Day: March 26, 2019

Tennessee Republican Party Issues Statewide Call For Support of Governor Lee’s Education Savings Account

Laura Baigert

As Governor Bill Lee’s legislation on Education Savings Accounts is set to be voted on by the full House Education Committee on Wednesday, March 27, the Tennessee Republican Party calls for support of his education plan. The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) sent a personalized email Friday saying, “We need your help!” “Governor Lee and Tennessee’s students are counting on us!” The TRP said that Governor Lee “has put forward a bold, conservative plan to ensure that every child in Tennessee has access to a high-quality education.” To help the Governor’s agenda and show support for school choice, the email includes a link to send an automatic email to the respondent’s legislator. The link connects to page with a heading “Show your support for Education Savings Accounts,” and a quote from Governor Bill Lee, “We’re not going to get big results in our struggling schools by nibbling around the edges. That is why we need Education Savings Accounts in Tennessee, this year.” The page goes on to explain ESAs: Education savings account programs (ESAs) give parents greater opportunity to use their state education dollars to find the best learning environment for their children ESAs can be used for school tuition and…

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WCS Superintendent Mike Looney: I Take Full Responsibility For The Development of The Cultural Competency Series Videos

Laura Baigert

FRANKLIN, Tennessee – At a regularly-scheduled meeting of the Williamson County School Board Monday night, Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney told the board and attendees that he takes full responsibility for the development of the controversial Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency series of videos which feature the concept of “white privilege” used for in-service training. Approximately 100 people attended the meeting, many of whom were members of the Cultural Competency Committee Looney formed in January 2018. The meeting agenda allows a 30-minute period for public comments for those who sign up within a 25-minute period prior to the meeting. When the meeting started, it was announced that 16 people had signed up to speak, so each speaker would be allotted and timed for two minutes. About a quarter of the speakers expressed their concerns regarding a re-zoning issue. Five speakers, most of whom appeared to be members of the Cultural Competency Committee, stated their support for the cultural diversity efforts and said they were needed. Four speakers, including the two women who started the WCS TN Parents Want Facts Facebook page, expressed their concerns of the messaging. One of those women, Stefanie Rose Miles, became emotional when she said he had…

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Rep. Cohen Tells MSNBC That Mueller Report ‘Does Not Exonerate the President’

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) has been a critic of President Donald Trump all throughout his presidency, and through his position on the House Judiciary Committee, has been one of the leading Democrats obsessing over the Robert Mueller investigation, which has now concluded. Cohen does not seem to be giving up. Cohen is calling for grilling Mueller in front of the House Judiciary Committee and is dismissing Attorney General William Barr’s statement showing that Mueller’s probe cleared the president. Cohen tweeted, “Barr didn’t make his decision on obstruction after reading the #MuellerReport; he made it in 2018 when he wrote a memo to the DOJ stating that the president couldn’t be charged with obstruction of justice. He’s not a neutral observer! #CultureOfCorruption #ReleaseTheReport” Barr didn’t make his decision on obstruction after reading the #MuellerReport; he made it in 2018 when he wrote a memo to the DOJ stating that the president couldn’t be charged with obstruction of justice. He’s not a neutral observer! #CultureOfCorruption #ReleaseTheReport pic.twitter.com/eCdxAFcVxX — Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) March 25, 2019 Cohen’s tweet links to his appearance on MSNBC Sunday. He said, “First Mueller was not making a traditional prosecutorial judgment. Those are very interesting words. And then as…

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Commentary: The Only Thing ‘Unprecedented’ About Donald Trump is His Refusal to Stand Silent in the Face of Attack

