Month: February 2019

Commentary: Gender Studies’ Value Is Under Question – And for Good Reason

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by Carrie L. Lukas   Class discussions trend towards group-therapy sessions,” wrote Toni Airaksinen in 2016 for Quillette. At the time, she was studying at Barnard College and described moving from an initial infatuation with gender studies to seeing it as an “absurd intellectual alcove where objective truth is subordinate to academic theories used as political propaganda.” This lack of grounding in objective truth and the dismissal of facts and knowledge as patriarchal constructs is at the root of criticisms of gender studies. Gender studies advocates were understandably shocked by the recent decision of the Hungarian government to withdraw accreditation from gender studies programs, and the move was condemned by the Association of University Professors as “directly interfer[ring] with the academic freedom of researchers and teachers.” Certainly, anyone interested in academic freedom should be concerned when the government has the power to decide what can—and what cannot—be studied at universities. Students, rather than governments, should determine an academic discipline’s value. However, the bad news for advocates of gender studies is that careful consideration of the merits of this discipline will lead most students in a different direction. Women’s Studies Isn’t a Traditional Academic Discipline Hungary’s prime minister wasn’t alone when he told the international news agency…

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Trump Taps David Bernhardt to Head the Interior Department

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by Michael Bastach   President Donald Trump nominated David Bernhardt to head the Interior Department, replacing former Secretary Ryan Zinke who left the administration early this year. “I am pleased to announce that David Bernhardt, Acting Secretary of the Interior, will be nominated as Secretary of the Interior,” Trump tweeted Monday. “David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived, and we look forward to having his nomination officially confirmed!” I am pleased to announce that David Bernhardt, Acting Secretary of the Interior, will be nominated as Secretary of the Interior. David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived, and we look forward to having his nomination officially confirmed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2019 Bernhardt, the current acting Interior secretary, enjoyed support from conservative groups and Interior political staffers. Bernhardt will have to be confirmed by the Senate before he can officially take over. Should he be confirmed, Bernhardt would take over Interior as it goes through a major restructuring and rewrites Obama administration offshore leasing and land management plans that drastically curtailed drilling, grazing, and logging. Bernhardt would also oversee the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s (ANWR) coastal plain to oil and gas exploration.…

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New Business Filings in Tennessee Increase, Records Show

Chris Butler

In a show of strength for the Tennessee economy, new business filings in the state increased by more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a new Associated Press report. “A news release from Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office Thursday says this was the fourth-straight quarter in which new business filings jumped by more than 10 percent in Tennessee,” according to the Associated Press. “The Tennessee Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report documented about 9,800 new entity filings in the fourth quarter of 2018. It says a total of about 42,900 new business entity filings were processed with the secretary of state’s Division of Business Services last year.” Hargett’s office reported 29 consecutive quarters of positive annual growth in new business filings, according to the report. According to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website, during this same period, the number of initial trademark registrations shrank while dissolutions and initial assumed name registrations grew. “Compared to the previous quarter, new entity filings have fallen by 8.1 percent, and annual reports are down 43.0 percent. However, this is a common seasonal pattern, as third quarter filings and renewals typically outpace those in the fourth quarter,” the website…

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Commentary: Congress Has a Little Time to Get Immigration Right

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by Rachel Bovard   After refusing for weeks to negotiate over border security “until the government is open,” the bluff has been called on congressional Democrats. Congress has until February 15 to craft a border security package ahead of what could be yet another partial government shutdown. Talks among the 17 lawmakers appointed to the committee assigned with drafting a proposal have begun, though details remain scarce. Top Democrat Representative Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) told reporters that “everything is on the table.” President Trump has said that the conference committee is wasting its time if it’s not considering a wall. For those claiming that the recent 35-day shutdown resulted in no substantive achievement, the conference committee may well represent the one opportunity for substantive immigration reform from this Congress—and perhaps for the next decade. It is critically important that Congress get it right. A border wall must be a critical component of the package—and for evidence of why it’s necessary, look no further than stunning videos taken by Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas). The freshman member of Congress visited just one unsecured sector of the border in McAllen, Texas, and watched as truckloads of migrants casually strolled into the United States. McAllen is in the Rio Grande Valley sector, approximately 100 miles of…

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Iowa Poll Shows Trump Trouncing Kasich In A Potential Head To Head 2020 Match Up

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by Chris White   Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the best option Democrats have at beating President Donald Trump heading into the 2020 election, according to a poll of Iowa voters published Saturday. Biden would beat Trump in a squeaker, pulling in 51 percent of the vote to the president’s 49 percent, Emerson College found in a survey. The poll’s results show other Democratic candidates have their work cut out for them in terms of name recognition. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Kamala Harris of California earned enough support in the survey, which was conducted Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, to fall within the research’s margin of error. Biden holds a nearly 20-point advantage over Warren in the Hawkeye State. The Democratic Iowa Caucus is a year away. The poll also finds Trump would best  Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a head-to-head-match-up in Iowa: 90 percent to 10 percent. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s potential candidacy would be a death knell for Warren, according to the poll, which surveyed 831 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Other recent polls have made similar discoveries. Biden holds a high favorability rating among black people…

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Judge Approves First-of-Its-Kind Debt Restructuring Deal for Puerto Rico

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A federal bankruptcy judge approved a major debt restructuring plan for Puerto Rico on Monday in the first deal of its kind for the U.S. territory since the island’s government declared nearly four years ago that it was unable to repay its public debt. The agreement involves more than $17 billion worth of government bonds backed by a sales-and-use tax, with officials saying it will help the government save an average of $456 million a year in debt service. The deal allows Puerto Rico to cut its sales-tax-backed debt by 32 percent but requires the government to pay $32 billion in the next 40 years as part of the restructuring. Senior bondholders, who hold nearly $8 billion, will be first to collect, receiving 93 percent of the value of the original bonds. Junior bondholders, many of whom are individual Puerto Rican investors and overall hold nearly $10 billion, will collect last and recover only 54 percent. ‘An important step’ “Puerto Rico has taken an important step toward its total financial recovery,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello said in a statement. “This represents more than $400 million annually that will be available for services in critical areas such as health, education, pension payments,…

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LGBT Group, ACLU Applaud North Carolina DMV Update to ‘Gender Designation Change Form’

