Day: October 2, 2018

Senior Google Software Engineer Calls Marsha Blackburn ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Violent Thug,’ Supports Censorship

Jason M. Reynolds

A senior Google software engineer who oversees a key component of the search engine called U.S. Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn a “violent thug” and a “terrorist,” Breitbart News reported, citing internal emails it obtained. The employee also defended the censorship of her campaign ads on social media. Breitbart’s story is available here. The comments took place in an internal email discussion that began on June 19, Brietbart said. The topic of discussion was a Fox News op-ed by U.S. Representative Blackburn (R-TN), which urged tech companies to address bias against conservatives. Blackburn, who has been the target of social media censorship, has been a vocal critic of tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Blake Lemoine, a senior software engineer at Google, said Blackburn was lying to the public. He accused her of “causing the deaths of people she claimed to protect” – referring to her work on two anti-trafficking bills, which has pushed most sex workers off Twitter. “We certainly shouldn’t acquiesce to the theatrical demands of a legislator who makes political hay by intentionally reducing the safety of the people who she claims to protect,” said Lemoine. “I’m not big on negotiation with terrorists.” Lemoine is a technical lead on Google’s…

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In Honor of Trump’s Visit to Johnson City, Group Names Plethora of Examples of Tennessee Business Growth Thanks to President’s Tax Cuts

Jason M. Reynolds

In honor of President Trump visiting Johnson City Monday night, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) released a list of “Tennessee Examples of Tax Reform Good News.” Trump’s appearance was a Make America Great Again (MAGA) midterm rally to share “great news” about the economy and support U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in her Senate race. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President Donald Trump means 90 percent of wage earners have higher take-home pay, ATR said. The group praised Blackburn’s “yes” vote on the tax cuts. Garren Shipley, Republican National Committee spokesman, said, “President Trump couldn’t have made the stakes more clear. A vote for Phil Bredesen is a vote for the failed polices espoused by Hillary Clinton – a candidate Bredesen enthusiastically supported in 2016. A vote for Marsha Blackburn is a vote to continue to success our country has seen over the last 20 months. Marsha knows that the tax cuts passed by Republicans and the drastic reduction in burdensome regulations has jumpstarted our economy. Tennesseans cannot afford the Bredesen/Clinton policies and that’s why Marsha Blackburn will be elected to the U.S. Senate.” Watch the live video feed…

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New Chattanooga Tax Credits Could Invite Crony Capitalism

Chris Butler

Hamilton County officials are handing out federal tax credits to investors and other developers so they’ll spruce up blighted areas, but some people worry politicians will only give these credits out to friends and political donors. Government bestowing preferential treatment upon certain businesses — but not others — is called crony capitalism. In this case, county officials decide who gets what for what are known as Opportunity Zone tax credits. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, these Opportunity Zone tax credits allow investors to avoid capital gains taxes if they invest their capital gains in zones designated as distressed or blighted. Exactly 743 low-income census tracts qualified statewide. Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger selected 17 census tracts for his area, which Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam approved, according to the paper. Davidson County got 18 Opportunity Zones. Shelby County got 32. No one in Coppinger’s office returned The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment this week, but the Times Free Press said he had a tight deadline to select winners. Helen Burns Sharp of the Chattanooga-based Accountability for Taxpayer Money said the potential for cronyism is “as clear as can be.” “This enterprise zone designation, yes, when you start looking…

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Commentary: The Reason For The Public Torture Of Brett Kavanaugh

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Brett Kavanaugh

by George Rasley   As we know from The Lives of the Saints and the Bible, in ancient Rome and Persia those who refused to worship the gods recognized by the pagan elite, such as Christians and Jews, were executed publicly by having wild animals tear them apart before baying crowds in the arena. In more modern, but less enlightened times, those who refused to hew to the scripture dictated by the elite were hanged, drawn and quartered in public; they were dragged to the place of execution through the public streets, drawn-up a gibbet, cut down, their head and genitals cut-off, their heart excised and burnt, and their body divided into four parts. That was the sentence originally passed upon St. Thomas More by Henry VIII, but the king mercifully commuted it to simply chopping off More’s head. The point of this ritualized torture was of course to cow the observers into obeisance and numb potential opponents with fear, but it was also intended to dehumanize the victim to make him and his beliefs less likely to appeal to others and spread. Today’s radical Left has a similar, and perhaps even more painful, method of public torture and execution – it…

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Free Health Care Fair to be Held at Jackson Street Church of Christ in Nashville