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by Victor Davis Hanson   Peggy Noonan, apparently like many, believes that Trump’s occasional callousness and crassness are unprecedented. And they have so befouled the political landscape that he has spawned rude and crude leftwing imitators. The result allegedly is the vile language of the “mean girls” such as the anti-Semitism and foul speech of Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib: I think we all know where this started, the political brutishness, the ignoring of traditions and norms. Donald Trump is both origin and rationale . . . The mean girls of Congress have learned at his knee. They have taken their tactics from him. They claim to be his reluctant imitators but I think they admire his ferocity. They have a taste for it, and a talent. Collective Amnesia  With all due respect, I don’t think we “all” know that this started with Trump, however crass he can be. Rather, we know all too well the political landscape a decade before Trump. Do we recall the recent deranged talk of 2004-8 from the Democratic Party, the popular culture, and the media – or the relative passivity of the wounded Bush administration in response to such venom? Why, after all, did Alfred…

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OFF THE RECORD: Poll Shows Strong Support for Trump, Lee, and ESA Plan in Key Legislative Districts

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An unsourced poll of 300 registered voters in four State House districts indicates strong support for Governor Bill Lee’s ESA school choice plan — and even stronger support for President Donald Trump and Governor Lee. The four legislative districts where the poll was conducted over March 23-24, 2019 are represented by Republican legislators seen as swing votes in the House Education Committee where the ESA plan is expected to come up for a vote this Wednesday evening. The poll, leaked to The Tennessee Star, is clearly intended to let the legislators know that a vote for the ESA plan will be popular with their constituents. A more sinister motive may also be to let them know that the Republican Governor who is strongly advocating for his school choice plan is VERY popular in their districts. All four of the legislators included in the poll, Rep. Iris Rudder (Winchester), Rep. Scott Cepicky (Culleoka), Rep. Tom Leatherwood (Arlington) and Rep. Kirk Haston (Lobelville), are first term legislators. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill noted that the specific poll numbers are not that important, and the lack of details and sourcing raises questions about the accuracy of the polling data. “The fact that…

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Another Migrant Caravan Is Heading Toward The US

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by Jason Hopkins   A caravan of mostly Central Americans began its trek toward the United States over the weekend, setting the stage for what will likely be another showdown between border enforcement officials and migrants. Around 1,200 migrants formed a caravan in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and, following the same route as numerous groups before them, started their journey northward Saturday, according to Reuters. The U.S.-bound group is made of mostly Central Americans from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, but also includes Cuban migrants. The National Migration Institute — a department within the government of Mexico that tracks immigration — said the migrants were already within the country before they decided to assemble into a caravan near the country’s southern border with Guatemala. The latest caravan will likely further inflame tensions between these Central American countries and the White House. President Donald Trump, who has made increased immigration enforcement a hallmark of his executive agenda, has threatened Central American governments with repercussions for allowing migrants to freely make their way to the U.S. “… Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money. Word is that a new Caravan is forming…

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Long-Awaited ‘Apple TV+’ Video Service Announced

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Apple announced Monday that it’s launching a video service that could compete with Netflix, Amazon and cable TV itself. It’s a long-awaited attempt from the iPhone maker, several years after Netflix turned “binge watching” into a worldwide phenomenon. Introducing Apple TV+. A new streaming service with original stories from the most creative minds in TV and film. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/xLhtdNNaa2 — Apple TV (@AppleTV) March 25, 2019 The new video service is expected to have original TV shows and movies that reportedly cost Apple more than $1 billion — far less than Netflix and HBO spend every year. Also expected is a subscription service consisting of news, entertainment and sports bundled from newspapers and magazines. Apple is making the announcements at its Cupertino, California, headquarters during an event likely to be studded with Hollywood celebrities. The iPhone has long been Apple’s marquee product and main money maker, but sales are starting to decline. The company is pushing digital subscriptions as it searches for new growth. Making must-have TV shows and movies that are watchable on any device has propelled Netflix into a force in both Silicon Valley and Hollywood. But Apple remained focused on making on gadgets: iPhones, iPads, computers and…

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Rep. Green Says in Wall Street Journal Op-Ed That ‘Democrats Talk Tough’ Over Russian Election Meddling, But They Are Only After Trump

