Day: June 5, 2019

Senators Blackburn, Toomey, Tillis to Hold Press Conference Today to Push for Act to End Sanctuary Cities

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) will hold a press conference today on their legislation to protect communities from violent criminals who are in the United States illegally. The Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act (S.1644) would put an end to dangerous sanctuary city policies – like the ones in Philadelphia and San Francisco – that forbid local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, even when they wish to do so, Blackburn said in a press release. The senators will hold the press conference at 11:30 a.m. today in the Senate Radio & Television Gallery, S-325, in the Capitol. Toomey introduced the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act in the Senate on May 23 and has 22 cosponsors. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Congressmen Tom McClintock (R-CA-04) and Darin LaHood (R-IL-18). Toomey tweeted, “Sanctuary city policies pose a threat to public safety. I spoke with @CharlesFLehman from @FreeBeacon yesterday about my legislation to get local politicians to comply with federal immigration law.” Sanctuary city policies pose a threat to public safety. I spoke with @CharlesFLehman from @FreeBeacon yesterday about my legislation to get local politicians to comply with federal immigration…

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Commentary: Joe Biden Runs for President of the World

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by Robert Romano   Political parties pushing sovereignty first policies did remarkably well in European Parliament elections in the UK, France and Italy in May as nations feel increasingly overregulated and held back by the European Union. It is the latest instance of the struggle between nation-states and the global institutions that seek to control them and their destinies. And it could serve as a bellwether for the U.S. election across the pond in 2020, where President Donald Trump lines up his America first reelection bid and Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden runs for President of the World. In a fundraising call in April, Biden claimed, “I get calls from people all over the world — world leaders are calling me — and they’re almost begging me to do this, to save the country, save the world.” “Save the world”? From what, America? His opponent is the sitting President of the United States, not some third world actor. And yet, Biden’s ill-advised remarks in many ways represent the same local establishments that oppose country-first policies in many European countries — and now voters are striking back at the ballot box. In the UK, the Brexit Party, founded weeks before the European…

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Hamilton County Mayor Seeks 34 Cent Property Tax Hike to Hire 350 School System Personnel That One Board Member Says Are Unneeded

Jason M. Reynolds

  Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger on Tuesday presented a budget that includes a 34-cent property tax increase for the school system, The Chattanoogan reported. The proposed budget does not include any increase for the county general budget, the publication said. Coppinger had previously talked about including 15 cents for that portion of the budget, for a 49-cent increase. The proposed tax increase of 34 cents would cost the owner of a $100,000 house $85 per year, The Chattanoogan said. The proposed 17 percent property tax increase is meant to hire 350 positions for the school district, The Tennessee Star reported. Proposed new positions include counselors, graduation coaches, a data warehouse programmer, 15 truancy officers and more. School Board member Rhonda Thurman, a critic of the proposed bump in spending for the school system, recently told The Star that even if the 350 personnel do not help to raise test scores, they likely still will keep their jobs. “We never get rid of a program. All we do is keep adding on to them,” said Thurman, who said these positions are unneeded. Coppinger’s proposed budget is $819 million, a $65 million increase from the current year, with almost $60 million…

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Commentary: Three Things to Know About a Disaster Spending Bill Conservatives Couldn’t Stop

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by Rachel del Guidice   A $19.1 billion disaster aid bill that faced significant opposition from conservative Republicans passed the House on Monday evening by a lopsided vote of 354-58. Only Republicans voted against the measure, which includes funding in the aftermath of hurricanes, wildfires, and other storms as well as money to help Puerto Rico rebuild from hurricane damage in 2017. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the spending bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House’s No. 2 Democrat, tweeted Monday night that he hoped Trump would “sign it swiftly into law.” The House has now passed the bipartisan disaster relief supplemental after it was delayed by House Republicans. I hope @POTUS will sign it swiftly into law so emergency funds can be released to help American communities rebuild from recent disasters. https://t.co/iINGwfJASh — Steny Hoyer (@RepStenyHoyer) June 3, 2019 Here are three things to know about the bill, which amounts to more than four times what Trump previously requested to construct a wall or other barriers at the southern border. 1. Conservatives Stalled It Three conservative Republicans—Chip Roy of Texas, then Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and finally John Rose of Tennessee— blocked the spending…

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Former ICE Chief on Trump’s Tariff Threat: ‘I Agree With The President 100 Percent’