Jason M. Reynolds

A free health care fair will be held Saturday, Oct. 13 in Nashville to help residents connect with local health care providers. Healthy Tennessee, a non-profit organization founded by Vanderbilt University Medical Center trauma surgeon Dr. Manny Sethi, is providing the fair from 10 a..m to 1 p.m. at the Jackson Street Church of Christ at 1408 Jackson Street in Nashville. United Healthcare and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee are also sponsoring the health fair. Sethi said, “We’ve had very successful health fairs in Nashville previously, such as the one on Jefferson Street in 2016. We look forward to partnering with great groups such as the Jackson Street Church of Christ to bring the very best health care providers and options to our fellow Nashvillians.” Dozens of physicians, nurses and healthy lifestyle companies will provide free health screenings, educational conversations with doctors, free health-related products and tools for local residents to lead better, healthier lives. Free booth spaces are still available to local health-focused organizations and companies that want to reach out to attendees. Some of the featured offerings include: Health care providers Drawings /giveaways Food distribution Opioid drug take-back Free health screenings for all ages Blood pressure…

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Prosecution of Woman Who Rescued Animals Amid NC Hurricane Shows No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

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by Amanda Botts and John-Michael Seibler   During Hurricane Florence, a North Carolina woman, Tammie Hedges, graciously took more than two dozen animals into a warehouse that she is converting into an animal shelter. Using supplies purchased with private donations, Hedges offered the space—as part of her nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter, Crazy’s Claws N’ Paws—for animals to stay in while their owners evacuated. Hedges and volunteers stated that the animals were “to be returned to their owners after the storm.” One might expect heartwarming stories of the animals Hedges helped, or perhaps her nomination for an animal caretaker “hero award.” Instead, Hedges was arrested on 12 counts of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. After the hurricane passed, Wayne County animal control authorities told Hedges that she could hand over the animals voluntarily, or the department would obtain a warrant for her arrest. Hedges did so, but “a few days later, they called me in for questioning and [later] arrested me,” she said. Crazy’s Claws N’ Paws listed the charges on its Facebook page: One count of administering amoxicillin to Big Momma. One count of administering tramadol to Big Momma. Three counts of administering amoxicillin to a white Siamese cat. Three counts of administering a topical antibiotic ointment…

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Commentary: Two Women Unravel Christine Blasey Ford’s Story

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by CHQ Staff   In her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her sometime during the time both were in high school, claimed that the alleged attack knocked her off kilter for four years and that she began to recover memories of the assault during couples therapy sessions that took place in 2012. We’ve already documented in our article, “Researcher Uncovers Christine Blasey Ford’s ‘Hidden’ 80’s-Era High School Social Life” Christine Blasey Fords dark relationship with alcohol and the commoditization of sex at Holton Arms, her elite all-girls school in suburban Washington, DC. Now Blasey Ford’s claim that the alleged attack knocked her off kilter for four years has also been debunked by a college friend of hers who tweeted that Blasey Ford continued her partying ways into college. Denise C. McAllister @McAllisterDen wrote at the beginning of a twitter thread, “Republicans need to stop saying Ford was credible but Kavanaugh is innocent. She cannot be credible with zero evidence. A quivering voice doesn’t equal credibility. Allegation is not proof. Stop being manipulated by a woman’s emotions. You’d think men had learned this by now.” McAllister further…

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Dave Brat’s Democratic Challenger Apologizes After Threatening Message Left On His Doorstep

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by Evie Fordham   Virginia Republican Rep. Dave Brat’s Democratic challenger apologized Monday after her canvassers reportedly wrote “Rot in hell Dave” on a Spanberger flier and left it on Brat’s door this past weekend. Four high school students who were volunteer canvassers for Democrat Abigail Spanberger were responsible, her campaign said according to NBC12. “This type of behavior is completely unacceptable and beneath the dignity of this race, and we have already notified these students that they are not welcome to volunteer with our campaign again,” Spanberger’s campaign said in a statement according to NBC12. “We apologize to Mr. Brat and his family. As someone whose personal, confidential information has already been compromised in the course of this campaign, Abigail believes that politics should never threaten the safety and security of any candidate, their family, or their staff.” Brat’s children found the flier on the doorstep and his campaign referred the matter to local law enforcement, according to the campaign. Police confirmed Spanberger’s campaign’s assertion that “juveniles were involved in the incident,” reported NBC12. Spanberger’s “personal, confidential information” was the center of controversy when the pro-Republican Super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund obtained her “unredacted government background files.” The information was obtained…

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The Would-Be ‘State of Franklin’ That Never Officially Existed

Gregory Watson

The United States Constitution does, of course, contain guidelines as to how a territory may enter the Union as a full-fledged state on an equal footing with all previously-existing states.  The last time that any new states were added to the United States was in the year 1959 when Alaska became the nation’s 49th state and Hawaii became the country’s 50th state. Specifically, the U.S. Constitution’s Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 — which requires only a simple majority vote — reads: “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.” There has been recent chatter about admitting Puerto Rico into the Union as the nation’s 51st state. As the Constitution was not written until 1787 — and, once written, did not take effect until the following year — the procedure outlined within the still-in-force Articles of Confederation would have remained applicable to admission of news states up to…

