Day: May 21, 2019

Islamic Group Demands Coffee County District Attorney Resign

Chris Butler

  Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott, assigned the Glen Casada and Justin Jones case, has reportedly stirred up controversy of his own by criticizing the Islamic religion on Facebook. This, according to several news outlets, who also reported that the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants Northcott to resign. CAIR also reportedly wants the Tennessee Republican Party to “repudiate” him over the posts. Northcott did not return The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment. In a Facebook post Saturday, however, Northcott said he will not resign. “Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support that you have shown me over the past couple of days. It has been truly humbling. I am honored to serve as your District Attorney. Rest assured, I am not resigning,” Northcott wrote. “If they figured I would apologize for calling hate in any form evil, they miscalculated. If they expect me to denounce my faith because of their tactics, they are going to be disappointed.” Members of the Tennessee Republican Party’s Nashville-based headquarters did not return our repeated requests for comment. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told The Tennessee Star Friday that members of his group called for Northcott’s resignation, despite only learning about his Facebook…

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Glen Casada Says He Will Resign as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Tennessee Star Staff

  One day after the Tennessee House Republican Caucus met and voted “no confidence” in his continued leadership by a margin of 45-24, Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) released a statement announcing he intends to resign as Speaker at a date to be determined in cooperation with the Caucus leadership. Casada released this brief statement on Tuesday morning: “When I return to town on June 3, I will meet with Caucus leadership to determine the best date for me to resign as Speaker so that I can help facilitate a smooth transition.” Casada did not indicate whether he would continue to serve as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing parts of Williamson County. Though Casada had legal options available to him to hold on to his Speakership, Tennessee Star political editor Steve Gill observed on Tuesday morning’s Tennessee Star Report radio program, broadcast weekday mornings on 98.3 FM and 1510 WLAC that Casada was “a political dead man walking.” The entire Republican House leadership, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Gov. Bill Lee have all called on Casada to resign. Shortly after Casada released his statement, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) issued…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Glen Casada is a Political Dead Man Walking

Julie Carr

  During a discussion Tuesday morning on The 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 – Gill and Leahy speculated whether or not Glen Casada would resign. Towards the end of the segment the men came to the conclusion that David Byrd was next on the chopping block because anybody can say anything in the mainstream media if you’re a conservative and will run with it without any proof. Gill: At The Tennessee Star you can read the details of yesterdays historic and frankly bizarre action. Again you hear the reporters asking these questions about the alteration of the email. You had the full circus on. Justin Jones the social justice warrior who’s arrested for disrupting a Marsha Blackburn event then bump rushed House Speaker Glen Casada in the capitol. Then threw a cup of Frothy Monkey liquid at the House Speake,  hitting him, then Representative Deborah Moody He was out there with a megaphone shouting and adding to this disruption is all. Of course the media not paying any attention to his criminal action and why he’s there continuing…

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Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Reacts to House Caucus Vote of No Confidence, Tells Speaker Casada It Is Time to Step Down

Laura Baigert

  Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden issued a statement following the conclusion of the House Republican Caucus meeting discussing Glen Casada (R-Franklin) as Speaker of the State House of Representatives, saying it is time for him to step down. Within about thirty minutes of the end of the House GOP Caucus meeting, the statement was issued for immediate release under the Tennessee Republican Party letterhead. Golden has served as the Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party since 2016, and re-elected to the position in December 2018. Thus far, Golden has not publicly addressed the racist and sexist text messages from three years ago or other allegations surrounding Speaker Casada over the past several weeks. The statement focused on the vote which, as reported by The Tennessee Star, resulted in a 45-24 vote of no confidence in Casada as Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the statement, Golden called the events and actions surrounding Speaker Casada “a distraction from the great accomplishments of this Legislature and Governor Bill Lee.” The Republican Party maintains a supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly with 73 of 99 House members and 28 of the 33 Senators as well as a Republican Governor. “Our…

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Gov. Lee Promises to Call Special Session if House Speaker Casada Does Not Resign

Jason M. Reynolds

  Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee promised to call a special session to remove House Speaker Glen Casada if he does not resign, following a no-confidence vote by House Republicans. Lee on Monday night tweeted, “Today House Republicans sent a clear message, and I’m prepared to call a special session if the Speaker doesn’t resign.” Today House Republicans sent a clear message, and I’m prepared to call a special session if the Speaker doesn’t resign. — Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) May 21, 2019 After the vote of no confidence, Casada said he was “disappointed” but would “work the next few months to regain the confidence of my colleagues so we can continue to build on the historic conservative accomplishments of this legislative session,” according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. According to a story by WSMV: Lee issued the statement after the 45-24 vote of no confidence taken against Casada after a lengthy meeting of the House Republican Caucus. House Majority Leader William Lamberth also called for Casada to resign and asked Lee to call a special session. House Republican leaders called for Casada’s resignation and supported the governor’s declaration, according to a story by The Tennessee Journal: On the Hill.…

