Month: October 2018

Blackburn Edging Out Bredesen 51 to 46 Percent, NBC News Marist Poll Says

Jason M. Reynolds

Republican Marsha Blackburn is narrowly edging out Democrat Phil Bredesen in Tennessee’s Senate race despite Bredesen having a higher favorability with likely voters, a new NBC News/Marist poll finds. Both U.S. Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07) and former Gov. Bredesen have seen decreased popularity since the hotly fought campaign began, NBC’s Carrie Dann reports. The NBC News/Marist poll shows Blackburn with the support of 51 percent of likely voters, compared to 46 percent support for Bredesen. Among all registered voters, Blackburn’s advantage narrows to 49 percent to 46 percent. Blackburn’s standing has improved since a previous NBC/Marist poll of Tennessee released in early September, when Bredesen led 48 percent to 46 percent among likely voters. That poll was conducted August 25-28. NBC says the shift “may be a dose of political reality for Bredesen in Tennessee, where President Donald Trump won by 26 points in 2016. The poll’s sample shows that 43 percent of likely voters identify as Republicans, while just 27 percent identify as Democrats.” Among likely voters, 45 percent have a favorable impression of Blackburn, while 46 percent have an unfavorable one, down from a 46 percent favorable/ 36 percent unfavorable rating two months ago. Bredesen’s favorability is down, but…

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Nashville Police Get New Warrant, Arrest Justin Jones for Criminal Trespassing and Resisting Arrest After Outburst at Marsha Blackburn Rally

Chris Butler

Nashville authorities have arrested left-wing activist Justin Jones three days after he caused an outburst at Sunday’s Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville. After Metro Nashville Police took Jones into custody Sunday and drove him downtown, Nashville Night Court Commissioner Carolyn Piphus refused law enforcement’s request to issue an arrest warrant to Jones on charges of criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, as reported by The Tennessee Star. All three charges are misdemeanors. Later in the week, however, members of the office of Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk reviewed available evidence, including videos of Jones’ behavior. They agreed with law enforcement that arrest warrants were appropriate, said Nashville Police Spokesman Don Aaron. “Mr. Jones resides within the East Precinct and officers from East attempted to serve the outstanding warrants during their shift Tuesday evening,” Aaron told The Tennessee Star. “He was not home at the time.  Mr. Jones surrendered himself for booking late this afternoon downtown.” Authorities charged Jones with criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. For unknown reasons, authorities decided not to go forward with the disorderly conduct charge, Aaron said. District Attorney General’s Office Spokesman Steve Hayslip said the new warrants came about after Assistant District Attorney Deb Smith…

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Commentary: Why Should Republicans Ever Vote for Democrats Who Think They Are Nazis?

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by Robert Romano   Don’t Democrats need at least a few Republicans to vote for them in order to win elections? You wouldn’t know it based on some of their reactions to the tragic mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that claimed 11 lives on Oct. 27. What should have been a moment where we all, in one voice, denounce anti-Semitism and mourn the fallen was instead viewed as a political opportunity by liberal punditry to somehow implicate President Donald Trump — and the tens of millions of Americans who voted for him — in the shooting. On Twitter, New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman sarcastically tweeted on Oct. 27 just hours after the shooting, But none of the white supremacist terrorism has anything to do with Trump, oh no… The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Is the ​Inevitable Result of​ Trump’s Vile Nationalism, Sasha Abramsky wrote at The Nation. Yascha Mounk at Slate.com wrote of “The Nature of Trump’s Culpability in the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre. Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media can’t escape responsibility, Max Boot declared at the Washington Post. CNN host Alisyn Camerota declared on Oct. 29 that You can draw a direct line…

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Video Allegedly Shows State Rep. Bo Mitchell Stealing Yard Signs For His Opponent Judd Cowan, Marsha Blackburn

Jason M. Reynolds

New video footage allegedly shows State Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-TN-50) stealing yard signs for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn and Mitchell’s opponent, Judd Cowan, in Davidson County. The video is available to watch here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwIVevDC2U U.S. Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07) is in a hotly contested race with Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). House Majority Leader Glen Casada (R-TN-63) confirmed the identity of his colleague in the State House, according to a Tennessee Republican Party press release. “Bo has a bad reputation at the Capitol for his temper and lack of respect for his colleagues in the legislature,” Casada said. “Unfortunately, none of those that serve with him are surprised by his actions in this video. Instead of respecting the opinions of those they may disagree with, Democrats advocate for mob-like tactics in an attempt to silence the voices of those around them. As Tennesseans, we should never stand idly by and allow this type of dishonesty in our elections.” Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden called for an investigation and for Mitchell to apologize to Cowan and voters. “It’s an incredibly petty and childish act, but unfortunately that’s what…

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Oregon Could Elect Its First Republican Governor in Nearly Four Decades

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by Chris White   Oregon voters are on the cusp of putting a Republican in the state governor’s mansion for the first time in nearly 40 years. Such a move would break convention and shift a reliably blue state into a win for the GOP. Many Oregonians and some conservative critics believe Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has not moved forcefully enough to close a yawning $22 billion public pension deficit. So, they’re looking at Brown’s opponent Knute Buehler, a two-term representative in the state who has criticized President Donald Trump in the past. His moderate tone is gaining some steam. This is the first candidate I’m crossing party lines for in 20 years, Danielle Miller, a mortgage loan officer who voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, told The Wall Street Journal Sunday. Oregon is so behind in so many ways … under our current leadership. Oregon would join the handful of states Clinton won in 2016 that have Republican governors. The race is still tight, with recent polls showing Brown ahead by less than 5 percentage points. RealClearPolitics, Cook Political Report, and other polling outfits are rating the race a toss up. Brown, meanwhile, was appointed in 2015 after…

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Despite the Media-Driven Rhetoric, the Constitution’s 14th Amendment Does Not Grant ‘Birthright Citizenship’

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by James D. Agresti   Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration, recently argued in a Washington Post op-ed that the current federal practice of granting citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants “is an absurdity—historically, constitutionally, philosophically and practically.” A number of media outlets have published fiery rebuttals declaring that Anton is dead wrong. They claim that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives citizenship to all children born in the U.S., except for the children of diplomats. However, the legislative history of the 14th Amendment proves that it does not award citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants or anyone who is not legally and permanently residing in the United States. Background In 1866, shortly after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished, a bloc of Congressmen called the “Radical Republicans“ passed a civil rights law to ensure that African Americans had the “full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens….” This law applied to former slaves but not to foreigners, and thus, it stated that: all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to…

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Six Every Day Things Millennials Can Do to Save Money

