Day: March 29, 2019

Emergency Meeting of The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators Called From The State House Floor

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – During the announcements portion of the House Floor Session on Thursday, an emergency meeting of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators was called, commencing immediately after session ended. The announcement was made by the Black Caucus Chair, Representative G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis), who was elected in January to the position. According to the Facebook page of the Black Caucus, other newly-elected positions included the following Democrats: Vice Chairman – Rick Staples (Knoxville), Treasurer – Vincent Dixie (Nashville), Secretary – London Lamar (Memphis), Chaplin – John DeBerry (Memphis), Parliamentarian – Jesse Chism (Memphis) and Sergeant at Arms – Antonio Parkinson (Memphis). According to Hardaway’s emergency meeting announcement, the meeting would be held in Conference Room 4A, which is located on the 4th floor of the Cordell Hull Building, and that pizza would be available. Prior to all of the members arriving to conference room 4A, The Tennessee Star inquired if the meeting would be open to the public. Caucus Chairman Hardaway responded that the meeting would not be open to the public, but representatives would be available after the meeting to answer questions. Legislators seen in or entering the 4A conference room (in alphabetical order) were: Senator…

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Reps. Green, Burchett Have Fun at Rep. Schiff’s Expense with Video Showing Empty Envelope

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Reps. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) made a Facebook video Thursday having fun at the expense of U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) and his obsession over the Robert Mueller report. The video is available here. “I’ve got the Schiff report,” Burchett said, brandishing a large envelope. Green opened the envelope and shook it – the envelope was empty. No report. Green also posted the video on Twitter here. BREAKING: @RepTimBurchett and I found the elusive Schiff Report that allegedly proves the president colluded with Russia! pic.twitter.com/cAvNniVWcV — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) March 28, 2019 Green recently called for the resignation of Schiff from his chairmanship of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He called Schiff a “conspiracy theorist” for implying the Russians offered intel on Hillary Clinton and saying that President Donald Trump’s son showed interest, according to Fox News. Schiff has said his committee might subpoena Mueller. The Los Angeles Times reported that Republicans and Democrats on the committee had a heated exchange on Schiff’s statements and the GOP members calling for his resignation, the Los Angeles Times said. “Your willingness to continue to promote a demonstrably false narrative is alarming,” said Rep. Mike…

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Commentary: Mo Brooks Was Right About Nazis, Socialists and Democrats

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by George Rasley   Let’s stipulate up front that the Holocaust was a singular evil that was perpetrated against the Jewish people and that the habit, especially among liberals, of using the epithet “Nazi” against every political opponent denigrates and diminishes the singularity of that evil. That said, Nazism or National Socialism, is a political philosophy that hasn’t been exterminated, and its evil continues to find its way into today’s politics in often unseen and insidious ways. Principled limited government constitutional conservative Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5), on Monday — the day after attorney general Bob Barr submitted his summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report — drew from the writings of Adolph Hitler, the foundational leader of National Socialism, to attack congressional Democrats and the “fake news media” as having lied throughout special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. “A ‘big lie’ is a political propaganda technique made famous by Germany’s national socialist German Workers Party,” Brooks said on the House floor according to reporting by Rebecca Shabad and Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News. “For more than two years, socialist Democrats and their fake news media allies, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Washington Post and countless others have…

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Hundreds of Border Agents Reassigned as Illegal Crossings Reach Record Highs

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by Jason Hopkins   The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced on Wednesday that it is reassigning more than 700 officers to assist the Border Patrol as it faces an “unprecedented” security crisis. CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily reassign up to 750 of its officers to Border Patrol sectors along the country’s southwest border, helping the agency manage the influx of illegal migrants in recent days. Redeployed officers will assist with various processing responsibilities, such as transportation and hospital watch of detained individuals. “Border Patrol processing facilities on the Southwest border have far exceeded capacity and the Border Patrol does not have the personnel to process, care for, and transport individuals in custody without help from its partners,” CBP said in a statement on Wednesday. CBP officers will be redirected from ports of entry in the Tucson, Laredo, El Paso and San Diego field offices — a move that CBP acknowledges will affect its capabilities to press travel and trade. News of the reassignments come as the southwest border has experienced a historic week in illegal border crossings. CBP reported 4,000 apprehensions and encounters on Monday, the highest volume in over a decade. However, the record-setting number…

