Day: May 24, 2019

Memphis’ Rep. Steve Cohen Uses Rape Analogy to Describe President Donald Trump

Chris Butler

  U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has reportedly made yet another remark that some people might take offense to, this time involving the topic of rape. According to various news outlets, Cohen recently complained that Republicans impeached former Democratic President Bill Clinton “over sex.” Cohen then accused U.S. Republican President Donald Trump of “raping” the country. Cohen’s office did not respond Wednesday to The Tennessee Star’s request for comment as to whether Cohen’s latest remark might have gone too far. Cohen reportedly made these comments during a recent Democrat Steering and Policy Committee meeting where Cohen demanded that Democrats impeach Trump. This calendar year alone, Cohen has already expressed his delight over the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives no longer requiring people to say “so help me God” under oath. At the time of the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in France earlier this year, Cohen used the occasion to say Trump is “torching the entire structure of government.” Among other outbursts over the past several months, Cohen has also: • Said the Founding Fathers created the nation’s Electoral College as a way to hurt black people. • Pushed for a formal study on slavery reparations. • Co-sponsored the Green New…

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Commentary: Trump Is Right to Play Hardball With Dems

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by George Rasley   President Donald Trump abruptly quit a meeting with congressional Democrats yesterday and issued a bold statement that he would no longer work with them unless they drop their attempts to re-do the Mueller investigation. After cutting short his meeting with the Democratic leaders, scheduled for a discussion of the huge infrastructure bill the White House floated a few weeks ago, the President justifiably lashed out at Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her comment earlier in the morning that she believed the president engaged in a “cover-up” of the Russia probe. “I don’t do cover-ups,” Trump said forcefully, after striding to the Rose Garden where aides had gathered reporters and TV cameras for his demand that Congress drop its investigations that are increasingly leading to talk of what he called the “i-word” — impeachment, according to reporting by our friends at NewsMax. He appeared behind a sign that listed the cost of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and Trump’s slogans of “No Collusion” and “No Obstruction.” “I walked into the room and I told Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi I want to do infrastructure,” he said, referring to the top Democratic senator, New York’s Chuck Schumer. “But…

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Ohio Legislation Would Expand Use of Pay-for-Success Contracts

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by Todd DeFeo   Ohio lawmakers are mulling a proposal to expand a program that allows the state to pay contractors only for successful services. Senate Bill 122 would allow the state treasurer to work with state agencies to enter into pay-for-success contracts with service providers for a range of services, including education, public health, criminal justice and the management of natural resources. Under a pay-for-success contract, the state would only pay a service provider if the company meets specific performance targets established as part of the agreement. The state treasurer would appoint an independent evaluator to review results and gauge the program’s success. “The pay for success model would bring private sector innovation to meet some of Ohio’s biggest challenges,” state Sen. Steve Wilson, R-Maineville, said in his prepared testimony. “Rather than paying for unproven services and hoping for good results, pay for success contracts would empower policymakers at the state and local level to invest in programs that they know will be a good use of public funds, address the issue at hand, and ultimately save taxpayer dollars.” The bill transfers oversight of the program from the director of administrative services to the state treasurer. The state House…

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Pompeo Accuses Huawei of Lying About Ties to Chinese Government

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  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused the head of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies of lying about his company’s relationship with the government in Beijing. Pompeo said in a CNBC interview Thursday that Huawei “is tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party.” He added, “The existence of those connections puts American information that crosses those networks at risk.” Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network equipment, is a leader in 5G technology. It has been trying to win contracts to build a global network that would make the internet much faster. Last week, the U.S. government banned American companies from doing business with Huawei, escalating a heated trade war between the world’s two largest economies. CEO Ren Zhengfei has maintained his company would not share secret user information. Huawei denies it is controlled by Beijing. The company also says it does not work with the Chinese government, an assertion Pompeo dismisses. “To say that they don’t work with the Chinese government is a false statement,” Pompeo said of Huawei. “He is required by Chinese law to do that,” Pompeo added. “The Huawei CEO on that at least isn’t telling the American people…

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Rep. Green Introduces Bill to Give Rural Hospitals More Flexibility

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Reps. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02) on Thursday introduced a new bipartisan bill to boost rural hospitals, Green said in a press release. The Rural Health Care Access Act of 2019 would repeal what Green called an arcane rule – “the 35-mile rule” – that bars hospitals from pursuing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation. Currently, a rural hospital must be at least 35 miles away from another hospital to receive the CAH designation. If passed into law, this bill would allow states to designate a facility as a CAH if it meets all the other requirements. Those requirements include: The hospital must have 25 or fewer acute care inpatient beds. Must provide 24/7 emergency care services. The average length of stay for acute care patients must be 96 hours or less. “Folks living outside cities must not be left without health care access,” Green said. “We need to act now to remove old, onerous federal regulations and update our laws so that rural communities get the care they need.” Thompson said, “Rural hospitals are an integral part of the rural healthcare system. We must make sure rural communities have the same access to health…

