Day: October 26, 2018

Tennessee Pastors Receive White House Briefing and Meet with Vice President Mike Pence

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A group of over 100 Tennessee Pastors, including the President of the Tennessee Pastors Network Dale Walker, attended a White House briefing earlier this week. “It is a wonderful blessing that we have President Trump and an Administration that truly cares about the Christian faith community and recognizes the critical role that churches and pastors serve in their communities,” Walker said of the meeting. “Churches and Pastors have a tremendous opportunity that we must seize while the door is open to Christian faith in this troubled nation.” The Pastors from Tennessee received briefings from directors of the Center for Faith-Based Initiatives and from several other Federal officials regarding national and international issues. Walker said the meeting broke out into “Real Church” after Surgoinsville, TN Pastor Brian Burchfield, led the group of Pastors and Administration officials in signing “Amazing Grace” before offering praise and worship. Burchfield noted that “I have served the LORD in singing and ministry all my life and I was honored and blessed to serve and worship the LORD in this spirit-filled event at the White House.” Burchfield went through a lot just to get to the briefing. He is a cancer survivor and wanted to save the…

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Ohio Gov. Kasich: ‘The Lord’ Doesn’t Want Americans to Oppose Migrant Caravan

Anthony Accardi

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told CNN Thursday that “the Lord” doesn’t want Americans to build walls and oppose the migrant caravan heading to the United States from Central America. “We’ve got to start putting ourselves in the shoes of other people,” Kasich told CNN’s Newsroom. Kasich, the grandson of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe who became an Anglican Christian as an adult, said he believes most Americans would welcome the caravan. We’ve got to start thinking about the consequences that others suffer. And if we have been spared those by the grace of God, let us be appreciative, let us count our blessings, and let us reach out to those who have less. Let’s stop putting up walls around ourselves and not understanding the plight, the trouble, and the problems of others. It is not right. And the Lord doesn’t want it, and our people at their hearts want to reach out to others. Look at what they do in these storms. They go and they rescue people they don’t know. They put them in their homes. They feed them. That’s America. Not all this garbage and this division and yelling and screaming and hatred on all sides.” But not all…

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Media Reports Conflict on Trump Visit to Chattanooga Before Midterms

Jason M. Reynolds

There are conflicting reports on whether President Donald Trump plans to visit Chattanooga just before Election Day. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence is visiting North Georgia on Nov. 1. News Channel 9 reported Thursday that the president would visit Chattanooga on Nov. 5, citing a statement by U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03). Later in the evening, the TV station said Fleischmann backed off his statement. In its update, News Channel 9 said, “A new statement from Congressman Fleischmann’s office is walking back his previous confirmation of Trump’s visit. In it, Communications Director Kasey Lovett says that they would welcome such a visit, ‘but I am not aware of any plans in the near future.’” WRCB reported a possible visit but said details had not been confirmed. The Chattanoogan also reported the president’s visit. It has also been announced Pence will visit Dalton, Georgia, just outside Chattanooga. He will visit the Dalton Convention Center at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 1, the Times Free Press said. Pence plans to rally support for  Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp. Polls shows Kemp in a close race with Democrat Stacey Abrams. This will be Pence’s second trip to Dalton in three years. During the run up…

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James Smallwood Commentary: Vote No on Amendment 1

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by James Smallwood   This year Nashvillians will head to the polls to consider Amendment #1. At face value, without any research, a civilian oversight board sounds like a good concept. However, a closer scrutiny of the details, i.e. the massive budget, lack of equal representation, absence of regulations on those who would be appointed to the board (directly by politicians) reveals genuine concerns that this board would be rife with corruption, overspending, and an anti-police agenda. For starters, Nashville’s budget is a mess. Despite a strong economy and record low unemployment, Nashville has defaulted on promised pay raises to Metro employees and cut millions of dollars out of the budget from nearly every department. Police, fire, libraries and schools are all experiencing serious budget cuts. This, coupled with an increasingly crushing debt service, makes it obvious that the last thing we need is a redundant government board which, as proposed, would cost Nashville taxpayers $10 million over the next five years; we simply cannot afford it. For example, police still do not have body cameras. These devices would provide the desired transparency on police interactions with the public. Nashville needs millions of dollars to pay for this program. However,…

