Day: February 20, 2019

Tennessee Firearms Association Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief

Steve Gill

The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) has filed an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of Jeremy Kettler v. U.S. urging the Court to hear the case on appeal from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief was filed on Feb. 19, 2019, along with the Downsize DC Foundation and the Heller Foundation. Mr. Kettler, a military veteran, has war-induced hearing damage. He bought a suppressor (inaccurately called a silencer in some news reports) to protect his hearing during target practice with his lawfully owned weapons. He purchased the suppressor under the Kansas Second Amendment Protect Act (Kansas Act). The Kansas law protects guns and gun accessories from federal regulation if they were manufactured entirely within the state of Kansas and then sold in Kansas. The suppressor purchased by Mr. Kettler met both provisions of the law. (Tennessee and eight other states have enacted similar laws.) Subsequently, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) arrested Kettler and ultimately charged him with and a federal jury convicted him of a felony for possessing an unregistered firearm. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, ruling in part that ONLY…

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Rutherford County Officials Formally Oppose School Vouchers

Chris Butler

Rutherford County officials have joined their counterparts at five other Tennessee school systems to formally oppose school vouchers. Board members with the Rutherford County School System just unanimously passed a resolution to that effect, school system spokesman James Evans told The Tennessee Star Tuesday. Murfreesboro City School System board members, meanwhile, may vote on a formal resolution opposing school vouchers and Educational Savings Accounts at their next scheduled board meeting on Tuesday. Pending the outcome of that vote, school system officials will forward the resolution to the House and Senate Education Committees, said school system spokeswoman Lisa Trail. The Rutherford County School System covers most of the county, but the city of Murfreesboro also has a smaller school zone that covers grades K-6 for some parts of the city, Evans said. Murfreesboro City Schools board member Butch Campbell declined to comment on the matter Tuesday. Rutherford County School System board member Coy Young, though, said taxpayers should not fund a private entity. He also said board members have met with state legislators representing that district to discuss the matter. Those state legislators, Young went on to say, never offered comment as far as whether they are for or against school…

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Commentary: Leftwing Media Goes After Lara Logan for Telling the Truth About Leftwing Media Bias

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by George Rasley   It’s not often when a respected member of the establishment media agrees with the statements, the American news media’s leftwing and partisan Democrat biases as a “huge f*cking problem” and “disaster for this country.” But Lara Logan, the respected foreign correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes, did just that in an interview published last Friday with the Mike Drop podcast, hosted by retired Navy SEAL Mike Ritland. As Breitbart’s Robert Kraychik reported, Ritland characterized U.S. news media as “absurdly left-leaning” and supportive of Democrats, further describing the status quo of American news media’s leftwing and partisan Democrat biases as a “huge f*cking problem” and “disaster for this country.” Kraychik reports Logan concurred, “I agree with that. That’s true.” She described U.S. and international news media as “mostly liberal,” adding, “most” journalists are left. “The media everywhere is mostly liberal, not just the U.S.,” assessed Logan. Logan elaborated: Visually, anyone who’s ever been to Israel and been to the Wailing Wall has seen that the women have this tiny little spot in front of the wall to pray, and the rest of the wall is for the men. To me, that’s a great representation of the American media, is…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Neil McCabe on the Death of Legendary Pollster Patrick Cadell

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Networks Neil McCabe about the recent and unexpected death of good friend and legendary pollster Pat Cadell. Cadell passed away from a stroke at the age of sixty eight in Charleston, South Carolina. He was known as the man who helped Jimmy Carter to win the Presidency and is survived by his daughter, Heidi Caddell Eichelberger, brother, Daniel, sister, Patricia Roberts, and three grandchildren. Gill: You know The Tennessee Star lost a friend that has been a close relation with Michael Patrick Leahy and the show. Came on the show a couple of times. Pat Cadell one of the ultimate pollsters. A guy who got Trump before most people got Trump. And Neil McCabe from One America News is on with us today to talk a little about Pat Cadell today. Neil McCabe with us in this segment today to talk a little about our friend Pat Cadell. Hey Neil good morning. McCabe: Hey good morning guys. Good to be with you…

