Month: February 2019

U.S. Rep. John Rose Says He Supports the Donald Trump National Emergency

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. John Rose, the Republican representing Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District, announced Wednesday he supports declaring a national emergency to build a border wall. U.S. Republican President Donald Trump declared the emergency. In a press release, Rose said he voted to support Trump in fully funding a wall along the United States’ unsecured Southern border. “I stand with the President’s decision to declare a national emergency to end the threats coming into our country through the open border,” the press release quoted Rose as saying. “This decision is within the President’s lawful purview and past presidents freely exercised this authority.” Rose went on to say the president alone has authority to declare a national emergency at his discretion. There were 31 national emergencies in effect prior to Trump declaring a national emergency to address the crisis at our southern border. Of those still in effect, former Democratic President Barack Obama declared 10 of them, according to Rose’s press release. “Sadly, Democrats have continued political stunts and recklessly neglected the crisis at our southern border. Democrats only now call foul on a president’s use of emergency declaration power, apparently putting their hostility toward President Trump above the needs of the American…

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Out on Bond Left-Wing Activist Justin Jones Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada

Chris Butler

Two well-known left-wing activists with a history of causing trouble at Republican events are now under arrest on charges of simple assault for throwing a liquid at Tennessee Republican Speaker of the House Glen Casada Thursday. Officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol arrested Vanderbilt Divinity School student Justin Jones and his friend Jeneisha Harris. Thursday afternoon Lieutenant Bill Miller, Public Information Officer for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, provided The Tennessee Star with this statement about the arrest of Jones and Harris: On 2/28/2019 THP was stationed at the State Capitol (600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Nashville, TN 37243) on the 2nd floor in response to a planned protest. At approximately 0930hrs we began seeing several individuals associated with the protest arriving. Several times, Justin Bautista-Jones attempted to go around rope barriers and enter the House of Representatives chambers. It became clear that the group was attempting to contact Speaker Glen Casada. The House Sergeant-At-Arms advised the group that the chambers were closed for a press event. At approximately 10:06 a.m. Speaker Casada attempted to leave the chambers and enter an elevator that was being held specifically for members of the General Assembly and leadership. The group, specifically Justin Jones,…

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Commentary: GOP Senator Thom Tillis Flakes on Border Emergency

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by CHQ Staff   In an opinion piece posted Monday in The Washington Post, North Carolina’s Republican Senator Thom Tillis argued that President Trump’s declaration of an emergency on the southern border would set a precedent that could be used by future presidents to fund policy projects Congress rejects. Conservatives “should be thinking about whether they would accept the prospect of a President Bernie Sanders declaring a national emergency to implement parts of the radical Green New Deal; a President Elizabeth Warren declaring a national emergency to shut down banks and take over the nation’s financial institutions; or a President Cory Booker declaring a national emergency to restrict Second Amendment rights,” Tillis wrote according to reporting by Cathy Burke of NewsMax. “As a U.S. senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress. As a conservative, I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left-wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms,” Tillis wrote in his op-ed. Tillis’s point would be worth debating if Democrats exhibited any signs of being constrained by the kind of constitutional limits upon which the Senator bases his argument. However, as we saw…

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Maury County Schools Formally Oppose School Vouchers

Chris Butler

By a vote of nine to one, members of the Maury County School Board voted to formally oppose school vouchers this week. According to the school system’s website, David Moore was the only board member to vote no to the resolution. Natasha Hopkins was absent. The rest of the board members all voted yes to the resolution. To date, Maury is the seventh known school system to formally oppose vouchers. Before she voted, board member Kristin Parker told The Tennessee Star it’s her job to support public schools. “I would probably support having vouchers, but I am open to hearing what other people in the community think before I cast my final vote,” Parker said. Parker later voted against school vouchers, according to the minutes of this week’s school board meeting. Meanwhile, board member Bettye Kinser, who voted the same way Parker did, said she vehemently opposes vouchers. “I feel like they will be a real detriment to public schools. If we need to spend some more money then let’s spend them on the schools and make them better,” Kinser told The Star. “Are there situations that maybe charter schools would work? Maybe in a large metropolitan area? I can’t…

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State House Committee Shoots Down Closing Party Primaries With the Help of Ten Republicans

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – By a vote of 2 to 14, a bill requiring that a voter in a party primary first declare their party affiliation prior to casting a primary vote, failed in the House Local Government Committee. Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) was the House sponsor of HB 1273, known as the “Political Party Registration Act,” as an outcome of the December 2018 organizational meeting of the Republican State Executive Committee (SEC). At the meeting, the Republican SEC overwhelming voted to pass a resolution to the Tennessee General Assembly addressing voter registration by a vote of 45 to 14 and one abstention, as reported by The Tennessee Star. The passage of the resolution by the Republican SEC resolved a long-standing issue as to whether the Tennessee Republican Party or the Tennessee General Assembly should make the first move relative to closing the primaries. As bill sponsor Holt explained to the Committee in the presentation of his bill, Tennessee law currently requires that a participant in a party primary be a bona fide member of that party. Violators of the law commit an offense that is a Class E felony, although there is no real enforcement of the law, due to…

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Congressman Mark Green Destroys Convicted Felon Michael Cohen

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican representing Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, delivered a blistering speech against Michael Cohen in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Green scolded Cohen as, among other things, a liar, narcissist, and a tax cheat. Green also reprimanded House Democrats for even thinking to give Cohen a platform on a national stage. Cohen, of course, testified against U.S. Republican President Donald Trump Wednesday in front of the U.S. House Oversight Committee. Cohen spoke of Trump’s alleged payoffs and other alleged illegal acts. Green belongs to that committee. And when it was his turn to speak, Green unloaded: “The chairman of this committee promised the American people a fair and open process, yet the Democrats have vastly limited the scope of this hearing. They’ve issued a gag order to try to tell members of this committee what we can and cannot talk about. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that they want the truth, that they want transparency and fair oversight, yet the Democrats’ witness to testify before Congress today is none other than a scorned man going to prison for lying to Congress. Let it sink in. He’s going to prison for lying to Congress,…

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Michael Cohen Pours Cold Water on Collusion in Congressional Testimony, But Makes Bombshell Wikileaks Claim