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by Lena Wang   Am I adulting yet?” Every millennial has asked themselves this catchphrase question. It’s commonly heard from twenty-somethings who have legitimate concerns about how to survive. We feel hopeless and uncertain about the future because our parents didn’t teach us personal finances or how to pick the right partner. Economic policies, such as social security and raising the national debt, gambled away our future. Can you really blame us for feeling hopeless? Millennials are some of the hardest-working, most innovative people. Look at Uber, Airbnb, and Facebook. We are far from lazy, and we’ve disrupted many industries for the better. We struggle to pay rent and we’re swamped with student loans, but there are ways to make better decisions and save money. Food and Groceries Shop within your budget, even if it means sacrificing a pleasant shopping experience. Buy groceries at Aldi, Walmart, or similar wallet-friendly stores instead of Whole Foods, Target, or Publix. An important tip to remember before you grab groceries: Never shop hungry, or you’ll be tempted to buy junk food. Also, consider how many people you’re feeding. If you have a big household, then buy in bulk at places like Sam’s Club. Dollar…

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New Research Pushes Back the Discovery of Cacao – the Basis of Chocolate – By More Than a Millennium

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New research strengthens the case that people used the chocolate ingredient cacao in South America 5,400 years ago, underscoring the seed’s radical transformation into today’s Twix bars and M&M candies. Tests indicate traces of cacao on artifacts from an archaeological site in Ecuador, according to a study published Monday. That’s about 1,500 years older than cacao’s known domestication in Central America. “It’s the earliest site now with domesticated cacao,” said Cameron McNeil of Lehman College in New York, who was not involved in the research. The ancient South American civilization likely didn’t use cacao to make chocolate since there’s no established history of indigenous populations in the region using it that way, researchers led by the University of British Columbia in Canada said. But the tests indicate the civilization used the cacao seed, not just the fruity pulp. The seeds are the part of the cacao pod used to make chocolate. Indigenous populations in the upper Amazon region today use cacao for fermented drinks and juices, and it’s probably how it was used thousands of years ago as well, researchers said. Scientists mostly agree that cacao was first domesticated in South America instead of Central America as previously believed. The…

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Congressmen Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows Will Be Featured Guests at Knoxville Fundraiser for Tim Burchett

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Republican 2d District Congressional nominee Tim Burchett isn’t taking anything for granted in the final week of the midterm elections. Two key Republican House leaders are coming to Tennessee for a November 4th fundraiser/rally in Knoxville for the conservative former Mayor of Knox County. House Freedom Caucus Founder Jim Jordan (R-OH, 4th District) and Mark Meadows (R-NC, 11th District), the current Chair of the Freedom Caucus, will be guests at the event to be held at 4 pm the home of Scott and Hope Davis, 1515 Ashland Springs Rd. Tickets are just $50 and those interested should email [email protected] for details and to get tickets. Both men have been mentioned as potential candidates for Speaker if the Republicans maintain control of the House after the November 6 election. Current Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced in April that he was not going to seek reelection. If Republicans successfully retain the House majority it is expected that it will be by a narrow margin of only a handful of seats. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill noted that the event is a good opportunity for Burchett to raise money and create visibility heading into Election Day. But the two Republican leaders coming…

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Tennessee Star Report-Knoxville Edition: Steve Gill Proposes a Solution to the Migrant Mob Headed for the U.S. Border

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report: Knoxville Edition – broadcast on on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – Star News Digital Media National Political Editor Steve Gill talked about his solution to the mob that is approaching the United States border.  After reviewing the current violence over the past weekend in Chicago, he suggested that the migrants might want to know about the violence here before fleeing their less than violent countries in comparison.  He proposed that perhaps those wishing to enter the United States, would have to live in Chicago. Gill continued: Now I have come up with the solution to what we do about this “mob” that is marching towards the United States.  The take our jobs, take our stuff, caravan that is continuing to move through Mexico with police escorts, with assistance, with funding to help them along their way.  To continue that move towards the United States despite the fact that President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and the military are saying they will not enter the United States. This is an invasion.  Good clue as to when an invasion is taking place is if people are waving the flags of a foreign country, singing their national anthem as they’re…

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Marco Rubio Dings Journalist Who Said Donald Trump Radicalized More People Than ISIS and Then Was Invited Back on CNN

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by Hanna Bogorowski   GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida took to Twitter on Tuesday to condemn comments made by GQ Magazine correspondent Julia Ioffe, who has been in the headlines for making claims about President Donald Trump and his supporters, saying it’s wrong for people to think inflammatory language is only coming from the right. Ioffe said on CNN’s The Lead With Jake Tapper Monday afternoon that Trump has radicalized more people than the Islamic State (ISIS). This president has radicalized so many more people than ISIS ever did, she said. Ioffe continued the anti-Trump rhetoric Monday night with CNN’s Don Lemon, saying she believes a silent majority of Trump supports believes racism is okay. It’s also kind of the silent majority of Trump supporters that think this is okay, they continue to support this president despite what he said, she added, referring to what she called Trump’s half-hearted condemnation of racists after the deadly mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Rubio responded to Ioffe’s comments on Twitter, referring to her as a journalist in quotes, and adding that it’s inaccurate for people to believe incendiary rhetoric is not apparent on the left as well. So many keep pretending inflammatory…

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Report: Pompeo to Meet with N. Korean Counterpart Next Week

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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency says U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to meet with his North Korean counterpart in the United States next week. The news agency reports that the two sides are trying to arrange a meeting shortly after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 6. Pompeo told VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren in an interview on Oct. 19 that he hoped the meeting would take place “in the next week and a half or so.” Yonhap reported Monday that a South Korean diplomatic source with knowledge of U.S.-North Korea negotiations said, “At the time of Secretary Pompeo’s remarks, [the meeting] was being planned for the end of October, but I understand that it was delayed by a couple days due to circumstances on the U.S. side.” “The location will probably be the U.S. East Coast,” the source said. Pompeo has met during previous talks with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee. However, the Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong could also join the talks. Kim Yo Jong is said to have a close relationship with her brother. The…

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Commentary: From Illegal Caravans to Economic Growth Trump is America’s Motivator

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Donald Trump

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Five percent growth? You’re forgiven if you thought you’d read it wrong. According to one of the president’s most trusted advisors Donald Trump isn’t happy with the economy the way it is. Make no mistake, Trump was ecstatic that growth broke the four percent mark earlier this year but isn’t content to rest on his well-deserved laurels. No, Trump wants five percent growth and is apparently obsessed with getting there. Paul Bedard reported at The Washington Examiner, National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow, one of President Trump’s top policy advisors and an architect of the 2017 tax cut, said that Trump stays awake because he is obsessed with rebuilding the U.S. economy and reaching 5 percent growth. “I can tell you after a few months on the job, this man is indefatigable. Donald Trump doesn’t stop. He barely sleeps. It’s almost impossible to keep up with him. He is truly obsessed with restoring American greatness,’ he wrote in the insider book Trumponomics, Inside the America First Plan to Get Our Economy Back on Track.” Think about it. While most Americans hit the hay at night exhausted from a hard day’s work – which Trump helped…