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Ohio Legislators Push for New Missile Defense Site to be Located in Ohio

Andrew Shirley

A group of Ohio Legislators in an open letter Thursday called on Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to select Ohio as the location for a new missile defense site and complex. The Continental United States Interceptor Site (CIS) is the only ground-based segment of the total U.S. defense system. It is currently run by the Department of Defense; Missile Defense Agency and is a major component of the “Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)” segment, which is part of the overall Ballistic Missile Defense System. This system is responsible for protecting the nation from missile attacks, potentially launched by countries like “Iran and North Korea.” The overall missile defense system of the United States consists of three major segments: the Boost Defense Segment (BDS), the Midcourse Defense Segment (MDS), and the Terminal Defense Segment (TDS). Each focuses on different phases of a potential missile attack on the continent. BDS focuses on the detection and interception of a missile at the earliest possible moments, long before it reaches the apex of its launch trajectory. MDS focuses on the interception of a missile at the midpoint of its trajectory. TDS is last line defense for stopping a missile attack; when the missile is past the midpoint…

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Judge Extends Suspension on Kentucky Fetal Heartbeat and Discrimination Abortion Bans

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by Grace Carr   A federal judge indefinitely barred Kentucky from enforcing two abortion laws Wednesday that recently passed and were temporarily blocked shortly thereafter. U.S. District Judge David Hale passed an order Wednesday extending a suspension on two state abortion bans, one which prohibits abortions in the presence of a fetal heartbeat and another which bans abortions on the basis of race, sex or disability, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed Senate Bill 9 on March 15. It “prohibit[s] a person from performing an abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat,” according to the legislation. A heartbeat typically becomes detectable between six and nine weeks of gestation. Many women do not know they are pregnant at six weeks. Bevin also signed House Bill 5 in March, “prohibit[ing] an abortion if the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion, in whole or in part, because of an unborn child’s sex, race, color, national origin, or disability, except in the case of a medical emergency,” according to the legislation. The bill bans “eugenics-based abortions,” according to Bevin’s general counsel, M. Stephen Pitt, the Courier-Journal reported. Both bills were signed under an “emergency” clause and took immediate…

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Trump Renews Threat to Close Southern Border With Mexico

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U.S. President Donald Trump is renewing his threat to close the country’s southern border, saying Mexico and three Central American countries are not doing anything to halt the surge of undocumented migrants heading north to try to enter the United States. Trump first threatened to close the border last November but did not follow through. However, as he ended a 35-day partial government shutdown in late January in a dispute with Congress over funding for a border wall, he declared a national emergency to build the barrier. While both houses of Congress rejected his declaration of a national emergency, the House of Representatives failed this week to override his veto of the measure, leaving the emergency declaration intact. Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019 Trump is moving ahead with plans to extend the barriers along the border with funding that had been earmarked for other projects. However, the fate…

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Amazon Still Gives Southern Poverty Law Center Veto Power Over Charity Program

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by Peter Hasson   The Southern Poverty Law Center’s ongoing crisis hasn’t cost the left-wing nonprofit its privileged status with Amazon, which gives the SPLC broad authority to determine which charities and nonprofits can participate in its AmazonSmile charity program. The SPLC has lost three top figures — including both its president and a co-founder — within the past month, as the organization has struggled to deal with accusations of racism and sexual harassment. The SPLC is known to label pedestrian conservative organizations as “hate groups” but is given broad power over AmazonSmile, a charitable program that allows shoppers to identify a charity to receive 0.5 percent of proceeds from their purchases. AmazonSmile has raised more than $100 million for charitable causes, but participation in the program is dependent on the SPLC’s approval. “Organizations that engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, hate, terrorism, violence, money laundering, or other illegal activities are not eligible to participate” in the program, Amazon’s website states. “Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which organizations fall into these groups.” The SPLC doesn’t just police AmazonSmile — it participates in the program as well.…