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Elizabeth Warren Discloses Past Corporate Legal Work, but Leaves Out ‘Unfavorable’ Details

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by Andrew Kerr   Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts left out key details of her past corporate legal work in a disclosure Wednesday listing the dozens of corporations she assisted in bankruptcy matters in the 1990s and early 2000s. Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign said her work as a corporate legal counsel and consultant led to the creation of “trusts and other mechanisms to return $27 billion to victims and their families,” but her characterizations of some the cases she worked on “left out details unfavorable” to the presidential hopeful, the Boston Globe reported. For example, Warren claimed responsibility for protecting a $500 million settlement for asbestos victims in a 2009 case where she represented Travelers, the nation’s largest insurance company. But the 2020 presidential hopeful failed to mention that Travelers was also granted immunity from future lawsuits brought by asbestos victims, and that the insurance company, which paid her $212,000 over three years, delayed paying victims from the settlement after she stopped representing the firm. Warren’s history of helping corporations secure immunity from future lawsuits could prove to be a thorn in her side as she seeks to instill an image as a protector of the working class against…

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US Senate Committee Unveils 2020 Defense Policy Bill

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  The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday unveiled a draft $750 billion defense policy bill that would authorize more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets for the United States and effectively end Turkey’s partnership in the program if Ankara pursues a plan to buy a Russian missile defense system. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump requested $750 billion for defense, a budget that included more money to build ships and buy jets. In the coming weeks the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, will release its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which must be reconciled with the version in the Republican-controlled Senate before it can be passed. Because it sets policy for the Defense Department, the annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. Because it has become law every year for more than half a century, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a wide range of policy measures. This year, the Senate version of the bill would authorize spending on eight F-15X fighter jets as the current aging fleet of about 234 jets is getting more expensive to operate. The defense arm of aircraft maker…

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Commentary: The Deep State Just Killed Space Force – and Endangered Us All

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by Brandon J. Weichert   During a private dinner last week at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., I was taken to task by a Republican congressman after I pressed him on his lack of support for President Donald Trump’s proposed space force. The congressman is a war hero. His service is unimpeachable and I maintain a deep respect for his commitment to our country. Yet his responses to my questions were flippant, painfully uninformed, and dangerously rooted in a reflexive NeverTrumpism that is unworthy of the man. When first confronted about the space force, he insisted that it “isn’t his problem,” as he is neither a member of the House Armed Services Committee nor of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Fair enough. It’s not his specialty. But as I delved deeper into the matter with him, the Republican congressman finally snapped that he did not support “creating Starfleet” (uh, why not?) because he did not believe that “greater bureaucracy was the solution” to our space woes. Of course, this is the kind of prepackaged nonsense that reflexive NeverTrumpism supplies. Don’t question the checklist. Low taxes and small government mantras are the only objectives. Stick it to the president when…

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White House Plan Would Shift Millions from TSA to Fund Border Operations

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by Jason Hopkins   The White House is considering reallocating over $230 million from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and using those funds to help pay for operations on the U.S.-Mexico border. The proposal is meant to serve as a backup measure in the event that Congress does not approve the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) request for $1.1 billion in additional funding. The Trump administration has long argued that the U.S. is experiencing a widespread immigration crisis, and DHS officials are in desperate need of extra funding to deal with the influx of migrants arriving at the border. The White House has identified several possible revenue sources within the TSA under the contingency plan. Two major programs that could be utilized are $64 million set aside for a workers’ compensation fund and $50 million earmarked for advanced airport screening, according to documents NBC News reviewed. The plan could also take advantage of loose change collected from airport trays — an amount that totals $3 million. “We will need additional funding sooner,” Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, said during a congressional hearing Wednesday. “Given the scale, we will exhaust our resources well before this fiscal year, which…

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Pentagon Mulls Sending More Troops to Gulf, Officials Say

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  Top Pentagon officials will provide the president with a wide range of options in response to rising tensions in the Middle East, including possibly sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East, U.S. officials said. The top U.S. military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, and Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan, are among the briefers at the White House on Thursday afternoon. The request for additional troops has come from U.S. Central Command, said another official, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because plans have not been formalized. It is not clear if the White House will approve sending all or just some of the requested defensive forces, as well as additional Patriot missile batteries and more ships. The Pentagon declined to comment on future plans. “As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces,” Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said Wednesday. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been escalating since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero and beef up the U.S. military presence in the…

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Justin Amash Goes on Another Screed Against Trump, Ticks Off ‘Reasons’ for Impeachment