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Bernie Sanders Can’t Commit to Serving Full Senate Term, Says It’s ‘Impossible to be a Senator and a President at the Same Time’

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Bernie Sanders

by Hanna Bogorowski   U.S. Senate candidate in Vermont and incumbent Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders chatted about a possible 2020 presidential run at a Monday forum, in which he wouldn’t say whether he’d commit to fulfilling a six-year term if re-elected, because it’s impossible to be a senator and a president at the same time. Sanders, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, said at a Senate debate Monday night in Winooski, Vermont, that he’s not definitely throwing in another bid, but also wouldn’t say if he’s planning to completely serve another term. Right now, my focus is on the year 2018, but if you’re asking me to make an absolute pledge as to whether I’ll be running for president or not, I’m not going to make that pledge, Sanders said, according to local Vermont newspaper Seven Days. The simple truth is I have not made that decision. But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I may not run. I may. But on the other hand, I may not, the senator said. Among the chatter of potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders currently leads the field of contenders in terms of media attention and headlines, according to a Politico…

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Phil Bredesen Met in June With Blackburn Rally Protester Justin Jones, the Man Police Asked Judicial Commissioner to Charge With Resisting Arrest

Chris Butler

Justin Jones, the man who caused the biggest outburst at Sunday’s Marsha Blackburn rally, met with Democrat Phil Bredesen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this past summer. This, according to Jones’ personal Facebook page. The two men posed for a photo together, and Jones, 23, proudly uploaded it to his Facebook. And this apparently wasn’t a quick meeting, as the two men conveniently sat next to one another on an airplane trip. “Ran into former Tennessee Governor, Phil Bredesen, at the DC airport yesterday. Talked about the #poorpeoplescampaign and coincidentally we ended up sitting next to each other on the plane,” Jones said in the post, dated June 24. “Now that he’s running for U.S. Senator Bob Corker’s seat against Rep. Marsha Blackburn, we need commitments that he will fight for everyday people if elected and lift up a policy agenda that challenges systemic poverty, systemic racism, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation’s distorted moral narrative. We already know Marsha ain’t right, but whoever is elected let’s hold folks accountable!” Law enforcement officers, as The Tennessee Star reported, carried Jones out of the Ray Stevens’ CabaRay Showroom by force Sunday after he refused a direct order to leave an event…

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Phil Bredesen Continues to Deny Migrant Army Marching Through Mexico is a National Security Threat

Jason M. Reynolds

Democratic former Governor Phil Bredesen is still saying an invasion of thousands of migrants marching through Mexico from Honduras who have declared their intent to illegally enter the United States is not a threat to national security. “A caravan of a few thousand poor people without weapons, working their way slowly toward the southern border of the strongest country in the world, is not some huge national emergency like suddenly Russia decided to threaten us with nuclear weapons or something,” WKRN reported during an event at Nissan Stadium Saturday. “Let’s just keep this stuff in context, let’s just handle it in a smart way,” said Bredesen. The Washington Examiner recently reported that the migrant army making its way toward the United States through Mexico is includes a number of multi-national criminals, quoting the Department of Homeland Security, The Tennessee Star reported last week. “@DHSgov can confirm that there are individuals within the caravan who are gang members or have significant criminal histories,” DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton wrote in a series of tweets. Bredesen’s opponent in the Senate race, U.S. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) released a campaign video last Friday calling him out on the illegal migrant army. The video is available…

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President Donald Trump to Visit Chattanooga This Sunday Nov. 4, Speaking at McKenzie Arena

Jason M. Reynolds

As previously rumored, President Donald Trump will visit Chattanooga Sunday just ahead of Election Day, with the administration focusing on the closely connected Southeast Tennessee-North Georgia region. The White House says President Trump will speak at McKenzie Arena Sunday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. Eastern, WDEF says. You must go to this website to register for a ticket; there is a maximum of two per transaction. The tickets are free, but they are first-come, first-serve. Previous rumors had the president visiting the Scenic City on Monday, Nov. 5. “We are pleased to announce the final stretch of our national midterm campaign tour with MAGA rallies scheduled in key congressional districts and states including Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, Indiana, Montana, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio,” said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer for Donald J. Trump for President Inc. “It will be a sprint to the finish of the midterms for President Trump who is campaigning hard for GOP House and Senate campaigns across the map. We can’t go back to the days of high taxes and low expectations. Voters must choose the right future on Election Day and support President Trump’s successful America First agenda with the continued support of GOP majorities in…

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Commentary: Halloween and the Perils of Cultural Appropriation

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by Thaddeaus G. McCotter   Cultural appropriation, the Cambridge Dictionary helpfully informs us, is “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” This, of course, should not be a problem in America, a constitutional republic imbued with the concept of pluralism—that is, the ability of numerous cultures to live peaceably while unified by an overarching set of core principles that form an American civic consensus. These include an allegiance to the Constitution and an adherence to a general principle of tolerance, among other essential, mutually shared civic virtues and responsibilities. For a succinct example, when someone describes himself as Irish-American, over time the emphasis is ultimately on the American. Until recently, pluralism has served the nation well, both in terms of assimilating individuals and their respective cultures. It has done so by allowing those subcultures to continue; and, in conjunction with the doctrine of subsidiarity , as a means of respecting a preserving the powers of voluntary, non-governmental organizations collectively operated by private citizens to address and solve problems, including families and civic groups. Unfortunately, the Left’s diversity dogma subverts pluralism by demanding…

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Here Are Three Cases to Watch at the Supreme Court

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by Elizabeth Slattery and Ashley Vaughan   The Supreme Court is back in session after a two-week break. The justices will hear arguments in a number of important cases, including ones dealing with coercive class-action settlements, using hovercrafts for moose hunting in Alaska, and Virginia’s ban on uranium mining. Here are three cases to watch closely in the coming weeks. Frank v. Gaos Is it fair for the majority of a class-action settlement to go to third-party recipients with ties to the defendant and the class attorneys? That’s what a district court approved in a suit alleging that Google violated users’ privacy when it disclosed users’ search terms to third parties. Google agreed to settle the case for $8.5 million, with more than $2 million going to the class attorneys, $1 million paying for administrative costs and “incentive payments” for the named plaintiffs, and the vast majority—over $5 million—going to third-party recipients. The federal district court, and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on appeal, authorized this settlement because it would be impractical to distribute settlement funds to a class with an estimated 129 million members. These courts followed a doctrine known as cy pres, which…