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Nearly 100 Conservative Big Shots Voice Support for Trump’s CAFE Reforms

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by Chris White   More than 90 prominent conservatives signed a letter Wednesday urging President Donald Trump to push forward on major reforms to a California program created decades ago to regulate fuel consumption. Former Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and tax reformer Grover Norquist were among a slew of conservatives to encourage dramatic changes to the state’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Trump believes California’s regulations hurt businesses and citizens. CAFE standards were established in 1975 during a time of grave national concern over fuel scarcity and America’s reliance on imported energy, the letter notes.  A review of the purpose and effectiveness of existing CAFE standards is long overdue. The letter also notes that the 2012 standards are proving too ambitious, costly, and simply not viable for automakers from a practical or safety standpoint, before highlighting reports from the National Auto Dealers Association showing mandates increase the cost of vehicles by an average of $3,000. Trump etched out a proposal in July seeking to remove California’s ability to set its own standards. The move will effectively cap federal fuel economy requirements at 2020 levels, which under current law requires at least a 35-mpg average. Former President Barack Obama placed the…

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EPA Delays Repeal of Obama-Era Truck Regulations Causing Mass Layoffs

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by Michael Bastasch   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not be providing any near-term relief to manufacturers burdened by Obama-era regulations on glider kits, two sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Caller News Foundation. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler told EPA staffers Wednesday he would not be granting glider kit manufacturers a compliance extension, one source with knowledge of the meeting told The DCNF. A second source said EPA would instead be issuing a rule to keep the glider industry from going under in the long-term, but that’s not expected to come out until late next year. An EPA spokesman confirmed the agency is working on a glider rule. “EPA is continuing to develop a rule for the glider industry that better balances economic growth alongside continued environmental progress,” EPA spokesman James Hewitt told The DCNF. Gliders are new truck chassis fitted over refurbished engines, which typically cost less and are more fuel efficient than new trucks. Obama-era rules capped glider kit production at individual companies, meaning some have had to lay off hundreds of workers to decrease their output. It’s another hurdle in the Trump administration’s plan to keep companies that refurbish used truck engines from…

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OFF THE RECORD: Bill Lee Cabinet Speculation Begins

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Although Election Day is still two weeks off, the fact that Republican candidate for Governor Bill Lee appears poised to win handily over Democrat nominee Mayor Karl Dean has speculation already underway about who might fill his Cabinet. One name generating a lot of buzz is State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma). Bowling was one of Lee’s earliest supporters in the State Senate, publicly endorsing Lee while most of her colleagues in the Legislature were siding with the perceived front runners Diane Black and Randy Boyd. While the Lee team is avoiding any discussion of what role Bowling or any other potential Commissioners might fill, Education, Transportation and DCS would all fit her areas of expertise. Lee might prefer to keep her closer to the Governor’s office as a Legislative liaison with a portfolio that would include dealing with county and municipal leaders as well. (Bowling is a former Alderman in Tullahoma.) She is definitely high on the “secret” draft board at this point. Another name drawing attention is former legislator Jamie Woodson, who served in both the State House and State Senate before becoming Executive Chairman and CEO of SCORE in 2011.  As a former Chair of the Senate Education…

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National School Lunch Program in Tennessee Has A Few Bugs to Work Out…Literally

