Day: February 14, 2019

Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Sen. Marsha Blackburn Calls Budget Deal ‘Incremental Win’ for Trump

Julie Carr

In an interview on The 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 spoke with Tennessee Senator, Marsha Blackburn Wednesday morning about the Democrat propsed Green New Deal and how it could effect Tennesseans by killing many of the industries found in both the state of Tennessee and nation wide. Towards the end of the show, Blackburn and Gill discussed the overall sentiment of the current deal on the table and whether or not this was a win for President Trump. They both agree that this was an ‘incremental win’ and could provide the opportunity to find additional funds to properly secure the border wall security issues. Gill: I’m sorry, I kind of have my mouth full I’m taking that last bite of steak before that green new deal goes into effect and Spartacus Booker takes my steak from my cold dead hands. Senator Marsha Blackburn with us to break down budget deals, green deals, and military explanations. Senator good to have you with us. Blackburn: It is so good to be with you. And I’ll tell you what,…

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McConnell: President Donald Trump Will Sign Funding Bill, Announce National Emergency for Border Wall

Zachery Schmidt

President Donald Trump is set to declare a national emergency Thursday evening to deal with the southern border crisis, a move that will come as he signs the bi-partisans border security legislation passed by the Senate earlier in the day and expected to be passed later in the day by the House, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday afternoon from the floor of the Senate. “He has indicated he is prepared to sign the bill. He will also be issuing a national emergency declaration at the same time,” Senator Mitch McConnell said. “I’ve indicated to him that I’m going to support the national emergency declaration. So for all of my colleagues, the President will sign the bill. We will be voting on it shortly.” The Senate voted 83-16 to pass the border security legislation today and the House will vote on the measure tonight. By declaring a national emergency, President Trump will move forward on the construction of a physical barrier along the country’s porous southern border to the extent that is lacking in Thursday’s bipartisan measure. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement on Trump’s plan. Statement on Government Funding Bill: pic.twitter.com/DrNv9D4rEi — Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45)…

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Tennessee Star EXCLUSIVE: Governor Bill Lee Makes Special Guest Appearance At Conservative Grassroots Gathering

Laura Baigert

LEBANON, Tennessee – As conservative grassroots leaders gathered from across the state for a bi-annual meeting, Governor Bill Lee took time between speaking engagements to attend as an unannounced special guest. The all-day Tennessee Alliance of Liberty Groups’ summit was an invitation-only, no-media event, but this reporter from The Tennessee Star was allowed exclusive access. The group of about 75 conservative leaders and influencers came to middle Tennessee from as far as Mountain City and Somerville. While Alliance summit attendance varies in who comes and in what numbers, the core group of grassroots conservative leaders has been going strong and consistently since 2009. The announced program for the day-long summit included two segments on Islam from renowned expert on political Islam Dr. Bill Warner as well as author of the 2009 book “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America,” Chris Gaubatz. State Representative Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) gave an hour-long presentation on proposed legislation dealing with medical cannabis. In addition, there were presentations on the Heartbeat Bill sponsored by State Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) and Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), with the Senator joining the meeting for a good part of the day, as well as the…

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State Rep. Timothy Hill: Medicaid Block Grants Are the Conservative Way to Expand TennCare Coverage

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – State Representative Timothy Hill is sponsoring HB 1280, which is the first step in the process of requesting Medicaid block grants for the funding of TennCare. The main reason Representative T. Hill is bringing the legislation, he told The Tennessee Star, is that block grants are the conservative way to expand the coverage that TennCare provides. Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) is sponsoring the companion bill SB 1428 in the State Senate, where the measure already has 22 Republican co-sponsors, including Lt. Governor McNally, of the potential 25 Republican State Senators. Representative T. Hill explained that, in doing research, “we found the block grant concept is not new – President Reagan tried it in 1981, Newt Gingrich in the 90’s and was almost successful, and now President Trump has expressed interest for this concept.” “So, Senator Bailey and I feel like it’s the right time to try it again and to try it from the State’s perspective,” continued Hill. Hill doesn’t know how many other states are attempting to take the block grant approach, which is “a fundamental shift in how you pay for the program,” as he put it. Hill said that with Tennessee being a very…