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Gunman Shoots Out Windows of GOP Office in Florida

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by Chuck Ross   A gunman in Florida fired at least four shots into the Volusia County Republican Party’s offices, police said Monday. South Daytona police Capt. Mark Cheatham told reporters that nobody was injured in the shooting, which occurred between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. A suspect has also not been identified, according to the Orlando Sentinel. https://twitter.com/mspringerwftv/status/1056926486643511297 Tony Ledbetter, the chairman of the Volusia Co. GOP, told WFTV news station that a volunteer found the window’s shattered on Monday morning. Four bullets had pierced the drywall in the office, he said. “You’ve got some sick person, and I’ll call them out, they’re Democrats. No Republican’s got any reason to come attack our location,” said Ledbetter. https://twitter.com/mspringerwftv/status/1056928353230446593 The shooting follows a series of politically-motivated attacks in recent weeks. On Friday, Cesar Sayoc, Jr. was arrested in southern Florida for sending at least 12 pipe bombs to various Democratic politicians and personalities, including Barack Obama, the Clinton’s and Eric Holder. And on Saturday, Robert Bowers killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers’ social media posts showed that he embraced anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Republicans have also been targeted with acts of violence. A vandal in Bakersfield, California, threw…

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Trump Calls Andrew Gillum A Thief

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by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump called Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum a thief Monday, an apparent nod at a corruption investigation that threatens to embroil the Tallahassee mayor. “In Florida there is a choice between a Harvard/Yale educated man named @RonDeSantisFL who has been a great Congressman and will be a great Governor – and a Dem who is a thief and who is Mayor of poorly run Tallahassee, said to be one of the most corrupt cities in the Country!” Trump wrote on Twitter. In Florida there is a choice between a Harvard/Yale educated man named @RonDeSantisFL who has been a great Congressman and will be a great Governor – and a Dem who is a thief and who is Mayor of poorly run Tallahassee, said to be one of the most corrupt cities in the Country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018 Gillum, a Democrat, has not been convicted or even accused of a crime, including theft. But he has come under scrutiny over gifts he allegedly received in 2016 from an undercover FBI agent posing as a lobbyist seeking business with the city of Tallahassee. It was reported on Oct. 23 that in…

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Angela Merkel to Step Down, Paving Way for New German Chancellor in 2021

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by Alex Christy   German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Monday that she will not seek re-election as party leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merkel has been chair of the CDU since 2000 and chancellor since 2005, according to Reuters. While she has said she is not seeking re-election, she announced it is her intention to remain chancellor until the next general election in 2021. “It is time today for me to start a new chapter. This fourth term is my last term as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the next Bundestag election in 2021, I will not run again as chancellor. I will not run for the German Bundestag any more, and I do not want any other political office,” Merkel said to reporters in Berlin, according to CNN. The CDU and Socialist Democratic Party (SPD), the parties under Merkel’s coalition, recently “suffered heavy losses” in regional elections, CNN reported. Merkel has been one of the leading proponents of further European integration. Her open refugee policy has been met with the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has risen in popularity amid other anti-establishment sentiments in Europe on the right. On the center-left, the Greens have…

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Interfaith Vigils Across the US for Victims of Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

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Flags on U.S. government buildings across the country will be flown at half-staff over the next three days to honor the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. President Donald Trump calls it “a mark of solemn respect for the victims of the terrible act of violence.” He also ordered flags lowered at all U.S. embassies, consular offices, military facilities, and Naval ships. Interfaith vigils were held from coast-to-coast Sunday and in many Canadian cities. A number of National Football League games held moments of silence before kickoff. The Vancouver Canucks professional hockey team also paused before their game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Vancouver to remember the dead. The Eiffel Tower in Paris was darkened Sunday night. Authorities in Pittsburgh are calling what happened at the Tree of Life synagogue a “hate crime,” saying suspected gunman Robert Bowers shouted anti-Semitic threats as he opened fire. The 46-year-old Bowers faces 29 criminal charges. Documents outlining the allegations against him say Bowers was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns. He said that he wanted all Jews to die because he believed Jews “were committing genocide to his people.” That apparently refers to his belief that a Jewish refugee agency…

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Migrant Killed as Second Caravan Clashes with Mexican Border Police

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by Will Racke   Several hundred Central American migrants tried to force their way past police at a checkpoint on the Mexico-Guatemala border Sunday, sparking clashes that left one migrant dead and dozens more injured. The group of mostly Honduran men had broken through a gate leading to the border bridge between the Guatemalan town of Tecun Uman and Ciudad Hidalgo in Mexico. As they streamed onto the bridge, they were met by Mexican officers who had been ordered to block the unauthorized migrants. In the ensuing melee, one of the migrants was killed after being struck in the head by what Guatemalan authorities said was a rubber bullet, The Associated Press reported. Guatemalan authorities did not release the name of the man who was killed, but described him as a 26-year-old Honduran national. At a news conference late Sunday, Mexican Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida denied that Mexican police were responsible for the man’s death. Navarrate Pida said the migrants attacked officers with rocks, glass bottles and fireworks and that some of the migrants were carrying firearms. He denied that Mexican officers were deployed with guns that fire rubber-tipped ammunition. The group of migrants involved in Sunday’s clash has billed itself as…

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Nashville Judicial Commissioner Refused to Issue Arrest Warrant Police Requested for Protester at Blackburn Rally on Charges of Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest

Chris Butler

Nashville Metro Police Department spokesman Don Aaron told The Tennessee Star on Monday city court officials refused to issue an arrest warrant for Justin Jones, the man who made national headlines and caused the biggest disruption at the Marsha Blackburn and Lindsey Graham political rally Sunday. “Justin Jones was physically arrested and transported downtown where the officer requested warrants for the offenses of criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. The judicial commissioner refused to issue the warrants and instructed the officer to charge Mr. Jones with only criminal trespassing by citation. As reported to us the commissioner’s name is Carolyn Piphus,” Aaron told The Star. “I have no information on why she did that.” Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said that the video and photographic evidence clearly shows Jones resisting arrest and physically assaulting those attending the event and fighting with the police officer. “The fact that the judicial commissioner refused to issue the warrants requested by the police officer raises a serious question about whether she was motivated by partisan political considerations,”  Gill said. “Is there a blue thumb being placed on the scales of justice in Nashville courts?” Gill asked. “It is hard to believe that…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Former State Sen. Mae Beavers Recounts How Protester ‘Justin Jones and His Troops Sat in My Office, Harassed, Kept Us from Doing Business’

