Month: November 2018

US Coast Guard Will Fine Company $40,000 A Day if it Doesn’t Clean Up its Oil Spill

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by Tim Pearce   The U.S. Coast Guard has ordered a U.S. energy company to plug a 14-year-old offshore oil leak or face a rolling fine of $40,000 a day, The Washington Post reported. Taylor Energy must “institute a … system to capture, contain, or remove oil” from its former drill site 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana, the Oct. 23 order said. The site has leaked between 300 and 700 barrels of crude a day since 2004, adding up to 1.5 million to 3.5 million barrels of total oil leaked, according to WaPo. The company submitted a plan to the Coast Guard on Nov. 8, but federal officials rejected the plan in favor of another by an independent contractor that “provided both the best capability and timeline for responding” to the oil spill, a Coast Guard spokesman told WaPo. The company, which sold off all assets and ceased drilling operations in 2008, has pushed back against the Coast Guard’s analysis of the leak. The Coast Guard has based its action partly on an analysis commissioned by the Justice Department that Taylor Energy says is flawed. “The inflated volumes are completely inconsistent with the scientific record built over a decade…

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Trey Gowdy Sends Letter to White House for Details on Ivanka Trump’s Email Use

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by Henry Rodgers   House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy sent a letter to the White House Wednesday asking for details regarding Ivanka Trump’s use of a private email account. The letter comes after a report broke Monday night that the first daughter used it to conduct government business and schedule meetings in the beginning months of the administration. The letter is addressed to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. “In light of the importance and necessity of preserving the public record and doing so in a manner that is reflective of relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, the Committee must assess whether the White House took adequate steps to archive Ms. Trump’s emails and prevent a recurrence,” wrote Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina. “We launched a bipartisan investigation last year into White House officials’ use of private email accounts for official business, but the White House never gave us the information we requested,” Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the likely incoming Democratic chairman of the committee, said in a Tuesday statement. “We need those documents to ensure that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and other officials are complying with federal records laws and there is a complete record of the activities of…

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Trump Wanted the Justice Dept to Prosecute Clinton and Comey

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by Chris White   President Donald Trump told his White House council earlier this year that he wanted the Department of Justice to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. Then-White House Counsel Donald McGahn told the president that he had no authority to order a prosecution, according to the report, which did not directly quote the sources. He also warned the president that directing the DOJ to investigate Clinton could risk unraveling Trump’s administration, the sources noted. McGahn allegedly provided Trump with a memo from White House lawyers that effectively confirmed his warnings. The president has considered possibly appointing a second special counsel to investigate both Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey, the sources note. He has also expressed annoyance at FBI Director Christopher Wray for not closing in on the failed presidential candidate – Trump has even called him weak, according to one of the sources who claims to have discussed the matter with the president. “Mr. McGahn will not comment on his legal advice to the president,” McGahn’s lawyer, William Burck, told TheNYT. “Like any client, the president is entitled to confidentiality. Mr. McGahn would point out,…

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Edgar Torres-Rangel Now on TBI Top 10 List

Chris Butler

Edgar Torres-Rangel is now on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted list. As The Tennessee Star reported, Torres-Rangel is an alleged illegal alien who drove drunk and killed a Bedford County woman, Keri King, last month. According to the TBI’s Facebook page, members of both that agency and the Tennessee Highway Patrol want Torres-Rangel on charges of vehicular homicide. Both agencies have kicked in reward money, which totals up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest, according to the TBI’s Facebook page. TBI spokesman Josh DeVine told The Star that agency officials decided to put Torres-Rangel on their list Tuesday. “We place people on our top 10 when they are wanted to face serious offenses and when there is some reason to believe that putting a little bit of reward money behind it might help to raise the profile of the case and might lead to tips that might lead to the individual’s capture,” DeVine said. “We were contacted by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. They indicated they had put up reward money and requested that we do the same, and we agreed that this is an individual that we would like to see in law enforcement…

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Glen Casada Wins House Republican Nomination For Speaker

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Widely seen as the favored candidate, State Representative Glen Casada easily won the three-way race for Speaker-Elect with 43 of 73 votes, setting the tone for the other mainly predictable 11 elections held during the House Republican Caucus meeting held Tuesday. As current Republican Caucus Chairman, Representative Ryan Williams (Cookeville) opened the meeting and reviewed some ground rules. Williams said that, per the Bylaws of the House Republican Caucus, an independent accounting firm would count the ballots and declare the winner of each race. The successful candidate would need a total of 37 votes, even if a member chose not to vote. Although it did not happen, there was a provision in the event that no candidate received 37 votes in the first round, whereby the person with the lowest number of votes would be eliminated, and additional votes taken until a candidate reached 37 votes. The votes for each position would not be cast until the results of the previous election were declared. Williams announced that the ballots and tally sheets would be preserved and available for review in the office of the new duly-elected Caucus Chair. Representative Dan Howell (Georgetown) made a motion, which was…

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Dr. Carol Swain Commentary: Voter Fraud and the 2018 Midterm Elections

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by Dr. Carol M. Swain   From the Democrats, we get “Every vote should be counted.” Hidden in these words is an effort to legitimize votes cast by non-citizens and others who might not have had legal standing to vote on November 6. That was in the wake of the state of Florida’s passage of legislation to allow convicted felons who have paid their debts to society to vote. The cry from Republicans is quite different. Republicans believe Democrats are bent on stealing elections using any means necessary. Democrats have established a pattern of seeking the relaxation of voter-identification requirements. They argue that requests for state-issued identification discriminates against black voters, when a lax system makes it easier for non-citizens and convicted felons to vote.  Nationally, we have not done enough to protect the integrity of the electoral system. Only 34 of the 50 states require voter identification at the polls. Other states accept easily accessible documents such as utility bills, paychecks, and bank statements. Things have begun to change, though.  Since 2005, there has been a greater push to require photo identification.  Efforts to require photo identification have been met by pushback from those who argue requiring such documents…

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Commentary: Big Media’s Power Games and the Khashoggi Affair