A.P. Dillon

The ACLU of North Carolina and the LGBT rights group, Equality NC, are applauding changes made to a form used to change one’s gender assignment on a North Carolina driver’s license. The revised form now allows for a long list of professionals to complete the form regarding their opinion on the “applicant’s gender identity.” “We applaud this step the DMV has taken to modernize the process to update gender markers on driver’s licenses,” said Sarah Gillooly, Director of Political Strategy & Advocacy for the ACLU of North Carolina in a press release. “People of all genders shouldn’t have to face invasive questioning and surgical requirements just to have their government identification reflect their true identity. Trans men are men and trans women are women — period,” said Equality NC Executive Director Kendra R. Johnson in the ACLU press release. There is no state or federal law mandating such a change process. Patrice Bethea, a Public Communications officer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation said in an email to Battleground State News that the change was made because the “DMV periodically reviews policies and procedures to make sure they are consistent with federal law.” “North Carolina’s policy is similar to…

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Ilhan Omar Included Among Those Listed in First Step of Covington Catholic Libel Case

Anthony Gockowski

Dozens of prominent media outlets and politicians, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), were issued legal letters Friday in the first step in the lawsuit against those who defamed the Covington Catholic High School students. The Minnesota Sun reported in January that Omar was at risk of being sued after she claimed that the boys at the center of the incident “were taunting five black men before they surrounded Phillips and led racist chants.” Video of the exchange showed that precisely the opposite occurred. In fact, the Covington Catholic High School students were approached by members of the Black Hebrew Israelites and repeatedly taunted as “dirty ass crackers,” “dirty animals,” “racists,” “bigots,” “faggots,” “incest kids,” and more. Attorney Robert Barnes, who is helping with the case, told The Minnesota Sun in January that if Omar “doesn’t retract what she said, she will be sued next week.” She did later delete the tweet in question, but offered no apology or correction. Now, Nick Sandmann’s attorneys have sent letters to those who potentially libeled him and his peers. The letters offer steps to take to avoid being sued, and direct all offending parties not to delete any communications related to the case. According…

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GM Pulls Trigger on Mass Layoffs Throughout the Country

Andrew Shirley

General Motors announced Monday that the long-dreaded nationwide mass layoffs finally began. In November of last year, GM announced that they intended to significantly scale back their workforce. Most jarring for many was their plan to close five manufacturing plants across the country, including the Lordstown Assembly complex in Warren, Ohio. Since then, there have been tireless negotiations aimed at getting GM to reverse this decision. President Donald Trump personally decried the decision, demanding that GM find a way to keep these plants open. When it became clear that there was no reversal in sight, legislators began seeking alternative companies to fill the void GM would leave. At one point, then-Ohio Governor John Kasich began tweeting directly to billionaire and Tesla Motors owner, Elon Musk, asking him to take over the plant. Despite Musk expressing an initial openness to the idea, nothing public has yet has come of the discussion. While GM claims the workforce cuts are across-the-board, it appears that’s not entirely accurate. The company’s operations in China, Mexico, and other overseas locations will not be reduced. In some cases, the numbers of workers will expand. Legislators, labor leaders, and everyday citizens have blasted the decision as yet another company outsourcing its…

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Charlotte, NC Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield Uses Race in Response to Local Paper Critical of Her Appointment to Sensitive Commission

A.P. Dillon

Democrat Charlotte City Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield took to Twitter on Monday to counter the criticism by the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer of her appointment to a sensitive commission. In December 2018, Mayfield was appointed to the Human Rights Commission by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. The Charlotte Observer’s Editorial Board published an Op-Ed critical of the appointment due to Mayfield’s checkered and controversial statements regarding law enforcement and for promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories on her Facebook page. “Mayfield’s appointment sends another troubling message. It normalizes the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that increasingly pollutes public discourse. It says you’re fine saying destructive things so long as you’re on our team,” the Charlotte Observer article read. The Charlotte Observer piece ends with saying that “Cooper should give this appointment another look, instead of looking the other way.” Mayfield’s response to the paper on Twitter arguably underscored the point of the Charlotte Observer’s Op-ed: So interesting, I don't remember outrage regarding the Blatant Bias exhibited by Non-African Americans. Thank You for letting US know what YOU really support #CharlotteObserver #AttemptingToSilenceTheONLYVotingBlackFemale #TheyMadBecauseITalkAboutIt #WellIAmMadThatTHEYWont https://t.co/5q0jm8nQ9f — LaWana Mayfield (@lawanamayfield) February 4, 2019 Since being elected to the Charlotte City Council, Mayfield has made numerous controversial comments.…

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Tennessee Legislators File Bill to Put Guardrails on Community Oversight Boards

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Members of the Tennessee General Assembly want to “place some guardrails on the state’s community oversight boards” and announced new legislation Monday designed to do just that. Under the proposed bill, sponsored by State Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, a community oversight board in Tennessee would not have any power to issue subpoenas for documents or to compel witness testimony. Also, under this proposed law, a community oversight board could not restrict or otherwise limit membership based upon demographics, economic status, or employment history. The legislation was not available on the Tennessee General Assembly’s website as of Monday night, however The Tennessee Star obtained an advance copy of the measure. The legislation would also prevent community oversight boards from releasing confidential information to the public. “This will ensure everyone is treated respectfully and justly during any review of alleged misconduct involving members of our law enforcement community,” Curcio said at a press conference at the state capitol Tuesday while flanked by several other legislators. “Let me be clear. We are not here to drown out the voices of our citizens. This legislation does not eliminate the community oversight boards. It is applicable to all Tennessee communities.” Curcio said at the…

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Jefferson County Woman Charged with TennCare Fraud

Chris Butler

Law enforcement officials have charged a Jefferson County woman with TennCare fraud. That woman, Consuelo Morales, 44, allegedly falsified her income to obtain healthcare insurance through the state program, according to a state press release. The Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Jefferson City Police Department arrested Morales. A Jefferson County grand jury charged her with TennCare fraud theft of property over $10,000, the press release said. “The indictment says Morales knowingly obtained TennCare benefits with the intent to avoid payment for services by failing to properly report to the state her spouse’s income, real estate assets and the fact that her family was eligible for private insurance through her spouse’s employer,” according to the press release. “Providing false information in order to receive TennCare benefits is a crime Tennesseans will not tolerate,” said Inspector General Kim Harmon. District Attorney General James B. Dunn is prosecuting. TennCare fraud is a class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Theft of property over $10,000 is a Class C felony punishable by up to six years in prison, according to state officials. As The Tennessee Star reported in December, authorities arrested and charged a Florida woman with TennCare fraud…