Julie Carr

On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked with former Senator Mae Beavers about the recent Blackburn rally (covered up by the Tennesseean) and career protester Justin Jones.   The rally was violently disrupted by several protesters on Sunday, one of whom was Justin Jones. They went on to discuss Jones’ history as a repeat protester and how the behavior of protesters may require mental evaluation to prevent future violence as seen in the past few weeks. Gill: Mae Beavers on the line with us.  This Justin Jones character that you see pictured at TennesseeStar.com has also stalked and been a problem and a protester with respect to Mae Beavers as well.  Senator, former state Senator Mae Beavers is on the line with us, on our news makers line and Mae good morning! Beavers:  Good morning Steve. Gill:  So you know this character and had some run ins with this character? Beavers: Well, two years ago when Mark Pody and I filed the bathroom bill, we had some protesters show up at one of…

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Dr. Mark Green Commentary: Liability Reform a Major Area for Healthcare Savings

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by State Senator Dr. Mark Green (R-Clarksville)   In my third and final op-ed on the healthcare crisis facing America, I’ll discuss the last major problem causing the crisis as well as a solution to address it. You can read part one here, and part two here. Liability reform is a major area for saving billions of dollars. No one wants to be sued, causing doctors to go crazy ordering CAT scans and labs to make certain that if we are called to the witness stand, we can say we did everything we could. Frivolous lawsuits and exorbitant awards are costing providers and their insurance companies millions of dollars in insurance premiums. Those costs are then passed onto the patients in increased healthcare costs, and thus, increased insurance premiums. In some states, like Florida, three lawsuits and you lose your license. In a recent poll of emergency physicians, 65% said that they could save over $500 per 8-hour shift by decreasing unnecessary tests as a part of their defensive practice. Another 16% felt they could save between $200 and $500 dollars. I ran a level 2 trauma center that saw 75,000 patients a year. If we assume a conservative savings…

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Gerard Scimeca Commentary: American Consumers Can Unite Around Holding Volkswagen Accountable

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by Gerard Scimeca   In this era of broad political division, one thing that still unites Americans is a deep and abiding dislike for those who seek to profit from cheating.  Whether cheaters come in the form of athletes, such as cyclist Lance Armstrong and his use of performance enhancing drugs, or celebrity lip syncing phonies Milli Vanilli, America has a long and undeniable distaste for con artists. Even President Trump himself, the exact opposite of a unifying figure, earned praise from some of his harshest critics when he targeted China and other nations as cheaters on trade deals. Rule breakers have a way of uniting even the strangest of bed-fellows. The President, then — in fact all of Washington — may want to turn a keen eye toward Volkswagen, who in the midst of one the greatest corporate scandals in history is still putting their finger on the scale, and trying to hoodwink consumers. At a time when they should be on their best behavior, the German automaker is still a long way from making amends and cleaning up their mess. It’s high-time lawmakers held them accountable. Currently, Volkswagen (VW) is still going through the blowback phase from the revelation…

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US Power Sector Has Cut Carbon Emissions by Nearly 30 Percent

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by Jason Hopkins   A combination of slower electricity demand and a changing fossil fuel industry has led to a 28 percent reduction in the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. Despite President Donald Trump’s ambitious rollback of environmental regulations and attempts to revitalize the coal industry, data indicate the U.S. is reducing its carbon footprint under his administration. The country’s power sector has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 28 percent since 2005, according to a Monday report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The country’s power sector had a total of 1,744 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, the smallest level seen since 1987. The drop in greenhouse gases are due to two main changes: slower demand growth for electricity, and the decline of coal in lieu of natural gas and subsidy backed renewables. In six of the past 10 years, demand for electricity has decreased. At the same time, natural gas has emerged as a cheaper and more efficient source for energy generation than coal. Natural gas surpassed coal as the main source of electricity generation in 2016.  Non-carbon sources of electricity generation have also made inroads in the past decade. Largely fueled by state and…

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Tennessee Town Abuses Drug Fund Money, Audit Says

Chris Butler

Officials in the town of Whiteville took nearly $10,000 of money out of their drug fund and spent it on things they weren’t supposed to, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Friday. According to the audit, town officials paid $9,230 from the drug fund and bought office furniture and wiring for the new city hall building. By law, they may not use drug fund money on such expenditures, according to the audit. No one at the town of Whiteville’s government offices were available to talk to The Tennessee Star Friday or to explain where, precisely, revenue from the drug fund originates. According to the town’s drug fund manual, town officials can use this money on drug treatment and drug education programs, drug enforcement programs, confidential expenditures, law enforcement expenditures, and automated fingerprint machines. “The police chief told the town recorder these were allowed expenditures,” auditors wrote. Comptrollers also called out town officials for paying employees during their lunch breaks and for giving out overtime to employees who did not work more than 40 hours. “One employee was being paid during lunch, resulting in an overpayment of approximately $81 during a week with four workdays. This would project to approximately…

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Tennessee Fire Department Gets Questionable Tax Exemptions

Chris Butler

Members of the New Johnsonville Volunteer Fire Department racked up more than $22,000 in unpaid cell phone bills and took advantage of city tax exemptions they weren’t supposed to have, according to a state audit. Tennessee Comptrollers released their report Thursday. “Beginning in May 2016, the department established the cell phone plan for the benefit of firefighters and others. The department plan was not created for a government purpose,” according to the audit. “The cell phone plan bills were supposed to be paid with individual participant money and not with volunteer fire department or government funds.” The plan included bills related to 116 phones — although the membership of the volunteer fire department was fewer than 25 firefighters, auditors said. The department plan included not only New Johnsonville volunteer firefighters, but also some of their family members and others. The average monthly bill was approximately $4,250, the audit said. Earlier this year, the cell phone plan invoice had a past due balance of $22,648. Some cell phone users apparently paid off a portion of the bill. Last month the account had a delinquent and unpaid balance of $7,424, according to the audit. Current New Johnsonville Fire Chief Bale Allen told…

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Dr. Carol M. Swain Commentary: The Rejection of Absolute Truth Strips Leftists of the Moral Authority to Criticize Elizabeth Warren’s Ethnic Fraud