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by Chris White   Michigan Rep. Justin Amash floated several reasons Thursday why he believes special counsel Robert Mueller’s report shows that President Donald Trump obstructed and impeded the investigation. “Mueller’s report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk,” Amash said of the report in a tweet. Thursday’s tweet thread is Amash’s second on the subject of Trump’s alleged obstruction of justice. He offered several reasons why he believes Trump attempted to impede the probe into the Russian probe. The special counsel’s report, released in April, identified four occasions in which officials or senior members of the executive branch successfully pushed back against Trump’s commands to fire Mueller. 1. Trump asked the FBI director to stop investigating Michael Flynn, who had been his campaign adviser and national security adviser, and who had already committed a crime by lying to the FBI. — Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 23, 2019 “1. Trump asked the FBI director to stop investigating Michael Flynn, who had been his campaign adviser and national security adviser, and who had already committed a crime by lying…

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Trump Gives Attorney General Authority to Declassify Russia Probe Documents

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by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump has directed the heads of several government agencies to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr’s investigation of the origins of the Russia probe. In a memo sent out Thursday, Trump also authorized Barr to declassify documents related to the Russia investigation. The memo grants Barr the authority to “declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence” related to the Russia probe as he sees fit. Barr has said that he is investigating whether government agencies improperly surveilled members of the Trump campaign. In testimony to Congress, Barr has asserted that the FBI and other agencies spied on the campaign by using informants and surveillance warrants. Trump’s memo directs the heads of several federal agencies, including the CIA, FBI and State Department, to “promptly” provide assistance and information to Barr to complete his review. “Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “The Attorney General has also been…

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Steve Gill Talks to Colonel Mark Tillman About His Time on Air Force One Circa 9-11 and Love of Country

Julie Carr

  On Thursday’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-Steve Gill spoke to Colonel Mark Tillman who is in town to attend the Reboot Alliance luncheon in effort to help raise money for veterans and first responders who are suffering with trauma and PTSD disorders. Towards the end of the segment, Tillman and Gill reminisced about how Americans used to be proud of their country after 9-11 by displaying a love for country and unity by installing flags and decals on cars, and chanting USA at baseball and football games. They agreed that this enthusiasm has been lost and that in order for the country to move forward we need to get that type of mentality back. Gill: There is non-profit here in the Nashville area called Reboot Recovery. It’s a Tennessee based nonprofit that offers trauma healing courses to veterans and first responders nationwide. And today they’re kicking off their weekend of Memorial Day with a banquet where Colonel Tillman is going to join them. He is the guy who was literally flying Air Force One the day of 9-11. He’s going to be…

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Migrant Surge Accelerates at US-Mexico Border

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  The Trump administration on Thursday said a surge of migrant arrivals at the southern U.S. border continues to accelerate, with more than 300,000 mostly Central American undocumented immigrants apprehended or requesting asylum so far in the current fiscal year, which began last October. “We are in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at the southwest border,” acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary KevinMcAleenantold a Senate panel. “Almost 110,000 migrants attempted to cross without legal status last month, the most in over a decade, and over 65% were families and unaccompanied children.” At the current pace, 2019’s total for migrant arrivals would more than triple the number reported for all of 2018, which was 169,000. Factors in migration McAleenan said that while gang violence and rampant insecurity in three Central American nations have started to ebb, other factors, such as persistent droughts and a lack of economic opportunity, continue to compel a large number of people to trek north. The DHS acting secretary also highlighted U.S. policy as a “pull factor” for migrants. “Families [apprehended at the border] can no longer be held together through an appropriate and fair proceeding, and essentially have a guarantee of release…

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Ohio Library Plans ‘Drag 101’ Program for Teenagers Featuring Former Miss Gay Ohio America

Anthony Gockowski

  An Ohio library plans to host a “drag 101” program for teenagers to explore the “art of drag” and meet with former Miss Gay Ohio America Selena T. West. “Curious about the art of drag and no idea where to start? Come learn the basics with former Miss Gay Ohio America and local queen, Selena T. West. We will learn about the application of makeup and creating characters, as well as the history of drag,” an online description for the event states. “All genders welcome. Teens only, please.” The event is set to take place on June 5 at the Delaware County District Library’s Orange Branch as part of a number of summer programs for teenagers. The library’s Board of Trustees hosted a public meeting Tuesday night to discuss the event, but its recording of the meeting cut off just ten minutes in. “We are experiencing some technical difficulties in network and signal out here in Ostrander,” the library claimed on Facebook. “We’re going to try to record remaining comments and post.” The library later claimed that “the service at the facility was poor and we have no more recordings from this.” The recording, however, did manage to capture…

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State Senator Calls for Study on African Americans in Ohio

