Day: April 19, 2019

Tennessee Star Poll: Will Republicans Continue to Take Toxic Teachers’ Union Political Contributions?

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A new Tennessee Star Poll reveals that Republicans who accept contributions from the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) may face a backlash in a primary contest. The survey asked whether voters would be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who accepts funding from the TEA. An overwhelming number of 75.6% indicated that they would be LESS likely to vote for a candidate receiving funds from the teachers union; a mere 8.5% would be MORE likely; and 15.9% indicated that they didn’t know. The Triton Polling survey was conducted over four days (April 13-16) and polled 1003 likely Republican Party primary voters statewide. It has a margin of error of 3.1%. The poll results almost exactly mirror responses to the same question of 1000 likely GOP primary voters that was conducted by Triton December 12-18, 2017. In that poll GOP primary voters were asked: The Tennessee Education Association and National Education Association are unions that use Tennessee teachers’ dues to oppose the Second Amendment, support Planned Parenthood, and attempt to elect political candidates like Hillary Clinton. Would you be more likely or less likely to support a Republican candidate for the state house or senate who accepts money from…

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Tennessee Star Poll Shows Haslam Leads Green by 9 Statewide Among GOP Primary Voters in U.S. Senate Matchup, But Green Has Lead in Middle Tennessee

Julie Carr

On Friday’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 – the duo dissected the recent Tennessee Star Triton poll numbers which show former Gov. Bill Haslam leads Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) by 9 points statewide among likely GOP primary voters in a potential 2020 Republican U.S. Senate primary matchup. Green, however, leads Haslam in the three Middle Tennessee Congressional districts. Here is the transcript of that discussion: Gill: We’ve been talking a little bit about the Tennessee Star Triton poll that we did over the last week. Friday through Monday. A thousand three likely Republican primary voters were polled. And the reason that we polled frankly likely Republicans is whether you are looking at issues that will be moved through or blocked in the state legislature. The Republicans have super majorities in the state House and the state Senate.  What’s going to move those legislators to have concerns is going to be what do Republican primary voters think because that’s the only way most of these guys and ladies could get beat. Also when you look at the political reality…

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Commentary: The Aiding and Abetting of Migrant Caravans

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by Hector Garza   The crisis at the southern border is no accident. It’s the intentional result of deliberate efforts by liberal activists to encourage illegal immigration on a massive scale. Right now, the “mother of all caravans” is reportedly forming in Central America, with the Mexican government predicting that more than 20,000 people will eventually join the human convoy as it traverses thousands of miles in the rising springtime temperatures of Mexico on its way to the U.S. border. The anticipated mass of illegal immigrants in that caravan will only exacerbate an already-dire situation for our Border Patrol agents, whose resources have already been stretched to the “breaking point” by a surge of border-crossers. More than 100,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended in March alone, and at the current pace, at least 1.2 million people will have crossed the border illegally by the end of 2019. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that DHS is treating the situation as a “Cat 5 hurricane disaster.” Even Barack Obama’s right-hand man on immigration recently labeled the situation as a crisis. “By anyone’s definition, by any measure, right now we have a crisis at our southern border,” former Department of Homeland Security Secretary…

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Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin Joins Governor Bill Lee for Criminal Justice Reform Symposium in Nashville

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A symposium on criminal justice reform held in Nashville featured an hour-long conversation between Governors Bill Lee of Tennessee and Matt Bevin of Kentucky. The symposium was held in the “appellate courtroom” at the Randall and Sadie Baskin Center of the College of Law, located on the beautiful campus of Belmont University in downtown Nashville. While the event was free, seating was limited, so advanced registration through EventBrite was required. Still, the venue ended up standing room only. Hosts of the symposium were Men of Valor and Right on Crime. Men of Valor offers in-prison ministry in the form of a voluntary program to participants who have applied and been selected based on having the time to complete the full six-month program and exhibiting a sincere desire to change. Programs emphasize the participants’ need for restoration with God, family, community and society, according to the organization’s website. Additionally, Men of Valor offers aftercare and re-entry care and services to men released from prison, to help in overcoming the tremendous obstacles they face with regard to housing and even the most basic of other needs such as food, clothing, transportation, identification and employment. Governor Lee, who spoke of…