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by Chuck Ross   Michael Cohen will make several bombshell allegations about President Trump during his testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, including that he overheard political operative Roger Stone tell Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign that he had spoken to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the release of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee. While Cohen will offer scathing testimony against his former boss, he also claims he has no “direct evidence” that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Cohen will also testify that, contrary to recent BuzzFeed News report, Trump did not directly instruct him to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen, who will begin a three-year prison sentence on May 6, will also provide numerous anecdotes from his decade of working for Trump which he says shows the former real estate mogul to be “a racist…a conman…a cheat.” Cohen’s 20-page opening statement was released Tuesday night ahead of his testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Cohen testified earlier on Tuesday in a closed hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Cohen’s claims about Roger Stone are perhaps the biggest bombshell contained in the opening…

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Seven Pharma Execs Who Testified Before Congress Tuesday Make a Combined $116 Million Per Year

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by Evie Fordham   Five of the seven pharmaceutical companies who sent executives to testify on drug pricing before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday have the top-25 highest-paid pharma CEOs for companies in the S&P 500. CEOs from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi plus Johnson & Johnson’s executive vice president of pharmaceuticals, Jennifer Taubert, were grilled by Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley and other lawmakers at the hearing. Altogether, the top-25 CEOs whose companies were represented Tuesday received a combined $116,671,792 in compensation, including stock and stock options, in 2017, according to analysis by The Wall Street Journal. That number includes annual compensation for former Pfizer CEO Ian Read, who ceded the position to new CEO Albert Bourla in January. Bourla testified before the committee Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky rakes in the most out of the CEOs, with yearly compensation valued at $29,802,564, according to The WSJ. Taubert, who repped Johnson & Johnson and its pharmaceutical arm Janssen at Tuesday’s hearing, has no annual compensation data available according to Bloomberg. The runner-up is former Pfizer CEO Ian Read, who had yearly compensation of more than $27 million. He had agreed to delay implementing proposed…

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Wind Power ‘Dropped Off’ the Grid During Polar Vortex

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by Michael Bastasch   As Congress debates the Green New Deal, which calls for a massive increase in renewable energy use, new reports show wind energy “dropped off” as frigid Arctic air descended on the eastern U.S. earlier this year. “An earlier than expected drop in wind, primarily caused by cold weather cutoffs, increased risk of insufficiency for morning peak,” according to a report from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which oversees electricity delivery across 15 states. The wind power shortfall triggered a “maximum generation event” on the morning of Jan. 30 when temperatures plummeted, MISO reported Wednesday of its handling of the historic cold that settled over the eastern U.S. in late January. Unplanned power outages were higher than past polar vortex events, MISO reported, much of it because wind turbines automatically shut off in the cold. Coal and natural gas plants ramped up production to meet the shortfall and keep the lights on. “This what happens when the government starts mandating and subsidizing inferior energy sources,” Dan Kish, a distinguished senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Kish, a Green New Deal opponent, said the proposal would “double down with…

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Celtic Woman Brings Irish Music to Nashville and the World

Bethany Bowman

Celtic Woman consists of four of the most beautiful and talented musical performers in the world. I recently sat down with all four, Máiréad Carlin, Éabha McMahon, Tara McNeill, and Megan Walsh, as they took a break from rehearsal here in Nashville. We discussed the rich history of Irish Music and their incredible heritage, as well as their latest album Celtic Woman: Ancient Land. The album’s release date was 26 October 2018. This is the group’s thirteenth studio album and eleventh DVD. On Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, they kick off their 70-city, United States portion of a world tour in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall. Celtic Woman has been together since 2005 with a different lineup over the years. They may be a household name in Ireland, but that shortchanges their appeal around the world. The global superstars are highly recognized and are probably the best known Irish musical group since U2. This version is probably the most talented. Their passion for music and their fans is contagious. Like most of their albums, Ancient Land brings a mixture of traditional Irish songs with contemporary arrangements. This particular album was dedicated to Dave Kavanagh, one of…

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Trump Threatens to Veto Gun Bills Pushed by Democrats

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President Donald Trump is threatening to veto two Democratic bills expanding federal background checks on gun purchases, saying they do not sufficiently protect gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. The House is expected to vote this week on separate bills requiring background checks for all sales and transfers of firearms and extending the background-check review from three to 10 days. The bills are the first in a series of steps planned by majority House Democrats to tighten gun laws after eight years of Republican control. The White House says in a veto message that the bill expanding background checks would impose unreasonable requirements on gun owners. It says the bill could block someone from borrowing a firearm for self-defense or allowing a neighbor to take care of a gun while traveling. The other bill, extending the review period for a background check, “would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm,” the White House said. The bill would close the so-called Charleston loophole used by the shooter in a 2015 massacre at a historic black church to buy a gun. But the White House said allowing the federal government to “restrict firearms purchases through bureaucratic delay would undermine…

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United Methodist Delegates Reject Recognizing Gay Marriage

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The United Methodist Church, America’s second-largest Protestant denomination, faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance after delegates at a crucial conference voted Tuesday to strengthen the faith’s bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMC’s meeting. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. “Devastation,” was how former Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. “As someone who left because I’m gay, I’m waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more hate.” After several more hours of debate, the conservatives’ proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384. The Traditional Plan’s success was due to an alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent of the delegates are from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly support the LGBT bans. If the bans were eased, “the church in Africa would cease to exist,” said the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. “We can’t do anything…

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District Attorney Funk Outs Himself in 1982 Yearbook Photo Posing With Confederate Flag

Jason M. Reynolds

The attack against Southerners appearing in old photos has now ensnared District Attorney General Glenn Funk, who revealed his photo appearance in an attempt to get ahead of the story, multiple media outlets report. WKRN reports that Funk, of the 20th Judicial District in Nashville, appeared in a 1982 Wake Forest University yearbook photo with the Kappa Alpha Order, who were posing with the Confederate flag. Funk issued this statement: Last week, I read media reports that Governor Bill Lee was a KA at Auburn in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Given the attention given to this fact, I feel compelled to disclose that when I was in college at Wake Forest 37 years ago, I was also a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. I went back and looked through my college annuals. In 1982, my picture appeared in a group photo in the yearbook with the Confederate flag prominently displayed. I was wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior. I apologize for the hurt caused then and now. Last week Gannett dug up a 39-year-old university fraternity yearbook photo showing Gov. Bill Lee dressed in a Confederate uniform with other members of Kappa Alpha Order who were…