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by Joseph Duggan   Jamal Khashoggi was a thoroughly charming and charismatic person. In March 2012, I took the last available seat at a luncheon table at the 20th Public Relations World Congress in Dubai. By sheer accident I found myself sitting next to Khashoggi and conversing with him for an hour or so. It was the first and last time I had any contact with the man. His gruesome murder last month distressed me deeply. Here was a human being, a prominent one in his own part of the world, who had accorded warmth and courtesy to me, a foreigner in his region. I love Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, which embraced my family and me as our adoptive home for a number of years. I would like to see the tens of millions of citizens of Saudi Arabia enjoy peace, prosperity, and greater freedom. It’s in interest of the West—and that of the whole world—for Saudi Arabia to establish good relations with all of its neighbors, including Israel—a prospect that once seemed impossible—as well as a prospect that today seems impossible, Iran. Khashoggi’s murder, and the revelation that it had been committed on orders of the government…

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Ivanka’s Personal Email Use Could be a Gift to Democrats Looking to Investigate White House

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by Chris White   Ivanka Trump used a private email account in 2017 to conduct official government business, according to a White House review. The news gives incoming House Democrats another potential opening for congressional oversight hearings. The first daughter’s email use included exchanges with cabinet secretaries, among other forms of correspondence, The New York Times reported Monday night, citing sources who’ve seen the emails. The story also places more pressure on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to cave into Democratic members who are intent on wrapping the White House in probes. The Washington Post initially reported on the scope of Trump’s email use, noting Monday that there were several related to government business, but hundreds of others related to schedules. Her email usage also rehashes reports from 2016 concerning Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was the secretary of state. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Trump, did not respond to The NYT’s request for comment but a spokesman for the lawyer confirmed again that Trump had used personal email for a time before she transitioned into government. “To address misinformation being peddled about Ms. Trump’s personal email, she did not create a private server in her house…

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Commentary: The Truth About the Invasion Heading Toward the Southern Border

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  While the Leftist establishment media has been trying to brainwash Americans into believing that the “caravan” of aliens who are threatening to cross our southern border illegally are doing so without organization or logistical support from traitors inside America, our friends independent investigative journalist Sara Carter, Nolan Peterson of the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal and independent film maker Ami Horowitz have documented a starkly different story. Peterson reported on a large group of aliens camped in Mexico City, the first and largest of five migrant “caravans” traversing through Mexico and headed north. Altogether, says Peterson, they comprise roughly 12,000 people, mainly from the three Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In a scene not unlike when a coach rallies his players before a big game, Peterson reports organizers pressed the encircling migrants on the night of Nov. 7 not to give up on their “mission” to achieve the U.S. border. “It’s your right to go to the U.S.,” Milton Benitez, a political analyst and sociologist who hosts the Honduran TV show “El Perro Amarillo,” implored the impassioned crowd. ‘These caravans are very well orchestrated,” one Mexican official who asked not to be named told Peterson. “We’ve…

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Insurers Are Refusing to Do Business With Coal Companies

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by Jason Hopkins   A growing number of insurance firms around the world are either divesting from coal companies or refusing to do business with them altogether. Generali — the third largest insurer in Europe and the largest in Italy — announced it will no longer insure the production of coal facilities or mines. Additionally, Generali will no longer accept new clients that acquire as much as 30 percent of their revenue or energy production from coal. The Italian company, however, will keep doing business with its existing clients. Generali’s moves are just the latest in a growing trend by major insurance companies who are refusing to work with coal interests. International insurance giants Allianz, Swiss Re, Murich Re, AXA and Zurich have all opted to limit their insurance dealings with coal. Their decisions mostly come, not only pressure from environmental organizations, but also from governments increasingly antagonistic against fossil fuels. Fifteen European countries have pledged to completely phase out coal by the year 2030. “Generali’s move shows that coal is increasingly becoming uninsurable. The majority of global insurance companies with the expertise to lead in assessing and underwriting new power plants have now committed to end or limit insurance…

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Judge Stops Trump Asylum Ban as Migrant Caravan Nears

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by Kevin Daley   A federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Trump administration’s new asylum rules early Tuesday morning. U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar said that Congress extended asylum eligibility to all new comers, and the president may not impose contrary terms. “Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Tigar’s decision reads. Tigar is an Obama appointee to the federal trial court in San Francisco. President Donald Trump issued an order on Nov. 9 denying asylum for all foreign nationals who enter the country illegally for a 90-day period. The ACLU challenged the proclamation in court, arguing it violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Federal law provides that “any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance” with applicable statutes. That language…

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Insiders Say Democrats are Waiting On 2020 Push Till Beto Makes a Decision on Presidential Run

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by Hanna Bogorowski   A major Democratic fundraiser said party donors are waiting to hear if former Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke will be on the ballot in 2020 before they put their money toward other presidential potentials. Mikal Watts, a San Antonio-based lawyer and political fundraiser, told Politico that several Democratic donors and political operatives have reached out to ask if O’Rourke is running after several other presidential hopefuls began to make their fundraising calls in recent weeks. Those imploring about O’Rourke’s possible run have majorly stemmed from Iowa, the “first-in-the-nation” presidential caucus state. “They’re not wanting to sign on to other presidential campaigns until they know whether Beto is going,” Watts said. “And if Beto is running, what good progressive Democrat wouldn’t want to work for Beto O’Rourke?” O’Rourke, who rose to national fame in part by the unquestioned and glowing media coverage he received, is a three-term congressman from Texas who raised over $70 million in his failed campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. “I can tell you that there has not been this kind of level of electric excitement about a candidate since” former President Barack Obama ran in 2008, Watts told Politico. O’Rourke said before the midterm elections that he…

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White House Journalists Ditch Tradition of Inviting Comedian to Annual Dinner

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  Months after comic Michelle Wolf angered Trump administration officials with her blistering routine at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the group said on Monday it would feature a historian, not a comedian, at next year’s event. The WHCA said Ron Chernow (pictured above), who has written biographies of presidents George Washington and Ulysses Grant and founding father Alexander Hamilton, has been asked to speak on freedom of the press at next year’s black-tie affair in April. “Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to the basics,” Chernow said in a statement released by the WHCA. President Donald Trump has repeatedly derided some media organizations as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people.” The decision breaks with the association’s long-standing tradition of having a comic roast the president and the press at the dinner, and it drew a sharp response from Wolf. “The @whca are cowards. The media is complicit. And I couldn’t be prouder,” she said on Twitter. Presidents traditionally have been given the floor to make their own humorous remarks before the comic speaks. But President Donald Trump, who frequently found himself the…