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Tennessee Star Report Gets Exclusive Insights Into North Dakota Senate Race from Chris Berg

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 – the duo talked with Fargo, North Dakota’s Valley News LIVE news anchor and host of Point of View Chris Berg, about Lindsey Graham eating his power breakfast and whether or not Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) will be able to walk the ‘tight rope’ and please her constituents by voting to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. “So we are releasing a brand new poll today at six o’clock which will show you, I don’t want to give away and get ahead of our news department obviously and, let’s put it this way, if she does not vote (Heitkamp), assuming that there’s no major revelations here out of this extended FBI investigation so, assuming there’s no new information with that, if she does not vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh she will be voting for her own retirement,” Berg said. [NOTE: Later on Monday, Valley News Live and Strategic Resources Associates released the poll that shows Republican Kevin Cramer leads Heitkamp by 10 points, 51 percent to 41 percent, in…

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Nashville Police May Get New Community Oversight Board

Chris Butler

Nashville Mayor David Briley does not plan to fire Police Chief Steve Anderson. Additionally, a November referendum calling for a community oversight board over Nashville police is apparently still a go. This, despite the members of the Nashville Fraternal Order of the Police expressing disapproval with the proposal. According to U.S. News & World Report, members of the group Nashville Organized for Action and Hope want Briley to fire Anderson after the July killing of Daniel Hambrick. In that case, a video camera recorded a Nashville police officer, Andrew Delke, shooting Hambrick in the back as he ran away from him. Delke said Hambrick had a gun but he wouldn’t drop it. According to NOAH’s website, a coalition of different community organizations and labor unions in Nashville make up the organization. Briley’s spokeswoman Judith Byrd gave The Tennessee Star the mayor’s written statement on Anderson. “The chief has agreed to work with us on the policing project, and I have his full cooperation in identifying ways to better police the community. I have his commitment to see this through.” Nashville FOP spokesman James Smallwood told The Star in an emailed statement that Anderson should stay. “While the FOP and Chief…

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WINNING: Trump Scores NAFTA Deal After Last-Minute Negotiations with Canada

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by Hanna Bogorowski   U.S. President Donald Trump came closer to fulfilling a campaign promise late Sunday night as he reached a revamped trade deal with Canada and Mexico that will rework the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after months of negotiations. Hours before Sunday’s midnight deadline proposed by the U.S., Canada agreed to sign on to the newly named United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which will give the U.S. greater access to Canada’s dairy markets as well as require a larger percentage of cars to be manufactured in North America. The deal will also include increased protections for workers in the U.S. and Canada. “Mexico and Canada have agreed to strong new labor protections, environmental protections and new protections for intellectual property,” Trump said at a press conference Monday. “This new deal is an especially great victory for our farmers.” “For example, we [will] require a large portion of every car to be made by high-wage workers, which will greatly reduce foreign outsourcing which was tremendous problem,” he said. “More automobiles and parts will be manufactured inside the United States. We will be manufacturing many more cars and our companies won’t be leaving the United States, firing their workers and building their cars…

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Senate Democrats Inadvertently Admit President Trump Can Order and Conclude FBI Investigations

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by Robert Romano   The Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 28 advanced to the Senate floor for a vote the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But, retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) did so conditionally, saying he would only support Kavanaugh on the floor if the FBI is ordered by President Donald Trump to conduct another background check on Kavanaugh in a limited period of time no longer than a week. The Committee then issued a statement saying it “will request that the administration instruct the FBI to conduct a supplemental FBI background investigation with respect to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. The supplemental FBI background investigation would be limited to current credible allegations against the nominee and must be completed no later than one week from today.” And then President Donald Trump ordered the additional background investigation, issuing a statement saying, “I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file. As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.” Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have already staked out this position at the Sept. 27 hearing.…

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President Trump Rallies Support for Marsha Blackburn in Johnson City: ‘A Vote for Bredesen is a Vote for Chuck Schumer’

Tennessee Star Staff

A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted President Trump in Johnson City on Monday night as he rallied support for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). The president did not disappoint, as he spent much of the evening blasting Blackburn’s Democrat opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, and tearing into obstructionist Democrats in the Senate. “A vote for Bredesen is a vote for Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and the real leader of the Democrats, Maxine Waters,” the president boomed, to thunderous applause. The president tore into Democrat politicians, as Breitbart News reported: He then hit Blackburn’s Democrat opponent Phil Bredesen. Trump noted Bredesen supported driver certificates for illegal aliens. He said if Democrats get 51 seats in the Senate, then Chuck Schumer would be majority leader. Schumer is so desperate for Phil to win,” Trump said. “Marsha will be a great, great Senator,” said Trump who added that the Republicans need the votes. “We cannot allow ourselves to be pushed around,” said Trump. He said Schumer pushed Bredesen to run to try to get Democrats to take back the Senate. “Your vote in this election will decide which…

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