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Commentary: When Bureaucracy Replaces Humanity

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by Karl Notturno   I got a letter last week informing me that my catastrophic health care insurance was terminated. The plan was terminated because of a technical glitch. Instead of billing the credit card I had designated as my primary payment option, my healthcare provider billed an old and deactivated card. A declined payment of $10.42 (to supplement an early payment due to rising premiums) and another for $127.49 later, I lost my coverage, long before I realized there was anything wrong. If this happened in a different industry, I likely would not have had any problems. I would have called the company and, after a short conversation and the successful payment of my outstanding premiums, I would have had my insurance back. But the American healthcare industry is not just any industry. It is an industry that is controlled, to varying degrees, by federal, state, and local governments. When I called my provider, the representative was unable to fix my problem because local government regulations do not allow individuals to sign up for health insurance outside of an enrollment window. My provider patched me through to DC Health Link, a District of Columbia government agency—set up in accordance…

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Border Patrol Chief Agrees With Trump That There Is a Border Crisis

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by Jason Hopkins   U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost broke down in testimony to Congress why the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border qualifies as a national security crisis. “There is an ongoing debate as to whether this constitutes a border security crisis or a humanitarian crisis. Let me be clear, it is both,” Provost, President Donald Trump’s top border official, said Tuesday during a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. Provost’s comments run counter to claims made by Democrats and other Trump critics who argue that, because border apprehensions are down considerably from 20 years ago, there is no actual crisis. While the 361,000 people the Border Patrol caught in fiscal year 2018 is less than half of the 1 million who were caught in the 1990s and 2000s, Provost says there is more to the numbers than meets the eye. “I’ve been asked many times how the current situation can be a crisis compared to years when we surpassed 1 million apprehensions,” the Border Patrol chief said to lawmakers. “To understand the numbers, you have to look at what’s happening on the ground.” In years past, the majority of those apprehended at the border were Mexican nationals who,…

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Officials Say Oakland Teachers’ Strike Costs District Nearly $1 Million A Day

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by Neetu Chandak   The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) says the teachers’ strike costs the district nearly $1 million a day. This estimate is based on the number of absent students, with the savings of not paying teachers factored in, according to the San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday. The strike has had an impact on more than 36,000 students. Only 6 percent of students have reportedly showed up to classes, according to CBS SF BayArea. The total loss would be $5 million if estimates remain the same as teachers continue to strike for the fifth day Wednesday. “Our numbers show the impact that the student absences are having on the district in support of our teachers,” OUSD superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said, the Chronicle reported. Teachers went to the picket lines Thursday to protest what they believe are unlivable salaries in a city where the median monthly rent price is a little more than $3,000 and the median housing value price is $735,000. OUSD entry-level teachers can earn around $47,000 a year, according to OUSD data. https://twitter.com/calliepatton/status/1099061429359898625 The Oakland Educators Association (OEA), the district’s teachers union, asked for a 12 percent raise over a period of three years. The district has…

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Taxpayer Funded Minnesota State Arts Board Paid Artist $10,000 to Paint Picture of Trump Groping Lady Justice

Anthony Gockowski

The taxpayer-funded Minnesota State Arts Board shelled out $10,000 to a local artist who used the money to paint a seven-foot-tall picture of President Donald Trump groping Lady Justice. As part of the Minnesota State Arts Board FY 2018 grants program, Shafer artist Jim Denomie created a series “of large paintings in response to Standing Rock and other contemporary events from a Native American perspective.” Minnesota Public Radio recently sat down with Denomie for an interview to discuss his completed series of paintings, which includes a more than seven-foot-tall painting called “Standing Rock 2016.” In that picture, Trump is seen groping a topless Lady Justice while four men in suits stand watching. “I’ve learned over my experience making paintings especially about important events that I receive information from the spirit world,” Denomie told MPR. “It comes to me from somewhere, I don’t know exactly where—but I often come away from these paintings with a better understanding of the story of the events.” His paintings are currently on display at the Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis, which says of Denomie’s paintings: “With this body of work, Denomie has cast his discriminating eye onto real-world events, specifically the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy and…

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North Carolina Lawmakers File Motion to Block Ruling That Would Overturn New Constitutional Amendments

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina state lawmakers have filed a motion to stay a ruling made this past week that invalidates two constitutional amendments passed by voters in 2018. The motion, filed by House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) and Senate Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), calls into question the logic of the ruling, its impact on elections, election law, voting districts, and past laws such as budgets. “The precedent created by this decision casts doubt on even more laws and causes public confusion,” the motion says. Last Friday, Superior Court Judge George Bryan Collins, Jr. ruled that two out of four state constitutional amendments passed by North Carolina voters in 2018 were illegal because the State Legislature was itself “illegal.” “An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state’s constitution,” Collins wrote in his ruling. A press release by the office of Senator Phil Berger blasted Collin’s ruling. The press release states that Collins’s decision “tosses aside the will of more than two million voters” who cast a ballot for the voter ID amendment. The statement says the same disenfranchisement applies to those who cast a ballot…

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North Carolina Deputy State Superintendent Headed for Florida Department of Education

A.P. Dillon

Deputy State Superintendent Dr. Eric Hall is leaving the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) for a new job in Florida schools. Hall will be taking the role of Chancellor for Innovation at the Florida Department of Education in March. According to a press release by NCDPI, Hall’s new job includes overseeing the implementation of things such as “workforce and computer science education, expanding school choice and K-12 standards.” “Throughout his career, Dr. Hall has shown his dedication to student success and to using innovative strategies to spread that success in support of public schools,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran in the statement. “I thank Superintendent Johnson for his gracious support of Eric’s career and family and am happy to welcome Eric home to the Sunshine State.” “This is an unbelievable opportunity to continue to work at the state level,” said Dr. Hall. Hall said he was looking forward to working in Florida and that both Gov. DeSantis and Commissioner Corcoran have great ideas and a great vision for education in the state. “I think the thing I am most proud of is to be able to really work and build good, strong teams,” said Hall about…

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Metro Nashville Public School Board Member Will Pinkston Reportedly Calls People ‘Nitwits’

