist

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by Rick Manning   The bedrock of American commerce – and of the broader capitalist experiment – has always been competition.  If you can build a better mousetrap, invent a longer-lasting light bulb or more efficiently churn out widgets (or in this case, clichés), odds are your endeavor will encounter success. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like or what you believe – what matters is what you can produce. Competition fuels all of the forces that drive our free market – inspiration, innovation, efficiency, accessibility, profitability and prosperity.  It is what cures diseases, crosses continents, crushes despots, cradles civilizations and – just to make sure we aren’t forgetting the point here – creates wealth. Capitalism is the great invention that makes all other inventions possible – which is precisely why it must be protected from crony capitalist companies like Amazon. Amazon is not operating on a level playing field.  Not only that, it is rigging many once-level commercial playing fields in favor of larger retailers – secure in the knowledge that it will get a larger slice of profits if it picks winners and losers based on volume. It is also picking up government subsidies at a bargain basement price.  Since…

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FAKE NEWS? Bob Woodward Has A Trail Of Accuracy Issues That Nobody Is Talking About

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by Peter Hasson   Longtime journalist Bob Woodward’s best-selling new book, “Fear,” presents a scathing depiction of President Donald Trump and his ability to perform his duties as commander-in-chief. While senior Trump officials including Secretary of Defense James Mattis have denied quotations attributed to them in the book, media coverage of “Fear” has been largely positive, emphasizing the 75-year-old Woodward’s experience and trustworthiness. Statement from Secretary of Defense, James Mattis: pic.twitter.com/OneaxKCneV — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018 But that coverage has left out part of the story: repeated, credible charges — including from well-respected fellow journalists — that in previous books Woodward embellished the truth, made dubious bombshell claims or was otherwise misleading. Woodward’s former editor at the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee, though publicly complimentary of Woodward, privately doubted some of the more dramatic elements of Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s Watergate-era bestseller, “All The President’s Men.” Bradlee and Woodward’s former assistant at the Post, Jeff Himmelman, revealed Bradlee’s nagging doubts in a 2012 biography of the longtime editor. Bradlee gave Himmelman full access to his files, which revealed that details about Woodward’s relationship with infamous Watergate source “Deep Throat” gnawed at Bradlee years later. Details like Woodward communicating with Deep Throat by placing a flag in a potted…

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Sheriff Speaks Out After Arizona County Rejects Federal Grant Over Trump’s Immigration Policies

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by Will Racke   Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier has the unenviable task of managing public safety throughout more than 9,000 square miles of rugged desert, but county lawmakers may have made his job even harder. A majority of the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reject $1.4 million in funding from Operation Stonegarden, a federal grant program aimed at boosting cooperation between the federal government and local law enforcement on border security issues. In Pima County — Arizona’s largest by land area and second-largest by population — the Stonegarden grants have long been used to cover overtime pay and equipment replacement for sheriff’s deputies. The money also helped Napier maintain offices in isolated communities more than two hour’s drive from the county seat of Tuscon. Activists have tied the grants to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, accusing Pima County of supporting controversial federal policies like the separation of illegal immigrant families because of its participation in Operation Stonegarden. Napier says the grant money isn’t put toward immigration enforcement in any way, but rather conventional public safety services in areas that would be impossible to cover without federal funding. He spoke about the controversy with Daily Caller News Foundation reporters, who are…

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Nashville Left-Wing Activists Predict SCOTUS Nominee Kavanaugh Will Spawn Terror … at Protest Event Held on 9-11

Chris Butler
prostest

About 20 people representing far-left activist groups assembled in Nashville Tuesday to spout off clichéd talking points about the horrors U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh might supposedly inflict upon America. The comments came 17 years to the day after Islamist terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, killing more than 3,000 Americans in the process. They assembled on the front steps of the district offices of Tennessee’s two U.S. Republican senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, in Nashville’s West End. Someone from Indivisible Tennessee spoke. Someone from the American Muslim Advisory Council had something to say, as did someone from the Tennessee Activist Coalition. Some speakers also represented the Vanderbilt Divinity School Racial Justice Collaborative. The motley crew of Trump-detesting rabble-rousers said they would backdrop themselves with “a mountain of paper reams representing the 100,000 documents still unavailable to the public” about Kavanaugh. But in person all they had were empty cardboard boxes. Of all the speakers, Justin Jones, a Vanderbilt student, was perhaps the most dramatic when speaking of the Kavanaugh nomination and what he said were the ultimate insidious goals of Washington, D.C. Republicans. “In 10 years America will…