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Mike Looney Reportedly Will Do Away with Cultural Competency Training Videos

Chris Butler

Williamson County School Superintendent Mike Looney has reportedly decided to never again show the controversial Cultural Competency videos to teachers, according to Nashville Public Radio. This information was revealed during an interview The Tennessean reporter Amelia Knisely gave to the station Wednesday. Knisely also said district officials will roll out a new social studies curriculum in August. What she called “extensive training” to teachers on issues like slavery and race will accompany that curriculum, she said. As reported, the Cultural Competency videos preached “white privilege” and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. The Tennessee Star broke the story, something Knisely alluded to during her on-air interview with Nashville Public Radio’s Jason Moon Wilkins. “The [online conservative news outlet] Tennessee Star filed an open records request with the district about the videos,” Knisely said. “That was how the Williamson County Republican Party picked up on them and that language of ‘indoctrinating students’ and teachers, which is what the Republican Party accused the district of doing, kind of came out of those Tennessee Star stories.” Knisely, who covers education for The Tennessean, went on to say a group of parents approached Looney with concerns about school field trips to local plantations. As The Tennessee Star reported last month, slavery…

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Democratic Lawmaker Says AG William Barr Is Acting Like Trump’s ‘Fixer’

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by Chris White   Democratic Rep. Madeline Dean of Pennsylvania likened U.S. Attorney General William Barr to President Donald Trump’s fixer as her party colleagues react to the publication of the report on the Russian investigation. “I think that what we’re seeing is with Attorney General Barr confusion. He’s not acting as the attorney general. In fact, he’s acting, again, maybe like another fixer for the president, like a president’s attorney. And that is not his role,” Dean said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day.” She was reacting to Barr’s decision to conduct a press conference detailing elements of special counsel Robert Mueller’s nearly two-year probe. Barr noted at Thursday’s press conference that Mueller’s team found no evidence showing Trump or members of his campaign colluded with Russians to influence the 2016 election. “After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the special counsel confirmed that the Russian government-sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes,” Barr said at a press conference. Barr said Mueller investigated whether members of Trump’s campaign or Trump associates helped in…

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Democrat Senator Sinema Bucks Party, Calls on Lawmakers to Better Secure the Border

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Krysten Sinema

by Jason Hopkins   Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday echoed the White House in calling for immigration enforcement to be aided with additional resources and staff. Arizonans bear the brunt of Washington’s failure to address our broken immigration system. We must secure the border with a comprehensive, smart, bipartisan approach – we’re calling on @DHSgov to send additional resources and staff to AZ ports. pic.twitter.com/qZGq3LgLmF — Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) April 17, 2019 “Arizonans bear the brunt of Washington’s failure to address our broken immigration system. We must secure the border with a comprehensive, smart, bipartisan approach – we’re calling on [the Department of Homeland Security] to send additional resources and staff to AZ ports,” the first-term senator tweeted Wednesday. Sinema’s call for better border security was a far cry from what many of her colleagues in the Senate are demanding. Nineteen Senate Democrats, including every Democratic presidential candidate in the upper chamber of Congress, sent a letter to appropriation leaders demanding a reduction in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. The group of Democrats made four specific requests of the appropriations committee: Less funding for beds in immigration detention centers,…

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Border Apprehensions in 2019 Have Already Surpassed Last Year’s Total

