Day: December 7, 2018

Commentary: The Green Agenda Burns to Ashes in Paris

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by Jarrett Stepman   A riot is an ugly thing. The anarchical mayhem in the streets of Paris in recent days paint a picture of a fractured society with deep-seated problems—a breakdown of the fragile yet essential rule of law. – 70% of French voters believe democracy doesn't work well in France– Only 11% trust political parties– 24% trust the media– 63% of young French were ready for a large-scale revolt The gilets jaunes protests were almost inevitable https://t.co/hGrlVTsnyJ pic.twitter.com/cPcaybyNfl — Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) December 3, 2018 While we’ve come to expect such things in France, there are specific reasons why these protests have erupted in the last month. The “climate” agenda, peddled as a means to save the planet and reduce inequality, is being exposed in France as an agenda inherently at odds with the interests of middle- and working-class people. Last year, a wide range of American and international media, celebrities, and activists excoriated President Donald Trump for pulling the United States out of the international Paris climate agreement. Trump said in 2017 that he would put “no other consideration before the well-being of American citizens” and that he would reject an agreement that would force taxpayers to…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Ben Cunningham Says Conservatives Living in Metro Nashville Council District 29 Should Run in January Special Election

Julie Carr

On Thursday’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 – Leahy welcomed special guest host, Ben Cunningham to the show and chatted about his urging of conservatives in metro Nashville to run for office in District 29’s January special election.  The men also reminisced about the Tennessee Tax Revolt, how people became transformed and activists,  and how today there is so much a citizen can do to make a difference if they just get involved. Leahy: Guest hosting today is our good friend Ben Cunningham. Ben we were talking about getting involved in activism both the parents and grandparent’s and kids.  Possibly encouraging somebody to run for metro council in the 29th district here a special election in January where Karen Johnson has left.  Um, there’s also other things that need to be going on here… Cunningham: All the council seats are coming up in August of next year.  August of 2019 is, be a full slate of the council member elections.  Anybody can run for those seats also if you’re in Davidson county you have to qualify by, I think it’s May 13th…

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Federal Taxpayers Sent Two Tennessee Officials to China

Chris Butler

Federal taxpayers paid to send two Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation officials to China recently. The two employees who made the trip were TDEC’s Deputy of Engineering Services George Garden and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Kendra Abkowitz, said TDEC spokesman Eric Ward. Ward did not say when, exactly, they went. The pair went to China for a symposium on “food, water, and energy systems” to benefit Tennessee, Ward said. “They did so at no expense to TDEC – all meals, airfare and lodging were paid for by the National Science Foundation in the US and China,” Ward told The Tennessee Star in an email. The National Science Foundation is a federal agency with an annual budget of $7.8 billion, according to its website. The agency “is the major source of federal backing” for 27 percent of the total federal budget for research at U.S. colleges and universities, the website said. Ward directed questions about the two TDEC employees’ travel costs to the NSF. But, in an emailed statement, NSF spokeswoman Sarah Bates referred those questions back to TDEC. Bates did, however, provide a link showing this trip was one part of a $300,0000 grant to the University of Tennessee’s Institute…

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Obama Meets with Florida Loser Andrew Gillum Igniting 2020 Speculation

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by Molly Prince   Defeated Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum sat down with former President Barack Obama on Tuesday, launching speculation that he may be another Democrat added to the already long list of those considering a 2020 presidential run. Gillum met with the former president while he was in Washington, D.C., to address the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, according to CNN. While speaking at the event, he dodged answering questions regarding his presidential aspirations. “I’m plan on being married to my wife. That is all I’m planning,” Gillum said. “What I am committed to doing between now and 2020 is doing everything I can to make the state of Florida available and winnable for the Democratic nominee for president.” Prior to his ultimate defeat, Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, faced backlash on a variety of fronts, including his anti-police stances and ties to anti-Israel and anti-Zionist organizations. Gillum‘s campaign had been fraught with scandals from the onset. Tallahassee City Hall has been under FBI investigation since as early as 2015 as part of an ongoing corruption probe. Records were released in October showing that an undercover FBI agent gave him tickets to a Broadway show, undermining his claims that he received the gift from…

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Five Marines Still Missing After War Planes Crash Off Japan

