Day: March 31, 2019

Family of Bedford County Woman Allegedly Killed by Illegal Immigrant Files Lawsuit

Chris Butler

The family of a Bedford County woman that an alleged illegal immigrant killed in a traffic accident last fall has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $23 million in damages. Specifically, the family of Keri King, including her siblings Cheri Blackwell and William King, want $7.5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, that alleged illegal immigrant, Edgar Torres Rangel, was allegedly intoxicated when he killed King in a traffic accident. The lawsuit names seven people as defendants, including Torres Rangel and people affiliated with Rancho La Herradura, the Mexican rodeo where he allegedly got drunk a few hours before the wreck. Other defendants the lawsuit names include Constantino Bonilla, Serio Ortega, John David Puckett, Holly Puckett, Leovigildo Lara, and Yolisma Lara, who are all said to involve themselves with Rancho La Herradura in different capacities. The lawsuit says these individuals operated a nuisance “by permitting, encouraging, and profiting from illegal gambling, and drunkenness.” The document goes on to say they conducted business “for the purposes of illegal gambling, public intoxication, drunkenness, and the natural and foreseeable result of their operation, driving under the influence of alcohol on the streets and…

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Commentary: ‘Exactly When Did You Think America Was Great?’ Says Eric Holder. Here’s the Answer.

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by Jarret Stepman   There’s no doubt that one of the flashpoints of the modern culture war in America is the debate over our nation’s history. On one side, there are Americans who believe that the United States is a unique country, a shining city upon a hill that while flawed, has been exceptional from the beginning. On the other side is a growing block of Americans who believe America was rotten from its conception, its history worthy of both figuratively and now literally destroying, and that its only hope is in some kind of fundamental transformation to purge it of its past sins and injustices. In simpler terms, it’s a battle of gratitude vs. grievance. Few perhaps represent the grievance side better than former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, who took the opportunity on Wednesday to scoff at the concept of “Make America Great Again.” “Exactly when did you think America was great?” Holder said on an MSNBC panel in response to supporters of President Donald Trump. “It certainly wasn’t when people were enslaved. It certainly wasn’t when women didn’t have the right to vote. It certainly wasn’t when the LGBT community was denied the rights to which it…

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Trump: Strip NYT And WaPo of Pulitzers for Russia Reporting

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by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump on Friday called on The Washington Post and New York Times to be stripped of Pulitzer Prizes that the newspapers received last year for reporting on Russiagate. So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia – And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019 The Post and Times shared the 2018 Pulitzer for a series of reports on developments in the Russia investigation. Many of the core allegations in the reports were undercut with the recent revelation that special counsel Robert Mueller did not find collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. “The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” Mueller wrote in his 400-page report, according to Attorney General William Barr. According to Barr, Mueller also did not establish “that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate” conspired or “knowingly coordinated”…

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Here’s Why Trey Gowdy Opposes Release of Mueller Report

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by Chuck Ross   Former GOP South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said Saturday that he disagrees with congressional Republicans who want the special counsel’s Russia report to be made public. “I’m in a really small minority, Neil,” Gowdy said in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “I don’t think the report should be released at all and I’m frankly surprised so many Republicans think it should be.” Republican lawmakers have supported releasing special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr told Congress on Friday a version of the report will be provided to lawmakers by mid-April, if not sooner. Barr released a summary of Mueller’s main conclusions from the 22-month investigation March 24. According to Barr, Mueller was unable to establish that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the election. Democrats have called on Barr to provide the report to Congress by April 2, and without redactions. Barr said he is reviewing Mueller’s report with the help of the special counsel, and might withhold grand jury information and classified information contained in the report. Most Republicans have come out in favor of releasing the report given that it appears to exonerate Trump…

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‘Unplanned’ Hits Theaters, Recounts The Emotional Story of a Former Abortion Clinic Worker

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by Grace Carr   “Unplanned” hit theaters Friday and tells the story of a former Planned Parenthood director whose life changed after working at a clinic. The film was released in over 1,000 movie theaters nationwide. It tells the story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas, until 2009 when she left the organization after assisting in an ultrasound-guided abortion of a 13-week-old unborn baby. Johnson was Planned Parenthood’s youngest director of a clinic in the nation. She helped over 22,000 women have abortions during her time at the clinic. Planned Parenthood named Johnson employee of the year in 2008. She worked at the abortion provider for eight years before leaving the group. Johnson had two abortions before leaving Planned Parenthood. “The film is a kingdom project that has the potential to shift culture,” actress Robia Scott told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Scott plays Cheryl, the clinic’s director, in the film. The film does not condemn abortion outright, but aims to give the audience a clear picture of what occurs in clinics. On Sunset Blvd Unplanned continues to make bold moves and put the truth out there… right…