Chris Butler

Parents with children in the Monroe County School System are reportedly revolting against the government-funded National School Lunch Program after their kids found what were either maggots or mites in their cafeteria food. Last month, according to Reason.com, seventh-graders at Madisonville Public School found what they initially thought were maggots in the granola sold at their cafeteria. Another report said the students found mites instead. Chattanooga’s News Channel 9 reported school officials investigated and found no more bugs. Those same school officials apologized in a Facebook post and assured parents this would never happen again. In that same Facebook post, they said the school cafeteria received a score of 97 on its most recent health inspection. But a few days later, according to published reports, the insects made an encore performance. This time, Knoxville TV affiliate WBIR said a student found a bug in his school-provided breakfast. The student reportedly captured it on video. Parents were so upset they took the matter up at the next school board meeting, according to Reason. One parent told News Channel 9 she would pack her daughter’s lunch from now on instead of having her eat cafeteria food. Monroe County Director of Schools Tim…

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Dan Bongino Claims Explosive Devices Sent to CNN and Democratic Politicians Were Amateur on Purpose

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by Nick Givas   Fox News commentator Dan Bongino said the explosive devices sent to CNN’s New York bureau and various Democratic politicians were “intentionally amateurish” on Fox & Friends Thursday. “Let me just get this out, because there’s no easy way to explain this. When you’re this amateur and these devices are amateurish at best, they show all the hallmarks of someone who had absolutely no idea what they were doing,” Bongino said. “One of the things you see in incidents like this in the past is that when you’re so amateur the bomber typically blows himself up, or there will be some kind of a signal they let out,” he continued. Anyone who has experience in this has seen that before. But you don’t see this. No one called the cops, no one obviously busted this guy or woman in advance. So, you have these two contrasting bits of information. Bongino said it was odd to see the bombs find their way to their targets, but fail to detonate. He deduced that the bomber knew what he or she was doing and never planned for the devices to go off. “It’s so rookie and amateurish. But then on the other hand, they…

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Trump Approved the First-Ever US Oil Facility in Arctic Waters

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by Tim Pearce   The Department of the Interior approved what could be the first-ever oil and gas production facility in U.S.-controlled Arctic waters Wednesday. Hilcorp Alaska submitted a proposal to build a 9-acre gravel island off the coast of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea. The artificial island, called the Liberty Project, will serve as a well-pad that will support a drilling rig, pipelines and storage facilities similar to other artificial islands in the area. “We’re announcing approval of the Hilcorp Liberty Project, which if completed, will be the first production facility ever located in federal waters off Alaska,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement. “American energy dominance is good for the economy, the environment, and our national security.” “Responsibly developing our resources, in Alaska especially, will allow us to use our energy diplomatically to aid our allies and check our adversaries,” Zinke added. “That makes America stronger and more influential around the globe.” Environmentalists have been critical of Trump’s energy policies in Alaska and have singled out the Liberty Project as “a big risk.” “Giving us Liberty could give us the death of imperiled whales and polar bears. Conditions in the Arctic are brutal, and a major oil spill…

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Chelsea Clinton Won’t Rule Out Running for Political Office

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Chelsea Clinton

by Grace Carr   Chelsea Clinton said she wouldn’t rule out running for political office in a Wednesday interview, saying that she’d consider running if a spot opened up where she thinks she’d be a good fit. “I think if someone were to step down or retire and I thought I could do a good job and it matched my talents, I’d have to think if it’s the right choice for me,” Clinton said, according to the Westchester Journal News. Clinton is the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation. Founded by her father and former president Bill Clinton, the foundation “work[s] on issues directly or with strategic partners from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service,” according to its website. The foundation is also “committed to cultivating a diverse, new generation of leaders.” The Justice Department began investigating the Clinton Foundation in January after allegations that the Clintons had traded political favors for donations. The DOJ also looked into whether Hillary Clinton had advocated for certain policies advantageous to the foundation while she served as secretary of state. [ RELATED: FBI Takes Aim At The Clinton Foundation ] The Clinton Foundation failed…

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Commentary: Dear Globalists, People Are Not Commodities

