Day: October 20, 2018

Senator Lindsey Graham to Stump for Candidates in 12 States, Including Tennessee

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will kick off a 12-day campaign tour to support expanding Republican majorities in the 2018 midterm elections. The Republican National Committee made the announcement Thursday. The message Graham will take across the country is clear: Remember Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, “President Trump has enlisted Senator Graham, a key ally in confirming Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, to go on the road for Republican candidates. Voters are fired up about the disgraceful confirmation process and the Democrats’ disturbing mob attacks. Senator Graham will rally Americans across the country to take that energy to the polls and reject the Schumer Sham and liberal mob.” The left smeared the newest Supreme Court justice in a shameless series of dishonest attacks on his character. Graham stands a good chance of delivering a timely message. The Tennessee Star recently carried a commentary by Julie Kelly, a senior contributor to American Greatness, that Democrats have risked losing suburban women over the opportunistic attacks on Kavanaugh and his family. Graham will campaign to boost Republican candidates in the following states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee. Graham’s appearance…

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Senate Candidate Marsha Blackburn Gets ‘True Reformer’ Award From National Immigration Watchdog Group

Anna Marie Bolton

NumbersUSA, an Arlington, Virginia based non-profit group that advocates for lower immigration numbers across the board, including restricting legal immigration, tracks and grades members of Congress and US Senators on their voting record on this issue of great concern to Americans. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who has served in the House of Representatives since 2013 and is now a candidate for the US Senate, has received a lifetime grade of A+ and has been designated a “True Reformer” by the one-million member organization. Since entering Congress 15 years ago, and even before immigration became a kitchen table issue for most Americans, her votes and public statements were in line with NumbersUSA positions. NumbersUSA describes its “True Reformers” designation this way: A “True Reformer” is a candidate who PROMISES to support all or nearly all of NumbersUSA’s top immigration priorities. In most instances, “True Reformers” have completed our Immigration-Reduction Survey, but there are a few incumbents who have also earned the “True Reformer” label through their actions in Congress, most notably by sponsoring all five of our “5 Great Immigration-Reduction Bills.” She has consistently voted to reduce chain migration and refugee fraud. She has voted to end anchor baby citizenship, a major…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive Interview with Legendary Pollster and Political Commentator Pat Cadell

Julie Carr

On Friday’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 gentlemen chatted with the King of Polls and Political Commentator, Pat Caddell, about what he thinks of the country at present time, Trump’s strong message regarding mob rule and chaos, and the Democrats handling of the Kavanaugh debacle.  The discussion continued on about how these issues would resonate with voters in the upcoming Midterms. Leahy: Eighteen days till the midterms, Pat, what do you make of what’s going on with the country right now? Caddell: Well I think that the, what’s happening now, I tuned into [MSNBC’s] Morning Joe this morning and they’re in hysterics.  A political piece, apparently, this morning that there is a good chance that the Republicans will not only win the Senate but hold the House.   And I think that may be a little premature, but I think that the numbers are moving in the way of the Republicans and the reason is, is because you have to give it to President Trump – he is laying out a message that is very strong,…

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Commentary: The Most Important Election You Never Heard Of

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by George Rasley   In a year with many important offices on the ballot – including control of the United States Senate and House of Representatives – there is one very important office that is on the ballot that is getting almost no attention: Secretary of State for the State of Ohio. No Republican has ever won the presidency without Ohio, and our old friend conservative Ohio state Senator Frank LaRose is the Republican candidate for this important office, which oversees business registrations, voter registration and election integrity for the Buckeye State. LaRose is a principled conservative, not a hidebound partisan; he has a 100 percent Pro-Life voting record and has always fought to protect the life of the unborn, but he drew heat from the Republican establishment, including then-Speaker of the House John Boehner, for supporting anti-gerrymandering legislation and joining with a bipartisan group of 30-something legislators to form the “Ohio Future Caucus.” At 39, LaRose has an impressive record of public service. An Eagle Scout, he was inspired, he told the Columbus Dispatch, by his childhood Boy Scout leader, a World War II veteran, to enlist in the U.S. Army straight out of Copley High School. He served…

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Commentary: Florida GOP Candidates Surging: Keep the Pedal to the Metal