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State Sen. Mark Green Announces Jan. 3 Resignation Date to Assume Congressional Seat

Jason M. Reynolds

State Sen. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-22) announced his resignation as Senator effective Jan. 3, 2019 to assume the U.S. Seventh Congressional District seat he won in the Nov. 6 election. That seat was previously held by Marsha Blackburn, who won the U.S. Senate race. Once Green resigns his State Senate seat, the Montgomery County Commission will appoint a senator to serve until a special election is held. First elected to the State Senate in 2012, Green’s service has been marked by his leadership on behalf of all Tennesseans, the West Point graduate said in a press release. Green has passed numerous pro-veteran and pro-business bills. His leadership led to the passage of landmark legislation like the Hall Income Tax Repeal and the Teachers Bill of Rights. Green recently announced his appointment of Stephen Siao as his chief of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives. Siao will lead the transition over the next two months and lead the congressional office starting in January. In his resignation letter to Gov. Bill Haslam, Green wrote, “Serving the people of this district for the last six years has been a privilege and an honor, and I am proud to have worked on their…

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Tennessee Woman Killed by Alleged Illegal Immigrant Was ‘An Angel’ in Life

Chris Butler

Bedford County resident Keri King, 29, was one of the finest people Jeff Boyce ever knew. She didn’t deserve to die the way that she did, because of the actions of an alleged illegal immigrant, said Boyce, who lives in Cannon County. As The Tennessee Star reported, Omar Edgar Torres-Rangel drove drunk last month and killed King as she drove home from Murfreesboro. Boyce said he feels sadness. He also has rage. Sadness because a woman he called “an angel” no longer walks the earth. Rage because Torres-Rangel escaped from law enforcement. Rage, again, because King’s surviving family members say law enforcement won’t give them any answers. “One minute I’m so angry I can’t even explain how angry I am, and it makes me so sad I want to cry,” Boyce told The Tennessee Star Tuesday, before his voice broke and he started sobbing. Boyce said wants to lobby members of the Tennessee General Assembly to act to make sure nothing like this happens again in Tennessee, although he did not specify how they could do that. “I will spend every penny I’ve got to run a damn front page ad in every paper in this state right before election…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Chuck Schumer Refuses to Apologize to Lamar Alexander for His ‘Display of Discourtesy’ on the Senate Floor

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 chatted with Tennessee State Senator Lamar Alexander about the Democrat stalling of confirmation efforts and his exchange with Chuck Schumer and the lack of an apology during Schumer’s display of discourtesy on the Senate floor. Gill: Senator Lamar Alexander going all “Lindsey Graham” on Chuck Schumer who not only has disrespected the process of slowing the judicial confirmation process for no good reason.  But with a particular nominee for the TVA board, John Ryder, lawyer from Memphis.  Excellent lawyer with as Lamar Alexander pointed out, seven to ten million people in the region waiting for a new board member so they can get a new CEO, a new Chairman of the TVA.  The Democrats holding up John Ryder’s confirmation after he’s already been through the committee process, holding him up for like a hundred and seventy seven days and basically, Chuck Schumer walking out in the midst of the debate, the conversation between Senator Lamar Alexander and himself over this issue.  Did everything but  you know, kind…

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Jeff Ballabon Commentary: CNN’s Lawsuit Is An Admission of Its Anti-Trump Activism

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by Jeff Ballabon   CNN likes to masquerade as an objective news outlet, but its lawsuit against President Trump and the Secret Service makes its partisanship more nakedly obvious than ever. From the very beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, CNN has used its platform to demean, denigrate, and deride the president at every opportunity. Their Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, who grandstands on and off the air as Trump’s chief antagonist, is merely the most notorious manifestation of CNN’s rampant bias. Recently, his behavior so violated every norm of White House press corps etiquette that the White House withdrew his access to the White House grounds. CNN sued President Trump and a judge temporarily reinstated Acosta’s access pending outcome of the case. CNN’s legal case rests on the contention that the First Amendment’s freedom of the press guarantees Jim Acosta permanent access to the White House grounds. The judge declined to rule on those grounds, ruling instead that Acosta may have been denied his Fifth Amendment due process rights because he did not have an opportunity to formally appeal the revocation of his pass. CNN likes to pretend it serves a vital public interest through “objective” reporting, and their…

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Woman Who Interrupted Marsha Blackburn Moment of Silence Says She Was Justified

Chris Butler

The woman who interrupted a moment of silence last month at a Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville has come forward to justify what she did and say why she believes Blackburn is a white supremacist. The Tennessean recently gave the woman, Katie Cowley of Ooltewah, a forum to bash Blackburn and Republicans in general. “I interrupted because as a registered nurse, mom of five, wife of one of those first responders who must see, process and live with the incidents of violence that she and extremists like her are inciting,” Cowley said. Cowley said in her column that no one hired her to disrupt the gathering and she wasn’t part of any organized group. “And what I saw from the outset of the event was more disturbing than I had anticipated,” Cowley wrote. “I saw young African-American students — who were hard not to notice, since they were virtually the only non-white people in the room — approached by a large man with an earpiece and asked to leave.” These young African-American students, Cowley went on to say, never disrupted the event. The Tennessee Star later identified these two African-Americans as Janeisha Harris and Vanderbilt Divinity School student Justin Jones. Cowley…

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Steve Gill Commentary: It’s Time for Tennessee Republicans to Reject Toxic Tennessee Education Association Money… and Those Who Accept It

Steve Gill

During the 2018 mid-term elections the National Education Association (NEA), parent organization of the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), made recommendations for U.S. House races. There were 435 Congressional seats up for election, but only 10 of the 289 recommended candidates by the NEA were Republicans. All ten Republicans who received NEA support were incumbents. It doesn’t appear that the national teachers’ union has EVER supported a Republican challenger against a Democratic incumbent in Congress. Although their membership numbers are declining, the NEA remains “the largest labor union in the United States” according to their own materials. They spent $18,128,105, which placed them 13th in political contributions through the most recent campaign financial reporting periods. That money helped propel the Democrats, and possibly Nancy Pelosi, to power in the House. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GILL__TEA-2018-Contributions.pdf” title=”GILL__TEA 2018 Contributions”]   Under the NEA’s “unification policy,” all union members throughout the country are forced to pay dues to them. In other words, if you are a member of a local association, you must be a member of the state organization, and subsequently a member of the national organization—which means all local teachers’ unions members are also NATIONAL union members. This approach has enabled NEA to create…