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Trump Nominations Begin to Remake the Liberal 9th Circuit

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by Fred Lucas   President Donald Trump is moving to make over the liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has delivered some of the most stinging judicial setbacks to his agenda. Trump announced three nominations this week to the San Francisco-based appeals court, which covers California, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and the eastern part of Washington state. Earlier this month, the president renominated two other judges for the 9th Circuit. “We’re very happy to have these extraordinary nominees,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, told The Daily Signal. “It doesn’t change the [9th Circuit] majority to Republican nominees. But when we are talking about future three-judge panels, the odds are a lot better.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will oversee the confirmation process for the nominees and said he hopes for bipartisanship. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] “I’m very supportive of the nominees submitted by President Trump to serve on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Graham said in a prepared statement. “These are highly qualified nominees and I am hopeful they will receive wide bipartisan…

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Embezzlement, Theft Charges Against Pennsylvania Labor Kingpin May Cripple Dems’ 2020 Machine

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by Tim Pearce   Pennsylvania Democrats are worried about the short-term future of their political machine after authorities charged a Philadelphia labor leader with numerous counts of embezzlement, bribery and theft, Politico reports. John Dougherty, the business manager of Philadelphia’s branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and six other labor officials were indicted on 116 charges related to lavish misuse if union funds and buying influence with corrupt politicians, Philadelphia’s The Inquirer and CBS Philly report. The 159-page indictment was released by the federal court in Pennsylvania Friday. It details more than two years of FBI and IRS operations and raids launched against IBEW Local 98 offices, union officials and their homes. Dougherty used union funds as his “personal bank account and as a means to obtain employment for himself, his family, and his friends,” the indictment says, according to The Inquirer. “I got a different world than most people ever exist in,” Dougherty says according to the transcript of a 2015 FBI wiretap put in the indictment. Dougherty has wielded significant influence across the battleground state, throwing the union’s power and purse behind politicians, largely democrats, running for local, state and national offices. “I would argue they’re the single-most effective political organization in the…

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Commentary: The Real Reason Democrats Have Postponed Barr’s Confirmation Is All About ‘Russia’ and 2020

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by Julie Kelly   After what seemed to be a done deal following a relatively smooth public hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee now has delayed until February 7 the vote to confirm William Barr, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general. The reason, according to news reports, is lingering concerns about how Trump’s incoming attorney general would manage the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which is soon expected to conclude. Despite Barr’s repeated assurances that he will follow Justice Department rules in his handling of Mueller’s final report, as well as a pledge to resist any attempted interference by the White House, Democrats on the committee remain unconvinced. “[Barr’s] answer was not particularly reassuring or clear as to the public disclosure of the Mueller report,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell earlier this week. Democrats also have accused Barr of bias against the Mueller investigation based on a detailed memo he authored last year that objected to the special counsel’s reported interest in whether President Trump obstructed justice. Some have suggested Barr should recuse himself from the investigation, which would be a repeat of a terrible mistake made by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017. The committee’s vote is scheduled to take…

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Eight Things to Know About Stacey Abrams

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Stacey Abrams

by Rachel del Guidice   Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives who lost a race for governor in November, will deliver the Democrats’ rebuttal Tuesday night to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Here are eight things you should know about Abrams: 1. She ‘Wouldn’t Oppose’ Noncitizen Voting Abrams, 45, said on the PBS show “Firing Line” that she isn’t opposed to people who aren’t U.S. citizens voting in local elections. The show’s host, Margaret Hoover, had asked Abrams about jurisdictions such as San Francisco that allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections, Fox News reported. “I think there’s a difference between municipal and state and federal,” Abrams responded. “The granularity of what cities decide is so specific, as to, I think, allow for people to be participants in the process without it somehow undermining our larger democratic ethic that says that you should be a citizen to be a part of the conversation.” “So, in some cases, you would be supportive of noncitizens voting?” Hoover asked. “I wouldn’t be—I wouldn’t oppose it,” Abrams said. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there…

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President Trump Sits Down with ‘Face the Nation’ to Discuss The Wall, Afghanistan, Russia, and More

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President Donald Trump is refusing to rule out the possibility of another partial government shutdown to win congressional approval of funding for a wall along the southern border with Mexico. But he also signaled strongly he plans to declare a national emergency to build the barrier without assent from lawmakers. “I don’t take anything off the table,” Trump told the CBS News show “Face the Nation” in an interview broadcast Sunday, a week after a record 35-day shutdown of a quarter of government operations was ended. “I don’t like to take things off the table. It’s that alternative.” But the U.S. leader said, “It’s national emergency, it’s other things and you know there have been plenty national emergencies called. And this really is an invasion of our country by human traffickers.” “These are people that are horrible people bringing in women mostly, but bringing in women and children into our country,” he said. “Human trafficking. And we’re going to have a strong border. And the only way you have a strong border is you need a physical barrier. You need a wall. And anybody that says you don’t, they’re just playing games.” Watch the full interview: He assailed House Speaker…

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A Little-Noticed Opinion Portends Big Changes for Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court

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by Kevin Daley   The Supreme Court’s conservative bloc released a short, little-noticed statement on Jan. 22 that portends far-reaching changes for religious liberty. The statement — which Justice Samuel Alito authored and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined — criticized the 1990 Employment Division v. Smith decision, a landmark ruling that held laws interfering with religious exercise are constitutional provided that they apply to everyone and are neutrally enforced. “In Employment Division v. Smith the Court drastically cut back on the protection provided by the free exercise clause,” Alito wrote. “In this case, however, we have not been asked to revisit that decision.” In the understated parlance of the Supreme Court, it was a clarion call for litigants to bring cases challenging Smith. It was all the more remarkable in that four justices signed onto the statement, an uncommon occurrence for opinions of this nature. The late Justice Antonin Scalia authored the 5-4 Smith ruling. Outrage at the decision prompted passage of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which requires courts to subject federal action that infringes on religious practice to the highest degree of scrutiny. More recently, something approaching an anti-Smith consensus has developed on the right. Most…