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by Jason Hopkins   Border Patrol agents, halfway through fiscal year 2019, have already apprehended more migrants nationwide than all of fiscal year 2018. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced that 418,000 nationwide apprehensions have occurred this fiscal year to date. A total of 404,142 nationwide apprehensions took place in the entirety of fiscal year 2018, a CBP spokeswoman told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The numbers indicate that 2019 is on pace for a stellar year in border apprehensions. The vast majority of the captures are taking place on the U.S. southwest border, where 414,000 foreign nationals were nabbed between ports of entry since October — the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year. Compared to the 2018 fiscal year, only 396,579 apprehensions were made on the southwest border. The escalating situation is prompting more calls from immigration enforcement leaders to do something. “We don’t have room to hold [detainees], we don’t have the authority to remove them, and they are not likely to be able to be allowed to remain in the country at the end of their immigration proceedings,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Wednesday during a press conference in Hidalgo, Texas. McAleenan — making his…

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Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Calls for Raising Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco Products to 21

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U.S. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday he plans to introduce legislation to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco products, including vaping devices, to 21 from 18 to curb their “epidemic” use among teens. McConnell said the bill would be introduced in May. Shares of Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc, which owns a 35 percent stake in e-cigarette maker Juul, fell 3 percent on the news. Philip Morris International and U.S-listed shares of British American Tobacco were also trading lower. “For some time, I’ve been hearing from the parents who are seeing an unprecedented spike in vaping among their teenage children…. Unfortunately, it’s reaching epidemic levels around the country,” the Republican senator from Kentucky said in a statement. McConnell’s proposal comes as states and cities across the United States have moved to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco in an effort to prevent addiction at young ages. A 2015 study from the National Academy of Medicine found that among adults who became daily smokers, about 90 percent started using cigarettes before they were 19. The study found that raising the minimum legal age to 21 would prevent 223,000 premature deaths. So far 12 states have enacted…

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North Carolina Governor Vetoes Born-Alive Bill

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by Grace Carr   Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a born-alive bill Thursday that sought to explicitly direct physicians to provide care for infants who survive abortion procedures. Cooper vetoed SB359, also known as the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” which passed the state legislature Tuesday. The state Senate first passed the bill Monday and the House passed the bill in a 65-46 vote Tuesday, according to The News & Observer. “Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care,” according to the legislation. Physicians who violate the bill would be charged with a Class D felony and fined up to $250,000. Cooper’s spokesman, Ford Porter, criticized the bill ahead of the governor’s Thursday veto. “This unnecessary legislation would criminalize doctors for a practice that simply does not exist,” Porter said, according to the Observer. “Laws already exist to protect newborn babies and legislators should instead be focused on other issues…

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Layman Lessons Provides Inspirational Christian Day on Capitol Hill Featuring Governor Bill Lee as the Keynote Speaker and Congressman Mark Green

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In an inaugural event, Layman Lessons provided Christians across Tennessee with an inspirational day on Capitol Hill Wednesday that featured Governor Bill Lee as the keynote speaker and U.S. Congressman Mark Green. The theme of the event was “standing, serving, leading, together,” with an emphasis on serving. Serving is what the charity, Layman Lessons, has been doing since 2001, by procuring and distributing millions of dollars in food, as well as providing other services, to the homeless. Layman Lessons founder, Pastor Louie Johnston, Jr., told The Tennessee Star that 375 free tickets were reserved through EventBrite, which was scheduled for 9:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the historic War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville. Grand Ole Opry Show Host and ABC News producer, Juliette Vara, as she does at the Grand Ole Opry, got the audience fired up for the morning event. The program included Gary Chapman, an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter who is a seven-time Dove award winner and five-time Grammy nominee. Chapman played a prominent role in the event, leading the attendees in song with his guitar between each segment of the program. Chapman said of Johnston’s request to join in the…

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Astronaut to Eclipse Record for Longest US Spaceflight by a Woman