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Democratic 2020 Hopeful Klobuchar Touts $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

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Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar is pitching an infrastructure plan she says will provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding and rebuild schools, airports and other projects. The plan announced Thursday is the first policy proposal from the Minnesota senator since she joined the 2020 race with a snowy rally not far from where the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007. Klobuchar speaks often on the campaign trail about the collapse, which killed 13 people, telling voters “a bridge just shouldn’t fall down in the middle of America.” She also talks about how she worked with Republican colleagues to get funding to rebuild the bridge within 13 months. “America needs someone who will deliver on their promises and get things done for this country,” Klobuchar said in a statement Thursday announcing her plan. She said it will be her top budget priority and pledged to pass it during her first year as president. The plan calls for leveraging $650 billion in federal funding through public-private partnerships, bond programs and clean-energy tax incentives. It would restart the Build America Bonds program President Barack Obama’s administration created to help stimulate the economy during the…

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Trump: FBI and DOJ to Review Smollett Case

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President Donald Trump says the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice will review the case of Jussie Smollett, after Chicago prosecutors dropped charges against the television actor who was accused of falsely reporting being a target of a hate crime. Writing on Twitter, Trump called the case “outrageous” and an “embarrassment to our Nation.” So far there has been no statement from the FBI or Justice Department on the matter. Smollett’s attorneys announced Tuesday their client’s record had been “wiped clean. A spokeswoman for the Cook Country prosecutor’s office said “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.” She added that Smollett will forfeit a $10,000 bond payment. But Chicago police, as well as mayor Rahm Emanuel, have spoken out angrily about the development. “This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice,” Emanuel said, complaining that the grand jury in the case heard “only a sliver” of the evidence. Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said, “Do I think justice was served?…

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Commentary: The Politicizing of Pediatrics Undermines Trust in Medical Authority

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by Leonard Sax   What should you do if your five-year-old son tells you that he is a girl? The proportion of children and young adults who say that they are transgender is rising at an extraordinary rate, not only in the United States but in other countries as well. In 2009–2010, only forty girls in the United Kingdom requested reassignment to the male gender. In 2017–2018, that number was 1,806 girls, a rise of more than 4,000 percent in less than a decade. The UK Government Equalities Office (yes, it’s a thing) has announced that it will investigate. What’s going on? Our nation’s largest association of pediatricians, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recently released new guidelines for the evaluation and management of children and adolescents who identify as transgender. Previous guidelines have recognized that best practice depends on the age of the child. The great majority of five-year-old boys who say that they are girls will not persist in that conviction; ten years later, most of those boys will say that they are boys. They may be gay, they may be straight, but they are now sure that they are boys. They no longer want to be girls. Five-year-olds are not mature adults. They are young…

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Trump Calls for Adam Schiff’s Forced Resignation

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by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump called for the forced resignation of Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top House Intelligence Committee member, as Schiff continues to claim there is compelling evidence that Trump colluded with Russian interests during the 2016 presidential election. “Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!” Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday. Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019 Special counsel Robert Mueller, who spent nearly two years investigating the Trump campaign for alleged collusion, closed up shop Friday. Schiff has been one of Trump’s biggest critics throughout the special counsel investigation, and the congressman continues to claim he has “more than circumstantial evidence” of wrongdoing. “There’s a difference between compelling evidence of collusion and whether the special counsel concludes that he can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the criminal charge of conspiracy,” Schiff told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday. “I have trust in [Mueller’s] prosecutorial judgment,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean, of course, that there isn’t compelling and incriminating evidence that…