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Kenneth Blackwell Commentary: Bernie and AOC Will Destroy Low-Income Americans with Their New ‘Banking Solutions’

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by Kenneth Blackwell   If you like unnecessarily long lines, surly clerks, and terrible service, then you’re probably going to love the latest idea to come from the fevered minds of some of the most radical Democrats in Congress. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom identify with the extremist “democratic-socialist” wing of the Democratic Party, have teamed up on a proposal to “help” lower-income Americans by authorizing the United States Postal Service (USPS) to offer banking services such as checking and savings accounts. Wonderful. Just as email and private delivery companies were finally liberating us from our longstanding dependence on that inept and inefficient government-mandated monopoly, the Democrats are trying to create brand new reasons to subject Americans to the ordeal of interacting with the postal service. The ostensible reason for turning the USPS into a quasi-bank is that many rural and low-income areas are underserved by traditional banks. Expanding access to basic financial services such as checking accounts is certainly a worthy goal, but it’s difficult to imagine a worse way to achieve it — encouraging people to deposit their savings with the DMV might do the trick, but that’s not under the federal government’s purview, so…

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North Carolina’s Rep Mark Meadows Says Declassification of Russia Probe Documents Is ‘Right Around the Corner’

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by Henry Rogers   North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows said that important documents relating to the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into President Donald Trump’s campaign will be released soon on Monday. In an appearance on Fox News’ Fox and Friends, the House Oversight Committee member responded to the former committee chair Trey Gowdy’s comments that the FBI possibly withheld “game-changing” evidence regarding the origins of the Russia probe. Meadows said he agreed with Gowdy that former Trump campaign associate George Papadopoulos was being taped and recorded by FBI informants and that the unreleased transcript was never released to the FISA court. “[Gowdy] has seen documents that actually I have not seen,” Meadows said. “But we have come to the same conclusion and that is, indeed, George Papadopoulos was actually taped and recorded,” saying the documents would expose exculpatory information on the question of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. “I think the delay is over,” Meadows continued. “I think the president is serious. I’ve spoken to him recently and I think declassification is right around the corner and hopefully the American people will be able to judge for themselves.” Meadows also said he and Papadopoulos have spoken about the possible declassification…

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Ford to Cut 7,000 Jobs, 10 Percent of Global Staff

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  Ford plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its global workforce, as part of a reorganization as it revamps its vehicle offerings, the company said Monday. The reorganization will involve some layoffs and reassignments and should be complete by the end of August, a Ford spokeswoman said. Ford has been phasing out most sedan models in the United States as more consumers have opted for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The move, which began last year, will lead to 800 layoffs in North America in total, including about 500 this week, said Ford spokeswoman Marisa Bradley. The company has yet to determine the specifics in other regions, she said. “As we have said, Ford is undergoing an organizational redesign process helping us create a more dynamic, agile and empowered workforce, while becoming more fit as a business,” Bradley said. “We understand this is a challenging time for our team, but these steps are necessary to position Ford for success today and yet preparing to thrive in the future.” Ford had signaled it expected significant job cuts in April 2018 when it announced a plan to phase out several small models in North America. At the same…

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The Global Revolt Against Climate Policies Continues As Conservatives Sweep Aussie Elections

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by Michael Bastasch   Australia’s left-wing Labor Party decided to make tackling climate change the centerpiece of its electoral strategy. It lost in a major election upset Saturday. The election results present a warning to U.S. Democrats pushing costly global warming policies at the national level. “Every time liberal politicians try to impose their climate change agenda on the electorate they get rebuffed at the polls,” Tom Pyle, president of the free-market American Energy Alliance, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The Labor Party made tackling climate change the centerpiece of its effort to retake Australia’s legislature from the conservative Liberal-National Coalition, which opposes climate taxes and supports coal power. Exit polling projected a Labor win, according to BBC. Labor saw climate change as a winning ticket after record summer heat, alarming Great Barrier Reef headlines and intense storms battered Australia in the last year. “It is not the Australian way to avoid and duck the hard fights. We will take this emergency seriously, and we will not just leave it to other countries or to the next generation,” Labor Party leader Bill Shorten said in mid-May before ballots were cast. At the end of the day, however, a surge of support from…