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Tennessee, Nashville Officials Say All Is Well For Amazon to Open Operations Center With Up to $102 Million in Incentives

Jason M. Reynolds

Tennessee and Nashville officials say they do not expect Amazon’s brush-off of New York to affect the retail behemoth’s decision to open an operations center in Music City. Amazon last Thursday said it would not build its second headquarters in New York City, called HQ2, because of pushback there, The Tennessee Star reported last week. The retailer faced a battle from some politicians and others over nearly $3 billion in tax incentives, Breitbart said. Amazon was poised to bring 25,000 jobs to New York with a $2.5 billion investment in offices. Amazon said last week in a statement it would not reopen the HQ2 search. The company said it does plan to proceed with another headquarters site in Virginia. The company’s Music City plans have drawn criticism from some, including the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police, who said the city’s $15 million in incentives were “corporate welfare.” With the State of Tennessee offerings, the package is up to $102 million for 5,000 jobs for a $230 million operations center. Jennifer McEachern, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development, spoke to The Star via email about Amazon. The Star asked her if the state would re-examine the tax…

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Report: Mueller Has Expanded Investigation of Kushner

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by Chuck Ross   Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking into White House adviser Jared Kushner’s business dealings with foreign investors during the presidential transition period. Mueller’s investigators have asked witnesses in interviews as recently as this month about Kushner’s negotiations for financing for a New York City office building owned by his family’s company, Kushner Companies, CNN reports. The new line of inquiry signals that Mueller’s interest in Kushner has expanded beyond any contacts he had with Russians during the 2016 campaign, according to CNN. Of particular interest is Kushner’s meetings just after the election with the chairman of Anbang Insurance, a Chinese company that purchased a stake in the Kushner Companies property at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Mueller’s team has yet to reach out to Kushner Companies’ executives for interviews, according to CNN. A meeting that Kushner had during the transition period with Sergey Gorkov, chairman of the Russia-owned bank Vnesheconombank, is also coming under scrutiny. Kushner has said that the Dec. 2016 meeting was held to discuss official government business. The bank has said publicly that Gorkov attended the meeting as part of a “roadshow of business meetings” that he was conducting in the U.S.…

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Poll: US Rural and Urban Political Divisions Also Split Suburbs

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America’s suburbs are today’s great political battleground, long seen as an independent pivot between the country’s liberal cities and conservative small towns and rural expanse. But it’s not that simple. It turns out that these places in-between may be the most politically polarized of all — and when figuring out the partisan leanings of people living in the suburbs, where they came from makes a difference. Fewer suburbanites describe themselves as politically independent than do residents of the nation’s urban and rural areas, according to a survey released Tuesday by the University of Chicago Harris School for Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll also found that the partisan leanings of suburban residents are closely linked to whether they have previously lived in a city. “In the last decade, particularly in the past five years, I’ve felt a shift in having some liberal neighbors,” said Nancy Wieman, 63, a registered Republican and staunch conservative who has lived in suburban Jefferson County outside of Denver her entire life. “The ones who are markedly liberal have moved from Denver or other cities.” Suburbanites who previously lived in a city are about as likely as city-dwellers to…

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America’s First Two Muslim Congresswomen Will Both be Fundraising for Hamas-Linked Organization

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by Molly Prince   The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Monday that Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib will be speaking at CAIR-Michigan’s annual banquet only days after the Hamas-linked organization revealed that fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will be speaking at CAIR-LA’s annual banquet. CAIR is a notable pro-Palestinian organization with ties to Islamic terror groups. The U.S. Department of Justice listed CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding millions of dollars to the terrorist organization Hamas. Additionally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) named CAIR a terrorist organization along with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in 2014. Tlaib will be the guest speaker at CAIR-Michigan’s 19th annual “Faith-Led, Justice Driven” banquet on March 17, according to the organization’s invitation. Single tickets start at $50 per person and a table can cost upwards of $500. Tickets for Omar’s March 23 event start at a similar price point. Omar and Tlaib became America’s first Muslim congresswomen when sworn into office in January. Their time in office has been embroiled in allegations of anti-Semitism. Tlaib invited a pro-Hezbollah, anti-Israel activist to her swearing-in ceremony and the following private dinner in January. Days later, an op-ed column she wrote in 2006…