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville Public School board member Will Pinkston reportedly thinks that people who complain to him about the latest goings-on at the school system are “nitwits.” This, according to the Nashville-based NewsChannel 5, which publicized a series of tweets Pinkston recently released. “An email sent to Metro School Board members on Tuesday criticizing MNPS leadership set off a flurry of tweets and responses from School Board member Will Pinkston, referring to apparent critics as ‘broke nitwits,’” the station reported. “The email sent to school board members by David Jones was later posted on Twitter, which prompted the response from Pinkston.” “’I like making nitwits meltdown on Twitter,” Pinkston wrote in a tweet. “It’s kind of a thing.” Pinkston, when tweeting again, said Jones has no right to criticize as he does not live in Davidson County. “I’ve got enough to do without fielding bone-headed missives from Rutherford County,” the station reported Pinkston as tweeting. Jones wife Katie, though, said she is a tenured teacher who works for the Metro Nashville Public Schools. “Your response to the email is both shocking and unprofessional,” the station reported Katie Jones as saying when she wrote back. “As a teacher, if I responded to…

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Man at Center of North Carolina Ballot Harvesting Investigation Indicted and Arrested

A.P. Dillon

A Grand Jury in Raleigh, North Carolina indicted the man at the center of an absentee ballot harvesting scheme in the state’s 9th Congressional District. Leslie McCrae Dowless has been indicted on three counts felonious obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballots. A secure bond of $30,000 was set for Dowless and the next court date is set for today, February 28. Dowless was arrested by State Bureau of Investigation Agents in Bladensboro on Wednesday, not long after the indictment was made public. The Grand Jury indictment says Dowless illegally took the ballots of, but not limited to, Mary Alice Davis, Sondra Kaye Deaver, and Jabril Baker. The indictment document states that Dowless “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, did with deceit and intent to defraud, obstruct public and legal justice” by turning in ballots in such a way as to make it seem like the process had been legal. The indictment document states Dowless did “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, conspire with others” whom the indictment names as Kelly Hendrix and Rebecca Thompson. Both women testified during the evidentiary hearings held by the North Carolina State Board of Elections…

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Ohio State Democratic Legislator Introduces Bill to Move Presidential Primary From March to May

Andrew Shirley

Ohio Democratic State Rep. Jack Cera (D-96) has introduced a bill that would permanently delay the Ohio presidential primary by two months, a move that could have major implications for Ohio. House Bill 101 (HB 101) would officially move the Ohio primary from March to “the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May.” Currently, Ohio’s early March primary has made it one of a handful of seminal states in several recent presidential primaries. The state has already lost a significant amount of presidential election “clout” with its number of electoral votes dropping to a historical low of 16. The move would also have a significant effect on state revenues just as the amount of money spent on electoral races continues to climb at shocking rates. By delaying the primary, the value of airtime in the state is also delayed. In addition, it could be the death knell of one prominent Ohioan’s presidential aspirations. Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown had long maintained that his resonance in Ohio is one of his key political advantages, should he decide to run in 2020. The Ohio senator was one of the only Democrats to win re-election in the 2018 midterm. Most surprising, he did so by close to…

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Ohio Farmer Sues After Lake Erie Bill of Rights Easily Passes

Anthony Gockowski

Toledo voters overwhelmingly approved of the controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights during a special election Tuesday night, but a local former has already filed a lawsuit against it. According to the Toledo Blade, voters approved of the referendum by a 61-39 margin. As The Ohio Star reported Tuesday, the measure extends legal rights guaranteed under the Ohio State Constitution to the body of water. “Since all power of governance is inherent in the people, we, the people of the City of Toledo, declare and enact this Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which establishes irrevocable rights for the Lake Erie Ecosystem to exist, flourish and naturally evolve,” the referendum states. University of Toledo law professor Ken Kilbert called the referendum “unprecedented,” but predicted that it “may well suffer the fate of defeat in the court.” On Wednesday morning, not even 24 hours after the referendum passed, Wood County farmer Mark Drewes filed suit against the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. The lawsuit argues that the Lake Erie Bill of Rights “violates federal constitutional rights, including equal protection, freedom of speech, and is unenforceable for its vagueness,” according to a press release from the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. “Mark’s farm is…

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Commentary: US Schools Are Leaving Students Ill-Equipped to Compete with Artificial Intelligence

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by Kerry McDonald   We have long known that the robots were coming, but now that they are here, the mismatch between our modern education system and the technology-fueled workplace is glaringly apparent. As robots expertly perform routine tasks and increasingly assume broader workforce responsibilities, we must ask ourselves an important question: What is our key human differentiator? The Power of Creativity According to Boston University professor Iain Cockburn, who just published a new paper on the impact of artificial intelligence, the human competitive advantage lies in optimizing “what we can do better than machines, which is imagination, creativity, judgment.” In the paper, Cockburn and his colleagues suggest that it’s possible the robots will catch up to us soon in these realms, but they are not there yet. They write: Instead, recent advances in both robotics and in deep learning are by and large innovations that require a significant level of human planning and that apply to a relatively narrow domain of problem-solving (e.g., face recognition, playing Go, picking up a particular object, etc.). While it is of course possible that further breakthroughs will lead to a technology that can meaningfully mimic the nature of human subjective intelligence and emotion,…

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Bill Setting Limits on Nashville Police Oversight Board Advances in Tennessee House

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill setting limits on Nashville’s police oversight board. The bill is HB0568, sponsored by State Rep. Michael G. Curcio (R-TN-69). The bill’s tracking information is here. HB0568 will go next to the House Calendar & Rules Committee, a necessary step prior to consideration by the full House. The Senate version, SB1407, is scheduled for the Senate Judiciary Committee for March 5. The bill’s caption says the measure would limit “the authority of a community oversight board to the review and consideration of matters reported to it and the issuance of advisory reports and recommendations to agencies involved in public safety and the administration of justice.” During the House Judiciary Committee meeting, the bill appeared at the end of the agenda, the Nashville Scene reported. Several Democrats objected to the closing of debate, citing parliamentary procedure, but the committee ultimately voted 13-6 to send the bill on. … Curcio’s bill would strip Nashville’s board of its subpoena power. It would also eliminate the demographic descriptors written into Nashville’s COB membership requirements. Basically, the bill would require board members to be registered voters and that membership cannot be limited to certain demographics, economic…

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Steve Cohen Pushes Formal Study on Slavery Reparations