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Colorado State Senate Votes to Strip the People’s Voice in Presidential Elections

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by Jay Whig   Colorado, having cast its electoral votes for a loser in the 2016 presidential election, may not be content merely to be a one-time loser. The Colorado State Senate voted Tuesday – along party lines – to adopt Senate Bill 19-042, a bill to require that Colorado’s electors vote in presidential elections according to the national popular vote. The remarkable lesson Colorado Democrats have taken from their 2016 loss: best to forego a say in presidential elections altogether. It is hard to keep up with this sort of political genius. Had a law like SB 19-042 been in effect in 2016, it would have made not an iota of difference. Colorado’s electors cast their ballots for the candidate who won the national popular vote, because that is how the people of Colorado chose to vote. But if the bill clears the Colorado State House – sources say it is assured to win the governor’s signature – that exercise of political choice will be a thing of the past. Coloradans’ votes in the only national elections in America will be like – well, you know – to a gelding, just a memory. It can’t be lost on Colorado Democrats that there is no…

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Minnesota’s Premier Think Tank Ramps Up Efforts to Expose ‘Bad Ideas’ at Minnesota Capitol

Anthony Gockowski

The Center of the American Experiment, Minnesota’s leading think tank, has launched a new Capitol Watch project to monitor the radical bills and the people behind them at the Minnesota State Capitol. Since the start of the 2019 session, the Minnesota House and Senate have already introduced a combined 1,482 pieces of legislation. As The Minnesota Sun has reported, among these bills are proposals to make Minnesota a sanctuary state, ban plastic straws across Minnesota, legalize marijuana, and the like. “The idea of Capitol Watch is to shine a light on what’s happening over at the Capitol. There are a lot of very silly legislative proposals, there are a lot of very bad ideas, some of which are probably going to pass, that really need to be exposed as they get introduced and as they work their way through the system,” Center of the American Experiment President John Hinderaker told The Minnesota Sun. As an example of the sort of thing Capitol Watch will seek to expose, Hinderaker pointed to a DFL legislative priority to introduce a 50 percent renewable energy mandate in Minnesota. One bill, Senate File (SF) 425, wants to make Minnesota the first state in the nation…

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There’s a New Tea Party Brewing… in Moscow

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by Vera Kichanova   As Moscow celebrated its 870th anniversary, a futuristic $245 million Zaryadye Park was inaugurated in the heart of the capital — a generous present from Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to his citizens. The 32-acre park includes a ‘floating bridge,’ a piece of tundra, and even an ice cave. The miracle was designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, creators of the iconic High Line in New York, who describe Zaryadye as a piece of “wild urbanism.” Moscovian Politics Is Still Outdated “Wild urbanism” sounds like an ideal description of Sobyanin’s policy. Since he was appointed by Vladimir Putin in 2010, the Moscow mayor was trying to make the Russian capital look like any other modern capital — by flagrantly unmodern, Soviet/USSR-like means. To bring “order to city planning,” he bulldozed hundreds of kiosks overnight, leaving some one thousand citizens unemployed. More recently, he ordered to tear down 10 percent of Moscow’s housing stock and, in a Stalin-like manner, relocate 1.6 million inhabitants against their will. Last weekend, while Sobyanin was cutting the ribbon of Zaryadye Park, his administration was preparing another “present” for the citizens. Bloggers published a video where the deputy head of a local council in Moscow teaches her colleagues the…

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Commentary: The Trump Effect

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by Robert Curry   I have a friend who tells me that attempts to understand Donald Trump in the ordinary ways we understand politicians, even truly remarkable politicians, are doomed to failure. My friend is pointing to the astonishing revelations Trump has precipitated. One such effect is that people in public life are ripping off their masks – and what is being revealed is shocking. Bill Kristol has told us he is all for the deep state. George Will came out in support of the co-head of the Clinton crime family. James Comey stood before the whole world to explain why Hillary should be indicted – and then said she would not be indicted. And just look at what the Democrats are doing. They now openly advocate that America open its borders to all comers. They have abandoned “safe, legal, and rare” and are now in a hurry to legalize infanticide. The Democrats are done with hiding their real intentions from voters. That’s amazing, when you think about it. Until now, hiding their real intentions has been the secret of their electoral success. The important point is that we now know who these people have been all along. They are simply making known…

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Report: Vaccination Company’s Poor Safety Protocols Cause Infections Across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana

Andrew Shirley

The Kentucky Department for Public Health has announced that Location Vaccination, a company that provides vaccinations for businesses, is currently being investigated for causing an untold number of infections across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. According to the Department of Public Health (DPH) Report, there is no issue with the actual vaccination, nor are there any issues with vaccination supply. Instead, the report says it appears that “improper storage and handling of the vaccine” led to contamination which is responsible for the infections. The provider has suspended shipping vaccinations indefinitely. Some patients have reported signs of infection as soon as a few days, while others have had symptoms appear more than twelve weeks after immunization. As a precaution, the DPH is advising anyone that has been vaccinated by this organization to immediately seek medical evaluation. In addition, there is a concern that the infection has hindered the effectiveness of the vaccinations and individuals should be revaccinated to ensure the integrity of the process. No numbers have been provided as to how many people were immunized with contaminated vaccinations, though we know the provider was primarily operating in Kentucky will smaller operations in Indiana and Ohio. While contaminated vaccinations are deeply concerning, the potential…

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DFL State Reps Want Task Force to Consider Redesigning Minnesota Flag

Anthony Gockowski

A group of DFL state representatives has introduced a bill in the Minnesota House that would establish a task force to “study the design of the state flag” and consider potential alternatives. House File (HF) 505 was introduced Thursday and referred to the Government Operations Committee. It was authored by four DFL House members, including Reps. Peter Fischer (D-Maplewood), Jamie Becker-Finn (D-Roseville), Dave Pinto (D-St. Paul), and Jim Davnie (D-Minneapolis). The bill would create a “legislative task force” consisting of three House members and three state senators who would study the design of the Minnesota flag. “The task force shall study the form, style, and design of the state flag and suggest any desired changes, while preserving its basic symbolism. The task force may solicit and secure the voluntary service and aid of vexillologists and other persons who have either technical or artistic skill in flag construction and design,” the bill states. It’s unclear exactly what the issue with the current flag design is, but this isn’t the first time Minnesota has considered redesigning its flag. In 2017, a group of Minnesotans launched a petition to urge former Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) to change the state’s “shameful” flag design. “Our…