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Analysis: Support for ‘Soaking the Rich’ Is Rooted in Media Misinformation

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By James D. Agresti   Public opinion polls show high levels of support for raising taxes on the wealthy, and some people are touting these results to advance progressive tax policies. Such polls, however, are tainted by the common myth that the rich pay a lower average effective federal tax rate than the middle class. This belief has been widely spread by the media, but data from the U.S. Treasury, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Tax Policy Center prove the exact opposite is true. Politico recently published an article by Ben White titled “Soak the Rich? Americans Say Go for It.” According to White, “the prospect of 70 percent tax rates for multimillionaires and special levies on the super-rich draw howls about creeping socialism and warnings of economic disaster,” but “when it comes to soaking the rich, the American public is increasingly on board.” White bases his claim on a new Politico/Morning Consult poll “that found 76% of registered voters believe the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes.” He also cites a recent Fox News survey showing that “70% of Americans favor raising taxes on those earning over $10 million,” and “54% of Republicans” agree with this. Politico…

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Glen Casada Tells Small Business NFIB to Get Involved in Tennessee Politics

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The best way Tennessee’s small business owners can help state legislators and, ultimately, themselves, is to get more engaged in state politics, said state House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin. Casada made those remarks Tuesday at the Cordell Hull State Office Building while addressing members of the NFIB: Small Business Association. “For too many years conservatives and pro-business people have said ‘Government is a mess, I give up. I will run my business. I will take care of my family. That is what I’m going to do,’” Casada said. “The problem is if you become disengaged with government it tends to creep into areas where it doesn’t belong. We need everyone in this room to be engaged and that means coming to the capitol like this and that means getting to know your legislator and holding them accountable.” The NFIB represents about 6,000 independent business owners around the state, said Jim Brown, Tennessee director of the National Federation of Independent Business. Tennessee, Casada told the group, has made drastic improvements in its economy the past eight years, and people nationwide will likely soon consider it one of the nation’s best. The NFIB, according to literature organizers handed out…

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Union Power, Email Privacy in the Balance at New Supreme Court Sitting

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by Kevin Daley   The Supreme Court will convene Tuesday for its February sitting, in which the justices will consider major cases involving the First Amendment, union power, and email privacy. The cases raise the prospect of serious political and diplomatic repercussions, placing the justices at the center of a bitter partisan brawl and a sensitive question of foreign affairs. The signature case of this month’s arguments is Janus v. AFSCME, which the justices will hear on Feb. 26. Though officially a First Amendment question, Janus is the apex of a decades-long dispute about the power of public sector unions and their Democratic patrons. As such, it has decidedly partisan implications. Some observers fear a ruling against the union would deal the deathblow to the political and financial influence of organized labor, prompting charges that the lawsuit is a poorly concealed, Republican attack on a powerful liberal constituency. The case was brought by an Illinois state employee named Mark Janus, who pays compulsory fees to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), despite the fact that he is not a member of the union. He argues these fees subsidize political speech and association with which he disagrees,…

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Commentary: It’s Time for Texas to Declare an Emergency, Too

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by Rick Manning   Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) got it 100 percent correct when in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the southern border he suggested that the state of Texas “should also consider a similar declaration” of national emergency due to the illegal immigration invasion in a statement released on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. In fact, a declaration by the Texas legislature of an emergency based upon what Gohmert terms “a blatant invasion happening at our border” would trigger Constitutional remedies for the situation through a little-known portion of the U.S. Constitution. Article 4, Section 4 reads, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.” Now that the President has declared a state of emergency at the border, it would be the ideal time for the state of Texas to join in that declaration. In doing so, they would compel the President to provide critical assistance to the state under the Constitution and end obstructionist objections to taking necessary…

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US Wants Pledge for Stable Chinese Yuan as Talks Resume

