Day: April 25, 2019

Joe Biden Announces for President

Tennessee Star Staff

  Former Vice President Joe Biden announced his candidacy for president on Thursday morning in a YouTube video. His campaign tweeted this out at about 6 a.m. Thursday: The core values of this nation… our standing in the world… our very democracy…everything that has made America — America –is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States. #Joe2020 https://t.co/jzaQbyTEz3 — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2019 You can watch the YouTube video of Biden’s announcement here:   “Former Vice President Joe Biden formally joined the crowded Democratic presidential contest on Thursday, betting that his working-class appeal and ties to Barack Obama’s presidency will help him overcome questions about his place in today’s increasingly liberal Democratic Party,” the Associated Press reported at 6 a.m. Thursday: Biden is paying special attention to Pennsylvania, a state that swung to Trump in 2016 after voting for Democratic presidential candidates for decades. The former vice president will be in the state three times within the opening weeks of his campaign. He’ll be in Philadelphia on Thursday evening headlining a fundraiser at the home of David L. Cohen, executive senior vice president of Comcast. Biden is aiming to raise…

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Payroll Deduction Bill May Provide More Access to All Groups Representing Teachers

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  Thursday morning the Tennessee Senate will consider a payroll deduction bill that will provide teachers with an option to get politics out of their paychecks. For many, it will also provide equal access to payroll deduction for dues payment for groups other than the increasingly liberal activism of the teachers’ union, the Tennessee Education Association (TEA). There are currently five active teacher associations across the state that serve educators. Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET), a non-partisan association and the TEA, a union, are the most active statewide. There is also the American Federation of Teachers, Christian Educators Association International and the American Association of Educators. In Memphis, the local-only Memphis-Shelby County Education Association represents teachers’ interests. The Memphis group broke away from the state association over philosophical differences, in a very publicized dispute. Keith Williams spoke about it in the Truth About the Tennessee Education Association. In most counties, the TEA has been the only group granted payroll deduction. Senate Bill 482, sponsored by Senator Todd Gardenhire, could level that playing field. In some states, like Texas, multiple teacher groups exist and the process for payroll deduction for dues payments is available to all such groups. These competing groups…

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Commentary: Pete Buttigieg and the Left’s False Piety

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by Matthew Boose   When South Bend, Indiana Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg accused Vice President Mike Pence of having a problem with his sexual orientation, the openly gay Episcopalian was employing a tired, but increasingly common, progressive sleight of hand. “If you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me—your quarrel, sir, is with my creator,” Buttigieg said. This was a political stunt steeped in prejudice against Pence’s religious beliefs. Of course, not only has Pence not attacked Buttigieg, but it would seem he has had nothing but nice things to say about him. Buttigieg’s “gotcha” exemplifies a common strategy of on the Left to shame others into accepting their ideas. Leftists, while loudly championing infanticide, have taken to co-opting a religion they don’t actually believe in to push their own agenda. Buttigieg’s message is predictable and banal, but it’s the kind of thing that impresses progressives who find TED talks edifying and consult “the data” to settle moral questions: Pence and all evangelicals who support Trump are hypocrites. If they were real Christians, they’d follow the Left’s interpretation of the Gospel, which is really just secular liberalism in faux-Christian garb. One…

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Driving a Tesla Results in More CO2 Than a Mercedes Diesel Car, Study Finds

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by Michael Bastasch   A Tesla Model 3 is touted as a zero-emissions car by government regulators, but it actually results in more carbon dioxide than a comparable diesel-powered car, according to a recent study. When the CO2 emissions from battery production is included, electric cars, like Teslas, are “in the best case, slightly higher than those of a diesel engine, and are otherwise much higher,” reads a release from the German think tank IFO. “It’s better read as a warning that new technologies aren’t a climate-change panacea. Recall the false promises about corn and cellulosic ethanol,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote of the study. Driving a Tesla Model 3 in Germany, for example, is responsible for 156 to 181 grams of CO2 per kilometer, compared to just 141 grams per kilometer for a diesel-powered Mercedes C220d — that includes emissions from producing diesel fuel. IFO looked at electric car production in Germany, which is heavily reliant on coal power. Electric car emissions in other countries depend on their energy mix, but Germany is the world’s third-largest electric car maker. China and the U.S. are the first- and second-largest electric car producers, respectively. China gets 65 percent of…

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Better Than a Direct Message: Trump Meets Twitter CEO