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As Casada Says He’ll Work to Regain Confidence, House Republican Leadership Calls for Casada to Step Down and Governor Lee to Call Special Session

Laura Baigert

  In response to the State House Republican Caucus meeting which delivered a 45-24 vote of no confidence in Glen Casada (R-Franklin) continuing as Speaker, Casada and House Republican leadership issued divergent statements. Casada, who has been under tremendous public scrutiny as the first year of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly came to a close with him as the Speaker, after receiving 75 votes in January including two from Democrats, as sexist and racists texts involving his now-former Chief of Staff and another staffer from 2016 came to light. Along with the texts, there were allegations of modifying the date of an email in an effort to frame activist Justin Jones who was restricted from being in the presence of Casada following assault charges, followed by accusations of surveillance of committee rooms in the Cordell Hull legislative office building, installation of white noise machines in the Speaker’s office, and attempting to influence the outcome of a House Ethics Committee advisory opinion. In a three-hour, closed-to-the-public meeting held Monday, the House Republican Caucus emerged with a 49-24 secret vote on a resolution of no confidence in Casada as Speaker. Shortly after, Casada issued a very brief statement: I’m disappointed in the…

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Despite Some Residents’ Misgivings, Williamson County Will Negotiate with Jason Golden to Replace Mike Looney

Chris Butler

  Williamson County School Board members voted unanimously Monday to enter formal negotiations with Jason Golden to replace outgoing Superintendent Mike Looney at an annual salary of $250,000. But the vote didn’t happen without certain people speaking out against the board’s hiring process. Residents made their displeasure known during the board meeting’s public comment phase. Golden, now the interim superintendent, was the board’s deputy legal counsel. Certain county residents said the person who replaces Looney should have some sort of professional education background. They also protested board members’ apparent lack of interest in hiring anyone other than Golden. County resident Jonlyn Nation, for instance, said she had nothing personal against Golden, but she also wanted a more open selection process. Mike Hinton, meanwhile, said someone with no previous ties to Looney could have provided a fresh perspective. “The way this selection process was handled was wrong. The job is not even posted. No one, not even our interim superintendent, was even granted an interview. It was shameful, unorthodox, unethical, and inconsiderate to everyone, including Mr. Golden,” Hinton said. County resident Rae Sanchez followed. Sanchez, who is African-American, told board members she has six children and has worked in the school…

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US Ambassador to China Visiting Tibet This Week

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Reuters   U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad is scheduled to visit Tibet this week, a U.S. embassy spokesperson said, the first visit to the region by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The visit follows passage of a law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. “This visit is a chance for the ambassador to engage with local leaders to raise longstanding concerns about restrictions on religious freedom and the preservation of Tibetan culture and language,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Branstad was traveling to Qinghai and neighboring Tibet from May 19 to May 25 on a trip that will include official meetings as well as visits to religious and cultural heritage sites, the spokesperson said. In December, China criticized the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, saying it was “resolutely opposed” to the U.S. legislation on what China considers an internal affair, and it risked causing “serious harm” to their relations. The U.S. government is required to begin denying visas by…

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SAT ‘Adversity Scores’ Part of ‘a Left-Wing Strategy,’ Tennessee Expert Says

Chris Butler

  The people responsible for the SAT exams now assign an adversity score to every student to consider their social and economic background. Critics, including a Tennessee education expert, say the adversity scores are ridiculous. According to The Wall Street Journal, colleges will take the numbers into account while reviewing students’ college applications. The paper said the people who oversee the SAT have introduced this concept to clamp down on “income inequality.” Jackie Archer, affiliated with Tennessee Rising and Tennessee Textbook Advocates, which looks for bias in public school textbooks, said politics motivate this. “It is another left-wing strategy to break down the traditional merit-based systems of the past, further dumb-down Americans, and put ‘diversity’ above common-sense policy,” Archer told The Tennessee Star in an email Monday. According to The Wall Street Journal, The College Board is a New York-based nonprofit that oversees the SAT. Jeremy Tate, president of the Maryland-based CLT Exam, said the SAT favors the controversial Common Core standards — and he also said his CLT test is a better alternative. “At CLT we will avoid speaking about the adversity score, but I will say this,” Tate told The Star. “The College Board long, long ago abandoned any clear…

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Google Moves to End Huawei Support in the U.S. After Trump Blacklists on Some Foreign Tech