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, (D-TN-09), reportedly wants Congressional hearings to discuss slavery reparations, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal. No one in Cohen’s office returned The Tennessee Star’s request for comment Tuesday. Former Republican President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in most states in the country more than 156 years ago. ( A Constitutional amendment ended slavery in all states a few years later.) According to The Commercial Appeal, Cohen is working with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, on the matter. “He said her bill calls for a study of reparations, not the actual reparations themselves, and that he’d like to invite writers such as Ta-Nahisi Coates, Jelani Cobb, and Michelle Alexander to give testimony,” according to the paper, quoting Cohen. “The concept of reparations has been around for decades. But hearings on the subject are far more possible now that last year’s midterm elections gave the Democrats control of Congress once again, Cohen told a small group of people at a ‘Congress on your corner’ event at the Randolph Branch Library near Summer Avenue on Friday.” Cohen has stayed busy ever since his party retook the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, As The Star reported this month,…

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Commentary: Hamstrung Dems Are Powerless to Stop Trump’s Border Declaration

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by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Why are we still talking about this? You’re forgiven if you’re wondering the same thing, referring to the controversy over illegal immigration, border security and President Donald Trump’s recent national emergency declaration, which addressed the perpetual problem of aliens streaming over the line between America and Mexico without authorization or official permission from the powers that be here. Statistics show a high percentage of border jumpers are apprehended by the United States Border Patrol, but what happens to the human hindrances after capture is where the political class diverges. According to Wikipedia, the United States Border Patrol, “is an American federal law enforcement agency whose mission is to detect and prevent illegal aliens, terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, and prevent illegal trafficking of people and contraband.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Theoretically, we detect ‘em, we catch ‘em, we detain ‘em and we ship ‘em back to whenceforth they came. For decades Washington politicians from both parties acknowledged something must be done to combat illegal immigration yet not much in the form of legislation or resolutions solved the dilemma. But if the hot air emanating from lawmakers’ mouths was quantifiable it’d melt what remains of the…

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Look But Don’t Touch as Smartphone’s Flexible Future Unfolds

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Flexible and folding formats framed the future of smartphones this week as manufacturers focused on new forms in an effort to jolt the market out of uniformity and re-invigorate sales. But anyone hoping to tap or swipe Huawei’s Mate X, a smartphone that wraps the screen around the front and back, was soon disappointed at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. Initial cheers were quickly followed by gasps when the Chinese firm revealed its eye-watering 2,299 euros ($2,600) price tag, although that includes a 5G connection. This is even more than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, which was unveiled last week and will be priced from $1,980 when it goes on sale in some markets in April. It was on display in Barcelona in a glass case like a museum artifact. While the hands-off stance indicates neither firm has a consumer-ready device, 2019 would be remembered as the year of the foldable Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, said, adding that the new format was still in its infancy. “But we are at the stone age of devices with flexible displays; it’s a whole new phase of experimentation after the sea of smartphone sameness we have seen for the last decade.” Samsung…

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Amy Klobuchar Took a Swipe at Hillary, Then Called to Apologize

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by Jason Hopkins   Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar quickly apologized to Hillary Clinton after making a not-so-subtle dig at her 2016 campaign strategy. Presidential hopeful Klobuchar revealed during her 2020 announcement on Feb. 10 where her first campaign stop would be: Wisconsin. “Because, as you remember, there wasn’t a lot of campaigning in Wisconsin in 2016,” she stated to reporters at the time. “With me, that changes.” The reference to the state — which Clinton notably ignored during the 2016 election — was meant as evidence that the moderate senator from the Midwest would run her campaign differently. However, the line drew ire from Clinton’s inner circle and prompted Klobuchar, who had just visited with her three days prior, to reach out to the twice-failed presidential candidate and apologize. Upon making the offensive remark, Klobuchar conducted damage control by hastily sending Clinton an email and then followed up with an apology over the phone. The senior senator from Minnesota claimed her remark had been misinterpreted and was not meant to be offensive, The New York Times reported Tuesday. News of the behind-the-scenes apology comes as Klobuchar has faced other uncomfortable headlines since launching her presidential campaign. Numerous former Klobuchar…

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2020 Hopeful John Kasich Backs Carbon Pricing, Brags About Buying a Tesla with Taxpayer Subsidies

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by Michael Bastasch   Former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a potential 2020 opponent for President Donald Trump, has a pitch for Republicans: back global warming policies that are favored by Democrats. “This is like a call to arms. Let’s have conservatives have a discussion instead of being in denial that this is a problem. You can’t just be a science denier,” Kasich told Axios in an interview released Tuesday. Kasich sat down with Axios to preview a speech he’s set to give at Canada’s University of British Columbia. The former governor said his views on global warming had evolved from his 2016 presidential run. Kasich will use his speech to lay out what he calls “centrist” policies aimed at global warming, including pricing carbon dioxide emissions — possibly through “cap-and-trade,” which failed to pass Congress roughly a decade ago. Since then, opposition against pricing carbon among Republicans seems to have hardened. House Republicans overwhelmingly voted in 2018 for a resolution opposed to carbon taxes, though a handful of GOP lawmakers do support such policies. Kasich will also call for subsidies for renewable energy, electric cars and other technologies. Axios noted that “Kasich says he took advantage of an existing…

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House Eyes Votes on Two Gun Control Measures

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by Joshua Nelson   The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote this week on two gun control bills, one of which would subject gun sales by licensed dealers to federal review while the other would impose a universal background check on gun owners. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee passed both measures on a 23-15 vote along party lines. In a public statement, the National Rifle Association said the measures would not cut off criminals’ access to firearms and instead would inconvenience law-abiding citizens. Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Pete King, R-N.Y., are spearheading what some call the most high-profile action on gun control in two decades. Neither is a member of the Judiciary Committee. Titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, one of the bills targets firearms purchased online or at gun shows, requiring these purchases to be subject to the federal background check system. The legislation would amend current law that mandates only licensed firearms dealers must perform background checks before approving a gun sale. The amendment would require all gun transfers go through licensed firearm dealers to run background checks. Gifts between family members and temporary transfers for use at a shooting range and hunting would be exempt…

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Democrats Want to Kill Any Chance of Ever Mining in Northern Arizona