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  U.S. President Donald Trump met Tuesday with the top executive of Twitter, just hours after complaining the social media platform treats him unfairly. Trump, shortly after the Oval Office meeting ended with Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, tweeted a photo of the discussion and expressed a more positive tone from his tweeted Tuesday morning complaints. The president called it a “great meeting,” saying they discussed lots of subjects regarding the platform and social media in general. Great meeting this afternoon at the @WhiteHouse with @Jack from @Twitter. Lots of subjects discussed regarding their platform, and the world of social media in general. Look forward to keeping an open dialogue! pic.twitter.com/QnZi579eFb — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019 “Look forward to keeping an open dialogue!” the @realDonaldTrump tweet concluded. Dorsey tweeted later Tuesday, “Thank you for the time. Twitter is here to serve the entire public conversation, and we intend to make it healthier and more civil. Thanks for the discussion about that.” Trump, as president-elect, met with executives of top technology companies in December 2016, but no one from Twitter was invited. Tuesday’s meeting between Trump and Dorsey was at the invitation of the president, according to…

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Wisconsin Gov Will Veto ‘Born Alive’ Bill Because It’s ‘Not A Productive Use Of Time’

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Tony Evers

by Grace Carr   Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vowed Monday to veto the state’s born-alive bill mandating doctors provide care to infants who survive abortion procedures, calling the legislation redundant. “We have all sorts of issues to deal with in the state of Wisconsin and to pass a bill that is redundant seems to be not a productive use of time,” Evers said in a Monday interview, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “And clearly I ran on the belief — and I still believe — that women should be able to make choices about their health care. But this deals with a specific issue that’s already been resolved,” Evers added. The proposed bill requires doctors to “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care provider would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” according to the legislation. A doctor must ensure that a child born alive is immediately taken and admitted to the hospital, under the proposal. Physicians who violate the law face fines up to $10,000 and a maximum of six years in…

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Commentary: We Need Supply Side Warrior Steve Moore on the Fed Board

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by George Rasley   In late March, and partly at the urging of Larry Kudlow, Director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, the President announced his intention to nominate our good friend Stephen Moore to one of the two open seats on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Conservatives, who believe in and support the Trump pro-growth economic agenda, were thrilled when the President announced Moore’s name – establishment “Wall Street before Main Street” types, not so much. The announcement prompted protests from economists across the ideological spectrum, reported Politico’s Ben Schreckinger, with George W. Bush’s top economist, Harvard’s Gregory Mankiw, saying Moore lacked the “intellectual gravitas” for the job and warning that appointing Moore, a think-tanker with no Ph.D., would politicize the Fed. Like appointing Janet Yellen to maintain near negative interest rates to prop-up Obama wasn’t political? To claim that Moore, who has served as top economist at the Heritage Foundation and a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, lacks intellectual gravitas is about the crassest exhibition of elitism we’ve seen in a long time and comes from the same place that spawned the Kevin D. Williamson article we dismembered back in 2016. And, as Mr.…

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Mexican Military Now Patrolling North of the Border, US Sovereignty Violated Repeatedly

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by CHQ Staff   Our friend Daniel Horowitz of Conservative Review alerted us to this astonishing incident and prompted our further investigation. On April 13, at around 2 p.m. Central Time, a group of five or six suspected Mexican soldiers approached an unmarked vehicle of two U.S. soldiers stationed at the border in El Paso County, Texas, and ordered them out of the vehicle. According to Newsweek, which obtained the “serious incident report,” the soldiers were in fact active duty members of B Battery, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, not from a National Guard unit. The Mexican soldiers disarmed one of the U.S. soldiers and placed his sidearm in the U.S. vehicle. While the soldiers were parked south of the border fence near Clint, Texas, they were north of the Rio Grande riverbed, which placed them “appropriately in U.S. territory,” according to Maj. Mark Lazane, a spokesman for NORTHCOM. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Defense (DOD), after inquiring of the Mexican government, were informed that the Mexican soldiers thought that the Americans were south of the border. “Throughout the incident, the U.S. soldiers followed all established procedures and protocols,” according to NORTHCOM. Horowitz says NORTHCOM…

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Expert: Lamar Alexander ‘Betrays Taxpayers’ Fighting for More Electric Vehicle Tax Credits