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A female astronaut is due to set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, the same astronaut who was to have been in the first all-female spacewalk scrapped over lack of a right-sized spacesuit. Astronaut Christina Koch, who completed the spacewalk with a man instead of a female colleague last month, will remain in orbit on board the International Space Station until February, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said. Part of NASA’s study of the effects of long spaceflights on the human body, Koch will spend 328 days in space. The 40-year-old astronaut has been in orbit since last month. “One month down. Ten to go,” Koch wrote Wednesday on Twitter. “Privileged to contribute my best every single day of it.” In late March, NASA canceled what would have been the first all-female spacewalk with Koch and astronaut Anne McClain due to a lack of a spacesuit in the right size for McClain. The walk was would have occurred during the final week of Women’s History Month. On board the orbiting space station, astronauts work on a range of experiments in biology, biotechnology, health, earth, space and other sciences. The…

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Commentary: Easter Egg Hunts and Deluded Political Ideologies

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by Emma Elliott Freire   Ah, Easter egg hunts. They’re a fun, wholesome, all-American tradition. Or are they? As many parents can attest, Easter egg hunts also have a dark side. Last Saturday, my husband and I took our four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to an Easter egg hunt sponsored by a local school. To our amazement, the kids had to hand all the eggs they’d found back to the organizer, who redistributed an equal number to everyone. In other words, this was a Communist Easter egg hunt! “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” never felt so real. The worst part was that my four-year-old was already spontaneously sharing her eggs with her little brother. He was too small to get any of his own. But she loves him. And then her selflessness was derailed by coerced sharing. Moreover, she’d been targeting the pink eggs when she was searching. In the centralized redistribution, she only got blue ones. She complained for hours afterward. While I’m sad for her, I’m also glad her first significant experience with Communism was negative. If she ever flirts with the ideology when she’s older, I’ll remind her of this day.…

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Commentary: Ignore Medicare for All Advocates’ Claims on Life Expectancy in US.

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by Robert Moffit   Ponder this: If self-styled “progressives” in Congress impose total government control over health care, will ordinary Americans enjoy a longer life span? Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chief sponsor of the Senate “Medicare for All” bill (S. 1804), often reminds us that the United States spends roughly twice as much per capita on health care as most other economically advanced countries, but American life expectancy is lower than that of almost all these high-income nations. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., lead sponsors of the House’s Medicare for All bill (H.R. 1384) say, “The quality of our health care is much worse than [that of] other industrialized countries. The life expectancy in the U.S. is lower than other nations, while our infant mortality is much higher.” These are misleading generalizations. In fact, American medical outcomes for the most serious conditions—for example, lower mortality from heart attacks and strokes, as well as survival rates from a variety of cancers—are generally superior to those of other advanced countries. America’s high level of investment in advanced medical technologies, including innovative drug therapies, has improved medical outcomes and has directly contributed to longer life expectancy among our senior citizens.…

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Commentary: Adam Schiff Is the Media’s Pin-Up Doll

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by Julie Kelly   There are times that even The Onion—the popular satirical newspaper—can’t compete with the outlandish coverage produced by allegedly legitimate news publications. Newsweek magazine’s front-cover swoon over Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) this week is one such example. The interview portrays Schiff as a warrior-martyr, fighting the evil Trump regime for the good of the country. He blasts Attorney General Bill Barr; regurgitates long-disproven allegations of Trump-Russia collusion; and again insists many of his Republican colleagues have private misgivings about President Trump but refuse to air those grievances in public for fear of retribution. For anyone even remotely aware of Schiff’s congenital dishonesty and malfeasance, the Newsweek profile is as comical and ironic as any Onion parody could dream to be. Except one can assume the author and editors want the article to be taken seriously by its unserious readership. Newsweek’s cover photo appears tweaked to bulk up his thin neck, which the president and some of Schiff’s Republican colleagues in the House have mocked with glee. (Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida last week introduced a bill entitled the PENCIL Act that demands Schiff be removed as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. President Trump recently called the…

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Court Sets Hearing on Trump Administration’s Asylum Policy