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by Chris White   Google suspended some business with Huawei after President Donald Trump placed restrictions on technologies from foreign adversaries, Reuters reported Sunday, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company the United States believes is engaged in foreign espionage, will reportedly lose access to updates to the Android operating system, as well as the next version of Google’s smartphones. The move is expected to deny the company access to critical applications. Details are not fully fleshed out as Google is still discussing the matter internally, one source told Reuters. Neither Google nor Huawei responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for confirmation. The move comes shortly after Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that would effectively ban certain types of technologies from foreign countries deemed a national security threat to the U.S. The U.S., meanwhile, continues to apply pressure on Britain and others to shy away from using Huawei to build out its fifth generation network. Allowing the participation of Huawei in Germany’s 5G project would mean the U.S. won’t be able to maintain the same level of cooperation with Germany’s security agencies, U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell said in March. Justice Department officials charged Huawei on…

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Joe Robertson Was Imprisoned for Digging Ponds on His Montana Land, and Now His Widow Continues the Fight

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by Kevin Mooney   The name of a Navy veteran may be cleared after he was convicted, fined, and imprisoned for digging ponds in a wooded area near his Montana home, to supply water in case of fire. The Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling against Joe Robertson, who was sent to federal prison and ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution through deductions from his Social Security checks. Any definitive legal victory for Robertson would be posthumous, since he died March 18 at age 80. But his lawyers describe the Supreme Court’s action as a “big win” for Robertson’s widow, Carrie, who plans to carry on the fight. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] President Barack Obama’s Justice Department had prosecuted Robertson for digging in “navigable waters” without a permit, in violation of the Clean Water Act. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling against Robertson in November 2017 and denied him a rehearing in July 2018. The Navy veteran’s initial trial at the district court level resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial. He then was…

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Commentary: President Trump’s Immigration Pitch Has Real Merit

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by Rachel Bovard   President Trump on Thursday rolled out his administration’s first, substantive take on immigration reform, and the reactions have been what you’d expect. Democrats and some Republicans immediately panned the proposal because it doesn’t provide amnesty to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (otherwise known as President Obama’s illegal executive amnesty), or to anyone else. Republicans, in general, were more circumspect. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave a noncommittal response, with a nod toward the dispute he is currently embroiled in with Democrats, who continue to block the administration’s request for more humanitarian funding at the border. (Yes, the same party who lambasts the president for his supposed lack of humanitarian care for migrants also refuses to give him funding to do exactly that.) But a review of the plan itself, which deals largely with the legal immigration system, suggests that it fills a critical role for Republicans. For years, the GOP has run on “border security first,” and then a “merit-based” immigration with very little agreement on the specifics of what those terms mean. Past Republican proposals, rather, have come in the form of massive, multifaceted plans which die horrible public deaths due to their frontward concessions on amnesty. (Recall the doomed…

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Analysis: The Exploitation of the U.S. Asylum System

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by Andrew Kerr   Tens of thousands of apprehended migrants from the Central American countries driving the border crisis exploit loopholes in the immigration system by making false asylum claims, according to data, experts and surveys. The loopholes allow “people with suspect asylum claims … to make their way into the interior of the United States and disappear,” one expert told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Data shows only about half of the migrants from those countries who claim asylum actually file a formal application after being let into the U.S. Asylum is a status reserved for individuals who face persecution in their homeland, but less than 4% of migrants from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras exclusively said they were fleeing violence, while 72% cited economic conditions as their sole reason for leaving, according to a 2017 survey of deported migrants by the Migration in the Southern Border of Mexico (EMIF). Just 10% cited both violence and economic conditions as motivating factors. “The vast majority of current Central American asylum seekers — by their own admission — are economic migrants who do not qualify for asylum, because they are not subject to persecution on the basis of…

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More Local Governments in Colorado Pass Moratoriums on Oil and Gas Development Because of New Regulations

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by Derek Draplin   Berthoud and Broomfield are the latest local governments in Colorado to implement a moratorium on oil and gas development following passage of new industry regulations signed into law last month. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state’s regulatory body, issued “objective criteria” that will require additional review of drilling permits, potentially delaying development projects across the state. The criteria includes any applications for oil and gas within a municipality, locations within 2,000 feet of a school, locations within 2,000 feet of occupied buildings, and locations within floodplains or water resource areas. COGCC will now be able to use the 16 criteria to delay permit approvals. “The Director [Jeff Robbins] may delay specific permit determinations until the Director is satisfied that the permit complies with the intent of SB 19-181. If the Director determines that a permit meets the intent of SB 19-181, the Director may approve the permit prior to completion of the referenced rulemakings,” guidance on the criteria said. The bill, signed by Gov. Jared Polis last month, changes the commission’s mission to prioritize  environment, health and safety over industry development. The new law also gives local governments more say in regulating the oil and gas industry. Local…