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Dr. Mark Green Commentary on 9-11

Tennessee Star Staff

by State Senator Dr. Mark Green (R-Clarksville)   Seventeen years ago, on 9/11/2001, I was preparing as the chief resident of Fort Hood Emergency Medicine Residency program to drive to San Antonio for a joint educational program with the Brooke Army Medical Center emergency medicine residents. After turning on the TV, I quickly called their chief resident and together we canceled the joint training to happen that night. As one Army chief resident in emergency medicine spoke calmly with the chief resident of another Army emergency medicine residency, we knew what was coming. We had both served in the Army prior to our becoming medical officers, doctors, and we both knew our classmates and the rest of the Army would soon face the challenges of war. We hung up wishing each other and our teams Godspeed. I would see him almost die in Iraq. We’ve lost touch, but reflecting back on that day I was honored to have him on the other line. It’s hard to imagine now but there are young men and women who are enlisting in the Army in their senior year into the early accessions program, assuming it still exists that way, who were not yet…

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Ryman CEO Says $9 Billion Nashville Transit Plan ‘Scared the Living Daylights Out of Me’

Jason M. Reynolds
Colin Reed

The CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties now says he was never on board for Nashville’s $9 billion light-rail plan, which went off the tracks at a May 1 referendum, the Nashville Business Journal said. The transit proposal came to a crashing halt after voters defeated it by 64-34 percent on May 1, The Tennessee Star reported at the time. Business supporters included McNeely Piggot & Fox, which handled the failed plan’s PR, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Predators. Now, the Nashville Business Journal says Colin Reed, CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties, had some misgivings. “I had some of the same concerns that the ‘antis’ had,” the Nashville Business Journal quotes him as saying. “The notion of tearing up the middle of Broadway for an extended period of time, building a tunnel underneath and bringing it up somewhere on Broadway, concerned the living daylights out of me. Building rail lines in the middle of highways concerns the life out of me. This was a huge amount of money. What we have to fix is morning-time rush hour and evening-time rush hour. That’s where our problems reside here. I felt like this whole evolution we’re seeing with self-driving…

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Africa-Based Cybercrime Conspiracy Busted For Stealing $15 Million From Memphis Businesses

Chris Alto
hacker

Eight cyber-criminals have been arrested in an Africa-based “cybercrime and business email compromise (BEC) conspiracy” for stealing $15 million dollars related to real estate transactions from businesses and individuals in Memphis. Of the five cyber-criminals arrested in the U.S. three were citizens from Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria, and two were Americans. U.S. officials are seeking extradition for three others who have been arrested in Ghana. It is not known at this time whether the three foreign nationals were living in the U.S. legally. Benard Okorhi, a Nigerian national who arrived in Canada in February 2018, claiming refugee status, is also in extradition proceedings for his alleged role in the cyber-conspiracy. Four others believed to be part of the fraud ring, including Okorhi’s brother, remain at large. Working with international law enforcement, the Department of Justice launched “Operation Keyboard Warrior” in an effort to thwart “business email compromise (BEC) schemes.” By hacking computer servers and using phony email messages, the cyber-criminals diverted funds from businesses and individuals to Africa: Using sophisticated anonymization techniques, including the use of spoofed email addresses and Virtual Private Networks, the co-conspirators identified large financial transactions, initiated fraudulent email correspondence with relevant business parties, and then redirected closing funds through a network…

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Commentary: Leftist Christians Target Florida Governor’s Race