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by Dr. Carol M. Swain   The Left has created quite a conundrum for itself. As a consequence, it has no moral language to justify its condemnation of Senator Elizabeth Warren for her decades-long decision to self-identify as a Native American. The Leftists we see on television depicted in the forms of Democratic Party spokespersons such as Senators Cory Booker, Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris, see the world through a postmodernist lens. While secular humanists dismissed religion and believed in science, reason, objective truth, and free will, postmodernists believe in everything, thus they believe in nothing. Postmodernists see humans as social beings, shaped by a particular culture and the times, operating in a world without objective realities and moral constraints. While the humanists believed man could eventually solve man’s problems through science and human ingenuity, the postmodernists reject such ridiculous pie-in-the-sky notions. Their critique of modernism and theism have led them to believe that what some people see as human progress is merely the continuation of a dominant European worldview and a set of privileges that lie at the root of the world’s problems (See Dennis McCallum (ed.) The Death of Truth: Responding to Multiculturalism’s Reject of Reason, 1996). From…

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Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen Promises Migrant Caravan Won’t Cross US Border: They’re Not Getting In

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by Nick Givas   Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the migrant caravan headed for the U.S. southern border will not cross over into the United States, on Fox News Sunday. “I think what the president has been saying and will continue to say and certainly what I have been saying is, this caravan is not getting in,” Nielsen said. There is a legal way to enter this country. Those who choose to enter illegally will be stopped.” “We are working with our partners in Mexico. They have taken unprecedented efforts within their territory to ensure an orderly flow and that those who have no legal right to be there are removed, she continued. We intend to do the same but my general message to this caravan is do not come. You will not be allowed in. There is a right way to immigrate to the United States and this is not it.” Nielsen called the caravan a crisis and said President Donald Trump is exploring every option to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible. “We have a crisis at the border right now, Nielsen said. We are stopping between 1,500 and 1,700 people a day trying to cross illegally into this country.…

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Trump Creates a National Monument in Kentucky

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by Tim Pearce   Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the creation of the new Camp Nelson National Monument in Kentucky Saturday, the first national monument designated under President Donald Trump. Camp Nelson was a Civil War recruitment and training camp that trained more than 10,000 African American soldiers for the Union Army, the third most of any camp. I’m in #Kentucky today to announce that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has declared Camp Nelson a #NationalMonument and it will be under the care of the @NatlParkService #FindYourPark pic.twitter.com/gZXItR0Jp7 — Secretary Ryan Zinke (@SecretaryZinke) October 27, 2018 “The monument President Trump announced today will serve as a historic marker for the commonwealth of Kentucky and memorialize a site important to African American soldiers in the Civil War,” Utah GOP Rep. Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said in a statement. “I appreciate President Trump joining the House in recognizing the unique historic nature of Camp Nelson and applaud the president for obeying the letter of the law in using his congressional delegated authority to create national monuments, Bishop continued. I am hopeful the Senate will follow the House and the president’s lead in giving Camp Nelson the prominence and security…

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Tom Steyer is Dropping Another $16 Million in the Final Days of the Midterms

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by Jason Hopkins   Billionaire activist Tom Steyer is reportedly preparing to drop one final money bomb before the midterm elections as he attempts to boot as many Republicans from office as possible. Steyer, together with his wife, has given over $42 million this midterm election cycle to Democrats and other progressive causes, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That sum makes him the most prolific Democratic donor by far, and the second highest political donor across the partisan spectrum, behind Republican booster Sheldon Adelson. Beyond supporting various Democratic campaigns and initiatives, Steyer has used his millions to spearhead two of his own campaigns: NextGen Climate Action and Need to Impeach. However, Steyer isn’t finished yet. Steyer is reportedly set to spend another $16 million in a last-minute campaign push before the Nov. 6 elections, according to a Steyer aide who spoke with CNBC. A large chunk of Steyer’s donations also have gone toward an enormous get-out-the-vote effort. His GOTV campaign is largely targeted toward young adults, a demographic group that typically doesn’t show up to the polls in large numbers. “We have 4 million people who we’re in contact with every day, he said to a local California news outlet…

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School to Remove Name of Former University of Vermont President Who Supported the Eugenics Movement

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by Neetu Chandak   The University of Vermont voted to remove the name of a former university president off a campus building due to his support for the eugenics movement that led to the involuntary sterilization of women, French Canadians and American Indians. The school’s board of trustees voted Saturday to remove Guy Bailey’s name off of Guy W. Bailey/David W. Howe Memorial Library, The Associated Press reported. “We reached our recommendation based primarily on the fact that Bailey’s active involvement as president of the University in supporting and promoting the Eugenics Survey of Vermont is fundamentally at odds with the University’s mission, Ron Lumbra, the committee’s chair and trustee, said, according to UVM Today on Thursday. We also considered Bailey’s mismanagement of University financial resources.” Bailey formed the Eugenics Survey Advisory Committee, according to UVM documents. He served in name only. The Eugenic Survey of Vermont did research, created “pedigrees of Vermont families it considered degenerate,” and educated Vermonters about sterilization as a solution to get rid of the “unfit,” according to UVM documents. The eugenics movement in the 1920s and 1930s led to the involuntary sterilizations of poor women, darker-skinned French Canadians and Native Americans, UVM Today reported. Vermont passed…

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A Remarkably Hard College Course Proves Remarkably Popular

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by Wilfred McClay   We’re used to hearing that American college students don’t like reading and avoid tough courses where they have to. But a new course at the University of Oklahoma (OU) proves that many students are eager for a demanding course. Here’s the story. In the fall of 1941, as a visiting faculty member at the University of Michigan, the poet W.H. Auden offered an undergraduate course of staggering intellectual scope, entitled Fate and the Individual in European Literature. We know little about the origins or trajectory of this remarkable course: how it was conceived, how it was taught, how it was received. It is mentioned in passing in some biographical accounts of Auden’s life. There are a few testimonials from students enrolled in the course (among whom was one Kenneth Millar, better known by his detective-fiction pseudonym Ross McDonald), but it has otherwise passed down into the memory hole—until recently. Seventy-one years after the course was taught, a faded, marked-up copy of Auden’s original one-page syllabus was unearthed in Michigan’s archives by the literary scholar Alan Jacobs. He then posted on the internet for all to see. Soon it was circulating widely, eliciting a surprising amount of…

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Planned Parenthood Says it Puts Women First, But This Missouri Clinic Proves Otherwise.