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Ron Desantis, Andrew Gillum, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders

by CHQ Staff   As we’ve said in the past, the Florida gubernatorial race is the most important campaign for governor in 2018. And we’ve been concerned about the top of the GOP ticket in Florida, as both Republican candidate for governor Congressman Ron DeSantis and Senate candidate Governor Rick Scott were behind in the polls and seemed stuck in small ball campaigns. But things in Florida are turning around and both the DeSantis and Scott campaigns have shown incredible energy in the wake of Hurricane Michael. First, Senate candidate Governor Rick Scott has been extremely effective in marshaling the state’s resources to provide disaster assistance to the hurricane-affected counties. And, while competence by itself rarely wins you many votes, his campaign has also been relentlessly hammering Democrat Bill Nelson for his ineffectiveness in the Senate – the contrast, even if unintended, could not be starker. Nelson, just yesterday said, I “have done everything I can do,” while Governor Scott works day and night to get help the Florida Panhandle back on its feet. Throwing his hands up in the face of disaster tells Florida voters everything they need to know about Senator Bill Nelson. In the governor’s race, Congressman…

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Greta Van Susteren Interviews Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Discuss, China in Panama, Maduro’s Future in Venezuela, and The Caravan

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by Greta Van Susteren   VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren interviewed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday in Mexico City, where Pompeo is traveling. Greta Van Susteren: “Mr. Secretary, nice to see you sir.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “Greta, it’s great to be with you.” Q: “This is your second trip to Mexico but why are you here now in Mexico?” Pompeo: “So as the new government makes this transition, beginning on December 1st, we’re working diligent to make sure we have a solid foreign policy relationship with them so we’re certainly are working with the existing government, I’ll see President (Enrique) Peña Nieto in just a few minutes — was with Foreign Secretary (Luis) Videgaray (Caso) this morning. But also working with my new counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, to make sure that the united states and Mexico coordinated across a broader aware of issues, security, trade and of course migration as well.” Q: “The United States just negotiated a new deal with Mexico and Canada. Let me turn to the issue of the migration, that caravan that is coming up from Guatemala heading to Mexico and then presumably, maybe some place else, maybe the United States. What’s Mexico…

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The American Legion is Asking the Supreme Court to Protect a Cross-Shaped War Memorial

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by Kevin Daley   The American Legion and a Maryland planning commission are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to protect a cross-shaped World War I memorial, after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the monument violates the Constitution. Supporters of the petition say the 4th Circuit’s decision compromises war memorials across the country, including those at Arlington National Cemetery. Should the high court take the case, it would likely mark the new conservative majority’s first foray into the culture wars. The American Legion erected a 40-foot tall memorial called the “Peace Cross” in Bladensburg, Maryland, in 1925. A plaque at the base of the monument lists the 49 war dead of Prince George’s County and a quotation from President Woodrow Wilson. The crux of the cross is emblazoned with the seal of the Legion, and the words “valor, endurance, courage, and devotion” appear on each face. In the years that followed, other memorials to county veterans were raised in the Peace Cross’s vicinity. That collection of statuary has since been designated Veterans Memorial Park. The high court has permitted the use of sectarian imagery where it appears in collections of otherwise secular displays. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has administered the…

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Nellie Ohr Invokes Marital Privilege to Avoid Testifying About Her Husband, a DOJ Official

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by Chuck Ross   A former Fusion GPS employee married to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr invoked spousal privilege during congressional testimony Friday, according to lawmakers who attended the closed-door deposition. By invoking the privilege, Nellie Ohr limited what information she would provide to members of a congressional task force investigating the FBI’s handling of the infamous Steele dossier. Ohr, a Russia expert, was paid more than $40,000 as a contractor for Fusion GPS from late 2015 until just after the 2016 election. Fusion investigated President Donald Trump and his campaign on behalf of the Clinton campaign and DNC. Bruce Ohr, who was demoted from his position as assistant deputy attorney general in December after his wife’s job was exposed, was in contact with both Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the dossier. Both Ohrs met with Steele in Washington, D.C., on July 30, 2016, a day before the FBI opened its investigation into the Trump campaign. The congressional task force, which consists of members of the House Judiciary and House Oversight & Government Reform Committees, interviewed Bruce Ohr on Aug. 28. Nellie Ohr was scheduled to appear before the task force…

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FAKE HATE: Fabricating Hate Crimes is a Byproduct of Victimhood Ideology on College Campuses

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by Jarrett Stepman   Anna Ayers, a student government leader at Ohio University, reported finding threatening messages in the drawer of her desk a few weeks ago. Ayers, an LGBT student, said the three notes were “hateful, harassing,” according to The Post Athens, a student-run news outlet, and made specific attacks on her sexual identity. “Senate will never be the same for me,” Ayers told The Post of the notes, the first of which she said appeared Sept. 27 in her desk at the Student Senate. “The friendships will continue to grow, and our successes will always evoke pride, but the memory of my time in Senate and at OU will be marred by this experience. We will all have a memory of a time when this body failed one of its own.” The incident caused a stir on campus. The problem was, that stir was based on a lie. Police quickly concluded that no hate crime had taken place and that Ayers actually had written the notes to herself. The authorities charged Ayers with a misdemeanor, to which she pleaded not guilty. She is no longer a student at the university. Incidents like this have become a strikingly common…