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Commentary: Imagine America Without Freedom

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by Rick Manning   Everyone is talking about the Green New Deal, and how it would end domestic airline travel, the internal combustion engine, fossil fuel usage, most electricity generation and even ban cow flatulence. You have groups guessing what the cost of the Green New Deal would be in terms of dollars on an annual basis coming up with figures in the trillions of dollars. To everyone seeking to normalize this Green New Deal, please just shut up. The Green New Deal is the baring of teeth by the new American communist. A new breed unleashed that we have seen to the streets attacking people attending Trump rallies, screaming at teenagers wearing Make America Great Again hats, shouting down and rioting against conservative speakers on college campuses. Here is the truth. Socialism and communism are evil. Putting a shroud of legitimacy and normalcy to the destruction of the American ideal is being a Menshevik in a Bolshevik Revolution, you cannot moderate the blood lust of those who seek to enslave you by trying to come up with common ground or discuss alternatives to meet their needs. The revolution demands immediate payment. So, let’s stop talking about the symptoms which…

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DNC Refused to Comply With Dossier-Related Subpoena, so BuzzFeed Sued

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by Chuck Ross   BuzzFeed News sued the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Tuesday to force the release of information that the news outlet hopes will help it defend against a lawsuit related to the Steele dossier. BuzzFeed is seeking digital information that could shed light on the cyber attacks against the DNC during the presidential campaign. The news outlet faces three separate lawsuits related to its publication of the dossier, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele and financed by the Clinton campaign and DNC. The suit against the DNC seeks information that could help defend against a defamation lawsuit filed by Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian tech executive accused in the dossier of using his web hosting companies to hack into the DNC’s computer systems. Gubarev denies the allegations and has argued that BuzzFeed failed to verify the dossier before publishing the report in January 2017. Steele, a former MI6 officer, has acknowledged in a London court, where he is being sued by Gubarev, that the information about the tech executive had not been verified. “As part of the discovery process, BuzzFeed is attempting to verify claims in the dossier that relate to the hacking of the DNC,”…

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EXCLUSIVE Candace Owens Commentary: Ilhan Omar and AOC Are Forging ‘The Anti-American Party’

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by Candace Owens   The Democrat Party’s new standard bearers are dropping any pretense of patriotism. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“AOC”) have proudly positioned themselves as the leaders of an anti-American political faction that seeks its mandate not from American citizens, but from foreigners. In AOC’s nightmarish vision of a post-American society, the democratic will of the American people holds no force. Race — filtered through the lens of her bizarre, fantasy version of the demographic history of the American continent — is what determines a person’s right to be in the country and which laws can be applied to them. “We are standing on native land. And Latino people are descendants of native people. And we cannot be told, and criminalized, simply for our identity or our status. Period,” Ocasio-Cortez told her followers last week at a rally to highlight her call for Congress to cut funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ilhan Omar was also on hand. The freshman Democrat congresswoman is no stranger to controversial and hateful comments, having recently equated the democratic Jewish state of Israel to the terror-supporting Islamist regime of Iran, repeatedly libeled a group of Catholic teenagers from Covington,…

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Laurie Cardoza Moore of PJTN Talks to the Tennessee Star Report About the Trending Anti-Semitism in Congress and Around the Globe

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion on Wednesday 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 – host Steve Gill talked in depth with Chairman of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations Chairman, Laurie Cardoza Moore about the myriad of anti-Semitic rhetoric spewing from the mouths of politicians and how we are headed down a dark path reminiscent of Germany’s history under Hitler’s rule. Gill questioned Cardoza about why many Jewish voters still support the Democratic party. Gill and Cardoza specifically discussed the recent Tweeting’s of Omar Ilhan and the anti-Semitic remarks of others in Congress. They especially brought to light the implications of the BDS and those groups which support it and how anti-BDS resolutions are being crafted to alter its progression on a national and international level. Gill: Laurie Cardoza Moore is the Chairman of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations. You can go to PJTN.org. And Laurie thanks for being with us to kind of help add some insight into the rise of anti-Semitism not only in Congress but as we’re seeing around the country. In the leftist media and certainly…