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Tennessee House Republicans to Choose Speaker Tuesday

Jason M. Reynolds

Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives will select their next leader on Tuesday, Nov. 27. One political observer has thrown out the name he believes will be picked. The upcoming Republican decision means replacing the spot that has been held by retiring Speaker State Rep. Beth Harwell (R-TN-56), who retired to run for governor, WKRN reports. She came in fourth against Gov.-elect Bill Lee in the primary. Republicans hold nearly three-quarters of the House seats, so their nominee for speaker will easily win the position when both parties vote in January as lawmakers convene their next session. “At this point, it’s probably Glen Casada’s to lose,” said longtime political analyst Steve Gill, Political Editor of The Tennessee Star. Casada (R-TN-63) is from Thompson Station. His Williamson County counterpart, State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-TN-23), is considered a front-runner for Senate Majority Leader. The Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus will choose its leaders on Monday, Dec. 3. That story is here. House Majority Leader Casada, the main sponsor of last session’s opioid bill, State Rep. David Hawk(R-TN-05) and current Speaker Pro-Tem State Rep. Curtis Johnson (R-TN-68) are on the ballot to replace Harwell. “Curtis Johnson is a more moderate candidate for speaker,”…

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DC’s Extends Ban on Plastic Straws to Churches and Day Care Centers

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drinking straws

by Tristan Justice   The District of Columbia is set to implement a new ban on single-use plastic straws and coffee stirrers. Poised to take effect Jan. 1, the prohibition is not limited only to restaurants and bars, but also churches, day care centers, and other entities in the city. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is recommending the use instead of alternative items made from hay, bamboo, glass, paper, or stainless steel. “@MayorBowser’s list of recyclable and compostable now requires the use of compostable and/or reusable straws and stirrers when selling food or beverages in the District. Enforcement begins January 1, 2019!” the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment tweeted Thursday. .@MayorBowser's list of recyclables and compostables now requires the use of compostable and/or reusable straws and stirrers when selling food or beverages in the District. Enforcement begins January 1, 2019! See all foodservice ware requirements➡️ https://t.co/Nr0UUoNENr pic.twitter.com/Z4kJBqJipF — Department of Energy & Environment (@DOEE_DC) November 15, 2018 The District’s government will begin inspecting restaurants, pubs, food trucks, and other businesses and organizations for compliance on Jan. 1 and will begin issuing fines for noncompliance with the law on July 1, according to the department’s website. The D.C. Department of Energy…

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Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus to Choose Speaker/Lieutenant Governor, Senate Majority Leader, on Dec. 3

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus will meet on Monday, Dec. 3 to elect leaders for the 111th General Assembly. The meeting will take place at 1:30 p.m. CST on the 8th Floor of the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville, the caucus said in a press release. The following offices will be elected: Speaker of the Senate/Lieutenant Governor (to be elected by the full Senate body when the General Assembly convenes), Senate Majority Leader, Senate Republican Caucus Chairman, Caucus Treasurer, Caucus Secretary and Caucus Chaplain. A list of the caucus’ current officers is available here. State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-TN-23), who is starting his fourth term, is considered a front-runner for Senate Majority Leader, several outlets, according to some outlets, including the Williamson Herald. The Williamson County Republican is Chair of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, a member of the Senate State and Local Government Committee and a member of the Capitol Commission. The Senate Majority Leader position was left open when Mark Norris (R-TN-32) was named as a federal judge in the Western District of Tennessee in October. Norris was tapped by the Trump Administration in July 2017 to fill the federal judgeship that was vacated a few months prior in March,…

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Commentary: Trump is Right, the Only Way to Win is to Fight

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by George Rasley   In CHQ Chairman Richard Viguerie’s book TAKEOVER, Mr. Viguerie observed that the only battles conservatives are guaranteed to lose is the ones we don’t fight. And if for concrete proof of that dictum one only needs to look back at the first two years of the Donald Trump presidency: In the U.S. House of Representatives the Republican leadership under Speaker Paul Ryan went completely squishy on conservative policy after conservative policy, until President Trump stepped in to push them to fight, likewise in the Senate, until the fight to confirm Justice Kavanaugh put a backbone into Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and enough Republicans to get Kavanaugh through his hellish confirmation. Justice Kavanaugh would never have been confirmed, nor would the tax cuts have passed the Senate, nor would Obamacare’s individual mandate have been repealed had Trump not been willing to fight. However, to the Washington establishment, conservatives who fight for their principles and for the limited government policies that have revived the American economy are “divisive.” Chris Wallace, interviewing President Trump for Fox News framed the issue this way: I was in Saint Joseph, Missouri, this last week and I was talking to a lot of…

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Migrant Caravan Triggers Protests in Tijuana

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Hundreds of Tijuana residents congregated around a monument in an affluent section of the city south of California on Sunday to protest the thousands of Central American migrants who have arrived via caravan in hopes of a new life in the U.S. Tensions have built as nearly 3,000 migrants from the caravan poured into Tijuana in recent days after more than a month on the road, and with many more months ahead of them while they seek asylum. The federal government estimates the number of migrants could soon swell to 10,000. U.S. border inspectors are processing only about 100 asylum claims a day at Tijuana’s main crossing to San Diego. Asylum seekers register their names in a tattered notebook managed by migrants themselves that had more than 3,000 names even before the caravan arrived. On Sunday, displeased Tijuana residents waved Mexican flags, sang the Mexican national anthem and chanted “Out! Out!” in front of a statue of the Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc, 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the U.S. border. They accused the migrants of being ungrateful and a danger to Tijuana. They also complained about how the caravan forced its way into Mexico, calling it an “invasion.” And they voiced…

