Month: April 2019

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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Feds Bust 60 For Alleged Participation in Illegal Prescribing and Distributing of Opioids, Other Narcotics, As Well As Alleged Health Care Fraud

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The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced a major multi-agency national bust against 60 people for their alleged participation in the illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous narcotics and for health care fraud schemes. The DOJ announcement is available here. The defendants are from 11 federal districts and include 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professionals, including Ohio. “The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “But the Department of Justice is doing its part to help end this crisis. One of the Department’s most promising new initiatives is the Criminal Division’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, which began its work in December. Just four months later, this team of federal agents and 14 prosecutors has charged 60 defendants for alleged crimes related to millions of prescription opioids. I am grateful to the Criminal Division, their U.S. Attorney partners, and to the members of the strike force for this outstanding work that holds the promise of saving many lives in Appalachian communities.” In the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force’s Southern District…

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Commentary: Obama’s Propaganda Machine

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by Karin McQuillan   The enormity of the Obama team’s political crimes—the framing and attempted take-down of a sitting President—required a propaganda machine the likes of which this country has never seen. So we are in America the Unreal. Democrats need extreme partisanship to pull this off, not an excellent party platform. That is why their program is so weird. Crazy, extremist views are strategies for divide and control. Journalists and politicians alike have manipulated rank-and-file Democrats to plunge them into a fake world in which each and every Trump voter is treated, not as political opponents to defeat in the next election, but as avatars of evil. The Democrats’ intolerance for dissent is a tell. The Democrats have rejected the two-party system. They are flooding the country with Marxist agitprop instead of normal political competition. America in 2019 seems unreal because the post-Obama Democrat party is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The inner sanctum of Obama’s team—John Brennan, James Clapper, Susan Rice, et. al.—tried to reverse an election they had already lost. This is unheard of in America. No wonder there has been non-stop propaganda efforts to hide their perfidy. They are not aiming to win voters over. They…

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Ocasio-Cortez Promotes Green New Deal With Video That Envisions a Democratic Socialist Utopia

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by Michael Bastasch   New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a video depicting a where the Green New Deal turns the U.S. into a democratic socialist utopia, complete with a bullet train from New York City to D.C. The video depicts a future where the Democrats take the Senate and White House in 2020 and enact a Green New Deal that ends up creating a “society that was not only modern and wealthy, but dignified and humane too,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the video. Ocasio-Cortez says Americans need to close their eyes and “imagine” a Green New Deal society before it can happen. Meanwhile, energy experts and economists are skeptical the Green New Deal is possible or even desirable. “We need to be able to close our eyes and imagine it,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the seven-minute cartoon. “We can be whatever we have the courage to see.” Climate change is here + we’ve got a deadline: 12 years left to cut emissions in half. A #GreenNewDeal is our plan for a world and a future worth fighting for. How did we get here?What is at stake?And where are we going? Please watch & share widely ⬇️https://t.co/IMCtS86VXG — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April…

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Woman With Alleged History of Disrupting Republican Events Elected Vice President of Tennessee Young Democrats

Chris Butler

The Tennessee State University student and left-wing activist arrested alongside Justin Jones not once but twice since last fall is the newly elected vice president of the Tennessee Young Democrats. Jeneisha Harris  announced this on her Twitter page this week. The Tennessee Young Democrats is the official state chapter for young Democrats in Tennessee, according to the group’s Facebook page. When announcing her new role with the group, Harris said her goals include “engaging young people, increasing black voter turnout, program implementation for marginalized groups and electing millennial democrats across TN.” As The Tennessee Star reported, authorities arrested Harris and Jones last October after they allegedly disrupted a Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate rally in Nashville. A judge dismissed that charge in January, said Patti Goodman, director of the General Sessions Court in Nashville. Authorities arrested Jones once again in February for allegedly throwing coffee at Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada at the Tennessee capitol. That same day, authorities at the capitol arrested Harris on a charge of disorderly conduct, according to the February arrest affidavit. The affidavit accused her of fighting and threatening behavior by refusing an official order to leave the premises for public safety reasons.…