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Group of ’10-12 Somali Teens’ Allegedly Chased Light Rail Patrons With Hammers

Anthony Gockowski

  Minnesota Crime Watch and Information reported for Alpha News Monday that an alleged mob of Somali teens were chasing Light Rail patrons with hammers at the East Bank station Friday night. Alpha News notes that a post from the Minneapolis Scanner Facebook page reported Friday night at 9:49 p.m. that the University of Minnesota Police Department, Metro Transit Police, and the Minneapolis Police Department were “responding to multiple calls of [a] group of 10-12 Somali teen males armed with hammers chasing people.” “Several injuries reported,” the Minneapolis Scanner page, which posts summaries of police scanner audio, reported. The Second Precinct Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information Facebook page posted a similar report just minutes earlier. “UMPD requesting assist from MPD and Metro Transit police at the East Bank LRT station for a group of 8-10 males chasing people with hammers. Some people have been injured,” the page reported. Minnesota Crime Watch and Information obtained police dispatch audio from Friday evening confirming the incident did occur. “The U of M PD is asking for assistance from Metro Transit and Minneapolis for a group of 8-10 males at the East Bank Light Rail station chasing people around with hammers. They do have…

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New Ohio Employment Numbers Offer ‘Warning Sign’ to Enact Pro-Growth Policies, Cut Government Spending

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by Bethany Blankley   State government must reduce or hold its spending to match the growth in inflation and population to reverse employment plight and economic stagnation, The Buckeye Institute says in its updated brief, “Sustaining Economic Growth: Tax and Budget Principles for Ohio.” It argues, “Policymakers must be wary about increasing government spending to dangerous levels and choosing to reduce taxes for only a few rather than adopting across the board tax cuts that would help grow the economy.” The institute urges the Legislature to return $658 million in surplus to taxpayers “through permanent lower taxes,” which it argues “would lead to 6,600 more jobs annually while encouraging more economic activity and business investment.” The report comes after newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (JFS), which shows slowed job growth. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in April 2019, down by 0.1 percent in March, and by 0.3 percent from April 2018. Statewide, there were 11,000 less people filing unemployment claims in April than in March. Over the last 12 months, 15,000 less people filed unemployment claims. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent in March and down…

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DeWine Opens Up Investigation, Calls for Lifting Statute of Limitations in Response to ‘Monster’ Richard Strauss

Anthony Gockowski

  Gov. Mike DeWine called for lifting the statute of limitations in cases of rape and sexual abuse in response to the report surrounding former Ohio State University team doctor Richard Strauss. According to a report released Friday by the university, Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, abused at least 177 male students over his two-decade career at the state’s flagship university, where he worked from 1978 to 1998. The report describes Strauss’ sexual abuse as an “open secret” among coaches, trainers, and other doctors, The Ohio Star reported last week. DeWine was particularly concerned about what the State Medical Board of Ohio knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. “The question that we are faced with is this: did the State Medical Board of Ohio take appropriate action regarding Richard Strauss? What did they know? When did they know that? What did they do about it?” DeWine said during a Monday press conference. “We should all be disgusted. Every Ohioan should be disgusted and should be angered by what has happened. Not only by the horrific and vile acts perpetrated by Richard Strauss, but also they should be angered that complaints and reports about this…

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State House GOP Caucus Votes 45-24 No Confidence in Speaker Glen Casada

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – After approximately three hours, House Republican Caucus members emerged from a closed meeting and announced that a secret ballot resulted in a 45-24 vote of no confidence in Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin). The meeting was held at the 21cMuseum Hotel on 2nd Avenue in downtown Nashville, just a few blocks from the offices of the Tennessee legislature. Many legislators were seen walking from the Cordell Hull Building to the hotel. As they approached the front door of the hotel, legislators were met with about 10 protesters, at least one of whom was wearing a Williamson County Democratic Party shirt and another who wore a Rutherford County Democratic Party shirt, in addition to Justin Jones who was arrested earlier this year for assaulting Speaker Casada. The caucus reserved a large meeting room in the basement of the hotel, the door to which was manned by a legislative staffer.  With the rental of the meeting room by the GOP Caucus, the hotel general manager said it included the entire floor. As such, all media and protesters were asked to leave prior to the start of the meeting at 2:30 p.m.  The news was not received well by members…

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