Day: May 27, 2019

Volkswagen’s Chattanooga Workers Speak Out Against UAW

Chris Butler

  A grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers spoke out this week against the union’s efforts to set up shop at their factory. The group, Southern Momentum, released the following statement in response to an advertisement paid for by the Center for VW Facts that appeared in The Chattanooga Times Free Press last week. The Center for VW facts was created by a UAW member and Michigan political consultant, according to a press release. “Thousands of Chattanooga families depend on the success of Volkswagen Chattanooga and our suppliers, and by tearing down the company, the UAW and its cronies are showing yet again that they do not care about our future,” said CB Bitten, a team leader at Volkswagen Chattanooga. “The disgusting public attacks and increasing intimidation and harassment are desperate and sickening but not at all surprising given the UAW’s track record.” Southern Momentum first formed ahead of the 2014 election at the Volkswagen Chattanooga facility, which the UAW lost by a vote of 712 to 626. As The Tennessee Star reported, this time around, UAW officials are seeking outside help to set a foothold in Chattanooga. When asked about this, a spokesman for the…

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Commentary: Mainstream Media’s Agitprop Distorts Trump’s Actions to Help Protect Trillions in Crony Globalist Status Quo

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by Edward Ring   Competing investigations and alternative analyses offer partisans on both sides ample fodder to feed their biases, but a presumption that guilt can be manufactured if it doesn’t exist is the common thread pushing them. Just as the Soviets knew in Stalinist Russia, if you look at anyone long enough, you’re going to find something to use against them. Instead of dispatching political opponents with bullets to the back of the head, however, we Americans fight with politicized investigations, attorneys, and political grandstanding. And on the side of America’s anti-Trump shadow government, deep state, establishment bureaucracy, the media closes ranks and takes every opportunity to distort the truth in favor of an agenda. Recent reporting provides yet another example of the establishment media’s Stalinesque anti-Trump bias. President Trump on Wednesday canceled a meeting to discuss infrastructure legislation with House leadership, because immediately prior to the meeting, he was blindsided by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holding a meeting with pro-impeachment lawmakers, where she “emphasized that the White House is engaging in a ‘cover-up’.” Some news accounts suggest that Trump planned to cancel the meeting and hold a press conference instead, based on the fact that a “no collusion, no obstruction” sign had been…

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Sen. Graham: Democrats Face Political Peril if They Pursue Trump’s Impeachment

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  A top U.S. Republican lawmaker predicted Sunday that if opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives try to impeach President Donald Trump, the president will be re-elected next year and Republicans will retake control of the House. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ally of Trump’s, told “Fox News Sunday” that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled lower chamber, permits an impeachment inquiry to start, “it would be suicide for the Democratic Party.” Graham said Pelosi’s “job is very much on the line,” depending on whether she eventually relents on allowing an impeachment hearing to open. About three dozen Democrats and a lone Republican in the 435-member House have called for impeachment hearings to start against Trump, to consider whether he obstructed justice by trying to thwart special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian intrusion in the 2016 U.S. presidential election that Trump won. Even if the House were to impeach Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate is highly unlikely to remove him from office. So far, Pelosi has resisted calls to start an impeachment inquiry, instead opting to continue several House committee investigations of Trump’s finances, taxes and actions he took during his 28-month presidency to…

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Arizona’s Tucson Border Chief Villareal: Drug Traffickers Using Migrant Crisis to Import Illicit Narcotics

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by Jason Hopkins   Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief Roy Villareal broke down how drug traffickers are taking advantage of the immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border, a situation he said will continue without help from Congress. “This appears to be a growing trend — something that we experienced before, but we abated it through cooperative effort with our federal law enforcement partners, but it seems to be on the rise again,” Villareal said Sunday on “Fox and Friends,” referring to the amount of drugs crossing through the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re focused on the migrant caravan, the overwhelming numbers of aliens that are showing up, and this is opportunistic from the perspective that narcotic traffickers realize there is an opportunity and they are going to utilize it to import illicit narcotics,” Villareal continued. Customs and Border Patrol agents across the country have seized 138,610 pounds of marijuana, 32,951 pounds of cocaine, 32,814 pounds of meth, and 2,708 pounds of heroin since the beginning of this fiscal year. Villareal said that the enormous number of family units and unaccompanied minors reaching the border has forced agents to increasingly take on a caretaker role, resulting in fewer resources going towards immigration and border security. The situation, he claimed, cannot continue…

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Trump Reaches Deal with Lawmakers to Temporarily Stay Subpoenas for His Tax Returns

