Day: March 5, 2019

Nashville District Attorney’s Office Files to Revoke Bond for Left-Wing Activist Justin Jones, Records Show

Chris Butler

Members of Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk’s office have filed a motion to revoke the bond for left-wing activist Justin Jones, according to an official with the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office. This, as Jones is out on bond for allegedly disrupting a Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate rally in Nashville last October. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, authorities arrested Jones last Thursday after he allegedly threw a drink at Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada at the state capitol. Jones goes by his full name, Justin Bautista-Jones, in his arrest docket, said Nicholas Kiefer, courts director for state trial courts. Someone in Funk’s office filed the motion to revoke Jones’ bond late Monday, Kiefer said. “Basically, at this point, until a judge has a hearing on it, nothing [will happen],” Kiefer said. “What will happen is either on his [Jones’] next court date, or, if the parties decide to set a court date that is sooner, the court will hear arguments related to that motion from the state and from the defense and then the court will issue whatever ruling it deems fit.” Jones’ next court appearance from his arrest last fall — a…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Justin Owen from the Beacon Center Talks About Governor Lee’s Plan to Reform the Tennessee Criminal Justice System

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion on Monday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Steve Gill talked in depth with the Beacon Centers CEO, Justin Owen about the Beacon’s support of Bill Lee’s criminal justice reform proposal and the implications of offering non-violent criminals a chance to receive education and enter the workforce instead of returning back through the prison’s revolving doors. The men ended the segment covering the aspect of vocational training reform and it’s implementations effect on Texas. Gill: Justin Owen is the President and CEO of the Beacon Center and here to explain what is the rationale for the support that the Beacon Center is giving to, among other things the college for criminals plan that Governor Bill Lee is putting out. And Justin good to have you with us. Owen: Good to be on Steve, thanks for inviting me on. Gill: A lot of stuff on this issue. The Governor hadn’t put out a lot of details, they’ve not answered questions that we’ve submitted to them about how much it’s going to cost and…

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Republican Senate Leaders Praise Gov. Lee’s ‘Conservative’ Budget in State of the State Address

Jason M. Reynolds

Reactions poured in from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s first State of the State and budget address, which was delivered Monday night. The responses included statements by three Republican Senate leaders. Lt. Gov. and Sen. Randy McNally (R-TN-05) said: “In his first State of the State address, Bill Lee rightly pointed out the successes of the past while charting a new course for the future. His words tonight lived up to the promise of his campaign. Governor Lee laid out a clear, coherent and conservative message which will resonate across all three grand divisions. I appreciated his emphasis on fiscal responsibility noting the importance of keeping debt low, our savings account balance high and our budget balanced. He is committed not just to growing our prosperity but sharing it with those portions of our state most in need. I am committed to working with him to expand educational opportunity, redouble our efforts on mental health and reform our approach to criminal justice. Together with Speaker Casada and the State House, we will help Tennessee lead the nation.” Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jack Johnson (R-TN-23) said: “I am glad to see Governor Lee’s budget reflects conservative budgeting and adds a record deposit to the rainy day…

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Commentary: One Hundred Years of Teaching Children Lies About America

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by George Rasley   “Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well by creating the international child of the future.”    Chester M. Pierce, Harvard psychiatrist, speaking as an expert in public education at the 1973 International Education Seminar. Dishonesty is one of the Left’s most significant vulnerabilities, but it also the source of much of the Left’s power. And the Left’s anti-American propaganda is having a big impact. According to a McLaughlin poll following the recent State of the Union, nearly ​90 percent​ of self-identified liberal Republicans; ​85 percent​ of wealthy; ​66 percent​ of 18-29 year olds, and ​64 percent​ of active duty military believe America is the source of most of the world’s ills: political, economic, and environmental. How did we get to a place where 64 percent of the men and women defending our country believe it is the source of most of…

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Commentary: The Totalitarian Impulse of the Democrats’ ‘New’ Socialism Is Showing in Venezuela