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Xi Jinping

by Reuters   The United States is seeking to secure a pledge from China it will not devalue its yuan as part of an agreement intended to end the countries’ trade war, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Officials from the two countries, which resumed talks on Tuesday in Washington, are discussing how to address currency policy in a “Memorandum of Understanding” that would form the basis of a U.S.-China trade deal, the news agency reported, citing unnamed people involved in and briefed on the discussions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had told Reuters last October that currency issues must be part of U.S.-China trade negotiations and that Chinese officials told him that further depreciation of the yuan was not in their interests. The Bloomberg report said the U.S. request for a pledge to keep the yuan’s value stable was aimed at neutralizing any effort by Beijing to devalue its currency to counter American tariffs. Spokesmen for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, which is leading the talks, and the U.S. Treasury, which leads currency policy, could not immediately be reached for comment. Two days of negotiations between deputy-level officials began on Tuesday, led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish on the…

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George Soros Makes Massive Financial Investments on Fossil Fuels

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by Richard Pollock   George Soros made big investment bets on fossil fuel companies in the fourth quarter of 2017 even though he claims these firms contribute to climate change, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation. In the last quarter of 2017, Soros Fund Management reported investments in eleven new fossil corporations totaling nearly $160 million, according to his company’s December 31, 2017, filing before the Securities and Exchange Commission reviewed by TheDCNF. His investments in fossil fuels undermine his public pledge to use his money to eliminate the oil, gas and coal industries, claiming they threaten the planet by accelerating climate change. The billionaire’s most recent political efforts to warn about climate change was his underwriting of the organizations behind the April 29, 2017, “People’s Climate March” that marked the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s administration. Soros donated $36 million to 18 of the march’s 55 steering committee organizations between 2000 to 2014, according to the Media Research Center. He also agreed to give former Vice President Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection $10 million over a three-year period. Further, Soros founded and operates his own climate change advocacy group called the Climate Policy Initiative. He…

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Governor Walz’s $49 Billion Budget Proposal Will Make Minnesota a ‘Cold California’

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his highly anticipated budget proposal for the 2020-2021 biennium at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. When all is said and done, the two-year budget registers at $49.5 billion with no cuts to any existing spending. “I’ve often said that a budget is far more than a fiscal document; it’s a moral document. This budget reflects the morals and values of the people of Minnesota. This is the budget that Minnesotans voted for in historic numbers in November,” Walz said during his lengthy address.   Walz said his proposal prioritizes three core areas: education, health care, and “community prosperity.” For the first, Walz proposed a three percent followed by a two percent increase in education spending, which is roughly $523 million more. “While some schools have turf fields and a stadium, another school is trying to pass a referendum to fix a leaky roof,” he said. “As a former teacher, I’ve seen firsthand the power of investment in a child.” He went on to lay out a number of health care proposals, including a “OneCare Minnesota” public buy-in option, and the continuation of the two percent provider tax, which Republicans would like to let expire at…

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Is One Labor Union Killing the Ohio Lordstown Plant?

Andrew Shirley

An ongoing feud between one labor union and an automaker may cost thousands of jobs in Lordstown, Ohio. The Lordstown Assembly Complex in Lordstown, Ohio has been the lifeblood of that town since 1966. Currently, the factory is owned and operated by General Motors, while the workforce is represented by the United Automobile Workers, an international worker’s labor union. In late November, GM announced that the factory, along with four others in the US, would close in 2019. In the months following the announcement, there has been a furious battle to save the plant in any capacity. Very early on in the effort, then-outgoing Governor John Kasich, made it clear that the future of the plant would be with an “alternative” to GM. This statement seemed to make it clear that that was no chance GM would keep the plant open while indicating that the only future for the facility would be with another company. Kasich then began reaching out to Tesla Motors CEO; Elon Musk who expressed interest in Tesla acquiring the plant. For months, this was as far as the public knew negotiations had gone. Then, in January, GM CEO Mary Barra revealed that there were no ongoing negotiations with Tesla for a…

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Bill Typo, If Unchanged, Would Make Felons Out of Half A Million Ohioan Gun Owners