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Your Guide to the Mueller Report

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by Chuck Ross   After nearly two years of investigation, a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report is set to be released on Thursday morning. The report, which clocks in at nearly 400 pages, will contain Mueller’s findings about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. It will also detail the investigation into whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russians, and whether President Trump himself attempted to obstruct the FBI’s probe by firing James Comey as FBI director. Attorney General William Barr has already revealed that Mueller & Co. were unable to establish that Trump associates conspired with Russia. But the report will likely shed light on how the investigation unfolded, and what other information was uncovered about any Russian attempts to infiltrate the campaign. Here is a guide for the report’s release. Where will it be released? The Justice Department has said the report will be sent to Congress and made public. It will likely be posted online, and can also be found at DailyCaller.com. What will be in the report? A lot. The report is the product of a 22-month investigation that relied on 2,800 subpoenas, 500 witness interviews, 19 prosecutors, 50 FBI agents…

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Trump GOP Challenger Bill Weld Supports Abortion on Demand, Endorsed Obama

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by Peter Hasson   Former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who on Monday announced plans to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, has a track record of siding against his party on key social issues. Weld supports allowing abortions up until birth, including partial-birth abortions, and in the past called for a ban on “assault weapons.” Weld in 2016 ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson. The pair won zero electoral votes and received just over three percent of the vote nationwide. In a June 2016 interview with Bloomberg Politics, Weld was asked if it would be accurate to compare his positions on social issues to those of former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards. “Yeah, that’s right,” he answered, adding that he favored allowing abortion-on-demand, including partial-birth abortions, which have been illegal since 1995. Weld in 1992 described allowing abortions up until birth as “a price I would pay in order to have government stay out of the thicket.” His positions on abortion aren’t just outside the mainstream in the Republican Party, they’re outside the national mainstream as well. Just 13 percent of Americans think abortion should…

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Commentary: Check Your Tax Return Again, You Probably Paid Less This Year Under the Trump Tax Cuts

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Donald Trump

by Robert Romano   Only 40 percent of respondents in a recent New York Times-SurveyMonkey online poll thought they had received tax cuts under the 2017 tax cut legislation that was signed into law by President Donald Trump. A separate NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found 28 percent believe they will pay more in taxes. There’s just one problem. Among those who pay taxes, in 2018, 80 percent of all taxpayers got a tax cut under the bill, 5 percent paid more and 15 percent paid about the same, according to an analysis of the law by the Tax Policy Center. So, check your tax return again. Most probably, you paid less in taxes than last year. Doubling the standard deduction and lowering the rates overall captured most taxpayers, and more than offset restrictions to the mortgage interest and state and local tax deductions. Even the New York Times’ Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley said that the reason for the wide disparity was because opponents of the law had so effectively, falsely demonized it. Per Casselman and Tankersley, “the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained — and misleading — effort by liberal…

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Rashida Tlaib Hosts Another Extreme Anti-Israel, Terror-Affiliated Activist on Capitol Hill

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib met with another extreme anti-Israel activist and terrorist-supporter in her Capitol Hill congressional office during American Muslims for Palestine Advocacy Day in mid-April. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) hosted the annual advocacy and training event, which was open to all adults who “seek justice in Palestine.” Additional criteria for participation includes supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to punish Israel by economically depriving the country for its alleged mistreatment of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the BDS movement as “the most prominent effort to undermine Israel’s existence” and has further criticized AMP for promoting anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans. AMP hailed the ADL’s anti-Israel description of its organization. Tlaib spoke to AMP on April 8 where she told the group that she feels “more Palestinian” when she is in Congress than she does elsewhere, according to The Investigative Project On Terrorism, who first reported on the meeting. AMP’s New Jersey chapter posted a photograph of Tlaib outside of her office with some of its members during the event, including Joe Catron, an avowed supporter of multiple…

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Attorney General Expands Indefinite Detention for Asylum-Seekers

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Illegal Alien Detention center