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by Grace Carr   Five U.S. Marines are still missing after two military aircraft crashed roughly 200 miles off the coast of Japan early Thursday. Rescuers are searching for the missing Marines but have still not been able to locate them, according to U.S and Japanese authorities, NBC News reported. Seven Marines were involved in the crash and two of the men have been found, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. A Japanese military ship found one of the Marines who was killed in the crash, according to CNN. His body was taken to a hospital to be evaluated. The other Marine is in “fair condition,” according to NBC. The incident occurred after two military planes collided and crashed into the Sea of Japan early Thursday morning. An F/A-18 fighter jet carrying two passengers struck a KC-130 aircraft during refueling. “We are thankful for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s, the Japanese Coast Guard’s, and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s efforts as they continue to respond to the search and rescue operation,” the Marines tweeted from its official Twitter account. Three ships and 10 Japanese aircraft are helping search for the remaining Marines, CNN reported. The accident took place during a regular training exercise at Marine Corps Air…

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Trump’s EPA Moves to Repeal Obama’s De Facto Ban on New Coal Plants

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by Michael Bastasch   The Trump administration proposed rolling back Obama-era regulation that opponents called a de facto ban on building new coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will raise carbon dioxide emissions limits for new coal-fired power plants and eliminate the Obama administration’s mandate that new facilities install carbon capture and storage equipment. “Consistent with President Trump’s executive order promoting energy independence, EPA’s proposal would rescind excessive burdens on America’s energy providers and level the playing field so that new energy technologies can be a part of America’s future,” EPA acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. EPA’s plan to modify New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for power plants is part of the Trump administration efforts to unwind the Clean Power Plan — the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama’s global warming agenda. The Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Power Plan forced states to cut CO2 emissions at existing coal plants and made it extremely difficult to build new ones by mandating they install carbon capture and storage (CCS) equipment. What the Obama EPA did was consider CCS the “best system of emission reduction” for new coal plants, despite criticism from power plant operators, unions and Republicans that…

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Alison Krauss and Other Guests to Join Keith and Kristyn Getty for ‘Sing! An Irish Christmas’ at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on December 21

Bethany Bowman

Modern hymn-writers Keith and Kristyn Getty will bring their seventh annual Sing! An Irish Christmas tour to Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Friday, December 21, at 7:30 p.m. The duo will revisit popular hymns and Christmas carols during a performance that will include appearances by Alison Krauss, Phil Keaggy and Scott Mulvahill.

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DNC Chair Tom Perez Complains That Voters Influenced by Church

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by Peter Hasson   Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Tom Perez on Wednesday complained that voters are influenced by what they hear in church on Sundays. Perez claimed that Republicans have an advantage because “people buy” what they hear at church. “And we all have to make sure that we’re fluent in what’s happening across our ecosystem so we can come to each other’s defense because we need to build a bigger orchestra. They’ve had a big orchestra for some time and they’ve got the megaphones to amplify it, whether it’s Sinclair at the local level or Fox at the national level,” Perez said at an event for Demand Justice, a left-wing political group. “I’ve learned this from the outreach we’ve done at the DNC. Why aren’t we penetrating, I ask? And I had someone in northwest Wisconsin tell me: ‘You know what? For most of the people I know, their principle sources of information are Fox News, the NRA newsletter and the pulpit on Sunday.’ And it should come as a surprise to no-one that our message doesn’t penetrate,” Perez continued. “It should come as a surprise to no-one that that person has elevated the issue of courts to…

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Facebook Gave Data on Users’ Friends to Some Firms While Barring Others

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Facebook privacy concerns

Facebook Inc let some companies, including Netflix and Airbnb, access users’ lists of friends after it cut off that data for most other apps around 2015, according to documents released on Wednesday by a British lawmaker investigating fake news and social media. The 223 pages of internal communication from 2012 to 2015 between high-level employees, including founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, provide new evidence of previously aired contentions that Facebook has picked favorites and engaged in anti-competitive behavior. The documents show that Facebook tracked growth of competitors and denied them access to user data available to others. In 2014, the company identified about 100 apps as being either “Mark’s friends” or “Sheryl’s friends” and also tracked how many apps were spending money on Facebook ads, according to the documents, referring to Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. The insight into the thinking of Facebook executives over that period could invite new regulatory scrutiny into its business practices. Facebook said it stood by its deliberations and decisions, but noted that it would relax one “out-of-date” policy that restricted competitors’ use of its data. One document said such competitor apps had previously needed Zuckerberg’s approval before using tools Facebook makes…