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by Jason Hopkins   The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) voiced unwavering support for President Donald Trump’s plan to tariff all Mexican goods if they don’t better enforce illegal immigration. “I agree with the president 100 percent and I agree with the tariffs,” Tom Homan, who served as acting ICE director from January 2017 to June 2018, said Tuesday while appearing on Fox News. The former immigration chief was reacting to President Donald Trump’s press conference alongside British Prime Minister Theresa May, where he spoke more about tariff threat against Mexico. “I understand that the tariffs may have a short-term effect on the economy, but it’s money, money, money, money. My concern is, what price is it going to put on our national security?” Homan said. “If you’re a terrorist in the world that wants to come to this country to do us harm, you’re not going to buy a plane ticket, you’re not going to try to get a visa — because of all the checks being done now after 9/11. You’ll enter the country the same way as 12 or 20 million other people entered.” The former ICE chief noted how around 40% of…

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Trump Commits to ‘Phenomenal’ Deal with Britain

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  President Donald Trump deployed a mix of diplomacy and barbs in his joint news conference with British Prime Minister Teresa May in London Tuesday. Trump said the U.S. is committed to a “phenomenal trade deal” with Britain as the country prepares to leave the European Union, he saw “no limitations” on future intelligence sharing despite disagreements over the threat posed by China tech giant Huawei, and he praised outgoing British leader May saying she has “done a very good job.” Thousands of demonstrators have thronged central London to protest the American leaders’ visit. But when asked Tuesday about his reaction to the demonstrations, the U.S. president said he saw only a single small protest and media reports of much larger crowds are “fake news.” Prime Minister May praised the relationship between the two countries but acknowledged some differences over climate change and Iran. Britain still supports the Paris Climate accord, which Trump has rejected, and supports the Iran nuclear agreement that the U.S. has withdrawn from. May spoke days before she is scheduled to resign after failing to secure a deal to complete Britain’s exit from the EU. That process will be inherited by her successor, with no clear…

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Trump: ‘More Likely’ Tariffs Will Be Imposed on Mexican Products

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  U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it is “more likely” than not that next week he will impose a new 5% tariff on imported products from Mexico. Trump offered his assessment at a London news conference alongside British Prime Minister Theresa May, even as U.S. and Mexican officials continued talks in Washington about the tariffs and the surge of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to reach the United States that Trump wants to block. “Mexico should step up and stop this invasion into our country,” Trump said, contending that “millions and millions” of undocumented migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are entering the U.S. to escape poverty and violence in their homelands. “I think Mexico will step up and do what they need to,” Trump said. “I want to see security at our border and great trade.” He said, “We are going to see if we can do something, but I think it’s more likely the tariffs go on [next Monday], and we will probably be talking during the time that the tariffs are on.” Trump has threatened to increase the tariffs monthly in 5% increments if the migration is not curbed. In the U.S., some…

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Republican Scott DesJarlais Votes Against American Dream and Promise Act

Chris Butler

  U.S. Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District voted against the American Dream and Promise Act Tuesday. If passed into law, it would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Most members in the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill. DesJarlais said the following, in an emailed statement: “Already this week, the House passed a disaster aid bill without a single dime to alleviate the disaster at the border. Today, Nancy Pelosi and her caucus passed a bill providing amnesty and a path to citizenship, as well as Medicaid, food stamps, and other welfare benefits, to millions of illegal aliens, but no resources to prevent more than a hundred thousand from crossing the southern border every month. It would encourage legal aliens to break the law, to receive the same preferential treatment, and reward repeat criminals, including gang members,” DesJarlais wrote in a press release. “Bad laws like this are fueling the border crisis, reaching far into the U.S. Fortunately, despite misleading media coverage, Americans are beginning to understand the problem and effective solutions. We need to build a wall and end legal loopholes drawing enormous migrant caravans. Open borders are destructive.” According to…

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GOP Reportedly Considers Defying Trump on Mexico Tariffs

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by Jason Hopkins   Republicans uncomfortable with the idea of a tariff war are reportedly mulling whether to vote against the president’s proposed tariff hikes against Mexico. A number of congressional Republicans could join their Democratic counterparts in a vote to block President Donald Trump if he moves forward with threats to slap tariffs on all Mexican goods, according to a report from the Washington Post. Such a move would serve as a sharper GOP rebuke to the president than the failed attempt earlier this year to revoke his emergency border declaration. Similar to the resolution condemning the emergency declaration, a vote to block Trump’s tariffs would likely begin in the Democratic-controlled House and then move to the Senate, where enough Republicans could defect. “I know he’s, sometimes in his frustration, expressed his intention to do certain things but after calm reflection and consultation with the members of the Congress has decided maybe to pursue a different course, so that’s what I hope would happen here,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said to reporters on Monday. Other Republican senators have also publicly expressed their disapproval of the plan. “He’s a tariff guy,” Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst stated Monday after…