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by Tim Pearce   Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is attempting to permanently block uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. Grijalva is expected to introduce the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act to Congress Tuesday on the Grand Canyon National Park’s 100-year anniversary. The bill would make a moratorium on new uranium mines permanent on more than a million acres of land outside the park’s borders. “Protecting the canyon is just, it’s overdue and it’s life-affirming,” Grijalva said while announcing the bill Saturday, The Arizona Republic reports. “The public wants us to do it, the economies of the region need it and the Grand Canyon’s future depends on it.” The legislation would allow active mines in the area to continue operating. Mining companies would be blocked from building any new mines. Grijalva, now chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, has pushed similar legislation before but without success. Other Arizona lawmakers and state officials slammed Grijalva’s proposal, saying it would cost jobs and economic growth without adding the benefits Grijalva claims. “Once again, Rep. Grijalva is pursuing his misguided quest to permanently lockup more than a million acres in Northern Arizona, harm education, kill jobs, infringe on private property rights…

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Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Removed from LGBT Charity for Saying Transgender Men Shouldn’t Play Women’s Sports

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by Tony Perkins   Martina Navratilova is an 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion, but now, she’s creating a racket over something else – transgenderism. Turns out, refusing to stick to the LGBT talking points can land you in a lot of hot water with the left, even if you’re someone as famous as this tennis legend. After years of identifying as a lesbian, Navratilova has been one of the sports’ most visible LGBT faces. But not even she is allowed to commit the movement’s most unforgivable crime – speaking the truth. With society knee-deep in a gender-identity crisis, some pro sports are floating the idea of relaxing the rules on traditional competition. If a man identifies as a woman, extremists argue, they should be allowed to compete as one. A lot of people – including Navratilova – disagree, arguing that it would create an unfair advantage for men. For the first time, she explained her position in depth, writing in the Sunday Times of London: “The rules on trans athletes reward cheats and punish the innocent.” She added, “Letting men compete as women simply if they change their name and take hormones is unfair – no matter how those athletes…

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Commentary: Where Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Get Her Sweet Potatoes?

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by Jeffrey A. Tucker   Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was trying to explain to me that the world is going to melt, we are all doing to die, and probably we shouldn’t be having any more children, but I was distracted by the dinner she was preparing on camera. She was carefully cutting sweet potatoes before putting them in the oven. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SUDG7FIFK8 She put salt and pepper on them. Salt was once so rare that it was regarded as money. Ever try to go a day with zero salt? Nothing tastes right. That was the history of humanity for about 150,000 years. Then we figured out how to produce and distribute salt to every table in the world. Now we throw around salt like it is nothing, and even complain that everything is too salty. Nice problem. Sweet potatoes are not easy to cut, so she was using a large steel knife, made of a substance that only became commercially viable in the late 19th century. It took generations of metallurgists to figure out how to make steel reliably and affordably. Before steel, there were bodies of water you could not cross without a boat because no one knew how to make…

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Companies Use Corporate Welfare to Pit Tennessee and Mississippi Against One Another

Chris Butler

One could argue corporations play the Tennessee and Mississippi state governments against one another to get the best corporate welfare deals possible — at the expense of taxpayers in both states. Here’s how it works. Companies wait for Tennessee and Mississippi to pony up their incentives. Company leaders can only accept one of those two deals, of course. Then they set up shop in the state that made the better offer. And sometimes these companies move from Tennessee to Mississippi and vice versa — even if they’re only moving as little as 20 miles away. This has already happened at least twice in the past two years. Two years ago, for instance, Memphis officials handed out $1.2 million in corporate welfare to lure a company, International Distributors USA, away from Olive Branch, Miss., right across the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. At the time, Memphis officials boasted about using public incentives to snag the company away from the Magnolia State, according to The Tennessee Watchdog. This month, something similar happened, but this time it was Mississippi that offered incentives to lure another company, Krone North America, away from Memphis. And Olive Branch, the same city that lost International Distributors USA two years…

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Metro Nashville Students So Out of Control Teachers Fear for Their Lives, SROs Fleeing from Alternative Schools, Educators, Officials Say

Jason M. Reynolds

“Chaos” is one word used by a teacher to describe student behavior in Metro Nashville Schools during a shocking town hall discussion hosted by Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5. A story about the town hall discussion is available here. “There’s no accountability for the students,” one teacher said. Metro Nashville Schools Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph is trying to reduce the number of students who receive suspensions. His policy, especially aimed at minorities, is blamed. Retired teacher Karen Gordon told Williams one of her former students was one of the youths who was arrested in connection to the murder of musician Kyle Yorlets. The district does not respect teachers’ opinions and does not give them resources to handle troubled students, they said. One shared how her principal laughed over her receiving a death threat. Joseph has generated his own controversy. The Tennessee Star reported last May that his playing explicit rap music during a principals meeting led to a civil rights complaint by a female school board member because the song “Blow the Whistle” degrades women. The Star also reported on a NewsChannel 5 story last August that Joseph ducked a reporter’s questions about alleged sexual harassment and coverups in the…

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Dems Consider Voting ‘Present’ on Green New Deal to Shield Each Other

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by Jason Hopkins   Democrats may simply vote “present” if the Green New Deal resolution is put up for vote on the Senate floor, protecting members of their caucus from taking a public stance on the contentious resolution. “I’m still pondering it. A lot of Democrats may vote — we’ll see, but a lot of us may vote ‘present’on the cloture motion,” stated Delaware Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who serves as the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, according to E&E News on Monday. The possible strategy comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell looks to put the Green New Deal up for a vote sometime this week. GOP leadership, which has lampooned the resolution, want to use the vote to force Democrats into taking a public stance on the dramatic call for 100 percent renewable energy and other far-left proposals. Democrats, however, have criticized McConnell’s efforts, framing it as an attempt to torpedo progress. “We’re trying to make sure we have as consolidated a Democratic caucus as we can because this is not serious legislation,” Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told reporters Monday. “This is just Leader McConnell trying to be mischievous and cause trouble,…

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Protecting Babies Born Alive from Botched Abortions Should Not Be Controversial, Sen. Blackburn Says