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Paying More Than Asking Price, Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt Spends $654,500 with Campaign Donor to Expand Parking for Communications Center

Laura Baigert

Sumner County’s Executive Anthony Holt executed a deal in which he spent $654,500 to purchase – from a campaign contributor – additional parking for the County’s Emergency Communications Center, which has been in the news over the past several months for ongoing operational problems. Sumner’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is a consolidation of the 9-1-1 dispatch services for police, fire and medical services that were previously handled separately by the County as well the cities of Gallatin, Hendersonville, Millersville, Portland and Westmoreland, which opened in July 2017. The ECC project has been beset with problems from its outset, including cost overruns and delays in the construction phase of the project. The problems – most recently reported on in The Portland Sun – are related to the daily operations of the center including high turnover of dispatchers and the resignation of the director and deputy director. The functional result of these issues is that the various emergency service agencies, fire, law enforcement and ambulance, are not getting the information they need to respond appropriately to Sumner County residents’ calls. According to the meeting minutes of December 2018 and January 2019 ECC Executive Committee, comprised of all of the city mayors, the county…

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Yet Another Tennessee Law Enforcement Agency, Sullivan County, Blasted for Misusing Seized Property

Chris Butler

Tennessee Comptrollers have called out officials in yet another county for doing a lousy job keeping tabs on evidence they seize from other people — this time in Sullivan County. According to Comptrollers, deputies with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office kept this property a lot longer than they should have. “When reviewing the evidence logs, auditors were assured that all seized cash had been deposited into the official bank account used for evidence. However, during a review of the evidence room with the officers on duty, we observed that cash totaling $42,141 was being maintained in a safe. This cash related to approximately 66 cases dating as far back as 2005,” auditors wrote. “Evidence logs for many of these cases indicated that these seized funds had been deposited in a prior year. Since evidence logs were not adequately updated and maintained, we were unable to determine if the office properly accounted for all evidence and seized property. All seized cash in the safe was deposited subsequent to June 30, 2018.” Auditors also called out the county’s evidence custodian for not always issuing property receipts. “From our review, only two property receipts were issued by the evidence custodian for the entire…

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Sebastian Gorka Commentary: Who Do Our Intelligence Agencies Think They Work For?

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by Sebastian Gorka   It was a mistake to disband the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1945, just months after we had won World War II. Within just two years, President Truman realized he had to have a permanent intelligence capability and so in 1947 he signed the National Security Act, which, in addition to creating the National Security Council as the highest national security policymaking body in the U.S. government, created the Central Intelligence Agency out of the ashes of the OSS. Since 1947, the U.S. Intelligence Community has grown and grown. Originally it was given the task of collecting intelligence on our Cold War adversaries. After the September 11 attacks, it was expanded and reorganized to include today’s 17 agencies. But whether it was just the OSS during the war, or the 17 federal agencies we have today, the mission of the American intelligence was always the same: to provide its sole client with raw intelligence and analysis so that he can make his decisions on how best to secure America and her citizens. That end-user, of course, is the incumbent president. This week’s “Fake News” swirling around the Director of National Intelligence’s (DNI) testimony before Congress…

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Trump Unloads on Pelosi: ‘Very Bad for Our Country’

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The president of the United States has lambasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her “very bad for our country” and saying that “she doesn’t mind human trafficking” because she opposes designating money for a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico. In an interview Friday with CBS News, Donald Trump said Pelosi is “very rigid” and that she is attempting “to win a political point” by refusing to give him money for the wall that was a major component of his successful presidential campaign. During the campaign, however, Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has refused. Now Trump wants Congress to give him money for the border wall, and the Democrats who are in control of the House of Representatives have refused. “Democrats have put forward strong, smart and effective border security solutions in the bipartisan conference committee,” said Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesman, adding that the president “still refuses to take a second shutdown off the table.” Trump recently ended a 35-day partial government shutdown without getting the $5.7 billion he wanted for the wall. National emergency option The president said Friday he will consider calling for a “national emergency” as the path forward to…

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Students Sue Pennsylvania School District Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Bible Ban

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by Joshua Gill   Cumberland County High School students filed a lawsuit against their Pennsylvania school district over what they call an unconstitutional ban on distributing the Bible on campus. The students, leaders of the Christians in Action Student Club, filed their lawsuit against Mechanicsburg Area School District (MASD) Wednesday with the help of Independence Law Center after the district refused to rescind its policies preventing the students from handing out Bibles on campus during non-instructional hours. The law firm, a local pro-bono legal organization, initially sent a letter to school district administrators challenging them to rescind their “Bible ban.” The school district responded to the challenge, claiming the law firm’s allegations were “misleading” and that the students never formally requested to hand out Bibles and were therefore never officially prohibited from distributing scripture. The law firm disputed the district’s claim, saying that email records proved otherwise. “Despite what the school district has later said, the students requested permission to share Bibles at lunch and were explicitly denied the ability to do so by the principal,” Randall Wenger, chief counsel for the law center, said in a press statement. “The principal by email told the students they are ‘not permitted…

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Tennessee Investments in Electric Cars Don’t Seem to Have the Best Track Record

Chris Butler

Some research shows manufacturers of electric cars wouldn’t make a tidy profit in a pure free market system because, at least right now, there isn’t enough demand for that product. So that’s why government gets involved. Tennessee officials have done a lot this decade to help subsidize and promote electric cars, and they’ve reportedly done so again. As The Tennessee Star reported, state officials have given Volkswagen some type of concessions to compel the company to build electric cars in Chattanooga. As Nashville Public Radio reported, state officials spent years pitching the state as Volkswagen’s best choice for an electric car manufacturing facility. “Drew Frye, Technology Innovation Engineer at TVA, confirms the utility and other transportation stakeholders have met for several years to build out the state’s electric vehicle network,” according to Nashville Public Radio. The state’s Department of Environment and Conservation, the radio network went on report, helped make the pitch to Volkswagen. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, former Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen said in 2010 that during the coming decade we’d see a surge of electric vehicles on the state’s roads and highways. So certain of it, he handed out $2.5 million in government money…