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by Monica Burke and Genevieve McNalis   Planned Parenthood claims to put women first, yet the atrocious health code violations found at a Missouri clinic earlier this month suggest otherwise. The abortion giant was campaigning against newly proposed regulations on Missouri abortion clinics when state inspectors discovered a clinic in Columbia, Missouri, was already in violation of existing state regulations. The clinic’s license was due to expire in October, so in anticipation, the state health department made its routine inspection of the facility in August. In that inspection, the department discovered disgusting and dangerous health violations such as moldy equipment and bodily fluid on recently used equipment. The state informed Planned Parenthood of these health violations and expected the organization to correct them immediately. Not only did the clinic fail to do so, it continued operating for over a month without correcting the violations. When the state visited the clinic again on Sept. 26, 2018, they discovered additional violations. They found bloody single-use plastic tubing attached to the machine’s glass suction canister that was never disposed of after the last abortion procedure on Sept. 21, along with machines covered in mold and bodily fluid. The department also found rusty machines…

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MSNBC’s Toure Neblett Calls Conservatives Anti-Media, Anti-Intellectual and Anti-Science Conspiracy Theorists

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by Nick Givas   MSNBC contributor Toure Neblett called conservatives “anti-media, anti-intellectual and anti-science” and accused them of believing in conspiracy theories on Up With David Gura Saturday. Neblett was discussing conservatives’ reactions to suspected mail bomber Cesar Syoc Jr., who was arrested Friday on suspicion of sending 12 potential explosive devices to Democratic politicians, media personalities and other public figures. “The right has been on this anti-fact thing for many years now. The president was a birther pushing this notion that was based on absolutely nothing … That’s been consistent of the right for a while,” Neblett said. “They are anti-media, anti-intellectual, anti-science. There are so many things that they believe that are based on no facts at all. So I mean, that they are embracing wholesale these conspiracy theories.” Neblett claimed it would be wrong to compare the attempted bombings to the shooting of GOP House Majority Whip Steve Scalise by Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson. “This is not the same as what happened with Steve Scalise. That was tragic. This is not the same,” he said, adding: Bernie Sanders was not telling people, Go harm people! Trump has been saying that consistently for years now. Obviously, something eventually is going to happen. Watch…

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Leftist Protesters Kick, Scream, Punch at Nashville Rally for Marsha Blackburn Featuring Lindsey Graham

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina visited Nashville Sunday to campaign for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07)  and express disgust over how Democrats treated Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination hearings. “They played dirty. They lost,” Graham said at a press conference that followed a Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate rally at Ray Stevens CabaRay Showroom. “Because of what they did, I really want them to pay a price at the ballot box.” Graham said the adversarial nature of Kavanaugh’s U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings so appalled him he decided to take up for Republican U.S. Senate candidates whenever and wherever he’s welcome. Blackburn is running as a Republican against former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat. Some of Bredesen’s supporters showed up — and, for their behavior got dragged out while cussing, screaming, punching, and even kicking. This, of course, mirrored much of how leftists behaved during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. One protester even disrupted a moment of silence for victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in Pittsburgh. That protester, a female, screamed “Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist.” Security promptly showed her the door. The incident appalled Blackburn. “How despicable that you cannot even have…

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Federal Taxpayers Reportedly Lost $700,000 on Reelfoot Lake State Park Project

Chris Butler

The officials who oversee the Reelfoot Lake State Park in Lake County reportedly made a major mistake, and federal taxpayers lost $700,000 because of it. According to The Dyersburg State Gazette this week, the feds gave the state of Tennessee $1.5 million to build a visitors’ center at the park. Construction began. Then, after half the money was spent, the powers that be put construction on hold after Tennessee Comptrollers discovered government officials “failed to properly bid out the job and awarded the project to an architect firm from Memphis with a direct conflict of interest,” according to the paper. “Following the decision by state officials to tear down the building that was to house the Reelfoot Lake interactive visitor center, crews began the demolition earlier this week,” the paper reported. “The building’s fate was revealed in July 2018, after the structure failed to meet seismic code.” Lake County Mayor Denny Johnson told the paper the visitor center had to have 60 foot pilings because of that area’s history of seismic activity. The building, however, was constructed with 20-foot-deep pilings. Johnson told the paper the remaining $800,000 in funds will get used to build a new facility. Johnson did not…

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Commentary: The Left Goes Full Open Borders

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by Jarrett Stepman   It wasn’t long ago that both sides of the aisle believed America’s border laws should be enforced. As President Donald Trump pointed out on Twitter, even former President Barack Obama, at least rhetorically, said that illegal immigrants couldn’t be let into the country en masse and without restrictions. (He said that as a senator.) I agree with President Obama 100%! pic.twitter.com/PI3aW1Zh5Q — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2018 “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants into this country,” Obama said. This dynamic has dramatically shifted, as the American left now increasingly sees any level of border enforcement as beyond the pale. The Honduran migrant caravans heading north to the U.S. border are testing just how far the left will go in embracing this new narrative. The position Obama held just over a decade ago is now considered offensive in some circles. Some are even demanding that the U.S. let the caravan into the United States. “Every one of these people are coming from a real fear. These are refugees,” Cambridge, Massachusetts Mayor…

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Obama Says Politicians Lying is Something We Have Not Seen Before. Here Are Three of His Biggest Whoppers

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by Tim Pearce   Former President Barack Obama lamented the state of political rhetoric in the U.S. at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday, saying politicians are “just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly lying.” Obama traveled to Wisconsin to campaign for Democratic candidates including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers and others. Obama accused Republicans of lying about healthcare, namely that GOP politicians would protect coverage of pre-existing conditions. “Listen throughout human history, certainly throughout American history, politicians have exaggerated. They make promises that they may try to fulfill, but then it turns out to be harder than they expected,” Obama told the crowd assembled in Milwaukee. “They pump up the things that they did that are good.” “They downplay the things that they did that aren’t so good. They try to put a positive spin on things,” Obama continued. “But what we have not seen before, in our recent public life, at least, is politicians just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly lying.” Obama spun news, evaded questions, contradicted himself and made false statements a number of times while he was in office. In 2011, Obama claimed he signed into law the biggest middle-class tax cut in history, referring to the Making…

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Obama, Nevada Democrats Silent After Ex-Wife Said Gubernatorial Candidate Bruised Her During Divorce

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by Andrew Kerr   Former President Barack Obama and other Democrats won’t comment on allegations levied against gubernatorial candidate Steve Sisolak by his ex-wife, including one that the Nevada Democrat bruised his former spouse. Lori “Dallas” Garland told The Daily Caller News Foundation that she felt like a total prisoner throughout her 13-year marriage with Sisolak, and said the single-father backstory he has leveraged throughout his gubernatorial campaign is bull. Garland also said Sisolak bruised her neck in an August 2000 incident. The DCNF reviewed pictures of Garland’s bruised neck and a contemporaneous diary entry detailing the incident. The Sisolak campaign provided sworn statements from the candidate’s daughters, who say the saw the event when they were children, denying that he assaulted Garland. Obama appeared alongside Sisolak at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Monday, along with senatorial candidate Jacky Rosen, congressional candidate Susie Lee, and lieutenant governor candidate Kate Marshall. None of the Democrats returned repeated request for comment regarding the allegations. The DCNF first reported Garland’s allegations against Sisolak the Friday before the rally. Rosen issued a blanket statement on Twitter in September to “Believe women. Believe women. — Jacky Rosen (@RosenforNevada) September 28, 2018 Sisolak stands to be…