Jason M. Reynolds

There should have been nothing controversial about protecting babies born after botched abortions, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote. Blackburn’s comments about the failed Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act appeared in an op-ed Tuesday on Fox News. The op-ed is available here. Blackburn said, in part: On Monday night I proudly voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. There should be nothing controversial about voting to give babies born as a result of a failed abortion the same degree of medical care given to those born at the same stage of a pregnancy. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is legislation that makes certain every child who is born has the same opportunity to live and survive. … It should have been an easy vote for every member of the Senate, but on Monday night, many Democrats demonstrated that their pro-choice stance also requires them to support infanticide. Sadly, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s recent comments advocating infanticide clearly framed the Democrats’ radical agenda. Their push to abort children reveals a hardened inner core that shocks the conscience. On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted 53-44 to bring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to the floor for a vote on…

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Three Senate Republicans Likely to Vote in Favor of Terminating Trump’s National Emergency

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by Henry Rodgers   Three Senate Republicans are expected to vote “yes” for a resolution in an attempt to terminate President Donald Trump’s national emergency for border wall funding. The group of three Republicans expressed their concerns with Trump’s declaration for a national emergency, saying they do not believe the president should be allowed to override Congress to such a degree. In the group are Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine. “As a U.S. senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress,” Tillis wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. “As a conservative, I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left-wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms.” Murkowski said Tuesday she would vote for the resolution, making it clear that the bill will pass the Senate due to support from these Republicans. Collins said Wednesday she supports a lawsuit challenging Trump’s national emergency, adding that she plans to vote for the congressional resolution. Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced the resolution Friday to block Trump’s national emergency that could allow him to build…

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District 10AA Boys Sweeps Region 5 Games

Scott Wallace

For the second consecutive year, the District 10AA boys’ teams swept the four Region 5AA quarterfinals. By virtue of the top seeded Martin Luther King Academy Royals, the second seeded Pearl-Cohn High School Firebirds and lower seeds the East Nashville Magnet Eagle and the Maplewood High School Panthers all winning against their District 9AA opponents, the Region 5AA semi-finals have been moved from Greenbrier High School to Pearl-Cohn High School on Wednesday. At 6pm, the district regular season champion East Nashville will take on district tournament champion MLK in a rematch on the district semi-final which MLK came from a double-digit deficit to win 56-51. The Eagles are coming off an impressive 91-71 road victory over White House High School. After being 25-21 at the end of the first quarter, White House went on a 6=0 run to go up 31-21 at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter. East then went on a 26-4 run in the second and part of the third quarters to take a commanding lead and never looked back. East Nashville vs. White House East Nashville (91) Taras Carter 7-13 5-9 22, Caleb Grimes 5-9 0-1 11, Tre Shaw 2-4 0-0 4, Isaiah Jones 4-4…

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North Carolina Governor’s State of State Address Includes More Spending, Medicaid Expansion, And Climate change

A.P. Dillon

More state spending, an education bond, climate change, and the expansion of Medicaid are some of the highlights from North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s annual State of the State address. Gov. Cooper’s speech, which was broadcast on the his Facebook page, started by discussing the devastation Hurricane Florence caused the state and how “resilient” North Carolinians are. “First, we must be determined to help our state recover stronger and smarter than ever,” said Cooper.  He went on to say that his administration is “determined to help North Carolinians recover, and we’re making progress.” But the governor’s words on storm recovery ring a bit hollow. While Cooper did talk at length about Hurricane Florence, once again Hurricane Matthew victims seem to be forgotten. The failings of the Cooper administration’s Hurricane Matthew efforts have even caught the attention of The New York Times, who noted that North Carolina was a “slow spender” when it came to the federal funds allotted for Matthew’s victims.  As recently as last month, more problems arose with a recovery effort contract. Cooper’s speech segued from Hurricane Florence into climate change. “We’ve seen violent weather threaten every corner of our state, and scientists agree climate change is making…

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Christian Family Values Organization Calls for Ohioans to Share Their Displeasure With Sen. Sherrod Brown for Voting Against Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act

Jason M. Reynolds

A Christian pro-family organization is calling for Ohioans to share their displeasure with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who voted against a bill to protect babies born after a botched abortion. Citizens for Community Values’ website says of the organization, “As Ohio’s Family Policy Council, Citizens for Community Values seeks the good of our neighbors throughout Ohio by advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel. We believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God and His perfect Word for us, the Bible.” Citizens for Community Values issued an action alert Tuesday regarding Brown’s vote against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.The action alert is available here. Ohioans are encouraged to fill out a form to send their complaints to Brown. “Unlike Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman who cosponsored and voted to protect these newborns, Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown voted against protecting these newborns,” Citizens for Community Values said in comparing Brown to Portman, a Republican who co-sponsored the act with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE). Brown took to Twitter to defend his vote as one for women’s healthcare choice and a vote against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Brown tweeted, “Women should have the freedom to make personal,…

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Toledo Ballot Proposition Would Extend Legal Rights of Constitution to Inanimate Body of Water

Anthony Gockowski

Voters in Toledo, Ohio went to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of a “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” ballot proposition, which would extend the legal rights of the Ohio Constitution to an inanimate object. The referendum is the result of a years-long effort to clean up Lake Erie that begin in 2014 after more than 400,000 Toledo residents were told to stop drinking their tap water. According to Michigan Public Radio, a “bright green mass” called cyanobacteria encircled portions of the lake and produced a toxin known as microcystin, which can cause rashes, liver damage, and vomiting if consumed. If passed, the referendum would likely be struck down in the courts, but its placement on the ballot marks an “unprecedented” development nonetheless, according to University of Toledo law professor Ken Kilbert. “This is pretty unprecedented in the U.S. with respect to providing standing or rights for an inanimate object,” Kilbert told ABC 13. “I think it does have some legal flaws and may well suffer the fate of defeat in the court.” Markie Miller of Toledoans for Safe Water said her group will rework the wording of the document and work to get it replaced on the ballot…

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Mark Harris Announces He Won’t Seek Ninth Congressional Seat In New Election

A.P. Dillon

Republican Mark Harris has announced he will not seek to file his candidacy to enter the North Carolina 9th Congressional District special election. Harris won the race by 905 votes and for all intents and purposes was the Congressman-elect.  But for months, the 9th District race remained uncertified while state election investigators looked into an alleged absentee ballot harvesting operation involving a man hired by the Harris campaign named Mcrae Dowless. In a special statement from his campaign, Harris thanked those who supported him and cited his health as the main reason he would not enter the special election. “After consulting with my physicians, there are several things that my health situation requires as a result of the extremely serious condition that I faced in mid-January. One of those is a necessary surgery that is now scheduled for the last week in March,” wrote Harris in the statement. “Given my health situation, the need to regain full strength, and the timing of this surgery the last week of March, I have decided not to file in the new election for Congressional District 9,” Harris said. The statement went on to say that he would not be granting any interviews and…