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Seven Things to Know About Rep. Ilhan Omar

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by Rachel del Guidice   President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar should resign over anti-Semitic remarks the freshman lawmaker has made. “I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Trump said of the Minnesota Democrat during a Cabinet meeting. Here are seven things to know about Omar, who took office just last month. 1. She Faced Accusations of Anti-Semitism Over Tweets Omar, 37, has faced significant pushback for a tweet she posted Sunday saying that pro-Israel American politicians are supported by funding from a pro-Israel organization, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1094761790595088384 Omar also tweeted on Sunday that support for Israel in the United States is “all about the Benjamins baby.” She apologized after being criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for anti-Semitic behavior. “Anti-Semitism is real, and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,” Omar said in a statement posted Monday captioned “Listening and learning, but standing strong.” “My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and…

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Trump ‘Looking for Land Mines’ in Proposed Border Wall Deal

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by Steve Herman   U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has made no decision on whether to sign proposed bipartisan legislation for limited new barrier construction along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to avert another partial government shutdown Friday over the dispute. “We’ll be looking for land mines [in the bill]” but “we have not gotten it yet,” Trump said in response to reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque. The president, however, indicated he was pleased with preliminary figures in the border security deal worked out by a committee of Republicans and Democrats, saying “total funding is almost up to $23 billion, it’s about 8 percent higher.” Trump called Democrats stingy when it comes to funding for the wall. “We’re building a lot of wall right now with money that we already have,” added Trump, explaining that there are “a lot of options” to complete the border barrier’s construction. “We’re going to have a great wall, it’s going to be a great, powerful wall” with technology, including drones, explained the president. “I don’t want to see a shutdown. A shutdown would be a terrible thing,” Trump said. The bipartisan agreement reached…

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The Real Life History of St. Valentine and His Unlikely Connection to Romance

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by Lisa Bitel   On Feb. 14, sweethearts of all ages will exchange cards, flowers, candy, and more lavish gifts in the name of St. Valentine. But as a historian of Christianity, I can tell you that at the root of our modern holiday is a beautiful fiction. St. Valentine was no lover or patron of love. Valentine’s Day, in fact, originated as a liturgical feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. So, how did we get from beheading to betrothing on Valentine’s Day? Early origins of St. Valentine Ancient sources reveal that there were several St. Valentines who died on February 14. Two of them were executed during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus in 269-270 A.D., at a time when persecution of Christians was common. How do we know this? Because, an order of Belgian monks spent three centuries collecting evidence for the lives of saints from manuscript archives around the known world. They were called Bollandists after Jean Bolland, a Jesuit scholar who began publishing the massive 68-folio volumes of “Acta Sanctorum,” or “Lives of the Saints,” beginning in 1643. Since then, successive generations of monks continued the work until…

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President Trump Pays a Surprise Visit to Rural West Virginia High School via Skype

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by Salena Zito   WEBSTER SPRINGS, W.Va.—No sitting president has ever visited here before. So it was a pretty big deal when 14 local high school students in a civics class had President Trump talking to them in their classroom Wednesday, all thanks to a Skype video call that Sen. Joe Manchin was having with them. Senior Brennan Williams, 18, is still grinning ear to ear a few days after the experience. “Well, I mean, I’ve never talked to somebody that important before, and it was just crazy,” he said of initially talking to Manchin. “Then, the president of the United States calls the senator and then decides he wants to talk to us, well, that was even crazier. I just couldn’t stop smiling; I still can’t.” His classmate Parker Stout, 18, says it was an honor he will never forget: “We prepared for our Skype call with Sen. Manchin by watching the State of the Union Address Tuesday night. What we never expected was that that would include talking to the president.” Manchin said the once-in-a-lifetime event was organized by Webster County High School Principal Stacey Cutlip and his office to discuss issues that came up during the State…