Chris Butler

  U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee defends fighting for more tax credits for electric vehicles, even as an expert with a Virginia-based think tank says this act “betrays taxpayers.” As The Tennessee Star reported this month, Alexander is co-sponsoring a bill that would extend tax credits for electric car manufacturers. This, despite Republican U.S. President Donald Trump wanting to do away with them. In an emailed statement to The Star Wednesday, Alexander was unwavering in his commitment. “Ten years ago, there were no mass produced electric cars on U.S. highways and, today, there are about one million automakers planning to make millions more,” Alexander said. “The all-electric Nissan Leaf that I bought in 2011 had a hard time getting me from the Capitol to Dulles airport and back. Its real range was about 70 miles. Today’s Nissan Leaf can travel 226 miles on one charge. Investing in American research and technology for better electric vehicles is one way to help our country and the world deal with climate change. I’m glad to cosponsor this important legislation, which will encourage even more production of electric vehicles, create good jobs and boost the economy.” In a new column, Veronique de…

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Google Engineer Who Called Marsha Blackburn a Terrorist Reportedly Belongs to Cult Led by Former Porn Star

Chris Butler

  The Google engineer who last year described U.S. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn as a terrorist is part of a cult under the tutelage of a former porn star, according to this week’s Daily Caller. As The Tennessee Star reported last year, Blake Lemoine, a senior software engineer at Google, has a real beef with Blackburn. As The Daily Caller reported, Lemoine is a priest at the Church of Our Lady Magdalene. “The Church of Our Lady Magdalene has since changed its name to the Cult of Our Lady Magdalene, according to their website. Lemoine signed his Medium post with the title, ‘Priest of the Church of Our Lady Magdalene,’” the website reported. “One of the other leaders of the cult is High Priestess Kitty Stryker, who describes herself as ‘an active member of the genderqueer feminist art collective, the NorCal Degenerates’ and, in messages with the Daily Caller, as an ‘ex-sex worker’ who has performed in several pornographic movies.” The Degenderettes, The Daily Caller went on to report, are responsible for an art exhibition that included axes, baseball bats covered in barbed wire, and riot shields with the slogan, ‘Die Cis Scum.’” The website went on to say the cult’s beliefs influenced…

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Change.org Suppresses Jewish Watchdog’s Petition Questioning Loyalty of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib

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by Peter Hasson   Change.org is suppressing an inflammatory petition from a Jewish watchdog group demanding a federal investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Though the petition didn’t violate Change.org’s terms, the platform took steps to restrict its “discovery on our platform,” Change.org told StopAntisemitism.org, the watchdog group, in an email shared with The Daily Caller News Foundation. The petition is hidden from users who search for it on the platform. The petition, which had more than 32,000 signatures by Tuesday evening, accuses CAIR, a Muslim activist group, of being “an American front group for the Hamas terrorist organization.” The petition also challenges Omar and Tlaib’s loyalties to America. Both congresswomen previously leveled the same charge against supporters of Israel. “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 Anti-Semitism to investigate these ties,” the petition states. Omar and Tlaib both spoke at CAIR fundraisers this year. Omar stirred controversy with remarks she made about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while speaking at a CAIR event…

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Trump Throws Threat to Congress If It Moves to Impeach

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by Henry Rodgers   President Donald Trump threatened Congress over impeachment Wednesday morning saying he would immediately head to the Supreme Court and alleging that the Democrats were the ones who committed crimes. Trump mentioned special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which found no collusion or obstruction by the president, saying the report was written by “Angry Democrats and Trump Haters” and that he “DID NOTHING WRONG,” in a pair of tweets Wednesday morning. The Mueller Report, despite being written by Angry Democrats and Trump Haters, and with unlimited money behind it ($35,000,000), didn’t lay a glove on me. I DID NOTHING WRONG. If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only…… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019 Trump also mentioned there were no “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” and that all of the crimes that were committed were done by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and “Dirty Cops.” The president also said Republicans “won” after the Mueller report was released and that Democrats are looking at Congress “as last hope!” …..are there no “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” there are no Crimes by me at all.…

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Watchdog Says Bank of America Has Hosted Consecutive Fundraising Galas For Planned Parenthood

Jason M. Reynolds

  Archived webpages show Bank of America sponsored consecutive annual fundraising galas for Planned Parenthood of New York City, according to a press release by 2ndVote. The archives are available here. Conservative watchdog organization 2ndVote published an online announcement for Planned Parenthood of New York City’s May 2, 2017, centennial gala. That form listed Bank of America as a “corporate sponsor.” The event was billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime gala to benefit Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of New York City.” Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was presented with the Champion of the Century Award at the gala. One year later, a similar announcement for Planned Parenthood of New York City’s “Spring Into Action Gala” on May 1, 2018, listed Bank of America as a “bronze sponsor.” 2ndVote also posted IRS Form 990 filings by Bank of America Charitable Foundation that show donations to multiple Planned Parenthood affiliates. In 2017, the foundation distributed over $50,000 to these organizations. The Form 990 filings are available here. In addition, 2ndVote released a copy of a letter from Bank of America Charitable Foundation President Kerry Sullivan from Feb. 5, 2019. The letter reads, “Bank of America does not make any direct…