The U.S. Attorney General on Tuesday struck down a decision that had allowed some asylum-seekers to ask for bond in front of an immigration judge, in a ruling that expands indefinite detention for some migrants who must wait months or years for their cases to be heard. The first immigration court ruling from President Donald Trump’s newly appointed Attorney General William Barr is in keeping with the administration’s moves to clamp down on the asylum process as tens of thousands of mostly Central Americans cross into the United States asking for refuge. U.S. immigration courts are overseen by the Justice Department and the Attorney General can rule in cases to set legal precedent. Barr’s ruling is the latest instance of the Trump administration taking a hard line on immigration. This year the administration implemented a policy to return some asylum-seekers to Mexico while their cases work their way through backlogged courts, a policy that has been challenged with a lawsuit. Several top officials at the Department of Homeland Security were forced out this month over Trump’s frustrations with an influx of migrants seeking refuge at the U.S. southern border. Migrants crossing illegally Barr’s decision applies to migrants who crossed illegally…

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Presidential Hopeful Amy Klobuchar Says Nashville Rejected Transit Plan Because They Wanted Federal Government to Help Foot the Bill

Jason M. Reynolds

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday inserted herself into the failed $9 billion Nashville transit referendum of 2018. Klobuchar visited Fisk University on Wednesday and said the referendum failed because voters “weren’t sure they wanted to fund the initiative locally, without the federal government pitching in,” according to a story by the Associated Press. Klobuchar says her infrastructure plan would provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding, rebuild schools, and other initiatives. She wants to leverage $650 billion in federal funding through public-private partnerships, bond programs and clean-energy tax incentives. Of that, $400 billion would come from increasing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, after President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law lowered it from 35 percent to 21 percent. Klobuchar tweeted, “It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools to rail — we need a real plan that invests in America.” It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools…

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Steve Cohen of Memphis Compares Donald Trump to the Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has reportedly made what some people might call yet another insensitive remark to score political points, and this time it involves this week’s tragedy in France. This, according to various news outlets. Specifically, Cohen said Republican U.S. President Donald Trump is doing to the Constitution what Monday’s devastating fire did to the Notre Dame Cathedral in France. Cohen said Trump is “torching the entire structure of government.” Cohen said this on MSNBC’s Hardball and continued to accuse Trump of obstructing justice.  “I filed articles last year. I haven’t brought them up this year, but we are getting so far along in seeing what this president has done and what he’s done to the Constitution, what he’s done to the people’s respect for our government,” Cohen reportedly said. “What he has done to the Constitution and the rule of law is as bad as [what] that fire did to Notre Dame. He’s torching the entire structure of government and the people’s respect for it and the Congress needs to act. The facts were supposed to be in the Mueller Report. We’ll get them. We’ll find the court and we’ll go to the court, and I…

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Christine Blasey Ford Makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   TIME Magazine named Christine Blasey Ford one of the 100 most influential people in the world. TIME revealed Wednesday that Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, is featured in TIME’s annual list. “Her story, spoken while holding back tears, shook Washington and the country. Her courage, in the face of those who wished to silence her, galvanized Americans. And her unfathomable sacrifice, out of a sense of civic duty, shined a spotlight on the way we treat survivors of sexual violence,” California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris wrote in a guest contribution for TIME. “Christine Blasey Ford’s ambition wasn’t to become a household name or make it onto this list,” Harris added. “She had a good life and a successful career — and risked everything to send a warning in a moment of grave consequence.” Harris was outspoken in Ford‘s support during the September 2018 Kavanaugh hearings investigating Ford’s accusations. “At her core, she is a teacher,” the 2020 presidential candidate wrote. “And through her courage, she forced the country to reckon with an issue that has too often been ignored and kept in the dark.” Many other notable figures are…

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US Wants to Build More Tents at Border to Detain Migrants