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Obama’s DHS Secretary Agrees the Border Is ‘Truly in a Crisis’

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by Whitney Tipton   Former President Barack Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday that the U.S. is “truly in a crisis” at the southern border. “A little bit of context here. When I was in office in Kirstjen Nielsen’s job, at her desk, I’d get to work around 6:30 in the morning, and there would be my intelligence book sitting on my desk, the PDB, and also the apprehension numbers from the day before,” Johnson said during his appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “My staff would tell you if it was under 1,000 apprehension the day before, that was a relatively good number, and if it was above 1,000, it was a relatively bad number, and I was going to be in a bad mood the whole day.” “On Tuesday there were 4,000 apprehensions. I know that a thousand overwhelms the system. I can’t imagine what 4,000 a day looks like. So, we are truly in a crisis,” he continued. Johnson isn’t the only Obama official to break from 2020 Democrats on immigration. Obama’s Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan praised Trump’s push for a border wall during an interview with the Law & Crime Network, saying “The wall works.”…

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Trump Again Issues Permit to Speed Up Keystone XL Pipeline

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President Donald Trump on Friday issued a new presidential permit for the project — two years after he first approved it and more than a decade after it was first proposed. Trump said the permit issued Friday replaces one granted in March 2017. The order is intended to speed up development of the controversial pipeline, which would ship crude oil from tar sands in western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast. A federal judge blocked the project in November, saying the Trump administration had not fully considered potential oil spills and other impacts. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ordered a new environmental review. Not subject to judicial review A White House spokesman said the new permit issued by Trump “dispels any uncertainty” about the project. “Specifically, this permit reinforces, as should have been clear all along, that the presidential permit is indeed an exercise of presidential authority that is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the spokesman said. But a lawyer for environmentalists who sued to stop the project called Trump’s action illegal. The lawyer, Stephan Volker, vowed to seek a court order blocking project developer TransCanada from moving forward with construction. “By his action today…

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Bolton: Trump ‘Eager’ to Cut Deal With Post-EU Britain

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While Britain remains entangled in a promise to leave the European Union without a workable plan to do so, the White House says President Donald Trump is “eager to cut a bilateral trade deal with an independent Britain.” Hours after British lawmakers rejected a Brexit plan for a third time Friday, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told reporters that when Britain extricates itself from the European Union, the United States will “be standing right there waiting for them.” He said Trump empathized with embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May, and that he would like to “reassure the people of the United Kingdom how strongly we feel that we want to be there for them.” Friday marked the third time Britain’s House of Commons rejected a withdrawal plan backed byMay in a vote on the day Britain originally was scheduled to leave the European Union. The vote was 344-286. In response, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, has called a European Council meeting for April 10. The EU has given Britain until April 12 to let members know what it plans to do. Britons voted nearly three years ago to leave the EU. But as last week’s scheduled departure…

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Commentary: No Constitution for Divided Men

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by Helen Lamm   Whether we like it or not, the defining political disagreements of our time are no longer based on differences of constitutional interpretation. “Limited government” is probably the most broadly accepted unifying principle of the conservative movement. You can find the phrase in the mission statements of the country’s most prominent right-leaning think tanks. It is a hallmark of modern conservative thought, an homage to the glory days of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The conservative movement built its political identity on this principle, and for good reason. Bureaucratic tyranny, like Cthulhu, expands indiscriminately while crushing civil society under its ever-increasing weight. Bureaucratic overreach is a problem, but it is not the problem. Conservatives tend to distract and paralyze themselves by so rigidly focusing on the principle of “limited government.” Fearful of overreaching, they stand still as the Left reaches over them. Despite operating in what effectively is a post-constitutional context, they attempt to play by rules their enemies have long since abandoned. Take, for instance, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of 13 Republicans who voted with the Democrats to overturn President Trump’s national emergency declaration to build the wall. He tweeted late last month, “If…

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Elections Omnibus Bill Would Make Minnesota Member of National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Anthony Gockowski

An omnibus bill that could radically transform elections in Minnesota recently passed out of committee and is making its way through the Minnesota House. Among the most drastic proposals in the bill is one that would make Minnesota a member of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is an agreement among states to award their entire Electoral College delegation to the winner of the national popular vote. Since 2007, 12 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, and several other states are currently considering joining. The agreement wouldn’t take effect until its member states cumulatively possess a majority of the electoral votes. The bill would also place Minnesota on a growing list of states to automatically restore voting rights to felons once they have completed their time behind bars. The omnibus bill incorporates elements of at least 10 bills introduced in the Minnesota House this session, and is sponsored by Rep. Raymond Dehn (DFL-Minneapolis), chair of the House Subcommittee on Elections, who said his proposal would bring “more integrity” to elections. The bill passed out of the House Subcommittee on Elections, and will next head to the House Government Operations Committee, according to a press release.…