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by Anna Paulina   The “new” socialism that is rapidly gaining adherents within the Democrat Party bears a striking resemblance to the totalitarian ideology that just drove oil-rich Venezuela to the point of mass starvation. They might not even realize it themselves, but beneath the facade of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “democratic socialism” and Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Bernie bros” movement lies the same authoritarian spirit that animates every socialist experiment. American socialists and their liberal supporters tend to become extremely defensive when their ideology is compared to that of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, insisting they only wish to implement the variety of socialism that prevails in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, despite those countries constantly telling Americans they are absolutely not socialist. Now that affairs in Venezuela have reached the breaking point and President Trump has put his foot down to call for the dictator Maduro’s departure, the Democrats’ socialist brigades are shifting gears and trying to downplay the brutality of that regime. Sanders, the godfather of contemporary “democratic-socialism” in the U.S., is refusing to say that the reign of Maduro and his increasingly violent band of Chavistas must end, but still ran afoul of his comrades by calling on the Venezuelan strongman to allow…

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Tennessee Home Education Association Schedules Home School Rally Day

Chris Butler

Members of the Tennessee Home Education Association have scheduled their yearly Home School Rally Day March 19 at the state House of Representatives Chambers on the second floor of the Tennessee capitol. THEA President Claiborne Thornton told The Tennessee Star Monday this is an annual event members of the group have held since 1985. “We found it impractical to invite all the legislators into our homes, so we thought we should go to their home,” Thornton said. “We go there and ask home schoolers to come from across the state and to get appointments with legislators and have a meeting with them. We have a program to encourage folks to be there and have displays in the halls and want to make it possible for people to see what is going on with homeschooling right there in their own offices.” One scheduled event is a Davy Crockett Statesman’s Student Congress Debate Tournament. Thornton said he did not know how many homeschoolers will show at the capitol later this month. This is especially because, as far as he knows, there are no bills in this year’s legislative session that affect them. “The first lesson that most children learn is how to…

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Healthy Tennessee Launches Challenge to Encourage High School Students to Educate Peers on Opioid Abuse Dangers

Jason M. Reynolds

A new program is inviting Tennessee high school students to create action plans to educate their peers and loved ones about the dangers of opioid abuse and campaign to stay drug-free. Healthy Tennessee and Franklin Mayor Ken Moore will host a press conference at the Franklin City Hall on Wednesday (1 p.m.) to announce the launch of the Healthy Tennessee Challenge. “We’re excited for the opportunity to hear the ideas and solutions of our state’s young people, said Dr. Manny Sethi of Healthy Tennessee. “We believe these bright and energetic minds hold many of the answers to defeating the scourge of opioid addiction and we want to reward them for leading the charge.” Winners of the Healthy Tennessee Challenge will be chosen from East, Middle and West Tennessee and rewarded a $2,000 prize to implement their plan, according to a press release. Healthy Tennessee holds free health screenings, health care symposiums, and provides health care prevention tips and information on nutrition. Over the past eight years, Healthy Tennessee has worked with Fortune 500 companies, universities and community leaders to make Tennessee a healthier place to live, work and raise a family. More information is online here. Sethi spoke about Healthy Tennessee, the…

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Eric Holder Is Out of the Running for 2020

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by Evie Fordham   Former Attorney General Eric Holder announced he will not be throwing his hat in the ring for the 2020 presidential race Monday. “Though I will not run for president in 2020, I will continue to fight for the future of our country through the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates,” Holder wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. Holder, who was appointed attorney general by then-President Barack Obama in 2009, had been floating a potential run as early as February 2018. He wrote on Twitter Feb. 26 that he supports a plan to create “real democracy” by doing away with the Electoral College’s process. “Change the Electoral College by having a state’s electoral votes go to the national popular vote winner — not the person who won the state. The candidate who gets the most votes — nationally — is elected. Real democracy,” he tweeted. A good reform measure to support. Change the Electoral College by having a state’s electoral votes go to the national popular vote winner – not the person who won the state. The candidate who gets the most votes – nationally – is elected. Real democracy. https://t.co/tPfNWdKQ46 — Eric Holder (@EricHolder) February 26, 2019…

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Joe Biden’s Troubling History on Racial Rhetoric Looms as He Weighs 2020 Presidential Bid