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Tennessee Comptrollers’ Office Made Fewer Audit Findings in FY 2017

Chris Butler

Members of the Tennessee Comptrollers’ Office say they had far fewer city and county audit findings in Fiscal Year 2017 than they did the previous fiscal year. This has gone on for the past few years, said John Dunn, spokesman for the Tennessee Comptrollers’ Office. “For example, in FY 2016, we had 383 audit findings spread across the 90 Tennessee counties that are directly audited by the Comptroller’s Office (an average of 4.26 per county),” Dunn said. “In FY 2017 we had 338 findings in those same 90 counties (an average of 3.76 per county). The trend in declining audit findings has been consistent for several years in a row.” Dunn told The Tennessee Star he and other Comptroller officials credit auditors and investigators for finding problems. But Dunn also said he credits programs such as MTAS’ Certified Municipal Finance Officer program and CTAS’ Certified County Finance Officer program, which help to develop competent finance officials in Tennessee’s cities and counties. “Additionally, the legislature passed Public Chapter 112 in 2015 which required all local governments to establish and maintain internal controls to safeguard public funds and property,” Dunn said. Tennessee Comptrollers still, however, do find examples of waste, fraud, and…

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Progressive Synopticon

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by Victor Davis Hanson   In the post-election aftermath, Republicans are wondering about how they can capture that missing 2-5 percent of the electorate that lost them the House of Representatives. Could they pry away 40 percent of the institutionalized Democratic Latino vote on delivery of a full-employment economy of rising wages? Can they win over 20 percent of the African-American electorate on the basis of more jobs and less competition from illegal immigrants? Can Trump tone down his ad hominem invective and tweeting to reassure an additional 10 percent of independent and middle-class suburban women that his national security agenda, free-market prosperity, traditionalism, law-and-order, and national sovereignty policies ensure greater tranquility, safety, and opportunity—even if they are not packaged in the manner of his more mellifluous and vacuous “presidential” predecessor? No Escaping the Culture Wars Republicans, in deer-in-the-headlights-style, appear shocked that they are increasingly prone to winning the vote on Election Day only to lose it in the ensuing weeks when absentee ballots and what-not filter in with astounding Democratic majorities. Someone is spending a lot of money to get the absentee voting ballot out, correctly marked, and returned. And whatever that ‘lot” is, it is killing Republican candidates.…

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Three Senate Judiciary Democrats Sue Over Whitaker Appointment

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by Molly Prince   Three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit Monday to block acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker from the position, asking a judge to deem it unconstitutional. Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island sued both Whitaker and President Donald Trump, alleging that Trump’s appointment of Whitaker as acting attorney general is unconstitutional since the Senate has been deprived of its constitutional obligation to vote for or against principal federal officers. Trump appointed Whitaker to temporarily take over the role of attorney general after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to resign from the position. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that Trump violated the Appointment Clause by disregarding the Senate’s power of Advice and Consent, which was “adopted by our nation’s Founders as an important check on the power of the President.” “Recognizing that giving the President the ‘sole disposition of offices’ would result in a Cabinet governed much more by his private inclinations and interests’ than by the public good,” the suit reads. “It could result in the appointment of Officers who had ‘no other merit than that of ……

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CNN Calls for Emergency Hearing in Response to White House Threats on Acosta

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by Hanna Bogorowski   After receiving a letter from the White House saying CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass could be revoked again by the end of November, CNN has asked the U.S. District Court for an emergency hearing. CNN won a temporary restraining order Friday after suing President Donald Trump and several members of his administration after they suspended Acosta’s access to the White House after an incident in which the reporter refused to hand over the microphone to an intern during a press conference. A judge temporarily restored Acosta’s access Friday and told CNN and the administration to reach a settlement, but CNN’s Brian Stelter revealed Sunday night that “White House officials sent Acosta a letter stating that his pass is set to be suspended again once the restraining order expires.” The letter, signed by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Bill Shine, announced the “preliminary decision” to suspend Acosta’s press pass again once the court’s restraining order expired, CNN reported. CNN asked a U.S. district court Monday for an emergency hearing. The White House’s letter reportedly says it will make a decision on the fate of Acosta’s press pass by 3 p.m. ET on Monday, the report states. .@CNN's Jim @Acosta returns…

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Women’s March Founder Teresa Shook Calls on the Group’s Leadership to Resign Over Refusals to Condemn Bigoted Statements by Allies

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Women’s March founder Teresa Shook took to Facebook Monday to call on the liberal leaders of the progressive movement to step down as many former supports #WalkAway over the group’s leaders’ refusal to condemn anti-Semitic and homophobic statements by well-known allies. “As Founder of the Women’s March, my original vision and intent was to show the capacity of human beings to stand in solidarity and love against the hateful rhetoric that had become a part of the political landscape in the U.S. and around the world,” Shook wrote, adding: Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez of Women’s March, Inc. have steered the Movement away from its true course,” she continued. “I have waited, hoping they would right the ship. But they have not. In opposition to our Unity Principles, they have allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform by their refusal to separate themselves from groups that espouse these racist, hateful beliefs. I call for the current Co-Chairs to step down and to let others lead who can restore faith in the Movement and its original intent. I call for the current Co-Chairs to step down and to let others lead…

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Ryan Zinke Blames Radical Environmentalists For Deadly California Wildfires

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by Michael Bastasch   Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blamed “radical environmentalists” for the deadly wildfires raging across California. “When we’re prevented from managing our forests by these radical environmentalists — they’ve had lawsuit after lawsuit, they have somehow promulgated to let nature take its course — this is the consequence of letting nature take its course,” Zinke said in an interview on the Breitbart News Sunday radio show. Wildfires scorched roughly 250,000 acres of California, destroying more than 12,000 structures and taking 80 lives. Authorities say there are still 1,200 people unaccounted for in the wake of the fires. “We need to go back to prescribed burns late in the season so you don’t have these catastrophic burns, remove the dead and dying timber, sustainable harvests, get the small mom and pop mills back where they’re grazing the forest and return to healthy forests,” Zinke said. “You look at Finland. I had an opportunity to live in Germany. Germany has the Black Forest — their forests are healthy, they don’t have the catastrophic burns because they manage the forests.” “And I will lay this on the foot of those environmental radicals that have prevented us from managing the forests for years. And you know…