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Money and Support for Migrant Caravans Flows Through Chicago

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Migrant Caravan

by Kevin Mooney   Advocates of open borders quoted in media coverage of the migrant “caravan” moving north through Mexico are part of a network of U.S.-based groups funded in the past by left-leaning foundations, according to tax and financial records. Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a Chicago-based nonprofit whose name means People Without Borders, is widely credited with organizing the caravans of migrants that traveled from Central America on trains and buses and on foot this year and last.Two United Methodist churches in Chicago appear to be bases for People Without Borders, which is led by one of the pastors, documents show. Several organizations are “consistently connected on various websites” and “have overlapping people, most notably Emma Lozano,” said Hayden Ludwig, a research analyst at Capital Research Center, naming the Chicago pastor. Capital Research Center, a Washington-based nonprofit that examines how foundations and charities spend money, analyzed tax and financial records related to People Without Borders. The Daily Signal reviewed this analysis and related documents and websites. Information on the website and Facebook page of People Without Borders indicates that the advocacy group played a key role for at least the past decade in forming caravans that typically got started in…

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Carol Swain Commentary: President Trump’s Ingenious Plan to Get the Supreme Court to Rule on the Constitutionality of Birthright Citizenship

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by Dr. Carol M. Swain   On October 30, President Donald Trump announced plans to issue an executive order ending the practice of giving U.S. citizenship to children of illegal aliens. By taking this bold action, the President is poised to make history by forcing the U.S. Supreme Court to issue its first-ever clarification on whether the USA-born children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship. Following the President’s lead, Senator Lindsey Graham expressed his support by stating his plans to file legislation addressing the matter. Birthright citizenship comes from the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Although some scholars argue it would take a constitutional amendment to end the practice, others point to statutory language and the text of the 14th Amendment to argue that Congress has the authority to address the matter. Congress’s authority, they argue, is found in the language that implies anyone not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is excluded from automatic citizenship. The “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause is understood to mean…

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Audit: Controversial Greenbelt Program Misused in Johnson County

Chris Butler

A controversial tax break program, known as Greenbelt, reportedly known to help the wealthy but hurt people of more modest incomes, is the subject of an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Thursday. State officials enacted Greenbelt laws to help Tennesseans hold on to their farms. The Greenbelt tax breaks kick in for property owners who maintain at least 15 acres of farmland, forests or open spaces. But these tax breaks are also known to hurt other people. According to the new audit, out of Johnson County, certain people who bought properties that already qualified for Greenbelt did not have to file new applications to continue that status — as Tennessee law requires. “In 38 of 110 (34%) of the parcels tested, the assessor did not require new owners of property that had been previously qualified as agricultural, forest, or designated open space at the date of sale to file a new application in a timely manner to continue the agricultural (Greenbelt) classification,” according to auditors. County assessors, auditors went on to say, must notify new owners of these properties that they cannot receive Greenbelt status unless they file an application “within 30 days of such notification together with a late fee of…

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State Sen. Steve Dickerson’s Promise To Introduce ‘Red Flag’ Bill Getting Criticism From Local And National Gun Rights Advocacy Groups

Laura Baigert

State Senator Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville) has gotten the attention of local and national gun rights activist groups for promising to introduce a “red flag” bill in the upcoming legislative session. So-called red flag laws permit a judge to issue an order to seize firearms from a lawful owner based upon a petition from police or family members citing something as feeble as statements made by the gun owner in question, hence the name “red flag.” Dickerson, in an op-ed to The Tennessean, alludes to bills signed into law by Republican governors since the Parkland shooting, saying, “This is exactly the type of bipartisan, common-sense gun violence prevention policy we need in Tennessee.” That’s why, Dickerson says, “I will introduce a red flag bill when the Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes next session.” Tennessee Firearms Association Executive Director John Harris, in an email to the organization’s members, has raised the question as to whether Constitutional rights should be subject to the low threshold infringements of red flag laws.  Ammoland Shooting Sports News picked up Harris’ commentary and published it in its entirety. Harris says that red flag laws “may just be the newest euphemism for reasonable gun control.” Indeed, in his commentary,…

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