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by Peter Hasson   Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is reportedly on the verge of launching his third presidential campaign, has a history of making racially charged remarks. Biden’s history of questionable remarks on race looms as he enters a crowded Democratic primary where racial issues have taken center stage. 1975: Biden Says De-Segregation ‘Codifies The Concept That A Black Is Inferior To A White’  Biden expressed a separate-but-equal view toward racial desegregation efforts in schools during a 1975 interview with U.S. News & World Report reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. When asked if he believed that busing was doing more harm than good, Biden, who at the time was a senator for Delaware, replied, “Absolutely. Examining the concepts we used to rationalize busing six or seven years ago, they now seem to me to be profoundly racist.” “Busing is harmful for several reasons,” Biden added. First, busing, in effect, codifies the concept that a black is inferior to a white by saying, “The only way you can cut it educationally is if you’re with whites.” I think that’s a horrible concept. It implies that blacks have no reason to be proud of their inheritance and their own culture. Second, busing violates…

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Kavanaugh Warns Of ‘Pure Discrimination’ as Supreme Court Denies Church Bid for Historic Preservation Grant

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by Kevin Daley   The Supreme Court refused Monday to decide whether religious institutions may be disqualified from public historic preservation funding, after a New Jersey court forbade local officials from dispersing $4 million to 12 churches. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a separate opinion addressing the dispute, calling the lower court’s decision “pure discrimination.” “Barring religious organizations because they are religious from a general historic preservation grants program is pure discrimination against religion,” Kavanaugh wrote. “At some point, this Court will need to decide whether governments that distribute historic preservation funds may deny funds to religious organizations simply because the organizations are religious.” Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch joined the Kavanaugh opinion. Morris County, New Jersey awards grants for the maintenance of historically significant structures. Several churches dating back to the colonial period have received public support through that program since 2012. The case at issue Monday arose in April 2016, when the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and a local taxpayer brought a lawsuit claiming the Morris County program violates New Jersey’s constitution. The state constitution provides that no person shall be “obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing any church or churches.” The New Jersey…

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Full Court Press: House Democrats Expand Russia Probe Seeking Documents to Prove ‘Obstruction’

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Declaring it’s “very clear” President Donald Trump obstructed justice, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says the panel is requesting documents Monday from more than 60 people from Trump’s administration, family and business as part of a rapidly expanding Russia investigation. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the House Judiciary Committee wants to review documents from the Justice Department, the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. Former White House chief of staff John Kelly and former White House counsel Don McGahn also are likely targets, he said. “We are going to initiate investigations into abuses of power, into corruption and into obstruction of justice,” Nadler said. “We will do everything we can to get that evidence.” Asked if he believed Trump obstructed justice, Nadler said, “Yes, I do.” Nadler isn’t calling the inquiry an impeachment investigation but said House Democrats, now in the majority, are simply doing “our job to protect the rule of law” after Republicans during the first two years of Trump’s term were “shielding the president from any proper accountability.” “We’re far from making decisions” about impeachment, he said. In a tweet on Sunday, Trump blasted anew the Russia investigation,…

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Commetary: The Democrats’ Real-Life ‘Animal Farm’

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by Victor Davis Hanson   Tennis great Martina Navratilova until recently had long been coronated as a social justice trailblazer. She was one of the first marquee celebrity athletes to come out as gay, and then to advocate lesbian issues in and out of sports. But suddenly the icon seems out of step with her progressive legend status. Navratilova had the temerity to suggest that one’s sex is biologically determined. In other words, transgenderism, even with the imprimatur of the social and biological sciences, cannot trump our innate genetic codes. A frustrated Navratilova was editorializing mostly in the context of men “transitioning” to women, while in many cases still enjoying innate muscular and size advantages over females in same-sex sporting events. As a result, she is being demonized unfairly as an intersectional traitor (“transphobic”) and thus increasingly disinvited from a number of events by what is known as the LGBTQ community. In other words, her intersectional femaleness and gayness are revoked by improper ideology. Barack Obama, once the progressive “god” who was acclaimed to have the power to cool the planet and halt the rising of the seas, had the recent audacity to suggest, quite understandably, that young black teens…