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Community Mourns Nashville Musician Allegedly Slain by 5 Youths in Robbery

Jason M. Reynolds

A memorial service was held Monday at Belmont University to honor alumnus Kyle Yorlets, a musician who was shot and killed during a robbery allegedly committed by five youths, one of them as young as 12. Yorlets, 24, allegedly was shot on Thursday, Feb. 7 by two boys and three girls after he refused to give them the keys to his car, NewsChannel 5 said. Yorlets was in the band Carverton. They posted a tribute on Twitter that said in part, “On February 7, 2019 we lost our brother, best friend, and bandmate Kyle Yorlets. We are in a state of shock and are having to grasp the reality that is now in front of us. We are heartbroken. Our condolences for his family and loved ones and all the lives that he touched. We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon his legacy is here to stay.” https://twitter.com/CarvertonBand/status/1093899923299405825 At the memorial service, people remembered Yorlets as someone full of wit and talent and who cared about people, Billboard said. The publication also reported: Michael Wiebell is the bassist for Yorlets’ band, Carverton. He said in an interview before the memorial that since Yorlets’ death, they…

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Ilhan Omar Snaps at CNN Reporter: ‘Are You Serious?’

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by Peter Hasson   Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Wednesday snapped at a CNN reporter who tried to ask her about the fallout over her recent comments blaming Jewish political donors for Republicans’ support of Israel. President Trump on Tuesday said Omar should step down either from Congress or the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and called Omar’s apology “lame.” The congresswoman on Wednesday shot back a tweet that accused the president of “trafficking in hate,” but then dodged questions twice when asked about it by CNN’s Manu Raju. “Rep. Ilhan Omar in no mood to talk about her controversies this week. First, she said: ‘No thank you’ when asked to comment on Trump saying she should resign. Second time I saw her, she yelled: ‘Are you serious?’ when I tried to question her,” Raju wrote on Twitter. ‘What’s wrong with you” the congresswoman reportedly asked him. Before I even got my question out the second time I saw her, Ilhan Omar angrily said: “Are you serious? What’s wrong with you.” https://t.co/uhQ2stdrsF — Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 13, 2019 Omar, who has been known to be cold towards reporters in the past, has come under fire for some of her…

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Toddler Dies After Drunk Driving Illegal Immigrant Smashes into Ambulance

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by Will Racke   A 3-year-old boy has died after the ambulance he was riding in was struck by a drunken illegal immigrant in North Carolina, police said Monday. Jose Duran Romero, 27, allegedly crashed his Honda Accord into the side of a Lifecare Ambulance in Winston Salem, N.C. early Sunday morning, reports the Charlotte News & Observer. A breathalyzer test administered two hours after the crash revealed Romero’s blood-alcohol content was 0.19 — more than twice the legal limit — according to Winston Salem police. The toddler had been in stable condition before the crash but suffered life-threatening injuries in the wreck, police Lt. Rick Newnum said Monday. Police did not have further information about why the boy, who has not been publicly identified, was being transported to the hospital. Police say Romero and his passenger, Andres Figueroa Leon, 33, attempted to run away after the crash. A witness prevented one of the men from leaving, while responding officers established a perimeter and caught the other man a few minutes later, Newnum said. Romero was initially held on $50,000 bail, which was revoked when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials placed an immigration detainer on him, reports the Daily…

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Study Says Stricter Voter ID Laws Do Not Lead to Voter Suppression