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After Papadopoulos Interview, GOP Lawmakers Question Premise of FBI’s Collusion Probe

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by Chuck Ross   Republican lawmakers who interviewed George Papadopoulos on Thursday came away from the hearing questioning the FBI’s basis for opening its collusion investigation based on information about the former Trump campaign aide. “What we’re finding without talking about specifics of what’s going on is that the whole reason that this investigation was opened up was certainly not one built on a solid foundation,” North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows told Politico after Papadopoulos wrapped up his testimony. “It’s hard to understand why the FBI opened the highest profile investigation in recent times into potential collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russian government that centers on a campaign policy adviser who been on the job a month at the time the Trump-Russia investigation was launched,” Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe told Fox News. https://twitter.com/RepRatcliffe/status/1055556596267450371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Meadows and Ratcliffe, who are Republicans, joined Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, in the closed-door interview of Papadopoulos. The three lawmakers are part of a task force made up of House Judiciary and House Oversight Committee members investigating the FBI’s handling of its investigations during the 2016 campaign. Thursday’s hearing was Papadopoulos’s first appearance on Capitol Hill to answer questions about his activities on the Trump campaign.…

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Commentary: Why Thomas Merton Renounced Communism and 6 Lessons We Can Learn Today

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by Barry Brownstein   Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk and one of the most important Catholic writers of the 20th century. He was the author of over 60 books; the best known being The Seven Storey Mountain which is an autobiographical account of his search for faith. Published in 1948, The Seven Storey Mountain is a modern classic, finding a place on The Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s 50 Best Books of the 20th Century list, as well as The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century list published by National Review. The Seven Storey Mountain documents Merton’s spiritual conversion, but with a bonus: Merton explains why he turned away from his communist youth. In an age where individuals are increasingly falling for socialist nostrums, Merton provides timeless lessons about why people choose bankrupt ideologies such as communism. Lesson 1: When people do not understand the conditions under which human beings flourish, there is a smorgasbord of bankrupt ideologies ready to exploit their ignorance. Why was Merton susceptible to bankrupt ideologies? In The Seven Storey Mountain, Merton points to ignorance: “I had begun to get the idea that I was a Communist, although I wasn’t quite sure what Communism was. There are a…

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Where Will The Migrants in the Caravan Stay if They Seek Asylum in the US?

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Illegal Alien Detention center

by Evie Fordham   Several thousand migrants from Central American countries are headed to the U.S. in a caravan. Those who reach the border are expected to petition for asylum, but there are multiple options for where individuals will stay as they wait for their cases to make it through the immigration court backlog. Migrants can claim asylum once they reach the U.S., and many make it over the first hurdle of proving they have credible fear of returning to their home country. A person is granted asylum if they can prove they fled their home country because of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. But that first hurdle is not a guarantee of asylum. Immigration court backlog can also slow down the asylum process. The non-detained docket has a backlog of over 700,000 migrant family cases. Where individuals are detained (or not) depends on many factors, such as if the migrant is an unaccompanied minor or traveling in a family unit. ICE oversees detention in both publicly and privately run facilities, which are located in all 50 states but most concentrated in California and Texas. Here are some…

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Make Halloween Spooky Again with a Visit to These Real-Life Haunts

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As we come to the end of summer and begin the season of winter, one hundred and seventy-nine million Americans will celebrate the season with urban legends, scary bonfire stories, and armies of children carrying candy up and down the streets of in what was once referred to as Samhain, All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day in the early Middle Ages and marks itself as a “cross-quarter” day acknowledging the end of the harvesting season and the beginning of winter. Early civilizations were big observers of the sky.  A cross-quarter day is a day more or less a midway marker between an equinox (when the sun sets due west) and a solstice (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon). October thirty-first is an approximately middle point between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere. The United States is home to many haunted farms, abandoned insane asylums, historic mansions now turned museums, and old spirit infested bridges.  We’ve found a few that may very well be hidden in your own backyard. Whether you believe in ghosts, goblins, demonic possessions and or spirits, one thing is for…

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Calls Congress the Culprit in Polarizing Judicial Confirmation Process

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by Tristan Justice   Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg points the finger at an increasingly partisan Congress for polarizing the judicial confirmation process. Speaking at the federal courthouse in Washington on Wednesday, Ginsburg said a lack of collegiality and bipartisanship among lawmakers was to blame for polarizing the confirmation process for federal judges, The Washington Post reported. Ginsburg alluded to the heated confirmation hearings for  Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, without mentioning the high court’s newest justice by name. She reflected on past Supreme Court confirmation processes and pointed to Justice Antonin Scalia’s unanimous confirmation vote in the Senate, as well as the 96-3 vote for her, the Post reported.”What a difference in time that was from what we are witnessing today,” Ginsburg said in an apparent reference to the bitter confirmation battle over Kavanaugh and the resulting 50-48 vote to confirm him. Only one Democrat voted for Kavanaugh.”To me, the obvious culprit is Congress,” Ginsburg said. Ginsburg praised Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired in 2005, as a model of someone who put “country above party and self-interest” and who “worked collaboratively to solve problems,” the Post reported. Ginsburg’s comments came a day after O’Connor, the first female…

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New Ad Shows President Trump Saying Bredesen Opposes Border Wall, Wants to Raise Taxes, Supports Schumer and Pelosi

Jason M. Reynolds

The Senate Leadership Fund PAC on Saturday launched a new advertising campaign highlighting President Donald Trump’s opposition to Phil Bredesen and his support of U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) in the U.S. Senate race. The $1.8 million buy will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital. The video is available to watch here. The ad starts out with the president saying, “A vote for Bredesen is a vote for Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi. Phil Bredesen wants to raise your taxes. He opposes the border wall totally. Bredesen will not defend your Second Amendment rights.” The video continues with the president supporting Blackburn: “A vote for Marsha is really a vote for me and everything that we stand for. It’s a vote for Make America Great Again.” Senate Leadership Fund Spokesman Chris Pack said, “Phil Bredesen’s liberal agenda is completely wrong for Tennessee and that is why President Trump is supporting Marsha Blackburn. Try as he may, Bredesen can’t hide that he’s a vote for higher taxes, weak immigration, and against our Second Amendment rights.” Bredesen has taken hits throughout the campaign for the points the president raised. The National Rifle Association has been critical of…

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