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Andrew McCabe Defends FBI’s Use Of Steele Dossier, Confidential Informant In Trump-Russia Probe

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by Chuck Ross   Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is defending the FBI’s reliance on the Steele dossier as well as the bureau’s use of a confidential informant to make contact with the Trump campaign as part of an investigation into possible collusion with Russia. In an interview as part of a recent book tour, McCabe disputed Republicans’ claims that the FBI misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court about aspects of the dossier in applications warrants to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. And in his book, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, McCabe defended the use of an informant who appears to be Stefan Halper, a longtime FBI and CIA informant who cozied up to Page and two other Trump advisers, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos, during the 2016 campaign. “I do believe that we adequately notified the FISA Court of the information we were using, and what we thought of the information,” McCabe told New York Times reporter Adam Goldman in an interview that aired on C-SPAN on Saturday. McCabe, who was fired from the FBI on March 16, 2018, said that the bureau’s applications for FISA warrants…

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Bill Clinton Has 2020 Advice but Few Candidates Are Seeking It

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Bill Clinton

Nearly 20 years after he left the White House, Bill Clinton is still sought after for advice by some Democrats running for president. But the names on his dance card in recent months underscore how much his standing in the party has changed. So far, none of the party’s early front-runners has had a formal meeting with Clinton. Nor have the women who are running in the historically diverse primary field. Instead, Clinton has spoken mostly with male candidates who are considered longshots for the Democratic nomination, including Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Housing secretary Julian Castro and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney. Clinton remains one of Democrats’ most successful politicians of the last half-century and one of its strongest messengers on the economy. Yet the party has shifted considerably to the left since his two terms in White House, and his personal baggage – as well as lingering hostilities from his wife Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign – make him an awkward adviser for some in his party’s next class of presidential hopefuls. Tensions run particularly deep between the Clintons and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has launched another bid for the White House. The Clintons blame Sanders for…

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Popular Minnesota Gun Control Group Makes ‘Dubious’ Claim That It Is ‘Nonpartisan’

Anthony Gockowski

A representative from Moms Demand Action sat down with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday morning where she repeatedly claimed that the gun-control group is “nonpartisan.” Moms Demand Action is a national organization with chapters in states all across the country that are pushing for gun-control measures, such as the red-flag bill and universal background checks bill that recently cleared the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee. In Minnesota, the organization is often credited for helping flip the Minnesota House from Republicans to Democrats during the 2018 midterm election. “I think I told you last year that if our leaders didn’t pass gun safety legislation then we would elect leaders who will, and that’s exactly what we did. We are just thrilled that the Minnesota House now has a majority that’s committed to taking action to save lives, and they’ve already done that by passing both criminal background checks and red flags out of the public safety committee,” Erin Zamoff of Moms Demand Action told Murphy. She went on to note that “the Minnesota House and the governor are making this a priority in 2019,” and warned the Minnesota Senate that “it’s in their interest to get on board.” “We’re a nonpartisan…

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What to Expect from Ohio Governor DeWine’s State of the State Address

Andrew Shirley

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine is scheduled to give his first State of the State Address Tuesday, but don’t expect any major revelations from it. In an interview last week, the first term governor stated, “I don’t think you’ll find any great surprises,” adding: We’re going to talk about the things that we’ve been talking about — early childhood development. We’re going to talk about the lead paint problem. We’re going to talk about public health issues. We’re going to talk about early childhood education, the drug problem. While these points have shaped his tenure as Governor thus far, there are two areas he did not note but are likely be addressed. The 18 cent gas tax outlined in his proposed Department of Transportation budget has been controversial at best. Should it pass, there will not be an incremental introduction of the tax. Instead, the entire 18 cent hike will go into effect immediately. Although there is a bipartisan consensus that something has to be done about the severe underfunding of road and bridge repair, the amount and effects have been called into question. The Ohio Speaker of the House, Republican Larry Householder recently stated: So the situation that we’re in…

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Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz Commits to 100 Percent Clean Energy By 2050 Despite Struggles During Polar Vortex