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A federal appeals court Wednesday scheduled a hearing over whether to stop the Trump administration from forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their immigration court hearings. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set a hearing for April 24 in San Francisco over whether a lower court ruling to block the policy should go into effect while the case proceeds. U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ruled April 8 that the unprecedented policy violated U.S. law and should be halted because it failed to evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexico. He issued an order to stop the policy, but gave the government time to appeal, which it did, claiming the ruling was erroneous and would endanger the public. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit issued a temporary stay last week — leaving the policy in place — and requested written arguments from the government and immigrant advocates before setting the hearing date, now set for next week. Policy introduced in January The administration introduced its “Migrant Protection Protocols” policy Jan. 29 in San Diego and later expanded it to Calexico, California, and El Paso, Texas. Homeland Security officials have said they planned to sharply expand enforcement along the…

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Mueller Report Directly Contradicts Bombshell BuzzFeed Story

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by Peter Hasson   Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation directly contradicts an explosive BuzzFeed story that claimed Mueller had evidence President Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen, his former attorney, to lie to Congress about a potential Moscow real estate deal. The Jan. 18 BuzzFeed story claimed that Cohen “told the special counsel that after the election, the president personally instructed him to lie — by claiming that negotiations ended months earlier than they actually did — in order to obscure Trump’s involvement.” The story claimed that Mueller’s office “learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents. Cohen then acknowledged those instructions during his interviews with that office.” BuzzFeed touted its story as “the first known example of Trump explicitly telling a subordinate to lie directly about his own dealings with Russia.” But Mueller’s report states that “Cohen said that he and the President did not explicitly discuss whether Cohen’s testimony about the Trump Tower Moscow project would be or was false, and the President did not direct him to provide false testimony. Cohen…

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Rashida Tlaib Suggests Americans Launch A Hunger Strike To ‘Shut Down’ ICE

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib suggested that Americans engage in a hunger strike to “shut down” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rather than abolishing the agency through congressional approval. “I want you not to only share things on social media, but pick up the phone because many of your Michigan delegation members need to also be loud and clear about this action,” Tlaib told a crowd of supporters on Sunday while delivering the keynote address for the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights. “You know, there’s so many movements that we’re all part of. It won’t take us getting them information from the subpoena only,” Tlaib continued. “You know what it’s going to take? Movements outside of the halls of Congress, movements outside of [the] White House.” The Michigan congresswoman has been an outspoken opponent of the agency. She claimed in June that ICE makes “our neighborhoods less safe” and that it “terrorizes” communities. “I want you all to shut [ICE] down. We can shut them down,” Tlaib said. “Don’t wait for this Congress to act. Shut ’em down.” “I know what you’re going to say though, they’re going to go ‘what do you mean…

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Two Years Later and With Access to Classified Information, ‘Obstruction Of Justice’ Evidence Is Largely Events Already Known

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by Luke Rosiak   Special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation did not find potential “obstruction of justice” by President Donald Trump beyond incidents that were already largely known. “As the special counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks,” Attorney General William Barr said Thursday morning. “Federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct. … There was relentless speculation in the news media about the president’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion.” “Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the president had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation,” he added. Mueller described acts of potential obstruction of justice without reaching any legal conclusions. Barr “concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsel’s investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense,” he said at a press conference. They included, according to the special counsel’s roughly 400-page report: Trump “publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible…

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Three Keys to Understanding the Attorney General’s Move to Limit ‘Catch and Release’

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by Fred Lucas   Attorney General William Barr has announced a new asylum policy to curb the government’s practice of catching illegal immigrants and then releasing them into the nation’s interior. The American Civil Liberties Union already has vowed to challenge the change in court even as President Donald Trump seeks to use all legal tools at his disposal to control the flow of illegal immigrants. BREAKING: Attorney General William Barr tonight directed immigration judges to deny bond hearings to asylum seekers. Our Constitution does not allow the government to lock up asylum seekers without basic due process. We'll see the administration in court. Again. — ACLU (@ACLU) April 17, 2019 The Justice Department contends that the attorney general is enforcing the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in line with a Supreme Court ruling last year. Barr is on firm legal ground, the department says, in determining that illegal immigrants who seek asylum are not eligible for release on bond until their case is adjudicated. Barr’s decision is already effective, so the Department of Homeland Security can conduct planning for additional detentions and parole decisions. Here’s three things to know about the attorney general’s decision. 1. How Barr…

