Day: December 14, 2018

Trump Names Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff

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President Donald Trump is announcing that budget director Mick Mulvaney will be his next chief of staff. Trump tweeted Friday that Mulvaney “has done an outstanding job” in his administration and would take over next year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Trump deemed Mulvaney his “acting chief of staff” but it was not immediately clear what that meant for the length of his tenure. He will replace John Kelly. Trump praised Kelly’s service and called him a “great patriot” in the tweet. Trump announced last week that Kelly, who served in the post for more than a year, would soon be departing. The president’s first choice was Nick Ayers, the vice president’s chief of staff, who bowed out after being unable to come to an agreement on how long he would serve in the post. – – –                          …

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Tennessee Democrat State Senator Raumesh Akbari Wants Voting Rights Restored for Certain Felons

Chris Butler

State Senate Minority Chairwoman Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat, plans to sponsor legislation that could automatically help restore the right to vote for people with low-level felony convictions. But some research indicates felons, when given the chance, overwhelmingly pull the levers for Democrats. Is Akbari, who represents Memphis’ 91st District, doing this to help the Democratic Party? Akbari said no. Akbari said in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star that she wants Democrats and Republicans to support her forthcoming bill. “I’m not drafting it to benefit a Republican or Democrat – but Tennesseans as a whole,” Akbari said, adding she has had meetings on this issue with the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Those meetings, she said, also included members of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. “Our sole focus was coming up with bipartisan criminal justice reform initiatives we could all agree on. Some form of automatic restoration of voting rights was among one of the many ideas we discussed and agreed on,” Akbari said. “States that have some version of automatic restoration of rights varies- and many are traditionally Republican-led states like Utah, Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona, and Alaska. On a national level, I know at…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Mark West Resigns as President of Chattanooga Tea Party to Focus More on God’s Word

Julie Carr

In an exclusive interview during Thursday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am– Gill and Leahy spoke to Mark West, who last night, resigned as President of the Chattanooga Tea Party after nine years. During the interview, West discussed his reasons for resigning and what he was currently focused on.  West convictionally expressed his new found enjoyment in raising buffalo and his commitment and dedication to reading the word of God each day.  He concluded the discussion by reciting a portion of a piece entitled, “Mission Worthy of an Old Guy’s Focus” and how this applies to the word and one’s duty to pass it on to future generations. Leahy: By the way we are joined now, on the line by our good friend, Mark West, who has served as the president of the Chattanooga Tea Party from April 15, 2009 until last night, when he resigned.  And so, Mark West welcome to the Tennessee Star Report. West: Hey Michael good to talk to you and Steve good to hear from you! Gill: And in addition to his many…

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Gov.-Elect Lee, Other New Governors Meet With President Trump

Jason M. Reynolds

Gov.-elect Bill Lee met with President Donald Trump Thursday. Lee was among a group of 13 newly elected Republican and Democratic governors who met the president at the White House to talk about the workforce, veterans, infrastructure and other issues, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News reported. At least five Cabinet secretaries were in attendance. Vice President Mike Pence also was in attendance, Fox 17 News reported. Trump tweeted, “Today, it was my honor to welcome our Nation’s newly elected Governors to the @WhiteHouse!” Today, it was my honor to welcome our Nation’s newly elected Governors to the @WhiteHouse! pic.twitter.com/LCpFIoRglp — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018 The White House released a statement on the meeting which provided some of the comments the participants made. The president started off praising the newly elected governors: THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. We have invited the nation’s — our great nation’s newly elected governors. And some really terrific people. They’re going to do a wonderful job. The president went on to call the governors-elect winners. Later in the meeting, the president congratulated Lee on his election: GOVERNOR-ELECT LEE: And I’m honored to be here today with you and with Mr. Vice President.…

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Scientist Bullied By Fellow Faculty, Students For Climate Change Heresies Speaks Out

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by Michael Bastasch   Climate scientist Cliff Mass is speaking out against “academic political bullying” from University of Washington faculty and students, stemming from Mass’s rejection of a carbon tax initiative favored by activists. “Science can only flourish when there is tolerance for a diversity of viewpoints and ideas,” Mass told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Name calling and politicization of science are toxic to the scientific enterprise, and undermines our credibility in the general community.” “I am hopeful that the exposure of such intolerance will lead to an improved working environment in my department and among others in my discipline,” Mass said via email Wednesday. Climate scientist Judith Curry detailed in a blog post Wednesday the actions UW and student activists have taken against Mass in recent months. Curry said Mass was a “victim of academic political bullying.” There are clearly UW faculty “that don’t like Cliff Mass,” including, his department chair, and “most fundamentally, they seem to dislike that his blog is getting in the way of their own political advocacy,” Curry wrote. Mass joined UW’s Atmospheric Sciences Department in 1982 where he specializes in numerical weather modeling and weather patterns in the Pacific Northwest. Mass also publishes…