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Commentary: No Recriminations for the Real Collusion

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by Karin McQuillan   The total exoneration of President Trump and his campaign has given his voters a few days of smiles and happy headlines, but not deep satisfaction. The claim that Donald Trump, his family, and his staff were traitors and Russian agents remains a sickening reminder of the corruption of our FBI, Department of Justice, and Barack Obama’s administration. The debasement of our once free press into a state propaganda ministry is an ongoing assault on our country. None of these problems are resolved with the end of Robert Mueller’s witch hunt. The Russia collusion hoax has left the credibility of our justice system in tatters. We did, in fact, have Russian collusion to affect the outcome of 2016 the election—and it was entirely the handiwork of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Justice requires not only that the innocent are exonerated, but that the guilty are punished. It isn’t going to happen. Justice takes a second seat to politics. How It Came to Be It was obvious from the first that Hillary Clinton, via Fusion GPS, was the creative force behind the Russian collusion hoax. The euphemism “dossier” could not disguise what was soon revealed to be a…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Senior Reporter Laura Baigert on Why The Education Savings Account Bill Cleared a Big Hurdle in Committee This Week

Julie Carr

On Thursday’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 – guest host and Nashville Tea Party Activist Ben Cunningham spoke with The Tennessee Star’s own senior reporter Laura Baigert, co-guest host for the day, about the key 14 to 9 favorable vote in the Education Committee this week that moved the Education Savings Account legislation closer to a vote on the floor of the House. Kevin Baigert, Laura’s husband and a long-time conservative activist in the state, was also a special in-studio guest during the broadcast who provided key insights into the vote as well. Cunningham: Had a really interesting episode yesterday at the General Assembly the, one of the Governor Bill Lee’s main legislative initiatives is what’s called an ESA , educational savings account and a real important vote occurred yesterday in the education committee. Laura, you were there. Give us just the two paragraph version of what happened. I saw it was fourteen to nine vote. That’s really is more than I thought the bigger majority. Is that about what you expected in terms of the committee vote. Baigert:…

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Commentary: Fear Not the Inverted Yield Curve – Yet

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by Peter C. Earle   As the financial news networks have reported, the yield curve on government securities has inverted. When the yield curve inverts, which is to say when short maturity bonds yield higher than longer maturity bonds, there is a general view that a recession in the next 12 – 24 months becomes more likely. It is, in any case, an unusual situation, and one that garners attention from macroeconomists and financial market participants alike. In fact, going back to 1960, inversions of the yield curve have occurred nine times, with two not preceding a recession. The average length of time between inversion and a recession when one did occur is 14 months. The financial market mechanism behind an inversion is that bond traders (and investors, more broadly) observe that they require a higher premium on shorter-term debt than longer-term debt. This is unusual, of course, because typically holders of debt require compensation commensurate with the risk they incur; a longer holding period for an investment necessarily means more exposure to risk, and thus requires higher compensation. An inverted curve, therefore, initially suggests that some market participants view near-term risk as decidedly higher than longer-term risk, which is…

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US Housing Department Charges Facebook With Housing Discrimination

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Facebook was charged with discrimination by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because of its ad-targeting system. HUD said Thursday Facebook is allowing advertisers to exclude people based on their neighborhood by drawing a red line around those neighborhoods on a map and giving advertisers the option of showing ads only to men or only to women. The agency also claims Facebook allowed advertisers to exclude people that the social media company classified as parents; non-American-born; non-Christian; interested in accessibility; interested in Hispanic culture or a wide variety of other interests that closely align with the Fair Housing Act’s protected classes. HUD, which is pursuing civil charges and potential monetary awards that could run into the millions, said Facebook’s ad platform is “encouraging, enabling, and causing housing discrimination” because it allows advertisers to exclude people who they don’t want to see their ads. The claim from HUD comes less than a week after Facebook said it would overhaul its ad-targeting systems to prevent discrimination in housing, credit and employment ads as part of a legal settlement with a group that includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Fair Housing Alliance and others. The technology at the heart…