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Portman Resists Lindsey Graham’s Call for New Special Counsel to Investigate FBI

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and other Republicans are calling for an investigation, and possibly the appointment of a new special counsel, into the FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign. Graham told reporters on Monday that he wants to investigate the surveillance warrants obtained by the FBI against Carter Page, an adviser to the Trump campaign, which were ultimately used to wiretap Page. The warrants, however, were granted partially based on material contained in the infamous and uncorroborated “dossier” produced by Christopher Steele. Graham and his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee want to get to the bottom of the matter, and determine if the warrants were used as “a back-door to spy on the campaign.” “Whether or not it’s illegal, I don’t yet know,” Graham said. “What makes no sense to me is that all of the abuse by the Department of Justice and the FBI—the unprofessional conduct, the shady behavior—nobody seems to think that’s much important. Well that’s going to change, I hope.” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), however, told The Columbus Dispatch that he opposes calls to have Attorney General William Barr appoint a new special counsel to investigate what Graham called “the other side of the story.” Portman…

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Report: Ohio Prison Population Still Growing Despite Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform

Andrew Shirley

Despite bipartisan calls for a reduction in the prison population and a slew of laws aimed at doing just that, a new report released this week has found that the prison population of Ohio has continued to climb over the past decade. Since 2011, the state has passed several new bills specifically aimed at addressing criminal justice reform. The two most impactful were House Bill 86 (HB 86) and House Bill 49 (HB 49). Both of these laws made a comprehensive list of changes to the criminal code, all aimed at curbing the incredibly high incarceration rates in Ohio. Among the changes were downgraded sentences for smaller offenses, permitting early release for certain types of offenders, shifting some crimes to misdemeanors, and creating financial incentives for rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration. Despite this, the report found that: HB 86’s reforms, alone, may have saved the state $500 million by flattening prison population growth. While HB 86 was expected to significantly reduce the prison population, the prison population dropped just 2 percent. HB 49 was supposed to reduce the prison population to 47,500 by FY 2019, but right now, the prison population stands at 49,051. Projected reduction of the prison population was off by more…

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Tim Ryan Goes After Trump, NRA at Iowa Event Alongside 2020 Dems

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) was a panelist Saturday at the Heartland Forum in Iowa, and was the only speaker at the event who hasn’t officially declared candidacy for president. The event, sponsored by Huffington Post, Open Markets Action, and the Iowa Farmers Union, featured panelists such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro—all of whom have declared candidacy. Ryan, who said in February that he’s “seriously considering” a run, was asked what his vision for the country would be if he were to do so. “The stock market’s as high as it’s ever been. Unemployment’s as low as it’s ever been, and yet there is a chronic level of stress in our society today because of chronic uncertainty,” he said. “I think it’s time for a new way of doing things.” “The only way forward is for us to come together politically. It’s the division today in our country that’s preventing us from getting to where we need to be, and that’s innovating our way out of this thing, caring about each other, loving each other, being concerned about each other, respecting each other, and then building an…

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Volkswagen Hires Retired Sen. Corker’s Former Chief of Staff Womack to Handle Lobbying

Jason M. Reynolds

Volkswagen hired Bob Corker’s former chief of staff, Todd Womack, to do lobbying on trade matters, proving that working as a public servant can pay off. Womack made the announcement Friday on Twitter: “Excited to be working with @VW.” He is president and CEO of Bridge Public Affairs, a lobbying firm created by former Corker staffers including Womack, who has worked with Corker since he was mayor of Chattanooga. Excited to be working with @VW pic.twitter.com/jrSA0FFP6T — Todd Womack (@TWchatt) March 30, 2019 Terms of Womack’s’ deal are not known, but Volkswagen spent $1 million last year on lobbying, Politico said. Corker was a U.S. senator (R-TN) when Volkswagen selected Chattanooga in 2008 for its assembly plant, the Chattanoogan said. The plant received “attractive” state subsidies, the Chattanoogan said: Volkswagen of America received an attractive, comprehensive package of incentives for the new facility from Gov. Bredesen’s office and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, it was stated. The statutory incentives are tied to job creation and capital investment. Additional support includes assistance for public infrastructure and job training, each designed to ensure the local economy best leverages Volkswagen’s investment to benefit the local work force and ensure the…

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