Day: April 28, 2019

Stewart County Wins 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee High School Team Championship

Tennessee Star Staff

  Goodlettsville, Tennessee – Stewart County High School won the 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee State High School Championship on Saturday. Kyle Mallory was the faculty advisor who accompanied the team to the event. Lincoln County High School finished in second place, thanks to the strong showing of its one man team, Aryan Burns, who won the Individual Grand Championship . Metro Christian Academy, which hosted the event, finished in third place. Beverly Martin was the faculty advisor who helped prepare the team for the event. Tennessee Volunteer Challenge Academy, finished in fourth place. Dean Nelson was the faculty advisor who championed the team’s participation in the event and accompanied the team to Goodlettsville. Participants from Tennessee Volunteer Challenge Academy – who are considered at-risk youth receiving values, life skills, education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as productive citizens of Tennessee at the Academy – had an impressive showing, considering they had only received the book to begin their studying 24 hours prior to the event. Three additional teams were represented: Franklin Road Academy, Brentwood Middle School, and local home schoolers. Each team was awarded one point for each contestant, one point for winning a Preamble Challenge award, one point for…

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Commentary: Rumor and Bias, Inaccuracy and Ignorance Contribute to the Low State of Journalism

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by Jeff Minick   William Tecumseh Sherman, a Civil War general not known for his delicacy of speech, once said, “If I had my choice, I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.” Like many people today, Sherman detested reporters and journalists. On another occasion, he stated: “I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are.” Regardless of political persuasion, Americans have lost faith in today’s mainstream news media. Reporting on a 2018 poll inquiring about trust in major institutions, the Columbia Journalism Review found print and television news at rock-bottom, exceeded in the matter of distrust only by Congress. When asked why they distrusted the media, about 45 percent of responders cited factors such as bias, inaccuracy, and “fake news.” The results of the Mueller investigation have brought certain television and print outlets to new lows. Some have lost viewers or readers, while others, accused of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), have faced a barrage of criticism for their bias and for the amount of time they gave…

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Robots Track, Fire Thousands of Amazon Employees Every Year, Report Suggests

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by Tim Pearce   Amazon warehouse workers are monitored by tracking systems that measure each employee’s productivity, issue warnings for workers that lag and fire those consistently behind, according to documents obtained by The Verge. Amazon offers a base $15 an hour wage and its warehouses, called fulfillment centers, are often competitive to work at. The company is continuously replacing slow performing employees with new hires. An automated system tracks employees and gives pink slips to consistent underperformers, The Verge reported. An Amazon spokesperson told The Daily Caller News Foundation that no employee is fired without meeting with a supervisor. Employee oversight is largely automated, though supervisors can always override the system as the need arises, Amazon told The Verge. “Amazon’s system tracks the rates of each individual associate’s productivity, and automatically generates any warnings or terminations regarding quality or productivity without input from supervisors,” documents obtained by The Verge said. From August 2017 to September 2018, roughly 300 workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Baltimore lost their jobs because of low productivity. The facility employs about 2,500 full-time employees, putting the turnover rate at about 10 percent annually. If those numbers are similar across Amazon’s 75 North American…

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Pentagon Set to Send Hundreds of Troops to the Southern Border

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by Jason Hopkins   The Pentagon announced that it expects to send around 300 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, breaking with the longstanding policy of avoiding troop-migrant contact. A spokesperson for Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Charles Summers, said Friday that his boss is expected to green light the proposal shortly. However, the troops will not be allowed to perform any law enforcement role at the border. Instead, around 100 military cooks, 160 drivers and 20 lawyers will be deployed to assist immigration agencies as they deal with the ballooning migrant crisis. “We will have some of our troops handing out meals, therefore would come in contact with migrants,” Summers stated Friday. The spokesman added that it was an “amendment to the current policy.” The soon-to-be-deployed troops will help provide meals to detained migrants, drive them in buses, and attorneys with the Department of Defense will help process them. The moves will allow more Department of Homeland Security officials to focus on enforcing the rule of law, rather than processing the huge numbers of illegal migrants reaching the border. The Posse Comitatus Act forbids members of the military from performing civilian law enforcement duties on U.S. soil unless Congress gives…