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Facebook Accused Of Massively Inflating Video Viewership and the Impact on Newsrooms Was Devastating

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by Grace Carr   A number of plaintiffs filed a formal complaint Tuesday, alleging Facebook knew about problematic measurement tactics of video viewership and did nothing to address the problem for at least a year. Tuesday’s complaint comes after a 2016 lawsuit against the company that alleges it engaged in fraud and deception by failing to disclose its faulty measurement system sooner. Facebook acknowledged in September 2016 that it “found an error in the way [it] calculate[s] one of the video metrics” on its dashboard by excluding videos that were less than three seconds long to calculate “average duration of video viewed.” That exclusion inflated reported average viewership times by 60 to 80 percent, according to Fortune. Video ads are an important source of revenue for online publications that rely on advertising to generate profit. Video ad spending will account for roughly a quarter of U.S. digital ad spending in 2018, according to eMarketer. Facebook will also capture nearly 25 percent of all U.S. video ad revenue in 2018, eMarketer reports. Facebook’s video viewership numbers inspired news companies to move toward increased video production. ATTN, MTV News and other news companies reportedly fired writers and editors so they could “pivot” to video production, according to Adweek.…

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Beacon Center Questions How Education Dollars Get Spent

Chris Butler

The state of Tennessee has misplaced priorities when it comes to how much money public school teachers get versus public school administrators, according to a new study the Beacon Center of Tennessee published this week. Beacon, a Nashville-based free market think tank, also reported fewer taxpayer dollars make their way into the classroom than are supposed to. When taking inflation into account, teacher salaries have decreased by 1 percent while administrator salaries have risen by 7.5 percent, the study reported. The average state, the study went on to say, spends 60 percent of its education budget in the classroom. In Tennessee, barely 52 percent of education spending makes its way into class. Despite an increase in overall spending in the last six years, there has been a 9 percent decrease in spending in the classroom on items such as textbooks and technology, according to the study. “This brief shows that, despite calls from some for more education spending, our current priorities are completely out of line,” said Beacon Center Policy Coordinator Ron Shultis in a press release. “We are dedicating more and more money to administration and administrative salaries, which have little to no impact on the education of children. At the same time, we are paying our…

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Victor Davis Hanson Analysis: Could Trump Win 20 Percent of the Black Vote in 2020?

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by Victor Davis Hanson   The provocative Donald Trump certainly seems to be disliked by a majority of African-American professional athletes, cable news hosts, academics and the Congressional Black Caucus. Yet there are subtle but increasing indications that his approval among other African-Americans may be reaching historic highs for a modern Republican president. Some polls have indicated that Trump’s approval rating among black voters is close to 20 percent. That is far higher than the 8 percent of the African-American vote that Trump received on Election Day 2016. A recent, admittedly controversial Rasmussen Reports poll showed African-American approval of Trump at 36 percent. Even 20 percent African-American support for Trump would all but dismantle Democratic Party presidential hopes for 2020. Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election with 88 percent of the black vote. That was about a six-point falloff from Barack Obama’s share of the black vote in 2012. But far more importantly, an estimated 2 million of the African-American voters who cast ballots for Obama in 2012 simply did not show up at the polls in 2016 to vote for the off-putting Clinton. Even a small drop in African-American turnout or anything less than the usual 85 percent to…

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Steve Gill, Ben Cunningham, and Mae Beavers Blast ‘Fibber Phil’ Bredesen and The Tennessean for Rewriting History on 2000 Horn Honkers Uprising That Stopped State Income Tax

Julie Carr

On Friday morning’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 – Steve Gill talked with veteran grassroots activist Ben Cunningham and former State Sen. Mae Beavers regarding The Tennessean’s revisionist history and continuous cover up for ‘Fibber Phil’ Bredesen’s lies – in particular their dishonest misrepresentation in a story published Thursday on how the state income tax proposed by then-Gov. Don Sundquist was stopped. Tennesseans who were living in Nashville at the time know the proposed income tax was stopped by a populist uprising led by state legislators Marsha Blackburn, Mae Beavers, and Diane Black, and talk radio hosts Steve Gill and Phil Valentine. Bredesen is the Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). He faces Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), the Republican nominee, in the November 6 general election. Gill, Cunningham, and Beavers also reflected upon the historic fight to keep a state income tax out of Tennessee. Gill: Am I overstating it, Ben, to say that Phil [Valentine] and Marsha and Diane and Mae and your efforts and the efforts and…

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