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Ohio Democrat Mocks Barron Trump, Says He ‘May Need’ the Special Olympics Someday

Anthony Gockowski

An Ohio Democrat suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration shouldn’t cut funding for the Special Olympics because his 13-year-old son Barron “may need it someday.” Ellen Connally, former Cuyahoga County Council president and Cleveland Municipal Court judge, made the comments in a Facebook post that has since been deleted, but was obtained by PJ Media. “Trump kills funds for Special Olympics. Baron [sic] may need it someday,” she wrote. In the comments section of her post, another Ohio Democrat, Jocelyn Conwell, said she’s heard “from a reliable source” that Trump’s “kid does have special needs.” “He attend [sic] some school in Maryland. Haven’t you noticed how you hardly ever see this kid, and he never says anything. I am not making light of it, just stating some observations. Even though I can’t stand his father,” Conwell said. Barron’s birthday was last week; he turned 13-years-old. The comments came amid controversy over Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ proposed $17.6 million cut to the Special Olympics, which was included in the $4.75 trillion budget the Trump administration submitted to Congress. During a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, DeVos defended the cuts to the Special Olympics by noting that it’s not a…

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Progressive Org ‘Campaign for Accountability’ Turns Sights on Crisis Pregnancy Center in North Carolina

A.P. Dillon

A crisis pregnancy center in North Carolina is the subject of a 93-page complaint filed by the Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a Washington, D.C. non-profit with ties to progressive activist and Media Matters founder David Brock. CfA is calling for state officials such as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen to” investigate and terminate” a contract between the Human Coalition and Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”). “The state granted Human Coalition funding to help support women with unplanned pregnancies, yet the reality is, those taxpayer funds have been spent proselytizing, which is not the same as actual healthcare,” said CfA Counsel Alice Huling (pictured, above) in a press statement. North Carolina’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein has waged his own war using North Carolina taxpayer funds by pulling the state into a multi-state suit challenging the Trump Administrations ‘Protect Life Rule‘ as part of Title X. “North Carolinians should be leary of a Washington, DC-based liberal nonprofit that uses litigation and aggressive communications in an attempt to defund pregnancy centers at a time when Marist poll finds more Americans are pro-life,” responded Tami Fitzgerald, NC Values Coalition…

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AIPAC Protester Who Called Israel Supporters ‘Progressive Nazis’ Attended Private Dinner for Rashida Tlaib

Anthony Gockowski

A protester outside of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) recent conference in Washington, D.C. called supporters of Israel “progressive Nazis” and was later identified as an acquaintance of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13). In fact, he attended a private dinner in Detroit in January to celebrate Tlaib’s official entrance into Congress and posted a picture to Twitter of him posing with Tlaib. https://twitter.com/Resistance48/status/1084233942591520770 He was identified as Abbas Hamideh, co-founder of the BDS organization Al-Awda and member of the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. As The Ohio Star reported, Hamideh once praised Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, as a “heroic resistance leader.” In another instance, he mourned the passing of “legendary Hezbollah martyr” Samir Kuntar, who led an attack that resulted in the deaths of four Israelis. Kuntar personally murdered a four-year-old child by smashing her head in with the butt of his rifle. “Israel does not have a right to exist. The terrorist entity is illegal and has no basis to exist other than delusional ISIS-like ideology,” he said in another tweet. Hamideh was back in the news Tuesday after a speech he made at a protest outside of an AIPAC conference spread on…

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Minnesota’s Hands-Free Driving Bill Could Include Exception for Those Wearing Hijabs