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Tennessee Tax Revenues Exceed Estimates for March

Chris Butler

  Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Stuart McWhorter announced this week that Tennessee tax revenues exceeded budgeted estimates in March. Overall March revenues totaled $1.1 billion, which is $52.8 million more than the state received in March of 2018 and $28.6 million more than the budgeted estimate for the month. “Sales tax revenues continue to demonstrate the strength of the Tennessee consumer by outpacing last year’s receipts and the state’s budgeted estimate for the month,” McWhorter said in a press release. “Franchise and excise taxes also showed growth compared to March 2018 but were less than the state’s estimate. All other tax revenues combined exceeded the month’s budgeted estimates. The state’s year-to-date tax revenue growth indicates a promising finish to the 2018-2019 fiscal year.  However, a fourth of the state’s volatile corporate tax revenue collections typically occur within the next month. Therefore, we will continue to monitor our monthly tax receipts closely.” On an accrual basis, March is the eighth month in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the press release went on to say. General fund revenues were $29 million more than the budgeted estimate while the four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $0.4 million less…

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Trump Scraps Obama-Era UN Arms Treaty Opposed by Second Amendment Backers

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by Fred Lucas   President Donald Trump announced Friday the United States is pulling out of the international Arms Trade Treaty, a treaty signed by the Obama administration—but never ratified by the Senate—that concerned many Second Amendment advocates. Trump called it a “badly misguided” treaty when speaking Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. “We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedoms,” the president said. “We will never ratify the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. I hope you’re happy.” The announcement brought a standing ovation, surprising the president a little. “I’m impressed. I didn’t know too many of you would know what that is,” Trump said. “America is rejecting this treaty.” Trump signed, in front of the crowd, a message asking the Senate to discontinue any further ratification efforts “and return the now-rejected treaty back to me in the Oval Office, where I will dispose of it.” That prompted another standing ovation and chants of “USA! USA!” Second Amendment advocates were concerned the treaty could provide an international law rationalization for a national gun registry in the United States, and say it was overly vague. That still leaves 101 countries that have ratified…

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NRA’s North Won’t Seek Second Term After LaPierre Alleges Extortion

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by Whitney Tipton   National Rifle Association president Oliver North announced he will not serve a second term Saturday amid controversy stirring the group, including allegations of extortion from NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre. North cited a “clear crisis” that “needs to be dealt with” for the gun rights behemoth to continue operating in a statement read on his behalf, according to The Associated Press. LaPierre sent a letter to NRA board members Thursday claiming North was extorting him to leave the organization under the threat of having accusations of financial misconduct made against him, according to The Wall Street Journal. ” … the exhortation was simple: resign or there will be destructive allegations made against me and the NRA,” the letter, which TheWSJ obtained, states. “Alarmed and disgusted, I refused the offer.” North reportedly said his efforts were beneficial to the NRA in a separate letter to the board, according to TheWSJ, and said he was putting a committee together to investigate the organization’s finances. LaPierre said North contacted his office Wednesday, telling a staffer LaPierre needed to resign, or its ad agency Ackerman McQueen would send a letter with “a devastating account of our financial status, sexual…

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Ocasio-Cortez Uses Synagogue Shooting to Push Gun Control Bill

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by Peter Hasson   Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday used the shooting at a California synagogue that left one person dead to demand the Senate act on a gun control bill. One person is dead and three others are injured following the shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue, authorities said. Police have one suspect in custody, who is described as a 19-year-old male. #UPDATE: What we know about the Chabad Poway synagogue shooting today:-Suspect: 19 year-old, white male is in custody, he used AR-style rifle, surrendered w/o incident-Fatality: 1 older female -Injuries: 3 patients – a female juvenile & 2 adult males, all in stable condition — Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) April 27, 2019 “Heartbroken to hear of the San Diego synagogue shooting, particularly so on this final day of Passover,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet, before pivoting to gun control. “We have a responsibility to love + protect our neighbors,” she wrote. “The longer the Senate delays holding a vote on #HR8, the more we put Americans at risk.” Heartbroken to hear of the San Diego synagogue shooting, particularly so on this final day of Passover. We have a responsibility to love + protect our neighbors. The…