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by Nick Givas   Former Department of Justice attorney J. Christian Adams said voter ID laws do not lead to voter suppression Wednesday on “Fox & Friends,” citing a study from The National Bureau of Economic Research. “This is a huge survey,” Adams said. “Fifty-thousand sampled. They discovered that voter ID has absolutely no negative impact on voters — something most of us already knew, a small fringe of dishonest people didn’t know. They make money off of this. They raise huge sums of money to pay lawyers to attack states that implement voter ID … This is something most Americans agree with, and now we know it doesn’t do any harm.” The study examined 10 states with voter ID laws, including Georgia and Wisconsin. It found minorities were not negatively affected by the measures, Adams said. “A huge survey found that it did not effect minorities negatively, which tells you they have been lying,” he added. “They have been scaring minorities in the worse possible ways about voter ID and election integrity laws. They use it to increase their own power, to create this hysteria, and frankly, Brian, the survey showed that if voter ID does anything, it increases…

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Scott DesJarlais Introduces Bill to Fund Defense, Reduce Non-Essential Federal Spending

Chris Butler

Various national security departments would stay open during a government shutdown under new legislation that U.S. Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District submitted this week. The Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs are among the agencies that would continue to receive funding. This, according to a press release DesJarlais’ office released this week. But, as Desjarlais’ spokesman Brendan Thomas told The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement, Congress must pass the bill first. “As things currently stand, a government shutdown would disrupt funding for DHS, responsible for elements of national security. Under Rep. DesJarlais’ bill that would never happen,” Thomas said. “Instead of zero, DHS would receive 100 percent of its current funding. It could continue normal operations. But some agencies would receive only 95 percent of funding.” The press release quoted DesJarlais as saying he supports “building additional physical barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal immigration, drugs and gang crime.” His legislation would pressure negotiators to fulfill promises both parties have made for decades, according to the press release. “Bad deals to end shutdowns have typically resulted in even higher levels of wasteful spending, while the border problem has become worse and worse. In Washington,…

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Commentary: What Game of Thrones Teaches Us about Government Spending and Crazy Tax Schemes

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by Jonathan Miltimore   I thought it was a joke when I saw a headline stating that Gavin Newsom, California’s new governor, was proposing a tax on drinking water. Surely this was a clever bit of satire penned by someone at The Babylon Bee or The Onion. Alas, the proposal is real, and the details of the tax can be found here and here. Taxing Human Nature Part of the reason I thought the headline was satire is that it reminded me of a line from George R.R. Martin’s book A Game of Thrones. In the series, we see at various times the rulers of King’s Landing (the capital of Westeros) attempt to deny or profit from people’s ordinary habits. Early in the story, King Robert’s brother, Lord Renly, mentions how his brother Stannis once proposed regulating prostitution, which Renly said prompted the king to jest that perhaps Stannis would like to regulate “eating, sh*tting, and breathing while he was at it.” To Robert, a man of great appetite, the idea of banning or taxing basic human functions is laughable and absurd. Yet later in the story (spoiler alert!), after Robert is dead, slain by the Lannisters, Tyrion Lannister, the clever…

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Nashville School Resource Officers Reportedly Pull Out of Two Schools Due to Students’ Verbal Abuse

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville Police officers will no longer serve as School Resource Officers at two Nashville schools because the students reportedly hurl a lot of verbal abuse their way. These are reportedly alternative schools — Bass W.A. Alternative School and Johnson Alternative Learning Center. This, according to news reports in both The Tennessean and the Nashville-based NewsChannel 5. Metro Police have reassigned them to “mainstream schools,” The Tennessean went on to say. “The officers don’t need to be subjected to that kind of abuse, they don’t need to be subjected to an environment where the students aren’t welcoming,” Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron reportedly told News Channel 5. Aaron reportedly went on to tell the station that “working in the alternative schools, if you’re a police officer, is not an ideal place to be.” MNPD spokesperson Kris Mumford told The Tennessean, meanwhile, that “officers did not feel they were able to do their jobs — including developing relationships with the students to mentor and educate them, as evidenced by the reported abuse.” The verbal abuse has been going on for a long time, the paper quoted Mumford as saying. “However, the exact length of that ongoing abuse, or the content of…

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Four Big Questions Still Hang Over the Las Vegas Police Mass Murder Report