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Pressure Mounts Against Northam to Resign After Racist Photo Revealed

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Calls are mounting for Virginia’s governor to step down from office after the emergence of a racist photo in which he appeared in his medical school yearbook more than 30 years ago. Ralph Northam apologized Friday for the “racist and offensive” costume seen on his 1984 medical school yearbook page. In a video statement, Northam said the photo does not reflect the person he is today. “I cannot change the decisions I made, nor can I undo the harm my behavior caused then and today,” he added. “But I accept responsibility for my past actions, and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust.” The page features a photograph of a person in blackface and another in full Ku Klux Klan garb. The governor has indicated he is one of the people in the photograph but has not said which one. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus have urged him to step down. “Ralph Northam has had three decades to know better but only now does he acknowledge this racist act,” the Congressional Black Caucus posted on Twitter. “An apology now isn’t enough. He must resign.” The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus posted…

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Joe Biden Once Endorsed Segregation, Calling it ‘Black Pride’

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by Grace Carr   Former Vice President Joe Biden and a possible candidate in the next presidential election formerly argued that integration would keep black people from fully embracing their identities and rejected busing as an attempt to desegregate schools. “I think the concept of busing … that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest, is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride,” then-senator Biden said in 1975 after facing criticism from white voters, The Washington Examiner reported Friday. Desegregation is “a rejection of the entire black awareness concept,” Biden said, according to the Examiner. Biden was a Delaware Senator from 1973 to 2009. His statements follow those he made during his 1972 run for Senate when he supported the federally-mandated practice of busing. Biden previously claimed he knew segregation and busing were terrible things, but flipped-flopped on the issue following voter backlash, according to the Examiner. He described busing in his 2007 biography as a “liberal train wreck” that tore people apart in the 1970s. “People have to be held accountable,” said University of Cleveland urban studies…

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Mark West Commentary: Her Name Was Annie

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by Mark West   It was the period before Time… better known as Eternity Past. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit opened the Book of Life. In it they wrote down her name. Annie. Her beauty was angelic. Her features were flawless. Her heart was tender. Her birth was predestined. Her parents were chosen. And Annie’s life to come was joyfully celebrated. The triune God along with the angels of heaven were eager for the day when little Annie would be conceived. Annie’s future was to be a bright one. Not only would she bring extreme joy to her parents, she would also be the one to reconcile them to God, through the miracle of her birth. Annie would bring hope and relief to millions. As she grew she would become a medical doctor, and God would use Annie to discover the cure to a cursed disease that had taken the lives of so many in the world. But wait. Eternity Past would first need to intersect with Time — for a few short millenniums. As Time briefly took center stage, the day of Annie’s conception approached. And then it arrived. Annie’s first moment of…

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Commentary: School Choice Also Gives Teachers Like Me More Choice

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by Daniel Buck   During a moment of small group discussion in a professional development session, a teacher near me gave his opinion: Look, I’ve learned a few things in my time here, and that’s to only do these sorts of things on the days the administration comes in to watch. In most school buildings, there smolders an animosity of which most people aren’t aware between teachers and administrators. It shows up in staff meetings. It’s heard in teachers’ lounge gossip. “If only they trusted us and gave us the freedom to do our jobs as we saw fit,” goes the refrain of frustrated teachers. This tension, while a problem in itself, is indicative of a larger issue. There is a handful of different ways to teach that are based on different educational theories; public schools, not committed to any particular theory, mandate a poor mixture of them all onto their teachers. Private schools, a different option where the curriculum may be more aligned to individual beliefs, contain only 10 percent of school enrollment, leaving most teachers to teach a hodgepodge curriculum with which they don’t agree. It’s a matter, then, of hampered choice. The Problem A quick overview of…

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Schumer Aide Sexual Misconduct Revealed During Late-Friday News Cycle

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by Chuck Ross   A top aide to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was reportedly quietly forced to resign in November 2018 over improper sexual relationships with junior staffers that made some of his colleagues uncomfortable. Matt House announced in November 2018 he was leaving Schumer’s office, where he had served as communications director for the past six years. Prior to that, he worked for Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign. Speculation swirled about why House left his prestigious role, especially given that he did not transfer into another high-profile gig. But according to The Huffington Post, House was forced out because of inappropriate sexual relationships with Schumer staffers. HuffPo reported the story Friday night, while all eyes were on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who admitted to wearing blackface or a KKK robe in a 1984 yearbook photo. “Upon learning that he had inappropriate encounters within the office and that it was making some staff uncomfortable, he was asked to leave,” a spokesperson for Schumer told HuffPo. House also acknowledged he behaved inappropriately, attributing his problems to excessive drinking. “I deeply regret the mistakes I made on the number of occasions when I had too much to drink, and…

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Sherrod Brown Calls Howard Schultz a ‘Total Idiot’ After Announcing Independent Run

Andrew Shirley

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is not mincing words when it comes to former Starbucks CEO, and 2020 independent candidate hopeful, Howard Schultz. Within 24 hours of launching his “Dignity of Work” tour, Brown told a group of voters that Schultz was a “total idiot.” Strangely, the Senator was not prompted, in any way, as to what his opinion on Schultz was. The broadside came on Friday during a farmers roundtable in Perry, Iowa. When a voter expressed his concern with dark money and PACs during the 2020 cycle, Brown interjected: “Yeah, I mean you got this idiot Schultz running, maybe. He’s an idiot, I mean, he’s a total idiot.” Schultz has neither formally launched his candidacy, nor has established a disproportionate amount of PACs supporting him at this point. It can be inferred that Senator Brown was referencing the fact that Schultz is the first billionaire to enter the race. When the voter continued his question, directly asking the Ohio senator  if he would accept PAC money, he replied: “Well, I have not decided yet.” He then intimated that it doesn’t matter where the money comes from as his record speaks for itself. The issue of PAC money is already proving to…