Anthony Gockowski

A bill requiring “hands-free” communications while driving is on track to become law in Minnesota. The proposal passed the Minnesota Senate Monday in a 56-10 vote after clearing the Minnesota House last week. It would prohibit Minnesota drivers from using cell phones on the road unless they use “voice-activated” communications or a device in “hands-free mode,” thus earning it the nickname of a “hands-free bill.” What exactly constitutes “hands-free,” however, was the subject of one amendment introduced by Sen. Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis). Champion’s amendment moved to expand the definition of “hands-free” to include the “use of a scarf or hijab or other items of clothing to hold a device in a hands-free manner.” The amendment ultimately passed in a 37-29 vote, but will still need to win over supporters in the House. “Any person who is using a scarf and they are operating hands free—because that’s what it says, ‘hands-free mode’—by using a scarf in order to hold a phone would not be a violation because both hands would be on the steering wheel,” he said, noting that it would help prevent racial profiling, according to MPR News. Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), the bill’s lead sponsor, voted against the…

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President Trump Thrills Michiganders at Grand Rapids #MAGA Rally Event

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In his first rally-style event since Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report finding ‘no collusion’ with Russia, President Donald Trump ripped and roared to the delight of thousands at the Grand Rapids, Michigan. In an unvarnished moment, President Trump declared that now that the “collusion delusion” is over, the Democrats must decide whether they will go on “defrauding the public with ridiculous bullsh*t, partisan investigations, or whether they will apologize to the American people.” To a near-constant ovation of thunderous approval, President renewed his promises to “Build the Wall,” grow the economy and with it the job opportunities, to negotiate ‘America First’ trade agreements, and perhaps most importantly in light of the ‘Deep State takeover that failed,’ to hold the bad actors accountable and “Drain the Swamp.” Watch the 90 min event:  

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Ohio Republicans Rally Behind Constitutional Carry Bill

Anthony Gockowski

Ohio House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday to bring constitutional carry to the state, which allows gun owners to carry concealed weapons without obtaining a permit. The bill, House Bill 174, was introduced by Reps. Ron Hood (R-Ashville) and Tom Brinkman (R-Mt. Lookout) and quickly gained the support of 27 other Republicans. Current Ohio law allows Ohioans to carry concealed weapons only after they obtain a permit from a county sheriff’s office, pass a criminal background check, and complete eight hours of training. House Bill 174 would change all of that. It states that anyone 21 or older “and not prohibited by federal law from firearm possession to carry a concealed deadly weapon” would be able to do so “without needing a license.” In its current form, the bill would take things one step further by allowing Ohioans to conceal and carry legal rifles and shotguns. Ohio Gun Owners Director Chris Dorr spoke with Hood and Brinkman shortly after their bill was introduced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=Zu5ewRRJSWw “What’s so exciting is we now have an opportunity to actually pass a bill now with West Virginia and Kentucky going constitutional carry. We’ve got over a dozen states going constitutional carry,” Hood said. “Legislators and…

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Angry Parents Tell Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney They Disapprove of His ‘White Privilege’ Videos

Chris Butler

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — Williamson County parents and members of the public were never supposed to see the Cultural Competency videos that preached white privilege, School Superintendent Mike Looney told a group of about 20 people Thursday evening. Only teachers were supposed to see the videos, Looney said. Taxpayer paid for those videos. The Tennessee Star obtained the videos through a public records request and posted them on its website this month. “We have not shared these videos. They were not meant for public consumption,” Looney said, adding students were not supposed to see them either. Later, Looney told about 20 parents “the video was not meant for you, and you should not have seen the video, in my opinion.” Some parents opposed the videos. Other parents supported them. Looney held the meeting at the school system’s Professional Development Center in Franklin. Looney also told parents his decision to create a Cultural Competency Committee began after some parents complained about the school system’s choice of field trips where slavery was a topic. The people giving the tour — and not the teachers —said insensitive things about slaves that upset African-American parents, Looney said. ‘Gobbledygook’ A woman named Anna, who did not…

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