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Tina Smith Calls Protections for Newborn Babies ‘Inappropriate Medical Treatment’

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), a former Planned Parenthood executive, is proudly defending her vote against a bill that would protect babies who survive botched abortions. “Colleagues, that’s what this bill does. It would give the politicians in this room the power to make medical decisions for women and their families. This bill intimidates providers and forces physicians to provide inappropriate medical treatment, even when it’s not in the best interest of the patient or her family,” Smith said during a Senate floor debate Monday. Lawmakers shouldn't dictate what doctors can or cannot do to deliver the best medical care for women. We need to continue to trust women & their doctors. I took to the Senate floor today to talk about this, & I will continue to make my voice heard for women in MN and our nation. pic.twitter.com/9bwJYRBoyT — Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) February 25, 2019 She went on to argue that the bill, if passed, would “put doctors in an untenable position” of being forced to decide between following “the law” or their “code of professional ethics.” “Colleagues, let’s get out of the business of dictating medical care for women. Let’s continue to trust women and their doctors,”…

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Heartbeat Bill Passes State House Committee Overwhelmingly With A 15-4 Vote Along Party Lines

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In front of a standing room only committee room, the House Health Committee passed the Heartbeat Bill by an overwhelming majority of 15 for and 4 against, straight along party lines. The bill, sponsored in the Tennessee House by Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Van Huss) as HB 0077, establishes the viability of a pregnancy when a fetal heartbeat is detected and bans an abortion once the fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill passed through the House Health Subcommittee last week, moving on to the full House Health Committee Tuesday. The hearing of Van Huss’s HB 0077 in the House Health Committee coincided with a previously scheduled Planned Parenthood Day on the Hill, complete with a bus from Knoxville. Pro-life grassroots advocates showed up as well, so that the room appeared to be about equally split, based on outward displays, between those representing two sides of the issue. Despite 14 of the 19 House Health Committee members having signed on to the bill as co-sponsors prior to the meeting, making it fairly obvious the bill would pass, discussion on the bill lasted nearly three-quarters of an hour before a roll call vote was eventually taken. Discussions went back…

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Carol Swain Considers Whether to Run a Second Time for Nashville Mayor

Chris Butler

Former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain might run for mayor of Nashville again. But put heavy emphasis on the word “might.” Swain said it all depends on how much money she raises. Swain announced on her Facebook page Monday she’s only considering a run and nothing is definite. But she has already filed the Appointment of Treasurer, which permits her to start raising money. The race is scheduled for Aug. 1. The filing deadline for the race is May 16. “We must raise substantial money before I feel comfortable officially announcing. If we fail to reach our preliminary fundraising goal, all early donations will be returned,” Swain said on Facebook. “Please note you don’t have to live in metropolitan Nashville to contribute to my campaign. What happens in Nashville doesn’t stay in Nashville. It affects every city and town in the state and ultimately the entire nation.” Swain, of course, ran for mayor last May in a special election to fill out the remaining term of disgraced former mayor Megan Barry. According to Ballotpedia, she lost that election to then-interim Mayor David Briley. Briley got 54 percent of the vote, while Swain got 23 percent. Last time around, Swain told…

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Democrat Presidential Hopefuls Vote Against ‘Born Alive Bill’ in the Senate

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by Grace Carr   The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which would have ensured that babies who survive abortions are given medical attention, failed to pass the U.S. Senate Monday evening. The bill failed by a vote of 53 to 44. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would have mandated that babies born alive after an abortion would receive the “same protection of law as any newborn.” The bill required 60 votes to pass. Democratic presidential hopefuls Harris, Klobuchar, Booker, Brown, Gillibrand and Warren voted against the bill. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also voted against the measure. Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described the bill as an obvious effort “to bully doctors out of giving reproductive care,” and voted against it. Democratic senators Joe Manchin, Bob Casey, and Doug Jones voted in favor of the bill. Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski didn’t vote. “Those senators who voted against this bill that obviously protects human beings will have a lot to answer for when they face the voters,” Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins said, according to a press release. “Senators who could not bring themselves to vote to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act should reconsider whether or not they have what it takes to…

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REPORT: White House Convenes Panel To ‘Reassess’ Climate Change Risks

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by Tim Pearce   The Trump administration is enlisting government scientists to serve on a climate advisory panel that will reassess the risks of climate change, senior administration officials told The Washington Post. Top administration officials, including President Donald Trump and acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, discussed assembling a team of hand-picked federal scientists to review risks of climate change. The committee would provide evidence downplaying or contradicting alarmist views on climate change, such as is outlined in the Green New Deal championed by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The committee may also challenge findings in recent government reports such as the National Climate Assessment (NCA) released in November and used by Democrats to push for climate action. “The president wants people to be able to decide for themselves,” one official told WaPo. Discussions focused on creating a panel under the National Security Council that would not be subject to the regulations outlined in the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The act says official advisory committees must meet in public and are subject to open records laws. “I never thought I would live to see the day in the United States where our own White House is attacking the very science agencies that can help the president…

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Vice-President Pence: US with Guiado ‘100 Percent’

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Trump administration stands with the U.S.-recognized interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido “100 percent,” Vice President Mike Pence said Monday as he announced new financial assistance for the Venezuelan people. “We stand with you, and along with all the nations gathered here today, we will keep standing with you until democracy and liberty are restored,” Pence said in a speech delivered to the Lima Group, following a trilateral meeting in Bogota, Colombia with Guiado and Colombian President Ivan Duque. Pence said disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro “must go.” While in Bogota, Pence and regional leaders discussed strategy to hasten the departure of Maduro and how to get humanitarian aid currently piling up on the border in Brazil and Colombia into Venezuela, where supplies of food and medicine have run low. “We’ve imposed sanctions on more than 50 top officials as well as on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to stop Maduro’s cronies from enriching themselves at the expense of the Venezuelan people,” Pence said, noting that the U.S. plans to continue to put financial and diplomatic pressure on Maduro’s regime. He added that “it is my privilege to announce that the United States will provide an additional $56 million to…

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