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) announced a proposal to make Minnesota a 100 percent clean energy state by 2050 at a press conference Monday morning. “Today I’m excited to be here to propose our One Minnesota path to clean energy—a set of policy proposals that will lead Minnesota to 100 percent clean energy in the state’s electrical sector by 2050. There’s a lot of reasons to be excited about this. Minnesota’s known as a national leader in setting and achieving clean energy goals. There’s now an opportunity to take this leadership to a new level,” Walz said to applause. He said his proposal would build on the success “that Minnesota’s achieved in reducing dependence on fossil fuels, increasing the use of clean energy, promoting energy efficiency, and lowering greenhouse gas pollution produced by the electrical sector.” “The proposal establishes a new standard that requires all electric utilities in Minnesota to use only carbon-free energy resources by 2050, while allowing each utility the flexibility to choose how and in what ways they meet the standard,” he added. Walz also claimed that his proposal would “ensure local hiring and require living wages,” but didn’t elaborate any further. “I have been absolutely clear on…

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Ohio Joins Multiple States in Temporarily Halting Executions, Bringing the Future of Capital Punishment into Question

Andrew Shirley

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In late January when Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine halted all executions statewide, Ohio inadvertently joined a growing list of states that are reexamining capital punishment. Currently, eight states have official holds on all executions. Half of these states, Arizona Louisiana, Montana, and Oklahoma were halted as the result of a court order. The other half, Colorado, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and now Ohio have had moratoriums on executions imposed by their respective governors. When these states are combined with the twenty states that have outlawed capital punishment, for the first time in decades, a majority of the states in the Union are not currently practicing the death penalty. While reasons vary as to why each of the eight states placed their respective holds on capital punishment, the overwhelming majority had one thing in common: complications with drugs used in lethal injections – most notably Midazolam. Most of the drugs that are commonly used in lethal injections are high doses of routinely prescribed drugs. Midazolam is used in countless medical procedures, mostly surgical. In 2013, states began using the anesthesia as the first part of a three-drug cocktail in lethal injections across the country. The drug has now been linked to numerous instances of botched or extremely…

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Special Election Date Set for North Carolina 3rd Congressional District

A.P. Dillon

The date has been set for the special election being held in the 3rd Congressional district of North Carolina. North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper issued a Writ of Election which set the date of July 9, 2019, for the special election. Absentee voting for the special general election will start May 24th. “People in eastern North Carolina need a voice in Congress,” Gov. Cooper said in a statement. “We’re moving ahead so they can choose their new representative quickly.” A primary date of April 30th and Absentee ballot voting for the primary is slated to start March 15th. If a primary runoff situation arises from July 9 election, the special general election will be pushed back to September 10, 2019. Candidates have until March 8th to file to run for the seat. The seat had been held for fourteen years by Republican Walter Jones who passed away February 10th. On January 2nd, Jones indicated that he would not be running again in 2020 and later that month it was announced he had entered into Hospice care. North Carolina Republican Party’s Vice Chairwoman Michele Nix was the first to file for the seat, but others are now lining up. State…

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Governor Bill Lee’s First State of the State Address Strikes a Positive Tone, Receiving 20 Standing Ovations

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In his first State of the State Address, Governor Bill Lee struck an uplifting tone while laying out the four priorities of his legislative and budget agenda in an hour-long speech that received about 20 standing ovations. In a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly held in the House chambers, that also included the Governor’s cabinet and staff as well as a number of invited guests, was standing room only, as were the two gallery areas that overlook the House floor. It was the first State of the State Address not only for the Governor, but for dozens of freshman legislators and Glen Casada (R-Franklin) as Speaker of the House. After acknowledging his wife and First Lady Maria, who he said embodies a Scripture that encourages us to consider others as more important than ourselves, Lee thanked his staff and cabinet and said they’re doing an excellent job. Lee then told of a story that was included in his book, “This Road I’m On, The Power of Hope in the Face of Adversity” about a trip he and his then 16-year old daughter, Jessica, took to Grand Teton National Park to climb one of the highest…

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