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Twitter Dings 285,000 Different Accounts for ‘Hateful Conduct’ in Six Months

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by Peter Hasson   Twitter took action against more than 285,000 different accounts for “hateful conduct” in the first six months of 2018, according to data the company released Wednesday night. Twitter dinged more accounts for “hateful conduct” — 285,393 to be exact — than for any other violation of Twitter rules during that time. That amounts to roughly 1,900 accounts per day that Twitter found in violation of its “hateful conduct” rules. It’s unclear how Twitter’s policing of “hateful conduct” in the first half of 2018 compares to other years, as Wednesday was the first time the company included those numbers in its biannual transparency report. “We use the term ‘action’ to refer to our range of enforcement actions, which include possible account suspension,” Twitter explained in an accompanying post. The numbers also show how Twitter’s content monitors are flooded with requests for punitive action. Just under 2.7 million individual accounts were reported for hateful conduct from Jan. 1 through June 30. Twitter took action against roughly 11 percent of the reported accounts during that time. The company also took action against 248,629 accounts for violating Twitter rules prohibiting “abuse” on the platform. Twitter stepped up its speech policing…

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Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer Commentary: Terror Attack in France Is a Fresh Reminder of Why We Need the Wall

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By Lt. Col Tony Shaffer (Ret.)   The terrorist attack on a French Christmas market should serve as a wakeup call to America. The stakes are too high for Congress to keep playing political games with border security. We need to build the wall. Americans awoke Wednesday to yet another awful reminder that we still live in a world beset with radical Islamic terrorism. In the night, the crack of gunfire and the all-too-familiar cry of “Allahu Akbar” rang out in a French Christmas market. At least four people who came out to enjoy Strasbourg’s famous Advent traditions are dead. As President Trump so astutely noted in the aftermath of the attack, it is impossible to separate national security and resistance to Islamic terrorism from immigration policy and border security. If we hope to avoid the kind of terror that has become part of daily life for the people of France, we must avoid Europe’s mistakes and get our border under control as soon as possible. For that, we need Congress to approve funding for President Trump’s border wall. Sadly, incidents like the Strasbourg shooting have become practically routine in France, and this crisis was imported through decades of terrible…

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Trump Tax Cuts Spur Unexpectedly High State Revenues

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by Evie Fordham   The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act touted by President Donald Trump is one of three reasons that at least 19 states are reporting unexpectedly high general fund revenue halfway through fiscal year 2019, tax policy expert Adam Michel told The Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday. “Trump can also take credit for the larger economy to the extent that that’s now fueling additional spending,” Michel, a Heritage Foundation policy analyst, told TheDCNF via telephone. “It’s not only the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that’s growing the economy but his deregulatory agenda is fueling economic growth. All of those things wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t push for them.” Increased spending in the larger economy gave state sales tax revenue a boost. “I think we will see most states end up with more revenue at the end of the year,” Michel told TheDCNF. Heritage is a conservative think tank located in Washington, D.C. The current fiscal year will hit its halfway point on Dec. 30. The National Association of State Budget Officers (Nasbo) released a report Thursday that said 19 states have received general fund revenue that exceeded expectations for fiscal year 2019. Those states include Georgia, Pennsylvania,…

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Insurance Claims at $9 Billion From California Wildfires

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Insurance claims from last month’s California wildfires already are at $9 billion and expected to increase, the state’s insurance commissioner announced Wednesday. About $7 billion in claims are from the Camp Fire that destroyed the Northern California city of Paradise and killed at least 86 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in at least a century. The rest is from the Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California. Collectively, the fires destroyed or damaged more than 20,000 structures, with the vast majority in and around Paradise. On Tuesday, state and federal authorities estimated it will cost at least $3 billion just to clear debris. “As the claims get perfected, as individuals get access to their former homes and neighborhoods, as they dialogue with their insurance companies and share more information about the scope of their loss, we expect these numbers to rise,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said of the $9 billion estimate. Over 28,000 claims There are more than 28,000 claims for residential personal property, nearly 2,000 from commercial property and 9,400 in auto and other claims for the fires. That’s well above the number of claims filed following a series of fires that tore through Northern California’s wine…

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Tennessee Brick Maker General Shale Buys Watsontown Brick, Expanding Into Northeast, Canada

Jason M. Reynolds

Tennessee-based General Shale said it has reached an agreement to buy Watsontown Brick Co. and will expand into the Northeastern United States and Canada. General Shale made the announcement in a press release Thursday. The deal will close at the end of the year. The deal adds a unique, high-quality brick line to Johnson City-based General Shale’s masonry list of products, the company said. Watsontown Brick Co., 110 years old, is located in Watsontown, Pennsylvania. The brick company is a third-generation firm that produces a variety of bricks, along with high-quality pavers, General Shale said. Founded in 1908 to produce street pavers, Watsontown Brick Co. grew its line to include residential, commercial and architectural products, the company’s website said. The company is now made up of three dedicated plants which produce 95 million bricks a year. Two operations produce extruded red shale and buff brick, while the third and newest plant built in 2008, manufactures molded brick. Watsontown produces some of the “most traditionally crafted brick products in the U.S.,” General Shale’s press release said. Charles Smith, president and CEO of General Shale, said, “We are excited to bring this outstanding company into the General Shale group as this acquisition will…