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Ohio Future Foundation’s Chairman Jim Renacci Hosts Facebook Live Budget Forum with State Rep. Powell and Buckeye State Fellow Greg Lawson

Andrew Shirley

The Ohio Future Foundation hosted a wide-ranging Facebook live interview that reviewed the March 15 budget biennial 2020-2021 proposed by Governor DeWine. Ohio Future Foundation Chairman Jim Renacci was joined by Republican State Representative Jena Powell of Ohio’s 80th district and Senior Fellow Greg Lawson of the Buckeye Institute, a free-market think tank based in Ohio. Lawson is the author of the just-released Piglet Book, which analyzes state budgets for waste and abuse. They hoped to discuss the “good, the bad, and the pork” of the recently released budget. Renacci began the discussion by assessing the overall state of the Ohio economy and how this new budget was factoring in for it. He noted that there were “big indications that Ohio’s economy was slowing down, but the budget outlined projected record revenues” for the state over the next two years. Lawson concurred, stating: revenues are coming in well at the moment, the state is assuming that this is going to continue through the next year and some slowdown in the second fiscal year….However, there’s a lot of reason for trepidation. The main issue, he noted was a significant divide between the economic numbers produced by the Governor’s office and the…

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Commentary: Celebration of Easter and Passover

JC Bowman

This weekend marks a Holy Week for many citizens across Tennessee and the world, as we celebrate Passover and Easter. In America, religious beliefs are critical to many of our founding principles. There is no denying the significant impact that faith has had on our nation, from the Puritans to our present day. America was “settled by men and women of deep religious convictions who in the seventeenth century crossed the Atlantic Ocean to practice their faith freely.” George Washington declared in his Farewell Address, that of “all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.” So, it is no surprise that as a nation, many of our citizens still embrace faith and trust in God. We pass along our faith rituals, habits, customs and traditions to our own children in our homes and places of worship. Passover begins at sundown on Friday, April 19, and ends Saturday evening, April 27. The first Passover Seder is on the evening of April 19, and the second Passover Seder takes place on the evening of April 20. Jewish people everywhere will sit with their families and friends for the celebration of Passover—a celebration of freedom.…

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Ohio’s Tim Ryan Says He’s ‘Concerned’ With Rise of Socialism in His Party, But Calls Health Care a ‘Human Right’

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), a 2020 presidential hopeful, said on CNN Wednesday that he’s “concerned” about the rise of socialism within the Democratic Party. “I’m concerned about it because if we are going to de-carbonize the American economy it’s not going to be some centralized bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. that’s going to make it happen. It’s going to be part targeted government investments that do need to be robust, but it’s going to be the free market that’s, at the end of the day, going to make that happen,” Ryan said on CNN’s New Day. Ryan said that only the “innovation” and “creativity” of the free market will allow for America’s economy to go carbon free. “You can be hostile to concentration of wealth. You can be hostile to income inequality. You can be hostile to greed. We can’t be hostile to the free-enterprise system. That’s how we get past China,” Ryan continued. 2020 hopeful @RepTimRyan says he’s “concerned” about socialism and the Democratic Party. “You can be hostile to concentration of wealth, you can be hostile to income inequality … We can't be hostile to the free-enterprise system. That’s how we get past China.” pic.twitter.com/ahlwI09rqb — CNN This Morning…

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The Bob Frantz Authority on WHK Radio in Cleveland Talks to State Rep Candace Keller About the Heartbeat Bill