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Zero Democrats Co-Sponsor Bill That Would Tackle Female Genital Mutilation in Minnesota

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) recently introduced a bill that would expand the criminal definition of female genital mutilation (FGM), but zero Democratic House colleagues have signed on as co-sponsors. Under current Minnesota law, it is illegal for doctors to perform FGM, but there are no penalties in place for parents who subject their children to the gruesome procedure, a press release from Franson’s office explains. “The threat of female genital mutilation remains a very serious issue facing our state,” Franson said. “We need to send a clear message to parents that there are consequences for this practice. I will always stand up for the safety of little girls, and will keep working to put an end to this abusive practice and punish parents who subject their daughters to these often life-threatening horrors.” This is Franson’s second go at passing an FGM-related bill. During the 2017 session, her bill passed the House in a 124-4 vote, but never even received a hearing in the Senate, which Republicans have yet to explain. Franson’s new bill, House File (HF) 373, would expand the criminal definition of FGM in Minnesota to make any “parent, guardian, or other person legally responsible or charged with…

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Awaiting Trial, Justin Jones Protests Nathan Bedford Forrest

Chris Butler

Justin Jones, who allegedly broke the law and caused the biggest disruption at a Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville last fall is in the news again. This time, Jones and Jeneisha Harris made the news for reportedly protesting a bust of Confederate Army General Nathan Bedford Forrest at the state capitol, according to the Knoxville-based WATE. “We are angry,” said Harris, identified as a Tennessee State University student. “We are tired of being tired of asking for the same thing.” Harris, Jones, and others delivered a signed letter to Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee. In the letter, they asked Lee to take down the bust of Forrest and move it to the state museum, according to the station. Jones, a Vanderbilt divinity student, told members of the media that Lee and members of his office had ignored his repeated emails requesting an appointment. As The Tennessee Star reported last month, members of the Davidson County District Attorney General’s office are scheduled to prosecute Jones in March on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest. In a story that made national headlines, Jones caused a scene at a campaign rally for then-U.S. Senate Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn in late October. Blackburn won the…

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Fired Williamson County Teacher Sues to Clear Her Name

Chris Butler

FRANKLIN — A former teacher dismissed from her job in Williamson County wants the people who allegedly helped to get her fired to retract a written statement they made about her. And that woman, Nedra Finney, is using the courts to try to make that happen. Finney and her Nashville-based attorney Michael Clemons filed a defamation lawsuit against two parents she says wrote a letter that cost her her job. The parents, who are unidentified, allegedly wrote a letter to members of the Franklin Special School District and accused Finney of mistreating their child and acting unprofessional on the job. Finney told The Tennessee Star the accusations are untrue. On Tuesday, Finney and Clemons attended a hearing where those parents, who did not attend, made a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Finney filed against them. In her lawsuit, Finney said all she wants is for the parents to write a letter retracting the statements they made about her — and to cover the cost of her legal fees while she tries to exonerate herself. “My understanding is the parents refuse to write a letter of retraction of the false statements,” Finney said. “I didn’t pay much attention to the (Brett)…

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Forbes Calls Tennessee Part of a ‘Southern Taxpayer Safe Space’

Chris Butler

Tennessee is one of four states with a governor that has taken state tax hikes off the table, according to a new article in Forbes. Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are the other three states, according to Patrick Gleason, vice president of state affairs at Americans for Tax Reform. Gleason is also a senior fellow at the Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee, a free market think tank. Gleason said these four states “have experienced some of the nation’s most rapid population growth in recent years.” This is advantageous for people in those states, particularly now, Gleason said, in his Forbes article. “Congressional Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives are already pushing to ratchet up the federal corporate tax rate and hike the top personal income tax rate, which hits a large share of small business income, as high as 70%,” Gleason said. This, while a new lineup of Southern governors carry out low tax and other free market policies in their respective states, Gleason wrote. “One thing that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp all have in common, aside from the fact that they’re all Republicans, is that each one of them signed a…

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Commentary: The Party of Death, Out in the Open

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by Ned Ryun   Safe, legal, and rare was a lie. President Bill Clinton in 1996 told Americans abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” That was then. Now the cult of death, pro-abortion movement has taken over the Democratic Party whole-cloth, and the result is the infanticidal law passed in New York on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Now the party line has shifted to abortion on demand, paid for by taxpayers, at any time, even up until moments before birth: witness what just took place in New York state. The Empire State no more; New York is now the Abortion State. The laws just signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo are as vile as they are expansive. New Yorkers are now legally able to end the life of their unborn child up until the moment of birth. In cases which threaten the health (even the mental health) of the mother or when the unborn child isn’t considered “viable,” a woman now has the right to have lethal injection performed on the child, ending its life just moments before it would enter the world. And you don’t even need a doctor to conduct this abortion; New Yorkers can have…

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New Evidence Refutes Adam Schiff’s Theory About Trump Tower Meeting

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by Chuck Ross   The Senate Intelligence Committee obtained phone records showing Donald Trump Jr. did not speak with his father from a blocked telephone number in the days before the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016. The finding, first reported by CNN, undercuts Democrats’ theory Trump Jr. might have told his father in those phone calls about the Trump Tower meeting, which was held June 9, 2016, with a group of Russians who had offered dirt on Hillary Clinton. Democrats led by California Rep. Adam Schiff long theorized the phone calls were between father and son and that they could have discussed the meeting. “We wanted to get the phone records to determine, was Donald Trump talking to his son about this meeting,” Schiff told CNN in November 2018. “It’s an obvious investigative step, but one the Republicans were unwilling to take because they were afraid of where the evidence might lead.” Phone records provided to the Senate Intelligence panel shows the calls were between Trump Jr. and two business associates, according to CNN. The calls were made in the days before the Trump Tower meeting. Another call occurred several hours after the meeting. The identity of the…

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MTSU Professor Guest Lecturing at Belmont Plays “F*** Trump’ Song