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Davidson County Residents Charged with TennCare Fraud

Chris Butler

  Authorities have charged two Davidson County residents in separate TennCare fraud cases involving prescription drugs. The Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, this week announced the arrest of Omar Adbirizak Hassan, 21 and Shannon Lynne Cannon, also known as Shannon L. Hammock, 36.  Both are Nashville residents and were part of a fraudulent prescription ring that was allegedly passing fraudulent prescriptions without the knowledge of the local healthcare providers. This, according to a press release the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration release this week. Hussan is charged with two counts of TennCare fraud, two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of identity theft. Authorities say that on two separate occasions, he used TennCare benefits to present fraudulent prescriptions for the painkiller Oxycodone. The prescriptions contained the fraudulent signature of a healthcare provider along with the provider’s DEA number. Ms. Cannon-Hammock is charged with two counts of TennCare fraud, two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of identity theft for similar circumstances. Authorities say that on two separate occasions, she used TennCare benefits when presenting fraudulent prescriptions for Oxycodone using the name and DEA number…

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Nepal Deports US Citizen, Arrests Four on Allegations of Converting People to Christianity

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by Joshua Gill   Nepalese authorities arrested four people Tuesday and deported a U.S. citizen on allegations of illegally converting people to Christianity by “allurement,” sparking outcry from Christian advocates. Police officers arrested two men and two women, one of whom is a resident of Colorado, around 8 a.m. Tuesday, a day after the group of four attended a one day conference for pastors with 70 others at a local church, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Police have not officially levied criminal charges against the four but have accused them of trying to convert locals to Christianity. Nepal instituted anti-conversion laws in August 2018, which raised concerns with the U.S. State Department as U.S. officials see potential for the law to be used to restrict religious freedoms. Those convicted of proselytizing or converting others to another religion face a penalty of up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of 50,000 rupees. The American citizen, identified as Oleana Cinquanta, argued the allegations of attempted conversion are false. “The allegations are completely false. We were not distributing any Bibles or dollars,” Cinquanta said, according to The Christian Post. “I was visiting a church program in Dang [district] with my…

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New Gerrymandering Ruling Will Have Big Effects for GOP in 2020

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by Kevin Daley   A federal three-judge panel ruled Thursday that 34 state and federal district lines in Michigan are unconstitutionally gerrymandered to the benefit of Republicans. The decision comes as the Supreme Court contemplates a pair of cases from Maryland and North Carolina, which ask whether and how the federal courts should police partisan line-drawing. “Federal courts must not abdicate their responsibility to protect American voters from this unconstitutional and pernicious practice that undermines our democracy,” the decision reads. “Federal courts’ failure to protect marginalized voters’ constitutional rights will only increase the citizenry’s growing disenchantment with, and disillusionment in, our democracy, further weaken our democratic institutions, and threaten the credibility of the judicial branch.” Judge Eric Clay of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting on the panel by designation, authored the ruling. The Supreme Court has never definitively said that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional, nor has it given lower courts guidance for which district lines are excessively partisan, and therefore unlawful. The Maryland and North Carolina cases present the latest — and some the last — opportunity for the courts to bring gerrymanders to heel. Fully aware that their ruling will turn on the Supreme Court’s forthcoming…

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US Border Patrol to Fingerprint More Migrant Children

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unaccompanied children

  U.S. border authorities say they’ve started to increase the biometric data they take from children 13 years old and younger, including fingerprints, despite privacy concerns and government policy intended to restrict what can be collected from migrant youths. A Border Patrol official said this week that the agency had begun a pilot program to collect the biometrics of children with the permission of the adults accompanying them, though he did not specify where along the border it has been implemented. The Border Patrol also has a “rapid DNA pilot program” in the works, said Anthony Porvaznik, the chief patrol agent in Yuma, Arizona, in a video interview published by the Epoch Times newspaper. Spokesmen for the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security did not return several messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on both programs. ‘Kids that are being rented’ The Border Patrol says that in the last year, it’s stopped roughly 3,100 adults and children fraudulently posing as families so they can be released into the U.S. quickly rather than face detention or rapid deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has also warned of “child recycling,” cases where they say children allowed into the U.S.…