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by Chris White   President Donald Trump’s attorneys have reached a deal with House lawmakers to temporarily hold off on enforcing the subpoenas for the president’s financial records, CNN reported Saturday, citing court documents. The agreement, forged with the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees Saturday, allows for an expedited appeal schedule for Trump, who is trying to stave off Congress’ attempts to obtain his financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One. “The parties have reached an agreement regarding compliance with and enforcement of the subpoenas during the pendency of Plaintiff’s appeal,” a court document filed Saturday reads. Judge Edgardo Ramos refused Wednesday to block the subpoenas, triggering a one-week clock for the president to find a way to delay the subpoenas. The White House confirmed the report. “I can confirm that an agreement has been reached with the House regarding a stay of the subpoenas pending appeal. It has now been filed with the court,” White House lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement. Trump and his attorneys argue the subpoenas were unlawful and motivated strictly by bitter politics. Ramos’s decision came the same day the New York State Legislature passed legislation allowing the state to hand over the president’s state tax returns to Congress. –…

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‘Rolling Thunder’ Roars into DC, Trump Says it Will be Back Next Year

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  President Donald Trump is indicating that hundreds of thousands of “Rolling Thunder” motorcycles will be back next year to participate in the Memorial Day observance in Washington, after organizers said Sunday would be the last such ride. “The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!,” Trump said on Twitter. The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 Rolling Thunder Executive Director Artie Muller said he had grown frustrated with dealing with the Pentagon in coordinating the annual Ride for Freedom on Memorial Day and that Sunday would be the last time the ride would be held. He said sponsors,…

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FAKE NEWS: Time Columnist Ian Bremmer Admits He Made Up Viral Trump Quote ‘Kim Jong Un Is Smarter and Would Make a Better President than Sleepy Joe Biden’

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by Peter Hasson   Time Magazine columnist Ian Bremmer on Sunday tweeted a quote from President Donald Trump about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un that quickly went viral — but it wasn’t real. “President Trump in Tokyo: ‘Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.’” Bremmer wrote on Twitter. While Trump did praise the North Korean dictator’s insult of former Vice President Joe Biden, the president never said what Bremmer quoted him saying – because Bremmer made it up. UPDATE: @ianbremmer has now admitted that he fabricated this viral Trump quote. And yet it is being shared by journalists and congressmen as if it is real. pic.twitter.com/QgNd9DnN8g — Jerry Dunleavy 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) May 26, 2019 Bremmer left the false post up for several hours before conceding he made up the quote and deleting the tweet, which he defended as “plausible.” “This is objectively a completely ludicrous quote. And yet kinda plausible. Especially on twitter, where people automatically support whatever political position they have. That’s the point.” Bremmer wrote in a since-deleted correction. Bremmer’s tweet went viral among Trump critics before he took it down. “Don’t shrug your shoulders. Don’t get used to this insanity,” wrote CNN contributor Ana…

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Commentary: Why I’m Celebrating Memorial Day Differently This Year

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by John Elliot   Paul Ellsworth says that he used to resent Memorial Day. Writing in Medium, he notes that by celebrating this holiday he felt he was somehow putting down other countries. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” particularly irritated him. But now Ellsworth has changed his mind. One line of Greenwood’s hit song played a role in that: And I won’t forget the men who died Who gave that right to me Ellsworth explains: This was the year that it hit me the most. I guess because I have a lot of hope for my life. My writing is starting to get some attention. My sons and I are starting to connect on a deeper level. I am making connections with friends and family in a way that I haven’t made in years. I am working at a job that I absolutely love. All of these are privileges that I get to have because someone sacrificed those same blessings. American soldiers gave up all of these things — family, friends, and career — so that Ellsworth, and each of us, could enjoy them. Recognizing this, Ellsworth writes: Thank you, soldiers, who have died. Thank you, families, who have…

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Commentary: Tariff Hawks Got It All Wrong When They Predicted ‘Another Great Depression’ from Trump’s America-First Trade Policies

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Donald Trump

by Robert Romano   In 2016, when President Donald Trump ran on his America first trade agenda, much of the conventional wisdom was that, if implemented, his tariffs would wreck the U.S. economy. It would have the same impact as the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act, and so the prediction goes, lead to another Great Depression. “Trump trade plans could cause global recession: Experts,” read one confident headline on CNBC in May 2016. “If you take (Trump’s) position as real, that we would do this, then it would take the world down the road that we saw in the 1930s that we saw with the Smoot–Hawley Tariff,” Caroline Freund of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said. “The world would definitely fall into a recession.” The Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson wrote in June 2018, “The ghost of Smoot-Hawley seems to haunt Trump,” after Trump levied tariffs on steel and aluminum. Samuelson suggested, “What’s eerie is that Trump’s embrace of protectionism is now assuming the same role as Smoot-Hawley in the 1930s. By slowing economic growth, it darkens the outlook and reduces the ability of debtors to repay their lenders. So much for the lessons of history.” Other predictions have suggested, besides slowing economic growth or perhaps…

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Experts Debate Impact of Sports Wagering Proposal on Ohio