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) said “Democrats talk tough” when it comes to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections, but they are only after President Donald Trump, who has acted to counter that nation’s aggression. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found no evidence President Donald Trump, his campaign or associates conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr, as The Tennessee Star reported. Green tweeted, “Democrats talk tough, but their actions reveal they’re interested only in “getting” Donald Trump. GOP has long seen Russia as a threat, and we – including the president – have acted to counter its aggression. Read my thoughts via @WSJopinion” Democrats talk tough, but their actions reveal they’re interested only in “getting” Donald Trump. GOP has long seen Russia as a threat, and we—including the president—have acted to counter its aggression. Read my thoughts via @WSJopinion https://t.co/sdfaOZJLIa — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) March 25, 2019 Green’s tweet links to an op-ed he wrote in the Wall Street Journal, which is also available here. Green said that threats by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff to investigate Mueller’s investigation…

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Commentary: The Phrase that Launched a Thousand Grievous, Leftist Failures

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by Jeffery Tucker   In 1969, the salad days of New Left activism, a writer named Carol Hanisch penned an essay that the editor called “The Personal Is Political.” She was seeking to explain the ethos of the women’s therapy sessions she was running. The point was not to improve psychological well being. The point was “political therapy;” that is to motivate people to political action. The idea is that one’s own grievances ought to be turned into political action. “There are no personal solutions at this time,” she wrote. “There is only collective action for a collective solution.” Let’s leave aside the case for or against her brand of politics. The slogan itself was fire. It spread to every cause, every group, every nook and cranny of life. If you experience dissatisfaction in your life, don’t look within for a personal solution; get active, join a collective, and demand a political solution. Think of this as the left-wing application of the Schmittian principle that only through politics do we find meaning (the very opposite point that has become the main theme of Jordan Peterson’s work). Fifty years later, I’ve been following the meltdown of a number of “social justice” organizations and causes over the…

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As The Fed Dumps Billions in Government and Mortgage Bonds, Questions of ‘Engineering’ a Recession Swirl as 2020 Nears

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by Robert Romano   Recession warning lights are flashing predictably after the Federal Reserve has finally ended quantitative easing – it’s now dumping $50 billion of government and mortgage bonds a month – and short-term interest rates have risen. The 10-year-3-month treasuries spread inverted on March 22, and the 10-year-2-year and the 10-year-federal-funds-rate do not appear to be far behind from inverting. When interest rates invert, it means the interest rate on short-term bonds is higher than the rate of return for long-term bonds, meaning there is slightly more demand for the long-term bonds, which are viewed as a relatively safer investment. So, how did we get here? The short answer is that since the Fed began dumping bonds back on the market – it has shed $458 billion since Sept. 2017 – short-term interest rates have been steadily rising. This usually happens anyway as the business cycle comes to a close. But what it tells you is that this particular business cycle was prolonged – by a lot – with the Fed artificially keeping short-term interest rates low, not by manipulating the benchmark federal funds rate, but through quantitative easing and then refinancing a vast horde of U.S. treasuries. The U.S. is long overdue for a recession – it…

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Sen. Blackburn Commends Attorney General Barr For Quickly Releasing Summary of Mueller Findings That Clear President Trump of Collusion With Russia

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) praised Attorney General William Barr for quickly releasing the summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings to Congress that show President Donald Trump did not collude with Russia. Mueller’s investigation found no evidence President Donald Trump, his campaign or associates conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr, The Tennessee Star reported. Blackburn tweeted her statement. My statement on today’s letter from Attorney General Barr: pic.twitter.com/1xpZQDtWdZ — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) March 25, 2019 Blackburn’s statement reads: “After two years of thorough investigation, led by a team of 19 lawyers and 40 FBI employees, costing over $25 million in taxpayer dollars, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusions confirm that President Trump’s campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. “Attorney General Bill Barr, in a jointly reached conclusion with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, determined the evidence from the Special Counsel report was ‘not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.’ “Attorney General Barr is to be commended for his quick release of the findings to Congress as well as his commitment to continue reviewing…