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The Trump administration wants to open two new tent facilities to temporarily detain up to 1,000 parents and children near the southern border, as advocates sharply criticize the conditions inside the tents already used to hold migrants. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice to potential contractors that it wants to house 500 people in each camp in El Paso, Texas, and in the South Texas city of Donna, which has a border crossing with Mexico. Each facility would consist of one large tent that could be divided into sections by gender and between families and children traveling alone, according to the notice. Detainees would sleep on mats. There would also be laundry facilities, showers, and an “additional fenced-in area” for “outside exercise/recreation.” The notice says the facilities could open in the next two weeks and operate through year-end, with a cost that could reach $37 million. But the agency has said its resources are strained by the sharp rise in the numbers of parents and children crossing the border and requesting asylum. It made 53,000 apprehensions in March of parents and children traveling together, most of whom say they are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.…

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Answers to Four Big Questions About Sending Illegal Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities

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by Fred Lucas   The Trump administration is exploring the legality of transporting illegal immigrants who the government can’t detain to sanctuary cities, which by definition welcome illegal immigrants. Prominent Democrats say they oppose the idea, and even supporters say President Donald Trump could be trolling Democrats in a public relations move. If Trump moves forward with the notion, it almost certainly would be litigated. Here’s a look at key questions surrounding the proposal. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >> 1. Where Would Illegal Immigrants Be Transported? More than 170 cities and counties have some sort of sanctuary law prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities, and in some cases jurisdictions may even obstruct enforcement. This includes most large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That’s according to data from the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank favoring strict immigration policies, which has a map of sanctuary cities on its website. Local sanctuary jurisdictions span 26 states. California, home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who is highly critical of Trump, is a sanctuary state.…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Will Tennessee Go to Pot?

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A new Tennessee Star poll reveals that support for legalizing medical marijuana in Tennessee has significant support among likely GOP Primary voters. The poll asked whether voters would be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalizing the distribution and sale of marijuana in Tennessee if strictly limited to prescribed medical use only. 42.9% indicated that they would be MORE likely to vote for a candidate supporting legalizing medical marijuana; 35.2% would be LESS likely; and 21.9% indicated that it would make no difference or 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%. Bills in the House and Senate that would have legalized sale and distribution of medical marijuana were pulled by sponsors after it was clear they lacked the votes to emerge from key committees.  Law enforcement officials adamantly opposed the legislation and the sponsors were unable to overcome skepticism due to the advocacy of the legislation by proponents of recreational marijuana legalization. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill notes that the Triton Poll shows that support for legalization of medical…

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Tennessee House Says No to Holding Phone While Driving But Says Yes to Voice Use

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee House on Wednesday passed bill HB0164 banning drivers from using handheld phones. The bill tracking information is available here. The Senate companion bill, SB0173, was deferred on Tuesday in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee and now has a scheduled hearing date of April 23. The House passed the bill on a vote of 53-38, according to the Tennessee General Assembly’s website tracking information available here. Four representatives were counted as “present and not voting.” The House sponsor is State Rep. John B. Holsclaw Jr. (R-TN-04). The highly detailed bill “summary,” with amendments, is available on the tracking page. Among the provisions are that adults age 18 and up could use a device for GPS navigation as well as an earpiece, headphone or device on a wrist “to conduct a voice-based communication; and may use a one button on a wireless telecommunications device to initiate or terminate a voice communication.” The penalties would be: A violation of this amendment will be a Class C misdemeanor, subject only to imposition of a fine not to exceed $50.00. However, if the violation is the person’s third or subsequent offense or if the violation results in an accident, the fine…

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US Trade Deficit Hits 8-Month Low on Weak Chinese Imports

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The U.S. trade deficit fell to an eight-month low in February as imports from China plunged, providing a boost to President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda and economic growth in the first quarter. The surprise second straight monthly narrowing in the trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday was also driven by soaring aircraft exports, which are likely to reverse after Boeing halted deliveries of its troubled 737 MAX aircraft. MAX planes have been grounded indefinitely following two deadly crashes. Economists warned the trade deficit would remain elevated regardless of whether the United States and China struck a trade deal that was to the White House’s liking because of Americans’ insatiable appetite for cheaper imports. Talks between Washington and China to resolve the bitter trade war have been dragging. The United States is also embroiled in conflicts with other trading partners, including the European Union, contributing to big swings in exports and imports data in recent months. “Even if trade negotiations are resolved in such a way as to reduce the bilateral trade deficit with China, one of the Trump administration’s stated goals, this would likely divert trade flows to other countries and have little impact on the…