Andrew Shirley

Ohio Gun Owners, a citizens’ Second Amendment advocacy organization, discovered Thursday that House Bill 228 (HB 228) would make many widely-used firearms illegal throughout Ohio. The bill’s current language defines illegal “dangerous ordnance” as: (7) Any firearm with an overall length of at least twenty- six inches that is approved for sale by the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives under the “Gun Control Act of 1968,” 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3), but that is found by the bureau not to be regulated under the “National Firearms Act,” 68A Stat. 725 (1934), 26 U.S.C. 5845(a). This section of the bill, however, should have been included in a section that defines what weapons do not count as “dangerous ordnance.” This makes it highly probable that those who drafted the legislation simply placed this passage in the wrong section. If unchanged, the bill would mistakenly ban hundreds of common weapons, including AR-15’s and shotguns with pistol grips because of what appears to be a clerical error. It would also make felons out of hundreds of thousands of legal gun owners in Ohio. The bill’s primary sponsors are Terry Johnson (R-90) Sarah LaTourette (R-76). Neither legislator has issued a statement on the bill. As…

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Congressman’s Passing Leaves Big Shoes to Fill in North Carolina’s 3rd District

A.P. Dillon

The passing of Walter Jones (R-NC-03) has left some big shoes to fill for whoever runs for the seat. On Jan. 2nd, Jones had stated that he would not be running again in 2020 and later that month it was announced he had entered into Hospice care. Jones has apparently been battling with an undisclosed illness. ​“Congressman Jones was a man of the people,” said the statement released by his office. Jones, who spent fourteen years representing North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional district, was well-liked by his constituency and won his races by large margins when challenged. The 3rd Congressional is considered a solid ‘red’ or safe Republican district, but in the current political climate that could change. His successor will have a lot to live up to and likely a very crowded battle to fight. So far, the rumor mill in Raleigh has potentially a dozen or so Republicans jockeying to run for the seat. North Carolina Republican Party’s Vice Chairwoman Michele Nix was one of the first names to pop up and, in fact, she is running. Nix filed her statement of candidacy for the North Carolina 3rd Congressional seat with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last Friday under…

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After Missing Deadline, North Carolina Turns Over Smaller List of Voter Records

A.P. Dillon

After missing a January deadline to turn in voter records requested in two subpoenas by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), North Carolina officials have turned over a smaller list of voter records. Upon missing the deadline, state lawmakers sent a letter to Attorney General Josh Stein urging his office’s compliance with the subpoenas. According to a letter sent by the Kim Strach, the Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), voting records for just 789 individuals will be turned over. “Now, the Attorney General’s office has directed the State Board to acquire the records associated with 289 individuals who were previously registered in counties within the Eastern District,” Strach’s letter reads. “These records will be transmitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the Subpoenas. It is our understanding that this limited production is all that is required at this time.” The letter goes on to detail that the NCSBE will be pulling records from multiple counties in order to comply with the subpoenas. According to Strach’s letter, “two-thirds of the prior registrants were already inactive in 2017.” In addition to the 289 individuals, the letter also says that approximately 500 individuals statewide who resided…

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Tennessee Pro-Life Grassroots Activists Turn Out In Support Of Heartbeat Bill

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A group of middle Tennessee pro-life grassroots activists rallying behind the bill that would ban abortions in the state after a fetal Heartbeat is detected spent a day on Capitol Hill talking with legislators. As reported by The Tennessee Star, a bill sponsored by Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) as HB 0077 is scheduled to be heard in the House Public Health Subcommittee on Wednesday. A less-than-conservative publication, The Atlantic, suggests that Democrats may have overplayed their hand on abortion, giving the pro-life movement an opportunity. Specifically, The Atlantic discusses two recent events. First, in New York the signing of a bill providing the legal right to abort fetuses that could survive outside the womb was cheered and celebrated by lighting up the city’s Freedom Tower. Then, in Virginia, the state’s Governor, Ralph Northam, defended a state lawmaker’s bill by explaining that after a baby was delivered it would be kept comfortable, resuscitated, “if that’s what the other and family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” In stark contrast, pro-life advocates in Tennessee wanted to show their support of Van Huss’s Heartbeat Bill, so that legislators would hear a voice…

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