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Commentary: Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea on Fake Campaign Finance Violations Does Not Make Law

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by Robert Romano   President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen never sought reimbursement from the 2016 Trump campaign for non-disclosure agreement payments of alleged mistresses of Trump’s. Instead, the reimbursements were sought and delivered from Trump’s business, the Trump Organization. Cohen didn’t think these were campaign expenditures back in 2016 to settle a private matter. Yet now on a post hoc basis, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Cohen have determined that it was. These were non-disclosure agreements that Trump would have entered into even if he had not been a candidate for public office just to protect his businesses, his reputation and his family. Trump has individual rights under the Constitution to contract with an attorney to enter into just these sorts of legal settlements with potential litigants, something Congress cannot preempt. But the U.S. Attorney coercing Cohen’s guilty plea to campaign finance violations that were not campaign violations does not — and cannot — make law. That is Congress’ job, and the statute is very specific. It requires that to be an expenditure under the law, 52 U.S. Code § 30101(9)(A)(i), it must be “for the purpose of influencing any election…

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Congressman-Elect Mark Green Gives Updates From D.C. At Town Hall in Clarksville

Laura Baigert

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee – At a town hall in his home town of Clarksville, Congressman-Elect Mark Green delivered a brief update about his transition as the U.S. Representative for Tennessee’s 7th District before spending most of the scheduled time taking questions from attendees who were both supporters and opposition. Green ran unopposed in the August Republican primary and took 67 percent of the vote against newcomer Democrat Justin Kanew in the November general election to fill the seat vacated by eight-term Representative Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn left the seat for a successful run for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Bob Corker. Before officially being sworn into office on January 3, 2019, Green scheduled six town halls around the district between December 11 and 13, in Franklin, Waverly, Clarksville, Lawrenceburg, Lexington and Selmer. The 80 chairs at the Clarksville location were all but filled at Wednesday’s event. Green reported that, although there will be new phone numbers, his team will be taking over Marsha Blackburn’s existing office locations in Clarksville and Franklin. He and his Chief of Staff, Stephen Saio, recently completed two weeks of orientation, which included ethics training. Green’s wife, Camie as well as staff members will be trained and…

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Apple Is Dropping $1 Billion to Put 5,000 Jobs in Texas With Expansions Planned in Major Cities

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by Tim Pearce   Apple is investing $1 billion to nearly double its workforce in Texas and is hiring thousands more employees in offices across the U.S., the company announced Thursday. Apple is adding 5,000 positions to its Austin, Texas, campus on top of the 6,200-strong workforce already there. The tech company is also establishing campuses in San Diego, Seattle and Culver City, California, employing about 1,000 people each. Hundreds more jobs will be added to other offices in places such as New York, Pittsburgh and Boulder, Colorado, by 2022. Apple’s announcement is relatively quiet compared to Amazon’s decision to build headquarters in Long Island City, New York, and Arlington, Virginia. The local and state governments at each location offered Amazon incentives worth millions of dollars. Dozens of other locations across the U.S. competed for Amazon’s attention with tax credits, infrastructure investment and other favors. President Donald Trump gave credit to Amazon for and owner Jeff Bezos for the antics. “I think they’re paying a very big price,” Trump said of Arlington and New York City in a November interview with The Daily Caller. “It was a competition. I know all about those competitions. I’ve been in those competitions —…

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New Vanderbilt University Poll Proves They Are Clueless About Politics And Polling

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by Steve Gill, Political Editor of The Tennessee Star   Vanderbilt University has just released a new political poll that has anybody with even a remedial understanding of politics scratching their heads about the methodology and results.  With Christmas approaching it looks like Santa will need to add a new category on his Naughty or Nice checklist to accommodate the Vanderbilt political science experts: Nitwits! First, the poll targeted “registered” rather than “likely” voters, which always guarantees a less informed and involved pool of responses. Those who are “registered,” simply because they are automatically registered when they get a driver’s license but don’t actually vote, are not the folks who spend much time getting informed about the candidates or political issues; nor do they consume much news. Second, the Republican-Democrat composition of the poll gives Republicans a small 7 point margin over Democrats (34-27). Really? In a state that has super majorities of Republicans in the State House and Senate; a 7-2 Republican majority in the Congressional delegation; a 26 point Donald Trump margin of victory over Hillary Clinton; a Bill Lee margin over Karl Dean in 2018 by 22 points; and a Marsha Blackburn victory over Phil Bredesen by…

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