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Fox News Will Host Klobuchar for Town Hall While DNC Refuses to Partner with Network for Debates

Anthony Gockowski

  2020 Democrats are reportedly “flocking” to Fox News to participate in the network’s town hall events, the next of which will feature Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the network announced Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Monday night town hall event on Fox News was the most-watched town hall of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to The Daily Beast. More than 2.5 million viewers tuned in for the event, compared to CNN’s recent town hall with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which attracted 1.95 million viewers. On the night of the town hall, rival network MSNBC had 1.44 million viewers, while CNN had just 913,000. The event was described as a “ratings smash,” but that isn’t stopping the Democratic National Committee from refusing to partner with Fox News for any 2020 debates. In fact, during a Monday morning interview on Fox News, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said he wouldn’t reconsider the decision. “Here is why we won’t do that. Because I don’t have faith in your leadership at Fox News at the senior levels,” Perez told anchor Bill Hemmer. “I have great respect for Bret and for Chris and for you, but you’ve demonstrated, above your pay grade, they don’t trust…

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Ohio State University Salaries Exposed: More Than 5,000 Employees Made Six-Figures or Higher While More Than a Dozen Top $1 Million

Anthony Gockowski

A mind-boggling 5,168 employees of  Ohio State University made a six-figure salary or higher in 2018, while 18 of those employees earned more than $1 million last year. The university employs 47,686 individuals, of which roughly 11 percent – a little more than one in 10 – earned a six-figure salary or higher. The salaries of the state’s flagship university were released Wednesday by Dayton Daily News as part of its “Payroll Project.” The outlet notes that former football coach Urban Meyer was the highest paid employee in 2018 at a salary of more than $5.1 million. Vice President of Health Services Mark Larmore earned $1.5 million in 2018, making him the highest-paid non-athletics employee, while University President Michael Drake made more than $1.1 million. Closely behind Larmore was Vice President of Shared Services David McQuaid, who made $1.4 million last year. Some professors came close to earning more than $1 million in 2018, such as William Farrar and Raphael Pollock, both of whom teach in the Department of Surgery. They earned $905,478 and $927,706 respectively. Rene Stulz, a professor of finance, walked away with $655,877 in 2018. One “special assistant to the president” in the Department of Health Sciences…

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Last of Lordstown Auto Parts Manufacturing Ends Two Months Early: More Layoffs to Follow

Andrew Shirley

The last manufacturing orders left for the rapidly shuttering Lordstown Auto Plant finished up on April 5. The project – metal stamping replacement parts for the Chevy Cruze – was slated to last until June, ensuring work for those few employees still not laid off.  With the job wrapping up early, the workers are facing an uncertain future. As previously reported: Since its opening in 1966, Lordstown, Ohio has been the backbone of the local economy. Providing plentiful high-paying jobs, working at the plant ensured, at a minimum, a direct entree to the middle-class regardless of education level. Thousands of workers were employed by the plant at its peak. Over time those numbers dropped to below 2,000. In 2019 alone, 1,633 Lordstown auto workers and 72 members of the facilities support staff have been laid off. The majority of these layoffs occurred between March and April. There are currently less than 100 workers still active at the plant but with the completion of this project, it is likely that they will be laid off in the coming weeks as well. According to UAW Local 1112 president Dave Green, the work that is being done is mostly administrative. “We are going through and cleaning…I’m currently working in material handling.…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Haslam Faces Difficult Challenge If He Seeks GOP Nomination for U.S. Senate