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by Spencer P. Morrison   Afraid his son would steal his throne, Dionysius I, Tyrant of Syracuse, locked the boy away in a tower. Never leaving his prison, the boy learned about the world from his teachers and books. War, rhetoric, politics—he mastered them all. The boy was Leonidas without soldiers, Pericles without words, Themistocles without followers. Everything changed when Dionysius I died. The boy—now a man—ascended the throne. Yet for all his knowledge he lost battles, forgot speeches, and impoverished his people. Dionysius II even invited Plato to help him rule as a philosopher-king. But all Plato’s wisdom proved worthless. He was lucky to escape Syracuse with his life. Although Dionysius II knew everything, he also knew nothing. Theory is not reality. Logic is not experience. Knowledge is not skill. Dionysius never realized that his knowledge was ignorance, and his ignorance, knowledge. He died in disgrace. This lesson remains true today, particularly in the field of economics. For example, although international free trade looks like a good theory, it seldom works in reality. Why? Because underlying the theory are a number of false assumptions. Free trade’s logical foundation is quicksand and no matter how sturdy and elaborate the edifice…

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President Trump’s New Rule Aims to Expand Health Coverage and Lower Costs

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by Robert Moffit   The Trump administration just announced a major regulatory change, effective Jan. 1, 2020, that could significantly expand access to affordable health coverage and increase the choice of health plans, particularly among workers and their families in small businesses. The proposed rule, jointly developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department, would allow employer-sponsored health reimbursement accounts to fund the purchase of individual health insurance on a tax-free basis. Today, workers and their families can use tax-free health reimbursement accounts to offset medical expenses, such as out-of-pocket medical costs. Under the new rule, workers and their families could use employer contributions to the accounts to buy health insurance on their own. This opportunity is particularly valuable for workers employed by small business owners who cannot afford to offer standard group health insurance, but who could afford to help offset the premium costs of their employees’ individual coverage. Treasury Department officials estimate that the new rule could encourage as many as 800,000 employers to sponsor health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs, to fund individual coverage for more than 10 million workers. This relief is crucial, particularly for workers and their families in small businesses. With…

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Judge Accuses State Department of Making ‘False Statements’ on Clinton Emails

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Hillary Clinton

by Kevin Mooney   State Department officials opposed to disclosing more of Hillary Clinton’s emails as secretary of state made “false statements” and filed “false affidavits” in a related lawsuit, a federal judge said during a court hearing in Washington earlier this month. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the hearing after a legal watchdog asked the court to obtain testimony under oath from current and former State Department officials, including Clinton and former aide Cheryl Mills. If Lamberth agrees with Judicial Watch, Clinton and others would have to testify under oath and answer questions about how the department processed the organization’s Freedom of Information Act requests, and how it conducted its search for emails Clinton sent and received over a private email server. Mills was Clinton’s chief of staff and counselor when she was secretary of state from Jan. 21, 2009, to Jan. 31, 2013, and worked on her presidential campaigns. The State Department had asked Lamberth to issue a summary judgment that would have closed the case and ended any more inquiries into Clinton emails that have not been disclosed. The judge refused and explained during the Oct. 12 hearing why he had granted limited discovery of…

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Bredesen Smirks: ‘A Few Thousand Very Poor People Coming to Our Border Is Not a Threat to Our National Security’

Jason M. Reynolds

When asked Wednesday about the illegal alien army marching toward America, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen laughed, saying, “A few thousand very poor people coming to our border is not a threat to our, is not a threat to our security.” The video of Bredesen’s remarks available to watch here. Bredesen’s opponent, U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) is not amused. She said in a statement, “These comments demonstrate how out of touch Phil Bredesen is with the Tennesseans he seeks to represent. There is a right way to come to this country, and there is a wrong way to come to this country. This mob, which the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed includes gang members, individuals with criminal histories, and people from the Middle East, is seeking to enter our country the wrong way. Phil Bredesen would like to roll out the welcome mat for them, hand them a state-issued, taxpayer funded driving certificates, and get them to work for his campaign. This is a clear difference between the two of us. I will continue to fight against illegal immigration, by ensuring existing immigration laws are followed, building the wall, stopping sanctuary cities, penalizing elected officials who refuse to follow federal…

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