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by Richard Pollock   Seasoned law enforcement and military experts contacted by The Daily Caller News Foundation have expressed serious doubts about the thoroughness of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s preliminary report about the deadliest mass shooting in American history. In releasing the interim report Jan. 18, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo stressed it was not his department’s “standard practice” to release a report on an open case, but he “felt it was important” to release an “overview” due to the high number of victims in the Oct. 1 mass shootings when Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded more than 700. With an arsenal of 18 AR-10 and AR-15 rifles in two hotel rooms, Paddock targeted concertgoers attending an open-air country music concert across from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. About 22,000 people attended the concert, which Paddock quickly turned into a killing ground. Lombardo added that the department’s findings are “not intended to be a comprehensive and final account of the facts and evidence gathered.” A final report will be released, but no date has been set. Larry Hadfield, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) public information officer informed TheDCNF Jan. 30…

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Yet Another Tennessee PTO President Indicted for Theft

Chris Butler

Authorities have indicted the former president of the Jasper Elementary Parent Teacher Organization on a theft charge after school system officials found and reported questionable transactions. This, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Wednesday, referring to Amber Bailey. “Investigators determined that Bailey stole at least $5,590 from May 2017 through February 2018. Bailey made purchases, wrote and cashed PTO checks for her personal benefit, and failed to deposit money collected during fundraisers,” according to a Comptrollers’ press release. “She concealed her misappropriation by failing to turn over, or make available, PTO bank statements and other crucial financial information. This information should have been reviewed by other PTO officers.” During her tenure as president, Bailey maintained total control of the funds collected during PTO fundraisers and other events. Bailey used PTO funds to purchase or to reimburse herself for a folding canopy, drill, garment steamer, and folding tables, which she kept, according to the audit. The Marion County School System recognizes the Jasper Elementary PTO as a school support organization. The PTO’s fundraising efforts provide additional financial support for activities at Jasper Elementary School, auditors wrote. “Although the organization had multiple officers, the former president assumed responsibility for all financial…

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JC Bowman Commentary: Hail to the Chiefs

JC Bowman

The third Monday of February is recognized as Presidents’ Day in the United States. Established in 1885, the day was originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first president of our country, George Washington. Today we use it to commemorate all 45 Presidents of the United States. However, no American president has ever enjoyed unanimous support from our citizens. So, the holiday is celebrated, but not universally beloved by all people. George Washington warned his countrymen of “the baneful effects of the spirit of party” in his Farewell Address as President of the United States. That advice fell on deaf ears, and as much as Washington was held in high esteem, it was neglected. It is worth noting that political parties in the United States stem partly from a political feud between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists, led by Secretary of Treasury Hamilton, wanted a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists, led by Secretary of State Jefferson, advocated for states’ rights instead of centralized power. The growth of political parties was an American response to political conflict. That explains a lot about where we are today, as Hank Williams Jr. might remind us, “it’s a family tradition.”…

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Omar Doesn’t Let Witness Respond to Attack During Hearing

Anthony Gockowski

Twitter was abuzz Wednesday afternoon after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) got in a heated exchange with Elliot Abrams, the special envoy to Venezuela. “I don’t understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful,” Omar said to Abrams, who pleaded guilty in the 1980s to withholding evidence from Congress about his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. He was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. “If I can respond to that. It was an attack,” Abrams replied, but was cut off by Omar who said she reserves “the right” to her time. “That was not a question. Thank you for your participation,” Omar said. “On February 8, 1982, you testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about U.S. policy in El Salvador. In that hearing, you dismissed as communist propaganda report about the massacre of El Mozote, in which more than 800 civilians, including children as young as two-years old, were brutally murdered by U.S.-trained troops. During that massacre, some of those troops bragged about raping a 12-year-old girl before they killed her. You later said that the U.S. policy in El Salvador was a fabulous achievement. Yes…

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New General Counsel Named By North Carolina Speaker Of The House