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Brennan Says He’s ‘Absolutely’ Willing to Testify to Congress to Rebut Trump’s ‘Coup’ Claims

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by Chuck Ross   John Brennan said Friday he is “absolutely” willing to testify to Congress to rebut President Donald Trump’s claims that the former CIA director took part in a “coup” to undermine his presidency. Brennan said in an interview on MSNBC, where he is a contributor, that he would “welcome any type of continued investigation of what we did that period of time that we were in government.” Republicans have called for investigations into the CIA and FBI’s activities in the run-up to the investigation of the Trump campaign. The FBI formally opened its investigation of the Trump team on July 31, 2016, but some GOP lawmakers have suggested that Brennan was working behind the scenes to gather intelligence on Trump advisers before that. Trump listed Brennan along with other Obama administration officials he claims tried to “overthrow” his administration, in an interview Thursday with Fox’s Sean Hannity. “This was a coup, this was an attempted overthrow of the United States government,” said Trump. “These are sick people. These are sick, sick people,” he continued, adding: “Let’s see what happens with [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe and [former FBI Director James] Comey and Brennan and [former National…

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Tim Ryan on Biden Announcement: ‘I Don’t Think People Are Looking for a Superstar’

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) was on the road Friday morning after former Vice President Joe Biden officially declared candidacy, but he sat down with local media in New Hampshire to discuss the announcement. “Obviously he’s from Scranton, I’m from just outside of Youngstown—very similar communities. I think similar approaches to how we talk about these issues and recognize kind of the anxiety people are going through,” Ryan said of Biden’s announcement on the New Hampshire Now radio program. “I think the ultimate question is going to be: what’s the plan? How do you win the future? We’re divided. Who can bring the country together to win the future?” Ryan added. “People want solutions. They want answers. They want a plan. It’s not hope and change, and it’s not Make America Great Again. It’s like: tell me what you’re going to do.” The hosts then asked Ryan about Biden’s announcement video, which explicitly targeted President Donald Trump. “I don’t think people are looking for a superstar, I don’ think they’re looking for a savior. I don’t think they’re looking for a miracle. I think they’re looking for somebody who can roll their sleeves up and just grind this thing out,” Ryan…

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DeWine Says Driving ‘While Eating’ Should Be as ‘Culturally Unacceptable’ as Drunk Driving

Mitch Shirley

  Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation of a permanent Distracted Driving Advisory Council Thursday. The council is aimed at changing the atmosphere surrounding safe driving in acknowledgment of safe driving month. “Driving while texting, or eating, or dialing a phone should be as culturally unacceptable as drunk driving is today,” said Governor DeWine; adding: When drivers choose to do anything that distracts them from paying full attention to the road, they choose to risk their own lives, the lives of their passengers, and the lives of everyone else around them. Prior to the announcement, the task force released a 22-page pamphlet to inform drivers about the risks they are taking while driving distracted. The pamphlet contained detailed statistics surrounding the causes of incidents. The study was conducted by the Ohio Department of transportation. “Now is the time to create a long-term, comprehensive plan that educates drivers, promotes changes in behavior, and strengthens Ohio’s distracted driving laws,” said DeWine. According to the study, the state recorded around 14,000 distracted driving crashes in 2017. Of those incidents 58 people were killed, 493 seriously injured and over 7,000 people were injured statewide. The study concluded the majority of crashes happen during evening…

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Minnesota Rep Delivers Passionate Speech on Planned Parenthood’s Efforts to Infiltrate Public Schools