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Bedford County Rodeo Reportedly Receives Cease-and-Desist Order

Chris Butler

A Bedford County-based Mexican rodeo suspected of illegal activity has received a county cease-and-desist order, according to The Shelbyville Times-Gazette. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, a few county commissioners suspect the Rancho La Herradura in Bell Buckle allows drug deals, prostitution, gambling, and human trafficking, among other things. The county’s Office of Planning and Zoning issued the cease-and-desist order. County officials said the venue does not qualify for an agricultural exemption from zoning rules, according to The Times-Gazette. “The facility was a topic of discussion at last week’s meeting of Bedford County Board of Commissioners, with commissioner Greg Vick saying that it has created traffic problems and safety problems as well, and that there are problems with excessive alcohol use at the site,” the paper reported. Rancho La Herradura Inc. officials said they engage in agricultural activity, specifically agri-tourism, and state laws protect them from zoning restrictions, the paper reported. “But Planning and Zoning Director Chris White, in his cease-and-desist letter, says that Rancho La Herradura did not board, train or care for any animals on its property, and never built any sort of barn or agricultural facility,” the paper said. White said “there has been NO activity…

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Bob Corker: ‘Everything Points to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’ Ordering Khashoggi’s Killing

Tennessee Star Staff

Retiring lame duck Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a tweet on Saturday that “Everything points to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, MBs, ordering @washingtonpost journalist Jamal #Khashoggi’s killing.” Everything points to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, MbS, ordering @washingtonpost journalist Jamal #Khashoggi‘s killing. The Trump administration should make a credible determination of responsibility before MbS executes the men who apparently carried out his orders. — Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) November 17, 2018 “The Trump administration should make a credible determination of responsibility before MbS executes the men who apparently carried out his orders,” Corker continued. The murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey last month has created a difficult foreign policy problem for the Trump administration, which has relied upon strengthened relationships with Saudi Arabia to hold the threat posed by Iran to stability in the Middle East in check. Corker’s tweet on Saturday expressed a view similar to the one taken by the Washington Post editorial board, which opined on Saturday that “Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is brazenly seeking to lie his way out of accountability for the murder of…

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Senator Lamar Alexander Tells The Tennessee Star Report He Will Make a Decision on Whether to Run for Re-Election ‘By the End of This Year’

Julie Carr

In an exclusive interview Monday morning with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy on The Tennessee Star Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said that he will make a decision on whether to run for a fourth term in the United States Senate before the end of this year, 2018. First elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee in 2002, the 78-year-old Alexander was re-elected in 2008 and 2014. He faced a tough Republican primary challenge in 2014 from former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas). Alexander defeated Carr by a 49 percent to 40 percent margin in the primary, then sailed to any easy victory in the general election. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill asked Alexander the big question about his political future towards the close of the Monday morning interview. You can hear that question and Sen. Alexander’s answer, a transcript of which appears below, beginning at the 9:00 mark in the audio file at the end of this story: Gill: About 7:01 pm on election night everybody started turning their attention towards 2020, I’d argue it’s before that, but whether it’s…

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Average Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Drops to Lowest Price Since 2010

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by Hanna Bogorowski   The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey on the price of traditional Thanksgiving foods revealed a drop in the average price of dinner for families. “Since 2015, the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner has declined steadily and is now at the lowest level since 2010,” AFBF Chief Economist Dr. John Newton said in a statement. The survey, which counted up the cost of classic Thanksgiving foods like turkey, sweet potatoes, bread rolls, cranberries, pumpkin pie mix and more, indicates that the average cost of this year’s meal for 10 is $48.90. That’s less than $5 per person, and a 22 cent decrease from the previous year’s average of $49.12. Thanksgiving dinner’s staple, the turkey, also costs slightly less this year, coming in at $21.71 for a 16-pound turkey and down three percent from 2017. Something to be thankful for: the real cost of a 2018 Thanksgiving dinner is lowest since 2010 and 26% lower than 1986 https://t.co/boMgeAN1yb — Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) November 15, 2018 The AFBF survey revealed that this is the lowest price one can buy a turkey since 2014. ‘Thanks to an ample supply, turkey remains affordable for consumers, which helps keep the overall cost of the…

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Commentary: The U.S. Constitution Allows For The Appointment Of Temporarily ‘Acting’ Officials Without Senate Confirmation

Gregory Watson

In its Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, the United States Constitution provides that the President of the United States: …by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States whose Appointments are not otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law…” This means that, by a simple majority vote of the 100-member U.S. Senate, the President may nominate — and the Senate may confirm — various appointees within the Executive branch and within the Judicial branch of the federal government. In the aftermath of the November 6, 2018, general election — and the Republican Party enjoying a net gain of three seats in the U.S. Senate — President Donald Trump should experience less difficulty, during the upcoming 116th Congress (2019-2020), with how his nominees are received in the nation’s highest legislative body, than had been the case during the 115th Congress. But not every appointment requires action by the U.S. Senate — regardless of whether that body is officially in session or is in recess between sessions. The Constitution’s Article II, Section 2, Clause 3, reads…

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Commentary: A Profile in Absurdity as Jim Acosta the First Amendment Hero

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by Mark Pulliam   The latest theatrics involving Jim Acosta, the left-wing political activist posing as a CNN reporter, perfectly illustrate the reasons why ordinary Americans despise the Beltway swamp: anti-Trump propaganda masquerading as journalism, rude and arrogant “reporters” engaged in 24/7 “resistance,” a federal judiciary so thoroughly dominated by liberal opinion that even Republican-appointed judges parrot the views of their ideological captors, and vain lawyers so eager for praise by the Acela Corridor establishment that they are willing to betray principle and common sense to receive accolades from fashionable elites. The underlying facts are by now well-known: The insufferable Acosta, surely the most obnoxious “correspondent” ever to hold a White House press pass—a dubious distinction in a competition that includes Sam Donaldson (ABC) and the late Helen Thomas (UPI), among others—had his credentials suspended after a particularly abrasive encounter with President Trump at a November 7 presser. In a widely publicized incident, Acosta harangued at length, refused to relinquish the microphone when directed to do so, and pushed away a young female intern who was trying to pass the mic to another reporter. White House press passes have always been viewed as discretionary and subject to regulation, in order…