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by CHQ Staff   The Far-Left Democratic Party – you know the party that removed any mention of God from its platform and booed and jeered when a pro-forma mention of the Creator was added – has found a new cloak for its anti-religious liberty policies; newly re-energized Leftist Christians. Vietnam-era Leftist Christian leaders, such as Yale University chaplain, William Sloane Coffin Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Father Daniel Joseph Berrigan SJ, Philip Berrigan, a former Josephite priest, Br. David Darst, a De La Salle Christian Brother, Thomas Melville, a former Maryknoll priest, Tom Cornell, a leader among the Catholic Worker movement, Reverend Richard Neuhaus, John B. Sheerin, the editor of Catholic World and prominent Catholic layman Michael Novak inspired a generation of Leftist Christian seminarians and activists. This Soviet-funded Christian Left, that led the nuclear disarmament movement and the opposition to the Vietnam War and Ronald Reagan’s defense build-up, never really went away, they simply faded from the front page when their ties to Moscow were revealed and their ideology was discredited by Reagan’s victory over the Soviet Union. Now they are back, leading the sanctuary city and open borders movements with funding from anti-Christian billionaire and Nazi…

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Memorials to Honor Victims of 9/11 Across America

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by Max Jungreis   Americans on Tuesday will mark the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that claimed almost 3,000 lives. President Donald Trump will attend a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers retook control from the al-Qaida affiliated terrorists who had hijacked the plane. In a statement Saturday, the White House declared September 7 to 9 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance for the victim of the attacks. “The faith of our Nation may have been tested in the avenues of New York City, on the shores of the Potomac, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but our strength never faltered and our resilience never wavered,” the statement said. In the capital, the Pentagon will hold special services for families of those killed when a plane crashed into the building. And in New York, hundreds of survivors and family members of those killed will gathered at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood before two hijacked commercial flights brought them down. Twin beams of light will be projected into the sky to memorialize those lost in the attacks. The…

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EXCLUSIVE: MyPillow’s Mike Lindell Opens Up About Trump, Crack, ‘Evil’ Ellison, and More

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Mike Lindell

Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, first met President Donald Trump the summer before the 2016 election. “When I met him, I go: ‘Wow, there’s nobody on this planet I’d rather have be my president than Donald Trump,’” he told The Minnesota Sun, a state-focused news site that, like The Tennessee Star, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Star News Digital Media. Lindell was launched into the political scene after that summer meeting when he came out in support of then-candidate Trump. “First of all, let me get it straight. I was never a politician. I didn’t know a conservative from a liberal before I met Donald Trump,” he said in an interview. “I went all-in to back him and to get behind him to be our president. That’s when I actually had to learn what liberal is and what conservatism was. I had to learn all this.” Since then, Lindell has doubled-down on his support for the president, and has done so proudly. The MyPillow founder was recently chastised on social media for refusing to pull his advertisements from Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show. “I didn’t back down. I advertise across the board,” Lindell said, noting that he’s…

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Chinese Officials Are Reportedly Burning Bibles And Crosses, Forcing Christians To Renounce Their Faith

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by Anders Hagstrom   Chinese pastors claim officials are closing churches, burning bibles and crosses, and forcing pastors and congregations to sign papers claiming they’ve renounced their faith, The Associated Press reported Monday. Chinese pastors and the U.S.-based group China Aid report that Chinese Communist Party officials forcibly shut several churches in central Henan province and Beijing in recent weeks, according to The AP. The escalation is part of the officially atheist Communist Party’s efforts to “sinicize” Christianity, or make it more culturally Chinese. “The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” Bob Fu of China Aid told The AP. Fu also cited video footage showing what seemed to be bibles aflame with forms allowing believers to renounce their faith nearby, The AP reported. Fu said the forms marked the first time since freedom of religion was written into the Chinese Constitution in 1982 and since Mao’s Cultural Revolution of 1976 that Christians had been compelled to renounce their faith. One Chinese pastor who asked not to be identified told The AP that officials entered his church at 5 a.m. and began removing items and burning bibles, crosses and furniture. China has…

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Tennessee Universities Desire More International Students

Chris Butler

More and more international students attend universities in Tennessee. They take the knowledge and the skills they acquire here and apply them back on their home turf. Could that eventually put the United States at a competitive disadvantage? Bill Persinger, spokesman for Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, said he could not answer. “I won’t comment on the political aspects of it, but it’s important for our students to understand global competitiveness,” Persinger told The Tennessee Star Monday. “If we have someone who is a first-time college student who is on a Pell grant or otherwise then the only way they are able to learn other cultures is by bringing international students here. I think that is important for all our students and getting them the best education possible.” Nashville Public Radio reports Vanderbilt and Belmont have more than doubled their international freshman enrollment since 2009. Meanwhile, public universities like Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee State University also have more international students. This, the website, reported is deliberate. Persinger told The Star that Austin Peay has too few international students and it’s important to get more. “The university is a place to challenge your thought process and expose you to…