Anthony Gockowski

  State Rep. Eric Lucero (R-Dayton) delivered a passionate speech on the floor of the Minnesota House last week on Planned Parenthood’s efforts to brainwash young children. Lucero’s remarks were made in the context of a House debate on House File 2400, an omnibus education finance bill that would make changes to the way sexual health education is taught in the state’s public schools. As Lucero sees it, the bill could support Planned Parenthood’s “goal of curriculum for elementary schools,” which includes a book called “It’s Perfectly Normal.” Planned Parenthood endorses the book as part of what it would like to see for comprehensive sexual education in elementary and middle schools. “I previously referenced the language in the bill that talks about this content is going to be targeted at elementary students,” Lucero began. “When I look at the cover of this book, it’s for age ten and up.” He proceeded to read portions of the book to his fellow members, noting that if the “decorum exists to expose fourth graders to this content, then this content can be exposed here on the House floor.” “I see a picture here for a fourth grader of a woman being taught to…

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Group Forms in Ohio to Prevent ‘Consumer-Funded Bailout’ of Nuclear Plants

Anthony Gockowski

  A new group calling itself the “Ohio Consumers Power Alliance” has formed in response to House Bill 6, a controversial piece of legislation that many consider being a bailout of FirstEnergy’s two Ohio-based nuclear plants. Under House Bill 6, the state would effectively subsidize the plants with taxpayer dollars through a new “Ohio Clean Air Program.” “The mission of the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance is to educate and mobilize our state’s energy consumers around opportunities to diversify Ohio’s energy portfolio and keep rates low,” Rachael Belz, director of the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance, said in a statement. She called House Bill 6 a “creative approach used to blatantly disguise a consumer-funded bailout of two old, uneconomical nuclear plants as a comprehensive energy policy.” “Our members remains staunchly opposed to rewarding FirstEnergy’s bad business decisions by allowing them to dig deep into the pockets of Ohio ratepayers to cover the bill with no end in sight,” Belz said. “We also remain deeply disappointed in our leaders for continuing to reject energy innovation and job growth while keeping Ohio firmly planted in the dark ages of the status quo.” Belz was one of many opponents to testify against the bill, which…

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President Trump Calls Mueller Report ‘The Greatest Political Hoax in American History’ at Rally

Zachery Schmidt

  In his first rally since the Mueller Report release, President Donald Trump calls the Russia probe “the greatest political hoax in American history.” “This witch hunt was never really just about me. It was always about stopping you –  the millions and millions of freedom-loving citizens who rose up on that incredible November day, remember that day?” Trump said. The Mueller Report found there was no obstruction or collusion with Russia on the part of Donald Trump or his campaign staff. From a heartfelt statement of sympathy and support for the victims of Saturday’s vicious synagogue shooting in California, to his long record of campaign promises kept,  Trump touched on many topics at a packed Saturday night event Green Bay, Wisconsin. An event, the president noted, that was specifically scheduled for same time as the 2019 White House Correspondents Dinner. .@realDonaldTrump #MAGA Rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin is underway… pic.twitter.com/YEZXpW1pqr — Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) April 28, 2019 To start the event, Trump addressed the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting in San Diego where he said anti-Semitism “must be defeated.” “Tonight, America’s heart is with the victims of the horrific synagogue shooting,” he said, adding that the entire nation “stands…

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Aryan Burns of Lincoln County Wins 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Individual Championship

Laura Baigert

  GOODLETTSVILLE, Tennessee –Aryan Burns, a senior at Lincoln County High School, won the 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Individual Grand Championship on Saturday. It was the second consecutive year that a student from Lincoln County High School won the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee individual championship. The third annual Tennessee Star Constitution Bee was hosted by Metro Christian Academy. Burns, who finished in second place in last year’s Bee, was awarded the $3,000 Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation Scholarship by the Polk Foundation, which has been a sponsor of the event since its inception in 2017. With his first place finish, Burns also won an all expenses paid trip for two to Washington, D.C. to attend a series of events of his choosing. Burns told The Tennessee Star he will be attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the fall and plans on majoring in biology. Second place winner Joseph Selmer, a freshman from Stewart County High School – and just 15 years old – received a $1,000 scholarship from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. Third place winner, Alexia Appleton, a Stewart County High School junior, received a scholarship of $500 from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. Cooper Moran, last year’s…

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