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Hollywood Actors Threaten Boycott of Georgia After Kemp Victory

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by Ethan Barton   Several Hollywood actors have called for a boycott of Georgia’s film industry after Republican Brian Kemp officially won the state’s gubernatorial contest. There are over 20 productions shooting in Georgia. Is the entertainment industry willing to support the economy of a totally corrupt state that suppresses democracy; where the winner isn’t the best choice for the people but the best schemer or crook? — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) November 17, 2018 https://twitter.com/perlmutations/status/1063829163398828037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The hashtag #boycottgeorgia began to trend after Stacey Abrams, a former Democratic state representative and romance novelist, announced Friday that she would no longer challenge the Georgia Secretary of State’s election results. While Abrams acknowledged Kemp would be the winner of the election, she refused to call her speech a “concession” because a “concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true, or proper.” Before Kemp was certified as the official victor, actors were already threatening to boycott working in Georgia, a state with a large film industry that’s been dubbed the Hollywood of the South. Brian Kemp is a corrupt, homophobic, unapologetic disenfranchiser of African American voters. If he seizes power, Hollywood needs to use it’s leverage and pull out of Georgia. Studios need to put their money…

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Trump: Probably Won’t Sit for Interview in Russia Investigation

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  U.S. President Donald Trump is declaring that he “probably” won’t sit for an in-person interview with special counsel Robert Mueller probing links between his 2016 campaign and Russia, suggesting that his written answers to the prosecutor’s questions will be his final response. Trump told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that in recent days he gave “very, very complete answers to questions I shouldn’t have been asked. Probably this is the end.” In an interview at the White House taped Friday and broadcast Sunday, Trump said his lawyers are completing answers to Mueller’s two dozen or so questions, but that, “They’re writing what I tell them. It wasn’t a big deal.” https://youtu.be/g8ohzFy6eP0 Trump’s lawyers are expected to turn over his written responses in the coming days, although Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said last week some of the questions created “more issues for us legally than others.” Giuliani described some of the questions as “unnecessary,” some were “possible traps” and that “we might consider some as irrelevant.” The questions concerned events leading up to the November 2016 national election, not the two-plus months while Trump was the president-elect, or of events during Trump’s presidency, where Mueller is investigating whether Trump…

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Democratic 2020 Candidate Wants Government-Sponsored Social Credit System Comparable to China’s

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by Peter Hasson   New York entrepreneur and Democratic 2020 candidate Andrew Yang wants to implement a system in which a government-run mobile app rewards Americans with “digital social credits’ (DSCs) for good behavior. Americans would receive DSCs under Yang’s system for things such as “participating in a town fair,” “fixing a neighbor’s appliance” or “tutoring a student,” his presidential campaign website explains. “As individuals rack up DSCs, they would have both a permanent balance they’ve earned over their lifetime and a current balance. They could cash the points in for experiences, purchases with participating vendors, support for causes, and transfer points to others for special occasions,” Yang states on his website. “As their permanent balance gets higher, they might qualify for various perks like throwing a pitch at a local ballgame, an audience with their local Congressperson or meeting their state’s most civic-minded athlete or celebrity.” “The most socially detached would be the most likely to ignore all of this,” he added. “But many people love rewards and feeling valued.” Yang’s social credit plan bears some similarities to the social credit system implemented by China’s authoritarian government. Every citizen in China is assigned a social credit score that determines whether they…

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Commentary: The Democrats Chaos Strategy Almost Worked in Florida

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by George Rasley   Ana Ceballos, reporting for my hometown newspaper The Naples Daily News, posted a bombshell article detailing the Democrats’ potentially criminal strategy to use chaos and the margin of litigation to steal Florida’s close election for U.S. Senator, Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture. Ms. Ceballos reports that a day after Florida’s election left top state races too close to call, a Democratic party leader directed staffers and volunteers to share altered election forms with voters to fix signature problems on absentee ballots after the state’s deadline. The altered forms surfaced in Broward, Santa Rosa, Citrus and Okaloosa counties and were reported to federal prosecutors to review for possible election fraud as Florida counties complete a required recount in three top races, reported Ceballos. But, says Ceballos, an email obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida shows that Florida Democrats were organizing a broader statewide effort beyond those counties to give voters the altered forms to fix improper absentee ballots after the Nov. 5 deadline. Democratic party leaders provided staffers with copies of a form, known as a “cure affidavit,” that had been modified to include an inaccurate Nov. 8 deadline. One Palm Beach Democrat said in an interview the…

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Ron DeSantis Wins Florida Gubernatorial Election After Andrew Gillum Concedes Again

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Ron DeSantis

by Molly Prince   Former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis defeated Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum on Saturday after an incredibly heated Florida gubernatorial race that remained contested for longer than a week after polls closed. Gillum ended the race via a message on Facebook, congratulating DeSantis for winning the governorship and giving a final concession. However, the results of the race will likely not be certified by the state until Tuesday. “My wife R. Jai and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Gillum said. “This has been the journey of our lives.” Gillum’s announcement follows an automatic recount that ended Thursday and showed him gaining just one net vote in the process, making the margin against DeSantis officially 33,683 votes, or 0.41 percentage points. DeSantis initially declared victory after Gillum conceded on the evening of Election Day. Gillum, however, withdrew his concession on Nov. 10 after the voting margin narrowed in the Democrats’ favor as absentee and provisional ballots were tallied. DeSantis has represented Florida’s 6th Congressional District since 2013 and was a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. He has also been a frequent…

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Cities Reveal Insane Offers They Made in Bid for Amazon HQ

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by Evie Fordham   Amazon announced its decision Tuesday to split its second headquarters between Long Island City, New York, and Arlington, Virginia, but by picking those locations the corporation gave up some pretty sweet deals — and unusual offers — from other cities and states. Amazon will get incentives packages of more than $1.5 billion for bringing jobs to New York and more than $570 million for bringing jobs to Virginia, according to a Tuesday press release. Amazon bypassed big offers from Maryland and New Jersey, which put together incentives packages of $6.5 billion and $7 billion, respectively, according to The Baltimore Sun. But other states came up with offers that included deal-sweeteners other than infrastructure investments and tax credits proportional to jobs created. Here are a few of them: Georgia The Peach State had a long list it was willing to do to convince Amazon to build HQ2 in Atlanta. Georgia’s full package, which totaled more than $2 billion, was released for the first time Tuesday evening, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That package included “Amazon Academy of Georgia,” a state-provided space near or on Amazon’s campus to trains its employees, according to a March 5 document. The state was willing to pay…