Chris Butler

A Middle Tennessee University music professor apparently went off script during his guest lecture at Belmont University this week and played the song “F**k Donald Trump” over the loudspeaker. Belmont, of course, is a Christian university. Joseph Morgan was the MTSU professor in question. Belmont spokesman Greg Pillon confirmed the incident in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star. “On Wednesday, an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by university officials, was outside the lines of what was expected,” Pillon said. “The university feels betrayed by the deception implicit in the actions of the guest speaker. Belmont University does not endorse the message that was delivered and also strongly objects to the obscene language that was used. We apologize to anyone who was offended as today’s event was not reflective of our Christian identity nor of our institutional commitment to civil political discourse.” According to CampusReform.org, Belmont marketed the event as a music and discourse lecture titled “Popular Music and Presidential Politics.” Morgan instead reportedly delivered a lecture titled “Popular Music…

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Evidence Mounts Against Climate Prediction That Inspired ‘Day After Tomorrow’ Disaster Flick

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by Michael Bastasch   New evidence casts further doubt on model-based predictions that global warming could halt the Gulf Stream currents as part of an alarming scenario that inspired the 2004 disaster film, “The Day After Tomorrow.” For years, scientists warned global warming could halt the Atlantic’s “conveyor belt” and foment extreme weather and raise sea levels from North America to Europe. That prediction is based on climate models that, the new study found, may be analyzing the wrong thing. “Some of these models are producing five times the amount of Labrador Sea water they should be producing, based on observations,” lead author Susan Lozier, a professor at Duke University, told The Washington Post Friday. Lozier’s study found that climate models overestimate the role of the Labrador Sea west of Greenland in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The study found the Nordic Sea east of Greenland played a dominant role in the AMOC. Lozier led an international effort to measure AMOC in the North Atlantic. Scientists from 16 organizations launched the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP) in 2014, and now released data collected during the first 21 months of operations. Some researchers cautioned that 21 months…

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Commentary: Democrats’ Nutty Ideas Doomed to Drive Americans Back to the GOP

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by Jeffrey A. Randall   Democrat leaders’ outlandishly rude behavior during and after the recently halted government shutdown brought to mind a memorable quote from the classic 1990’s bowling comedy Kingpin: Roy Munson: “Brother Thomas, you know what it says in the Bible about not forgiving people.” Thomas: “Why don’t you tell us all what it says Brother Hezakiah.” Roy Munson: “Well, it’s a… It’s against it.” You’re forgiven if you chuckled at lovable dunce Roy Munson’s ignorance of scripture (the actual scene clip is here); the over-the-top goofy movie wasn’t intended to directly make fun of religion, though there’s been plenty of that lately from the usual loony leftist sources…and it isn’t funny. The point here is “forgiveness” has been in awful short supply these days, with Democrats and their fans in the establishment media preferring the more recognizable and odious route of out-and-out resistance to President Donald Trump’s sane governing overtures. Trump’s position on the necessity of a border barrier has been ridiculed and lampooned by many of the same Democrats who were more than happy to be caught on tape over the years extolling the virtues of a border wall and the need to quell the flow…

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Boy Scouts Welcome Girls Into Their Ranks

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The Boy Scouts of America welcomed girls into its ranks Friday. For almost a year young girls have been able to join the Cub Scouts. But starting Friday, girls 11-17 years old can participate in the Boy Scouts program, now called Scouts BSA. That curriculum is the path to becoming an Eagle Scout, the organization’s highest rank. Co-ed troops, however, are not planned for Scouts BSA. Boys and girls will be able to earn the same merit badges and advance through the same ranks. According to a statement on the the Boy Scouts of America’s website, “The leadership of the BSA determined that the best way to welcome girls and serve today’s families was to offer a unique model that builds on the proven benefits of our single-gender program, while also providing character and leadership opportunities for both boys and girls.” – – –                 VOA News

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Oak Ridge, Tennessee Plans to Fight School Vouchers

Chris Butler

Members of the Oak Ridge Board of Education say they are drafting a formal resolution opposing school vouchers, and they plan to forward it to state legislators. This is the second known local government entity in Tennessee to take a stand against school choice. According to the most recent draft of the Oak Ridge resolution, board members complain that, under school choice, private schools have standards to enroll or remove any students they wish. Board members also complain “voucher programs divert critical dollars and commitment from public schools to pay private school tuition for a few students, including many who already attend private schools.” Board Chairman Keys Fillauer (pictured above: second from right) told The Tennessee Star Friday he also opposes school vouchers for other reasons. “I can even see that opening up some areas where it (vouchers) can almost be used as a recruiting tool for athletes, for example,” Fillauer said. “I don’t feel like vouchers would allow students, if they go to private schools, some type of special education training, either for physical or academic reasons. Finally, I am not sure those who are in favor (of vouchers) have looked at the issue of what transportation needs might…

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Illegal Immigrants Are Trying to Starve Themselves to Death in Hunger Strike

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by Tim Pearce   Nearly a dozen illegal immigrants at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Texas are refusing to eat as part of a hunger strike against alleged verbal abuse by guards, The Associated Press reported. ICE officials confirmed Thursday to the AP that 11 detainees at the El Paso Processing Center have refused to eat at least nine consecutive meals. Detainees and others connected with those inside the facility say roughly 30 men are actively participating in the hunger strike. Officials at the El Paso facility have inserted nasal tubes into six detainees to force feed them and keep them alive. Hunger strikes at ICE facilities are scarce and situations where a court order is obtained to force feed a detainee is almost unheard of, an ICE official told the AP. “Nine of the 11 detainees missed their ninth consecutive meal, triggering hunger strike protocols, in late December and early January,” ICE spokeswoman Dani Bennett said in a statement, according to CNN. ICE did not comment on the motivation for the hunger strike, the El Paso Times reported. “It’s just the discrimination. They observe it, they see it. That’s what sparked that,” Michigan-based lawyer Ruby Kaur,…

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New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker Launches 2020 Bid

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U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Friday declared his bid for the presidency in 2020 with a sweeping call to unite a deeply polarized nation around a “common purpose.” The New Jersey Democrat, who is the second black candidate in a primary field that’s already historically diverse, delivered his message of unity amid an era marked by bitter political division. “I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind; where parents can put food on the table; where there are good-paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood; where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins; where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame,” Booker said in the video, subtly jabbing at President Donald Trump. “It is not a matter of can we, it’s a matter of do we have the collective will, the American will?” he added. “I believe we do.” Booker enters what’s shaping up to be a crowded presidential primary, with three of his fellow Democratic senators – Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York –…

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