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Ohio Considering Push to Designate Mexican Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

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by Todd DeFeo   Ohio lawmakers are weighing a push to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a move that could send additional resources to help the state fight the influx of drugs. House Concurrent Resolution 10 calls on the federal government to levy the foreign terrorist organization designation for drug cartels. The move is gaining traction across the country. Gov. Mike DeWine has made fighting the opioid epidemic and drug abuse a centerpiece of his administration. A recent analysis from WalletHub found Ohio tied for first – along with Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia – for the most overdose deaths per capita. “Cartels have left a trail of blood and intimidation with their ruthless acts of violence,” Derek Maltz, who worked for 28 years as a special agent in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told members of the House Criminal Justice Committee. “The cartels engage in beheadings, car bombings, dissolving humans in acid, mass murder, torture, bombings and political assassinations. They want control.” Maltz said transnational drug cartels operate like Fortune 500 companies, but their tactics are similar to terrorist organizations. Designating an organization a terrorist organization allows the federal government to seize its…

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The White House Just Escalated Its Subpoena Standoff with House Democrats

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by Kevin Daley   The White House has directed former administration aides, Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson, not to cooperate with subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee as part of its far-reaching probe of President Donald Trump. The panel issued subpoenas to Hicks and Donaldson on May 21 for documents and testimony. Those orders asked Hicks to appear for testimony on June 19, while Donaldson is to appear on June 24. Both women were directed to submit records to the committee by Tuesday. “As part of President Trump’s continued obstruction of Congress, the White House has instructed both Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson not to turn over records in response to subpoenas issued by our committee last month,” Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said in a Tuesday statement. “I note that Ms. Hicks has agreed to turn over some documents to the Committee relating to her time working for the Trump campaign, and I thank her for that show of good faith.” “The president has no lawful basis for preventing these witnesses from complying with our request. We will continue to seek reasonable accommodation on these and all our discovery requests and intend to press these issues when we obtain…

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Schiff: AG Barr Is ‘Second Most Dangerous Man in the Country’

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by Chuck Ross   House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on Tuesday called Attorney General William Barr “the second most dangerous man in the country,” seemingly after President Donald Trump. “We find ourselves, I think, for the first time with an attorney general who really is the president’s defense lawyer and spokesperson, and who’s quite good at it,” Schiff said at an event held by the Council of Foreign Relations. “He is not the sophist that Giuliani is, he’s much more dangerous. And I think he’s the second most dangerous man in the country for that reason,” the Democrat added, referring to Rudy Giuliani, a personal lawyer for Trump. .@RepAdamSchiff on Attorney General William Barr: "I think he's the second most dangerous man in the country." Full video here: https://t.co/rAJ5U6jE9N pic.twitter.com/usWYgN0uGl — CSPAN (@cspan) June 4, 2019 Schiff and other Democrats have accused Barr of stonewalling requests for information from the special counsel’s investigation. He also accused Barr of lying to Congress when he testified in April that he did not know why Robert Mueller, the special counsel, was reportedly frustrated with the rollout of a summary of the special counsel’s report. “When you have an attorney general … that…

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Rep. Green Accepting Applications for Nominations to U.S. Military Service Academies

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green announced Tuesday that he has begun accepting applications for nominations to U.S. military service academies. Later in the fall of 2019, members of Green’s staff will host information sessions across the state for high school students and recent graduates who are interested in applying to enter an academy, Green’s office said in a press release. Four of the five service academies — the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy — require a congressional, vice presidential or service-connected nomination as part of the application process. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination. Representatives from Green’s office, the Tennessee congressional delegation and the military service academies will be available at the upcoming information fall sessions to field questions from prospective applicants and parents. Green tweeted, “I have the privilege of nominating some of the best and brightest young people from across Tennessee to our nation’s military service academies. These nominees are the future leaders of our military.” I have the privilege of nominating some of the best and brightest young people from across Tennessee to our nation's military service academies. These nominees are the future leaders of our military. https://t.co/mbbqsDVQH1 — Rep. Mark…