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Commentary: Double Standards Galore in the Attorney General Fracas

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by John C. Eastman   So let me get this straight. In his November 8 New York Times op-ed (“Trump’s Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional,” co-authored be George Conway), Neal Katyal writes that President Trump’s designation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general is unconstitutional because the office of attorney general is a “principal office,” which can only be filled by someone who has been confirmed by the Senate. That would be the same Neal Katyal who served as acting solicitor general, also a Senate-confirmed position. And the same Neal Katyal whose boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, had served as acting attorney general at the end of the Clinton Administration and in the early days of the George W. Bush Administration. And the same Neal Katyal who served in an administration that closed out with another acting attorney general, Sally Yates, who acted like an embedded enemy within the Trump Administration until she was finally fired by the president for refusing to defend the president’s travel ban executive order—she claimed that there was no plausible defense for it, even though the policy was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court. The double standard is so palpable as to…

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Commentary: She Opposes Israel at Every Turn And Now She’s Going to Congress

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by David Harsanyi   Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress, is a new kind of politician. She’s telegenic, ideologically progressive, widely celebrated by a media that’s obsessed with identity politics. She’s the kind of politician who can openly side with Hamas against Israel or spread “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”-style conspiracies on Twitter, claiming that Jews possess the supernatural ability to hypnotize the world as they unfurl their “evil.” It’s not surprising, then, that Omar also supports the “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” movement. In a statement to the website Muslim Girl, someone on Omar’s staff explained that yes, “Ilhan believes in and supports the BDS movement, and has fought to make sure people’s right to support it isn’t criminalized. She does, however, have reservations on the effectiveness of the movement in accomplishing a lasting solution.” So although Omar contends that BDS will be ineffective in getting the sides to “a lasting solution,” she still “believes in and supports” a movement that smears the Jewish state as a racist endeavor and aims to destroy it economically. Is it a mystery why some Jews might find that positioning offensive? Omar has supported BDS…

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Trump Visits Fire-Ravaged California Community

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  Forensic recovery teams searched for more victims in the charred wreckage of the northern California town of Paradise on Saturday as the number of people listed as missing in the state’s deadliest wildfire topped 1,000. President Donald Trump visited the devastated small community in the Sierra foothills, 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, where authorities say the remains of at least 71people have been recovered. Paradise was home to nearly 27,000 residents before it was largely incinerated by the blaze on the night of Nov. 8. President Trump in Paradise, California. https://t.co/LLNPBBf8T1 — Dan Scavino Jr. Archived (@Scavino45) November 17, 2018 “Nobody could have thought this would ever happen,” Trump told reporters amid the charred wreckage of the town’s Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park. “This is very sad to see. As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet,” Trump said. “Right now we want to take care of the people who have been so badly hurt.” He was flanked by California Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. Brown said the federal government was doing what it needed to do, including supporting first responders and helping with clean-up and search for victims.…

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Abrams Admits She Can’t Win Georgia Governor’s Race

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  Democrat Stacey Abrams ended her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor’s race on Friday but pledged to fight the former secretary of state’s “gross mismanagement” of the elections with a federal lawsuit. Speaking defiantly to a news conference, Abrams said her actions did not constitute a concession, but she acknowledged that she had no further recourse under the law and that Kemp would be certified the winner. “Let’s be clear: This is not a speech of concession,” she said. “Because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith I cannot concede that.” Officials from Abrams’ campaign had told The Associated Press on Thursday that the candidate was considering the unprecedented move of invoking a state law that would let her challenge the results based on “misconduct, fraud or irregularities …sufficient to change or place in doubt the results.” But ultimately she declined to do so. Praise for her passion In accepting Abrams’ decision to end her campaign, Kemp said he appreciated “her passion, hard work and commitment to public service.” “The election is over and hardworking Georgians are ready to move forward,” he said. “We can…

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Melania Trump’s Moment: First Lady Flexes Muscles

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  It turns out there is more than one Trump who can employ a few well-chosen words as a poison dart. With a bombshell public statement this week, it was first lady Melania Trump who revealed her ability to carry out a political hit. Her extraordinary call for the removal of a top administration official forced the president to banish a top aide, exacerbated tensions within the White House and provided fresh insight into the first marriage. Above all, the moment showed that the enigmatic first lady is increasingly prepared to flex her muscles. While it was President Donald Trump who repeatedly promised to shake up his Cabinet and staff, it was his wife who forced one of the first moves after the midterm elections. And while first ladies have long held unique positions of influence in the White House, Mrs. Trump’s very public power play was an unusual move befitting an unconventional White House. “There have been similar activities on a less publicized scale, but it came out after the fact. We’ve never seen a first lady have her office make a public statement like that,” said Katherine Jellison, chair of the history department at Ohio University and an…

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As CNN’s Acosta Returns, White House Seeks Decorum for Press

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by Fred Lucas   CNN reporter Jim Acosta is back in the White House, and the Trump administration is working on rules for “decorum” during press conferences. “People have to behave. We’re writing up rules and regulations,” President Donald Trump told reporters Friday afternoon, when asked about the court ruling. He said other reporters were treated unfairly, “because you had somebody interrupting you. With the rules and regulations, we will end up back in court and we will win.” U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, of the District of Columbia, granted CNN a temporary restraining to halt the Trump administration from blocking Acosta’s access to the White House, and ordered his press pass to be returned. Asked what he meant about rules, Trump said, “decorum.” “You can’t take three questions and four questions. You can’t stand up and not sit down,” Trump said. “We want total freedom of the press. It’s more important to me than anybody would believe. But you have to act with respect when you’re at the White House, and when I see the way some of my people get treated at news conferences, it’s terrible. So we’re setting up a certain standard, which is what the court…

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