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Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s Plan to Save Nuclear Is the ‘Real’ Green New Deal

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by Jason Hopkins   Energy Secretary Rick Perry took a shot at the Democratic Party’s latest environmental proposal as he visited a nuclear plant’s construction site. “Ladies and gentlemen, look around you,” the president’s top energy official said Friday to a crowd of nuclear power plant employees in Waynesboro, Georgia. “This is the real new green deal.” Perry was speaking in front of a construction site for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, where crews are working on completing two new reactors — the only nuclear reactors under construction in the entire country. The energy secretary revealed the plant’s majority owners would receive loan guarantees to keep construction on the two reactors — Units 3 and 4 — moving forward. The federal government is guaranteeing up to $1.67 billion in loans for Georgia Power, up to $1.6 billion for Oglethorpe Power and up to $414.7 million for the MEAG Power. All three electric utilities are co-owners of the Vogtle plant. The loan guarantees — which Perry said would help make “nuclear America cool again” — are to help the Vogtle finish construction of the two reactors. Units 3 and 4 were originally planned to be completed by 2017, but now Unit 3 will not be ready to be loaded with…

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Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Madeleine Dean Retreats from ‘Russia Collusion,’ Promotes ‘No Exoneration’ Straw Man

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by Nick Givas   Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania listed special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings from the Russia probe on CNN Monday, and it’s not good news for Democrats. “My reaction is a couple of things. We ought to recognize something good. Number one, special counsel Mueller completed his investigation with a team of able investigators and prosecutors, and I’m thankful that that investigation has come to a close,” she said on “CNN Today.” “Number two, we should be glad that the preliminary finding that we know of the Mueller report is that there was no coordination, no conspiracy,” Dean said. “Notice the words that they used:  no coordination, no conspiracy of the Trump campaign with Russia’s known interference with the 2016 election. Number three, there was known interference by Russia in a very serious and great way with the election of 2016. I hope this administration, and I’m certain Congress will take that very seriously, as we head into the next election.” Dean’s statement is a vast departure from the Democratic narrative of collusion and obstruction of justice. Congressional Democrats had expressed concern that President Donald Trump would fire Mueller, but he was allowed to finish his investigation. Trump was also…

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Despite Growing Support for Hemp Legalization, Ohio Government Cracks down

Andrew Shirley

As the Ohio Senate considers legalizing hemp and hemp byproducts in the Buckeye State, the Ohio Department of Health, along with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is simultaneously cracking down on any form of sale of the substance. Currently, hemp is trapped in a complicated legal limbo and while state legalization will alleviate many of the issues, the future is still opaque for the controversial drug. On February 20th, Senate Bill 57 (SB 57) was officially introduced. The bill would not simply legalize the sale of hemp and hemp related products, but also legalize: Possess, buy, or sell hemp or a hemp product; Process hemp into a hemp product, including by the addition of one or more cannabinoids derived from hemp,including cannabidiol, to a product to produce a hemp product; Conduct agricultural, academic, or any other research involving hemp or hemp products. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the addition of hemp or cannabinoids derived from hemp, including cannabidiol, to any product does not adulterate that product. The specific types of products include: …any product made with hemp, including cosmetics, personal care products, dietary supplements or food intended for animal or human consumption, cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, and any product…

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Proposed Bill Takes Aim At Sanctuary City Sheriffs in North Carolina