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by Todd DeFeo   Legalizing sports wagering in Ohio could generate $7 million in tax revenue for the state in the first year, a number that could increase to $9 million in the second year. That is on top of $1.3 million in license fees in the first year of operations, and between $300,000 and $500,000 in license fees in subsequent years, according to an estimate from the Legislative Budget Office. House Bill 194 would grant the Ohio Lottery Commission the authority to allow sports gaming in Ohio and effectively bring into the open an existing industry. The move has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry – including Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts International – to push legislators to proceed with the initiative. “Illegal sports wagering has continued to flourish across all mediums – in person, over the Internet, and most recently through sophisticated mobile applications,” Ayesha Molino, senior vice president of federal government affairs for MGM Resorts International, said in testimony to the House Finance Committee. “Ohio residents currently have convenient access to illegal, unregulated mobile sports wagering sites,” Molino said. “But they lack a legal, properly regulated alternative. And restricting a legal mobile market will not compel people…

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Milwaukee Transit Union Proposes to Arm Bus Drivers with Concealed-Carry Permits

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by Whitney Tipton   Milwaukee transit union leaders are asking that bus drivers and mechanics be able to carry guns if they have concealed carry permits, citing security concerns and recent attacks by passengers. Union representatives representing the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 made the request Thursday that drivers and mechanics be allowed to arm themselves if they hold a concealed weapon (CCW) permit, a change to the current rules, according to CBS affiliate WDJT. “We’re one of the highest crime places in the United States,” said union president James Macon, “It’s way overdue.” If approved in contract negotiations, a union proposal would allow some Milwaukee bus drivers to be armed.https://t.co/2qpjZAilCj — NBC 26 News (@NBC26) May 23, 2019   Drivers were attacked 15 times last year, according to a statement from the ATU obtained by CBS58. A driver suffered a laceration May 15 when passenger Betty Roberts, 24, stabbed him with a knife after being told she must pay the fare of $2.25, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The woman was charged with battery to a public transit operator and use of a dangerous weapon. The union has been in negotiations with the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) for over one year, and have yet to agree…

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Minnesota’s Presidential Hopeful Klobuchar Campaign Called 3 Percent Polling Number ‘Huge News’ in Fundraising Pitch

Anthony Gockowski

  Sen. Amy Klobuchar jumped from one percent to three percent between April and May in Monmouth University’s monthly polling, which her campaign called “huge news.” “There’s huge news in a new Monmouth poll. As more people learn more about Amy, her bold plans for our country, and how she’ll address the problems Americans face, they’re putting their support behind her,” a recent fundraising email from Klobuchar’s campaign said. “Polls go up and down, but this new Monmouth data confirms what we’re seeing on the ground: big crowds, great enthusiasm, and a surge of grassroots donations from Americans who want Amy to be our next president,” the email added. The poll, conducted by Monmouth University’s Polling Institute between May 16 and May 20, had Klobuchar polling at three percent overall. The poll, however, did show significant gains for female candidates, who received a combined 27 percent of support among Democratic voters, up from the 16 percent they received in April. “Women are commanding a larger slice of Democratic support than they were a few weeks ago and we are seeing bumps in their individual voter ratings,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “We can’t parse out…

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Anti-Smoking Groups Actually Testified Against Ohio Gov. DeWine’s Proposal to Raise Minimum Age to 21

Anthony Gockowski

  Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, a proposal that’s included in Ohio’s biennial budget bill. But anti-smoking groups in the state have actually testified against the proposal. These groups believe that the proposal would mostly punish youth for underage sales but would do little to punish retailers for illegal sales. “Those of us who work on this issue every day in venues around the country recognize this bill as unacceptable by today’s standards,” said Wendy Hyde of the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. “Simply changing ‘18’ to ‘21’ without changing the structure of licensure and enforcement would be meaningless.” During a May 5 testimony on House Bill 166, Hyde said that “penalties for illegal sales to persons under age 21 should be placed on the retail owner who makes a profit from illegally selling harmful and deadly products rather than on the clerk or the youth.” “Penalties for repeated violations must result in meaningful fines and be followed up with license suspension for those few retailers who refuse to comply. Penalizing youth is not an an effective strategy for reducing youth smoking,” she said. She went on to…

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Bill Gates Backs 17 Percent Hamilton County Property Tax Hike For Education, While School Board Member Questions Need for 350 New Non-Teaching Positions

Jason M. Reynolds

  Bill Gates says he will continue to pour his foundation’s money into Tennessee education initiatives and he seemed to endorse a proposed 17 percent Hamilton County property tax increase, according to an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The interview is available here. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given more than $2.7 million to education initiatives in the Chattanooga area, the Times Free Press said. Gates told the newspaper his foundation does not take positions on school vouchers. He met with Gov. Lee and other state education officials in Nashville, the Times Free Press reported, to see if the governor and the state had placed a priority on education. As a result of his meeting, he said the foundation will make more investments in the state, having already spent about $34 million in Tennessee. Chattanooga officials hope to receive word of another Gates Foundation grant later this summer. Gates also spoke to the Times Free Press about the proposed property tax increase in Hamilton County. “How else do you get more resources for your school system unless the business community thinks, ‘OK, this is going to pay off for us,’ because they are the ones who are…

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