Maggie Leigh Thurber

  An Ohio senator is calling for a study that examines the “progress and challenges of African Americans in Ohio.” State Senator Sandra Williams (D-21) introduced Senate Bill 71, which would create and fund a 30-member committee to examine the contributions of, and issues facing, African Americans in the state. The bill is timed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of African slaves to America. They arrived in 1619 on board the White Lion, a Dutch ship that landed at Point Comfort in Hampton, VA. According to the legislation, the first thing the group would do is look at all existing studies or reports from public or private research institutions in Ohio. The bill specifically mentions the Report of the Ohio Commission on Racial Fairness and the Governor’s Task Force Report on Black and Minority Health. Then they will issue an initial report including: The progress or lack of progress of African Americans in Ohio with respect to housing, transportation, health, education, employment, environment, business development, and any other policy area that the committee chooses to consider; The contributions and achievements by African Americans in Ohio; and Recommendations for addressing the challenges identified. Following that initial report, the committee will take four…

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Sixteen Men Arrested Trying to Sexually Exploit Children in Ohio

Zachery Schmidt

  An undercover task force in Ohio arrested 16 men (pictured above) for trying to sexually exploit children. This is the second successful undercover operation this year. In March, a task force targeting human trafficking arrested eight people. One person was also charged with felony drug possession. “This trap will be laid time and time again until the message reverberates – don’t buy sex in Ohio,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement announcing the arrests. Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene had a warning for child predators who are looking to do similar crimes in Northeast Ohio. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the operation. This task force is not going to give up or let up on these types of crimes,” Greene said. “If you are someone using the internet to exploit underage children, we want you to know you may be talking to us.” The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force was created three years ago when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was the state’s attorney general. Youngstown is Mahoning County’s biggest city and a little less than 230,000 people live in the areas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Human trafficking is a horrific crime, and…

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Former Minneapolis Police Officer and Convicted Murderer Mohamed Noor Sued for Pulling Gun on Man During Routine Traffic Stop

Anthony Gockowski

  Former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor is now being sued by a man who claims Noor pulled a gun on him during a routine traffic stop just months before the murder of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The lawsuit, which was obtained by KSTP, was filed by Minneapolis resident Brian Oman, and lists Noor, Officer Justin Schmidt, and the City of Minneapolis as defendants. Dash-cam video of the May 2017 incident was first released in February and does, in fact, show Noor pointing a gun at Oman’s head while he approaches the vehicle. The prosecution in Noor’s murder trial asked to use the video to show that he had a history of “unnecessarily escalating force,” according to KARE 11. Noor’s attorneys claimed at the time that the prosecution’s description was “grossly misleading” and that Noor was justified in pulling his gun. In any event, Noor, who was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the shooting of Damond, is now being sued by Oman in response to the incident. The lawsuit claims that Noor and his partner violated Oman’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. It goes on to state that the officers “assaulted, maliciously prosecuted and…

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Elks, VFW to Place 500 American Flags on Service Members’ Graves at Williamson Memorial Garden

Jason M. Reynolds

  For the eighth year in a row, two organizations will place 500 American flags on the graves of service men and women at Williamson Memorial Garden. The Nashville-Franklin Lodge No. 72 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) in conjunction with the Veterans’ of Foreign Wars Franklin Post No. 4892 will place the flags on the graves at 5 p.m. on Friday, the BPOE said in a press release. Williamson Memorial Garden is located at 3009 Columbia Ave., Franklin, TN, 37064. These two groups, because of their love and support of those who have served, want to ensure that the meaning of Memorial Day is not forgotten, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks said. Memorial Day is the day we set aside to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of the United States of America. Memorial Day is one of three days set aside each year to honor the military; the other two are Military Appreciation Day and Veterans’ Day. Since 1897, the Nashville-Franklin Lodge No. 72 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has remembered the children and veterans of Nashville and the surrounding area. Richard Gardiner, Associate Professor…

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Texas School Cuts Ties with SAT Over Controversial ‘Adversity Scoring’

Chris Butler

  Members of the Houston, Texas-based Saint Constantine School announced Thursday they will do away with all SAT prep and AP/PSAT programming. School officials said in an emailed statement the SAT’s new adversity score prompted them to act. As The Tennessee Star reported, the people responsible for the SAT exams now assign an adversity score to every student to consider his or her social and economic background. Saint Constantine spokeswoman Megan Mueller (pictured above) said the school will purge itself of the SAT prep and AP/PSAT programming in 2020. “We hope to see schools across the country do the same, and that more people will start to move toward the CLT as a sane option in the world of college admission and standardized testing,” Mueller said in the statement. Mueller did not return The Star’s request for comment Thursday. According to the school’s website, Saint Constantine educates through classical, Christian, practical education and is a mission of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the Diocese of Mid-America. Jackie Archer, affiliated with Tennessee Rising and Tennessee Textbook Advocates, which looks for bias in public school textbooks, told The Star earlier this week that politics motivates the change in the SAT scoring process.…

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