A.P. Dillon

On Tuesday, North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore announced the addition to his legal staff of Neal Inman has General Counsel. “We are fortunate to retain Neal as our General Counsel to ensure we have another successful session serving the people of North Carolina,” said Speaker Moore in a press statement. We are fortunate to retain Neal Inman as our General Counsel this session advising House leaders on complex legal questions. Neal has earned the trust of legislators with his work ethic and impressive command of state law & constitutional matters. https://t.co/ucTZkdDp2B #ncpol — Speaker Tim Moore (@NCHouseSpeaker) February 11, 2019 Inman had worked with Representative David Lewis (R-District 53) as House Rules Committee Counsel between 2017 and 2018. “Neal played a vital role as Rules Committee Counsel advising House leaders on complex legal questions and litigation,” Moore said in a press release. “He has earned the trust of legislators with his work ethic and impressive command of state law and constitutional matters.” Inman, who received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law, also worked as an Associate General Counsel for former Governor Pat McCrory. Included in the press statement was the transition…

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Governor DeWine Accelerates Gas Tax Planning with No Limits Set

Andrew Shirley

It’s safe to say that when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed his “Governor’s Advisory Committee on Transportation” to develop solutions for paying for road and bridge repairs, citizens were hoping they’d come up was some creative answers. Instead, the committee reached a consensus last week that the primary means by which road repairs would need to be funded would be through raising gas taxes. During a meeting with the Canton Repository Editorial Board, Governor DeWine made it clear that he would be taking their advice. He noted that not only was raising the gas taxes essential to fixing the problem but that he couldn’t put a number on how high the hike would be. When asked how much the raise could be per gallon, he stated: Well I’m not going to talk about it yet. I’m not going to put a number on it…Just to maintain status quo, we’ve got to come up with $1.5 billion a year. So how we do that? I’ve been in discussions with the members of the leadership of the legislature of how to do that. Just doing the numbers, significant amount of that has to come from the gas tax. Many advocates note that there will never…

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CLAIM: Ilhan Omar Could Face Primary Challenge in Transgender Minneapolis City Council Member

Anthony Gockowski

Rumor has it that Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins is being lobbied to run against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) in the 2020 primary for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District. “Breaking: I have heard a rumor that Andrea Jenkins of the Minneapolis City Council is being lobbied to run against Rep. Ilhan Omar in a primary next election. Game changer if true,” Minnesota attorney Nathan Hansen wrote on Twitter Wednesday. https://twitter.com/nathanmhansen/status/1095478515670175747 Jenkins is best known for being the first transgender African-American woman elected to public office in the United States. In January, she drew attention after calling a press conference to discuss her experience of being chastised at a Minneapolis coffee shop for handing out political literature. “We are not over racism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia in this community by any stretch of the imagination. I want to be on the forefront of us as a community dealing with these issues head on,” Jenkins said, and announced that she would be hosting a forum on race. The claim comes at a time when Omar is facing substantial criticism over her anti-Semitic comments. Most recently, Omar suggested that Jewish money is to blame for bipartisan support of Israel, which was widely…

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Klobuchar Receives Bad Early Poll Numbers After Announcing Candidacy

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced her presidential campaign Sunday, and her early poll numbers don’t look good. According to Morning Consult, Klobuchar is currently in seventh place among potential Democratic candidates with just three percent of the vote. She ranks behind, in order, Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX-16), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). She leads Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who both have just two percent of the vote. Morning Consult surveys 5,000 registered voters each day, and updates its polling on a weekly basis. Its latest numbers come just three days after Klobuchar announced her candidacy. As The Minnesota Sun reported, Klobuchar announced her run for the presidency at a rally Sunday on the banks of the Mississippi River. “So today, on an island in the middle of the mighty Mississippi, in our nation’s heartland, at a time when we must heal the heart of our democracy and renew our commitment to the common good, I stand before you as a granddaughter of an iron-ore miner, as the daughter of a teacher and a newspaper man, as the first woman…

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