Julie Carr

Franz: Certainly there are a lot of important faith-based organizations that helped to accomplish what was accomplished last week in Columbus. As our state legislature and our governor combined to finally win for life. The Heartbeat Bill is now law. I know a lot of faith-based people in this listening audience who are not just faithful themselves but belong to groups and there are faith-based organizations that have worked very very hard to lobby members of the Ohio state general assembly. The House and the Senate. To protect life. To fight for life. To pass a Heartbeat Bill that would make it illegal for a woman to have an abortion after a second life is confirmed. After a second heartbeat is detected. Indicating there are now two bodies that need to be protected. To separate individual lives that need to be protected. And of course, we know the battle. This has been years in the making. It passed last year before it was vetoed for a second time by Governor John Kasich. Not so much this time. The Heartbeat Bill is now the Heartbeat law. It was passed and signed into law last week by Governor Mike DeWine. And joining…

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Minnesota Dems ‘Deeply Disturbed’ by Mueller Report, Republicans Say They’re Throwing a ‘Temper Tantrum’

Anthony Gockowski

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was officially released to the public Thursday. Reactions from Minnesota’s congressional delegation were predictably divided. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) said she was “deeply distributed” as she reviewed the report, claiming it has “proved Russian interference in the 2016 election.” “Second, there is ample evidence of attempts by the president to obstruct the investigation and the special counsel left it to Congress to decide whether that amounts to a crime. And the report demonstrates that the lies Trump associated told materially affected the course of the investigation,” Smith wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) agreed and pointed out that the report states that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election “in a sweeping and systematic fashion.” “So despite the endless doubts cast by the president, this happened. Case made for my bill for backup paper ballots and post-election audits,” Klobuchar wrote on Twitter. First Page of Mueller report says that Russian government interfered in 2016 presidential election “in sweeping and systematic fashion.” So despite the endless doubts cast by the President, this happened. Case made for my bill for backup…

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Senator Portman Wears ‘Otto’ T-Shirt in South Korea Visit in Remembrance of Ohio Native

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) joined a bipartisan congressional trip to South Korea this week to discuss trade between the U.S. and South Korea as well as the ongoing nuclear negotiations with North Korea. During a visit to the demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea, Portman sported an “Otto” t-shirt in remembrance of Ohio native Otto Warmbier, who was famously imprisoned by Kim Jong Un’s regime and later died after being returned to the U.S. “Being in the region, I could not help but think of Otto Warmbier and his family. Otto has been at the front of my mind while I’ve been here and I’ve made clear to South Korean government officials that we must never forget him,” Portman said in a press release. The Ohio senator visited with soldiers from his home state during the trip who are “serving on the front lines to protect the people of South Korea from potential North Korean aggression.” “I am so grateful for the incredible sacrifices that our soldiers make on our behalf and I was honored to visit with them during my time in South Korea,” Portman said. Portman said he also visited with South Korean trade representatives to…

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Etowah Principal May Have Violated Tennessee Law By Urging Teachers to Fight School Vouchers

Chris Butler

Etowah City School Principal Brian Trammell recently emailed his teachers and staff and urged them to lobby against the school vouchers’ bill up for consideration in the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Star confirmed the information Thursday after filing open records requests for school officials’ emails from several school districts in the state. Trammell possibly violated Tennessee’s Little Hatch Act by sending this email. The law prohibits state employees from engaging in political activity on the job. An email Trammell sent to his staff members on April 11 — a Thursday at 11:13 a.m. — was a call to action. “The response from our Senators and Representatives will be that it will not effect McMinn County/Etowah City School students and families, but it will. Once pandoras box is open, parent groups, such as Homeschool parents start suing wanting the same ‘benefit’ in every district in the State. The courts will see this as discrimination and open it up in every district,” Trammell wrote. “Please read the following and email the following concerns about this Bill. I implore you to email Senator Mike Bell (who, by the way, voted for this Bill yesterday) and Governor Lee and tell them you are…

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