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Federal Judge Blocks Trump Rule Barring Abortion Organizations From Receiving Title X Funds

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by Grace Carr   A federal judge late Tuesday blocked enforcement of a Trump administration rule barring health care organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals from receiving Title X funding. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the Trump administration’s Feb. 22 rule prohibiting Title X funds from supporting programs and organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals, The Oregonian reported. McShane called the rule a “ham-fisted approach to public health policy,” according to the Oregonian. The rule states that “none of the funds appropriated for Title X may be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.” The move meant to force Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics to separate health services such as cancer screenings, pap smears and breast exams from their abortion services. Title X grant recipients were already banned from conducting abortions with these federal funds prior to the ruling. The rule also “requir[es] the physical and financial separation of Title X projects and facilities from programs and facilities where abortion is a method of family planning,” according to the text. The rule mandates clinics report cases of rape, incest and human trafficking, as federal law…

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US ‘Aggressively’ Building Trump’s Border Wall, DHS Chief Says

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by Jason Hopkins   The acting secretary of Homeland Security pushed back on the narrative that President Donald Trump’s border wall is not being built, pointing out that construction has actually been going at an aggressive pace. “So normally for a federal project of this scope, from the time you get funded to starting, it’s over two years,” Kevin McAleenan said Tuesday on Fox News. “We’ve already built the [fiscal year] 2017 funding in less than two years. That shows how aggressively we’re moving out on this.” McAleenan — who became acting DHS secretary earlier in April after Kirstjen Nielsen resigned — has been tapped by the Trump administration to lead the agency at a time when the U.S. southern border is experiencing record numbers of illegal migrants, many of them Central American families. Trump has been forced to fight tooth-and-nail with congressional Democrats over border wall funding. The federal government experienced its longest shutdown in U.S. history as the two camps fought over how much money could be appropriated for wall construction. The White House is being sued after it declared a national emergency on the southern border, allowing it to allocate billions more in funding. The new DHS…

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Cleveland Must Pay $50,000 to Communist Flag Burner Arrested Outside of 2016 RNC

Anthony Gockowski

  The City of Cleveland agreed to a $50,000 settlement Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by Steven Fridley, who was arrested outside of the 2016 Republican National Convention for burning the American flag. Fridley was charged with obstructing official business, aggravated disturbance of peace, and disobeying a lawful order, but those charges were dropped by Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Charles Patton in October 2017. In his ruling, Patton cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1989 Texas v. Johnson decision, which found that burning the American flag was protected by the First Amendment. A year later, in October 2018, Fridley filed suit against the City of Cleveland in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on the grounds that the city, its police chief, and police officers unlawfully prosecuted him for exercising his First Amendment rights. Fridley’s lawsuit, according to a Wednesday press release from his attorneys, also claimed that city officials manufactured false reports and evidence in an effort to pursue “sham charges” intended to “create plausible deniability” and “conceal their politically motivated censorship of a lawful protest.” The City of Cleveland settled Fridley’s claims Wednesday for $50,000. “The case is a timely reminder that respect for dissent…

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Minnesota Dept. of Revenue: Walz Tax Proposals Would Hurt the Poor Most

Anthony Gockowski
Gov. Tim Walz

  A new analysis from Gov. Tim Walz’s own Department of Revenue shows that his tax proposals would hurt the poorest Minnesotans the most. The Tax Research Division of the Minnesota Department of Revenue released its tax incidence analysis Tuesday, and looked at the combined changes that would be made under Walz’s tax, transportation, and health and human services bills. Overall, the report found that the combined increase in tax collections under Walz’s budget proposal is estimated to be $2.372 billion in 2021, of which $2.104 billion is “borne by Minnesota residents.” The average increase in total taxes paid would be 6.52 percent, though the increases would be higher for the bottom five income brackets than the top five. Specifically, the analysis shows that the lowest income bracket would see an 8.5 percent increase in tax burdens while the highest income bracket would see a 4.3 percent increase. Looked at a different way, Minnesotans’ state and local tax burden would increase by an average of 0.76 percent of income. The report, however, states that “the increased tax burden is largest for the lowest deciles and declines at higher income ranges.” The tax burden for the top one percent of earners…

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