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A new Tennessee Star poll reveals that former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam could face a serious challenge if he seeks the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Lamar Alexander. As noted previously in the Tennessee Star, Haslam’s approval lags far below the support level for President Donald Trump, Senator Marsha Blackburn and Governor Bill Lee. And now it appears that even in a potentially crowded primary field Haslam would start off within reach of a significant challenge by conservative Congressman Mark Green. In a prospective matchup against Green, former Economic Development Commissioner and current Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, and west Tennessee businessman Jeff Webb, Haslam secures 28.7% support, Green 12.7%, Hagerty .9%, and Webb 1.3% with a huge number of voters (56.3%) undecided. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill points out that such a huge undecided number among likely Republican primary voters with Haslam having served the past 8 years as Governor should be big red flag that Haslam shouldn’t ignore. “The other 3 potential opponents are not as well known, and voters would clearly like to learn more about them before they decide to support Haslam.” The Triton Polling survey was conducted over…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Opposition to Heartbeat Bill May Be Career-Ending Vote for State Senate Republicans

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As State Senators prepare to cast a vote on whether to bring the Heartbeat Bill (SB1236) to the Senate floor under a Rule 63 motion, and whether to support it in a final vote, a new Tennessee Star poll may bring clarity to the issue. 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 percent. The poll asked: The Tennessee Legislature recently failed to pass legislation called the Heartbeat Bill that would have provided legal protection for unborn babies once a heartbeat is detected, normally 6-8 weeks into pregnancy, and severely limited the opportunity for an abortion after that point. Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who opposed or failed to support the Heartbeat Bill? 21.2 percent of responders said they would be MORE likely to support a candidate who OPPOSED the Heartbeat Bill; 65.5 percent would be LESS likely to support a candidate who OPPOSED the Heartbeat Bill; 5 percent said it would make no difference and 8.2 percent were not sure or didn’t know how it might impact their vote. The House version…

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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney May Soon Depart for New Job in Atlanta

Chris Butler

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney may soon vacate his position and relocate to Atlanta. Officials with the Fulton County School System said on their official website Wednesday that Looney is their top finalist for their open superintendent job. Looney was in Atlanta Wednesday morning, about 12 hours after he oversaw a Williamson County Board meeting Tuesday night. According to The Williamson Herald, decision day is only a few weeks away. “Vying as the Fulton County School District’s top finalist, Looney could be soon exiting the position he’s held in WCS for just over 10 years if he chooses to officially accept the position May 2 at the competing district’s school board meeting,” the paper reported. Williamson County School Board Chair Gary Anderson told The Herald he and his colleagues could soon hire an interim superintendent, if Looney takes the Atlanta job. According to a statement on the Fulton County Schools’ website, board members have searched nationwide for a new superintendent since December. “As prescribed by Georgia law, the school board must give a minimum of 14 days for public input on a finalist for the position of Superintendent,” the press release said. “To ensure Dr. Looney has the opportunity to…

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BREAKING on The Tennessee Star Report: State Senator Pody Vows to Bring Heartbeat Bill Back for a Floor Vote, Either Through Committee or Rule 63

Julie Carr

State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) vowed on Wednesday morning’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 – to bring the Heartbeat Bill back for a floor vote in the Tennessee General Assembly this session, either through the exercise of Rule 63 or through a recall to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sent the bill to summer study in a 5 to 3 vote (with one “pass” vote) last week. Here is the transcript from the show: Gill: Will the Heartbeat Bill be allowed to come up for a vote in the State Senate? They’ve killed it in committee by “putting it in summer study.” That effectively kills the Heartbeat Bill. That was the intent. It passed overwhelmingly in the House. And if you go to the Tennessee Star.com you can see results of our new Tennessee Star Triton Poll. Over a thousand Republican likely voters. And it tells you something about where Republican primary voters see Bill Haslam, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Lee, Lamar Alexander. It also tells you how Republican primary voters view the Heartbeat Bill. They like it, they love…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Bill Haslam Lags Far Behind Trump, Blackburn and Lee Among Likely Republican Primary Voters in Approval Rating