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Trump To Shut Down Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington Office

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The Trump administration will order the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to shutter its Washington, D.C., office in a bid to increase pressure on Palestinian leadership amid stalled peace talks. “We have been notified by a US official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the US,” PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in a statement Monday, according to Al-Jazeera. National Security Advisor John Bolton is expected to announce the closure in a speech to the conservative Federalist Society on Monday. “The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel,” Bolton is expected to say, according to a draft copy of his prepared remarks reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” Bolton will add. The closure of the PLO’s Washington office would be the latest in a series of punitive measures the Trump administration has taken against Palestinian leadership while the White House develops its yet-to-be-revealed peace plan. Under President Donald Trump, Washington has sought to slash financial support for the Palestinian organization, arguing that U.S. aid rewards corrupt and intransigent behavior on the part…

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New Text Messages Show FBI Officials Discussed ‘Media Leak Strategy’ Ahead Of Major Trump-Russia Revelation

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McCabe Page and Strzock

by Chuck Ross   Newly released text messages show that disgraced FBI official Peter Strzok asked to speak to former FBI lawyer Lisa Page about a “media leak strategy” during a crucial period of the Trump-Russia investigation last year. The text messages were revealed on Monday by North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, a member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. “Our review of these new documents raises grave concerns regarding an apparent systemic culture of media leaking by high-ranking officials at the FBI and DOJ related to ongoing investigations,” Meadows wrote to Rosenstein in the letter, which was obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation and first reported by Sara Carter. Meadows pointed to text messages that Strzok sent to Page on April 10, 2017 and April 12, 2017. In the first message, Strzok, who then served as deputy chief of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, wrote to Page that: “I had literally just gone to find this phone to tell you I want to talk to you about media leak strategy with DOJ before you go.” Strzok was at that time the lead investigator on the FBI’s probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. He joined…

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Ron DeSantis Resigns From Congress To Focus On Gubernatorial Bid

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by Molly Prince   Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced his resignation from Congress on Monday to focus on his Florida gubernatorial race. “As the Republican nominee for Governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress,” DeSantis wrote in his resignation letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. “Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary. In order to honor my principles and protect the taxpayer, I officially resign from the House of Representatives effective immediately.” DeSantis also requested that his resignation be retroactive so that he would not receive pay for the month of September. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida’s Sixth Congressional District,” tweeted DeSantis. It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida's Sixth Congressional District. pic.twitter.com/j0SgILImyP — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 10, 2018 The Florida gubernatorial race has been contentious since DeSantis faced backlash mere hours after winning his state’s Republican nomination following a comment that was misconstrued to seemingly refer to the race of his opponent, Andrew Gillum. Despite vehemently denouncing racism, the media has continued to portray DeSantis as a racist. DeSantis…

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Website Helps You Track Phil Bredesen’s Level of ‘Sophistication’

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

“Welcome to SophisticatedPhil.com, where you’ll see exactly what Phil thinks of himself!” proclaims a new website launched by the Tennessee Republican Party. “Phil Bredesen has been desperately trying to convince Tennesseans that he’s one of them, but he keeps getting in his own way,” the organization’s press secretary, Gillum Ferguson, said in a press release. Bredesen, a former Democratic governor, is running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), who is retiring. The website mentions his statements like being more “sophisticated” than rural voters. He made the remarks in an interview with the Times Free Press. Around the same time, Bredesen also released a campaign ad that was filmed outside his grandmother’s American flag-clad house touting his humble roots growing up among “secretaries, nurses, factory workers, and small business owners,” The Tennessee Star reported. Bredesen has reported assets between $88.9 million and $358 million, The Washington Free Beacon said. Bredesen would also become one of the richest members of Congress, The Star said. Public records show he is the owner of five homes—two homes in Nashville, two lakefront properties in upstate New York, and a five-bedroom home in Jackson, Wyoming. And, he is one of the…

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