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All About the Wall: The Tennessee Star Report Welcomes Back Neil McCabe from OANN to Speak About New Mexico’s Completion and the Star County Bid

Julie Carr

  On Friday’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 – Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with special guest and his former Breitbart colleague, Iraq war veteran and current Army Reserve Sergeant Neil McCabe of One America News Network. Back from the border, Washington-based reporter for One America News Network,  McCabe spoke to the team about the We Build the Wall team in Sunland Park New Mexico, Brian Kolfage’s plan to install his purple heart into the wall which was just completed, and how to get Mexico to stop letting people through to the United States by upping the Trump trade game and stop pretending the Mexican government has anything to do with running Mexico. Leahy: Speaking of Mexico, we are joined on the line here now by our good friend Neil McCabe with OANN. And Neil was on the ground in Sunland Park, New Mexico where the We Build the Wall team was building that wall. Neil welcome! McCabe: Hey guys. Good to be with you. Leahy: So, bring us up to speed on the latest of that wall. I…

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Minneapolis Temporarily Cancels City Staff Segregated Race Talks

Zachery Schmidt

  Minneapolis city officials have temporarily canceled segregated race-relations talks with city employees, and all fliers promoting the event around Minneapolis City Hall have been pulled down, according to the Star Tribune. “Sacred Conversations with City Staff” was scheduled to take place in May, June and July. The first discussion was supposed to take place on May 30 but was postponed. These conversations centered around the 400-year anniversary of African slaves coming to Jamestown, Virginia. “It came to my attention … that sessions had been promoted publicly in a way the city does not condone, as we cannot nor will we divide people based on race, ethnicity or any other protected class,” City Coordinator Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde (pictured above) wrote in a statement to the Star Tribune. As the Minnesota Sun reported, these talks planned to segregate city staff into “black-bodied” and “white-bodied” staff to have a discussion about “how they relate to the enslavement, resistance and continual push for liberation for African American people.” The talks were meant to allow city employees to reflect on “what they are learning related to their role in the City.” Each month of these talks had a specific topic planned for these race discussions.…

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Buckeye Institute Argues for a New Bill That Could Help Ohioans with Their Debt

Zachery Schmidt

  Buckeye Institute research fellow Greg Lawson appeared in front of the Ohio House Financial Institutions Committee Tuesday to support a proposed bill that could help Ohioans be able to resolve their unresolved debt easier. “Ohio’s arbitrary fee caps and poorly tailored law makes it harder for some debt settlement firms to operate here; which, in turn, makes it harder for many of your constituents to reduce and settle their outstanding debts,” Lawson said Tuesday to the Committee about House Bill 131. Lawson thinks the bill’s policies will help clarify the legal rules for debt settlement companies, which will help Ohioans to manage their debt. The research fellow noted people in Ohio have an average of $5,583 in credit card debt more than 10 percent of the median household income. He described the difficulties this debt can have on people in an Akron Beacon Journal op-ed: “Ohioans already suffer under the burdens of regulation and occupational licensing restrictions. Those burdens limit job opportunities, impede career advancement, and can even add to the debts that debt settlement firms help to resolve. Reducing, restructuring and retiring old debts are hard enough for most people. Renaming debt settlement services as the “unauthorized practice…

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Democrats Call Ohio Speakers’ Opposition to ‘Drag 101’ Classes for Children ‘Unfortunate’

Beth Lear

  Eight Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives signed a joint statement Saturday calling their Speaker’s opposition to LGBTQ-centric events designed for children to be held in area public libraries “unfortunate.” “As we enter the month of PRIDE, Ohio celebrates its diversity in culture and speech – that is why the recent comments from our House Speaker are unfortunate,” the joint statement begins. It continues: It now appears another Library system is shutting down its PRIDE programming because of the furor this statement created. Let’s be clear—the promise of America is not that we all agree on everything—but that we all agree to let everyone have their voice. That is certainly true for the nearly 500,000 LGBTQ Ohioans. At a time when the national political discourse has reached new lows—let us in Ohio embrace our diversity so that all can flourish. The Democrats’ statement was in in response to an open letter, addressed to the Ohio Library Council and signed by Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford) as Speaker of the Ohio House. He wrote, in part, “When I was first informed our public libraries were being used to teach teen age boys how to become drag queens, I thought it was a…

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