A.P. Dillon

Another North Carolina Sheriff says he will not uphold ICE detainers and will release criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. In response, state lawmakers are taking action to protect the public with a bill the would require law enforcement to cooperate with immigration enforcement officials. “The sheriff’s office will continue to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, however, we do not make or enforce immigration laws; that is not part of our law enforcement duties,” Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said at a March 19th press conference. Miller is the latest in a line of sheriffs from Durham, Wake and Mecklenburg counties who are refusing to contact ICE or honor ICE detainers on illegal aliens they have in custody. ICE spokesman Bryan Cox responded to Miller’s remarks, telling the Asheville Citizen-Times that “as a direct result of this policy, persons in Asheville will see an increased presence of ICE.” North Carolina’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Josh Stein, has made similar moves. In February, Stein contemplated joining a 16 state coalition which is suing President Trump over his emergency border declaration. The official North Carolina Department of Justice account tweeted a statement from Stein that said…

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Jewish Org Calls for Investigation of Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s Ties to CAIR

Anthony Gockowski

A trending online petition calls on U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Special Envoy for Antisemitism Elan Carr to investigate Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) and their ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The petition, which had more than 12,000 signatures at the time of publication, was started by Stop Antisemitism and describes CAIR’s connections to the terrorist organization Hamas. “In 2007, CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case that found Holy Land Foundation responsible for siphoning over $12 million to Hamas,” the petition states. It goes on to describe Omar and Tlaib’s connections to CAIR, noting that it has “provided thousands of dollars directly and indirectly to support the campaigns of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib – both of whom have received awards and recognition by the organization.” “There’s no doubt that Tlaib and Omar have close-knit ties with Hamas-affiliated CAIR and we, as concerned citizens, call on Attorney General and U.S. Special Envoy for Antisemitism to investigate these ties,” the petition concludes. Liora Rez, co-founder of Stop Antisemitism, told The Jerusalem Post that her organization is “very excited” by the traction the petition has received in just over a week.…

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Ohio Legislators Applauded for Addressing ‘Seriously Flawed’ School Funding Formula, But Questions Still Remain

Anthony Gockowski

After 15 months, a bipartisan workgroup unveiled its Fair School Funding Plan to overhaul Ohio’s school-funding formula, but some still had questions about how it will accomplish what Ohioans need. Reps. Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and John Patterson (D-Jefferson) spearheaded the workgroup along with superintendents and educators from across the state, and announced their findings during a Monday press conference. “We are excited because we’re here to announce the release of the School Funding Workgroup’s recommendations for comprehensive redesign of Ohio’s primary and secondary school funding framework,” Cupp said, calling the new funding plan “fair, more predictable, and more workable.” “It’s widely recognized that our current funding formula, forged in the last recession, is seriously flawed. Experience has shown that it’s not any longer even functioning as a formula,” he continued, saying the current funding formula is “more a patch than a formula.” At the start of the 15-month process, the School Funding Workgroup was charged with considering “what our students truly need to succeed in this rapidly changing world, and to develop recommendations to meet those needs that are fair to Ohio’s kids, school districts, and taxpayers.” “Over four-fifths of districts are either on a cap, which limits the funding…

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Another Smoking Gun: WCS Cultural Competency Committee Backers Want Social Justice, But No Publicity About Their Meetings, Emails Reveal

Chris Butler

People involved in the Williamson County School System’s Cultural Competency Committee and people who support those efforts sent emails about the need for social justice and how to handle teachers who resist change. Emails also reveal Cultural Competency Committee members did not want publicity or for members of the media to attend their meetings. Committee members and other people who support their efforts sent these emails to one other earlier this month, and Superintendent Mike Looney received some of them. The Tennessee Star obtained these emails through an open records request to the county school system. In a March 6 email, a woman named Sara Melamed gave a rundown to Looney about the prior Cultural Competency meeting based on notes she took. A woman by the same name ran for the Williamson County Commission last year, according to The Tennessean, and she also served on the Williamson County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. “They discussed ‘what to do about teachers who are resistant to change,’” Melamed wrote Looney. “For some teachers it has been considered life-changing and given them new perspective.” Melamed’s notes also included the following as it pertains to publicizing the committee’s work: “Why is the committee not being…

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