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A new Tennessee Star poll reveals that President Donald Trump is retaining his consistently sky-high approval ratings among likely Republican Primary voter (87.7 percent), with Governor Bill Lee (73.5 percent) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (76.1 percent) also enjoying extremely strong support. However, former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is slightly below 50 percent at 49.1 percent approval with Republicans and lame-duck Senator Lamar Alexander is underwater with an approval-disapproval rating of 31.4 to 46.9 percent, similar to but not nearly as bad as the low approval ratings recorded by former Senator Bob Corker before he chose to not seek reelection. Nevertheless, Alexander’s numbers have declined from his 37.3 percent approval to 38.1 percent disapproval recorded among likely Republican primary voters in a poll conducted by the Tennessee Star last June. Since announcing he would not seek reelection, Alexander has broken with President Trump on a couple of key votes, including a vote against emergency funding for a southern border wall. The new 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 percent. Haslam and Alexander’s current approval numbers closely mirror the results of…

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Commentary: Wikileaks or the Washington Post?

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by Julie Kelly   The imbroglio du jour of the political class is the question of whether Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder arrested last week in London, is a hero or a villain. Is he a journalist entitled to special treatment or a criminal deserving punishment? And if pursuing then publishing classified materials is a federal offense, what kind of consequences should American journalists face for reporting classified information? Especially when the illicit information is intended not to warn the public of a legitimate threat posed by their government but for partisan political purposes—specifically, to advance the bogus Trump-Russia collusion hoax? Assange has been charged in a federal district court in Virginia with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for allegedly working with former U.S. Army security analyst Chelsea Manning to access and post a massive trove of stolen classified documents. “The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to facilitate Manning’s acquisition and transmission of classified information,” the indictment read. “Assange was knowingly receiving such classified records from Manning for the purpose of publicly disclosing them on the WikiLeaks website.” Some of Assange’s detractors insist his alleged attempt to steal classified information, and not the act of posting the illicit documents,…

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Tim Ryan Blames Trump for Migrant Crisis, Calls the President ‘Lazy’

Andrew Shirley

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), now a 2020 presidential hopeful, placed the fault for the current migrant crisis squarely on the shoulders of President Donald Trump Sunday, stating that “the president has caused it” by being “lazy.” The nine-term congressman made the statement during a wide-ranging interview with Kasie Hunt on MSNBC. Hunt asked specifically if there was a migrant “crisis” on the border, and Ryan replied by stating: It is [a crisis], and I think that the president has caused it, to be quite honest with you. He has failed to address the issues in Central America. Quite frankly, the president is lazy. He doesn’t read his presidential daily briefing. He ignored this problem. We want presidents to deal with the root of problems. Central America is a mess, and we are doing nothing to stabilize that region. Other Democratic legislators have been hesitant to label the current issues at the Mexico-U.S. border a “crisis,” opting instead to call it a “challenge.” "Quite frankly the president is lazy"@TimRyan says the president helped cause the humanitarian crisis at the border with Mexico. pic.twitter.com/nT95qXxho7 — Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire (@WayTooEarly) April 15, 2019 Ryan went on to state that issues such as…

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Most US Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Still Relying on Large Campaign Donations

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As U.S. Democrats emphasize building their 2020 presidential campaigns on grass-roots support, fewer than half amassed at least 50 percent of their early financial support from small-dollar donations, a Reuters analysis found. Candidates seeking the White House filed their first-quarter fundraising totals Monday, revealing that many are still relying on checks exceeding $200. Of the 15 Democrats who launched campaigns before April 1, only six of 15 amassed half their hauls from small-dollar donations. And many candidates are still leaning on donors in their home states for larger checks. Nine Democratic candidates received the bulk of their contributions of $200 or more from their home states, the Reuters analysis found. Early fundraising prowess can signal the strength of a candidate’s campaign. Raising small checks from more donors can act as a test of popular support. Building a broad donor base that stretches beyond a candidate’s home state is evidence of gaining traction. Many Democrats have touted their support among so-called “small dollar” donors, those who give less than $200. But only six — U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang, a…

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