Other States Likely Monitoring Lawsuit Against Tennessee’s New ‘Online Auctioneer’ Law, Expert Says

  Legislators in other states likely want to duplicate a new Tennessee law that’s currently under a temporary restraining order, per a U.S. federal judge, said someone involved in the legal proceedings. As The Tennessee Star reported this week, U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson of the Middle District of Tennessee issued the temporary restraining order. The order prevents state officials from enforcing a law that forces online auctioneers to get a state license. The temporary restraining order expires July 11 at noon. An injunction hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 10 at 9 a.m. Legislators in other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky, will no doubt monitor the case, Will McLemore, one of the plaintiffs in the case, told The Tennessee Star this week. McLemore said he runs an online auction company out of Nashville. “Tennessee is looked to as a bellwether state for auction regulation. It has always been one of the most heavily regulated states for auctioneering,” McLemore said. “I do know there are a lot of other states who have watched this bill passed into law and are looking to it as a model or a possible model for the way they might proceed.” McLemore…

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President of World’s Largest Hispanic Christian Organization Visits Same Migrant Center as Ocasio-Cortez and Sees Completely Different Story

  The president of the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization toured the same Texas migrant center that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) viewed and saw a completely different scene. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the president of National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), was “full of indignation” after seeing reports of soiled diapers and centers lacking basic hygiene and sanitary items. Thus, he asked the White House to grant him immediate access to a detention facility. On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez toured an El Paso County detention center and described horrible conditions at the facility. “Just left the 1st CBP facility. I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress,” she tweeted. Just left the 1st CBP facility. I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1,…

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Commentary: Political Violence in Portland a Sneak Preview of Our Unraveling Civil Society If All Americans Do Not Denounce It

by Robert Romano   Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is calling for federal law enforcement authorities to investigate Portland, Oreg. Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler after an incident where Quillette editor Andy Ngo was brutally assaulted by left-wing Antifa demonstrators on June 29 amid a nationwide scourge of political violence. On Twitter, Cruz wrote, “To federal law enforcement: investigate & bring legal action against a Mayor who has, for political reasons, ordered his police officers to let citizens be attacked by domestic terrorists.” In 2018, Wheeler told Portland police not to get involved when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were attacked by an Antifa mob during a 38-day demonstration at ICE facilities to protest President Donald Trump’s stance against illegal immigration. Now, Wheeler’s hands-off-Antifa approach is coming under scrutiny as these mobs have been allowed to engage in violence and intimidation with minimal repercussions. On June 29, groups like Proud Boys showed up to support a competing #HimToo demonstration. The result was skirmishes across the city. What should have been simply two different demonstrations occurring instead turned into a scene from the Gangs of New York, with partisans kicking the crap out of each other in the streets. Daryl Turner, President of…

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Inconsistencies Emerge After Ocasio-Cortez Said Migrants Were Told to Drink Water Out of Toilets

by Jason Hopkins   Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said migrant women held in a Customs and Border Protection facility were told to drink water out of toilets, but an agent has directly refuted the allegation and she has yet to clarify if she actually saw such an action occur. “Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Monday after visiting her first CBP detention center that day. It was her first accusation that women in the Texas facility were being explicitly told by agents to drink water from toilets. Ocasio-Cortez later spoke to reporters outside the facility, and her comments suggested she personally saw women drinking out of a toilet. “These women were being told by CBP officers to drink out of the toilet. They were drinking water out of the toilet, and that was them knowing a congressional visit was coming. This is CBP on their best behavior,” the New York Democrat stated Monday. However, she did not provide an answer when a reporter asked if she personally witnessed this. A CBP agent who…

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Trump Administration Backs Off Census Citizenship Question After Supreme Court Defeat

by Kevin Daley   The Trump administration will not include a citizenship question on the 2020 census form, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The decision comes after the Supreme Court found Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross concealed his reasons for adding the citizenship question and cleared the way for further proceedings. The Commerce Department supervises the Census Bureau. “The decision has been made to print the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire without a citizenship question,” a Justice Department lawyer wrote in an email shared on Twitter. “The printer has been instructed to begin the printing process.” A Department spokesperson confirmed the government’s plans to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The case proceeded through the federal courts on an expedited basis due to time constraints. Government lawyers said the Census Bureau needed to finalize the questionnaire by July 1 to ensure timely printing and distribution. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in an accelerated procedural posture given the press of time. However, some census officials suggested the government could delay printing until October, raising the prospect that the government could ultimately add the citizenship question if it prevailed in another round of litigation. President Donald Trump suggested he would delay the…

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Portland Police Release Photos of Suspects In Violence at Antifa Rally

by Matt M. Miller   Portland Police released photos of the individuals suspected of attacking journalist Andy Ngo at an Antifa rally Saturday. Oregon Police posted photos and mugshots on Twitter of the suspects allegedly responsible for brutalizing attendees of the downtown Portland riot, according to Fox News. PPB Continues to Investigate Criminal Acts Related to Saturday's Demonstration-Seeks Public's Help (Photo) https://t.co/IbpM96b1zt pic.twitter.com/NkjubWMHgr — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 1, 2019 One suspect is a shirtless male, and two others are male and female respectively, both captured wearing black clothes and a mask concealing their identities. “There is no current law or ordinance prohibiting covering of the face in a protest and commission of a crime, which makes it more difficult for investigators to identify perpetrators of violence,” the Portland Police Bureau said. “This is exploited by criminals who engage in acts of violence.” A total of eight attendees of an Antifa protest event Saturday were treated for injuries including three police officers, and three civilians who were hospitalized, according to officials, Fox News reported. Conservative journalist Andy Ngo was one of those hospitalized from violence at the event, reportedly suffering from brain bleeding in addition to cuts and bruises, according…

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Arizona Drops Nike Investment After Betsy Ross Shoe Is Scrapped

by Molly Prince   Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey revealed Tuesday that the state of Arizona will withdraw all of the financial incentives provided to Nike following the company’s decision to pull an American flag-themed sneaker it deemed offensive. “Today was supposed to be a good day in Arizona, with the announcement of a major [Nike] investment in Goodyear, [Arizona],” Ducey said on Twitter. “And then this news broke yesterday afternoon.” And then this news broke yesterday afternoon. 2/https://t.co/NmM8OPGR0G — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019 “Words cannot express my disappointment at this terrible decision. I am embarrassed for Nike,” he continued. “Nike is an iconic American brand and American company. This country, our system of government and free enterprise have allowed them to prosper and flourish.” Air Manufacturing Innovation, the Nike subsidiary that makes Nike Air sneakers, announced plans to open a multimillion-dollar facility in the Grand Canyon state only hours before news broke that Nike was recalling Air Max 1 USA sneakers because a Revolutionary War-era version of the flag was stitched on the heel. The already-produced shoe line was pulled after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick complained that the Betsy Ross flag was a symbol of the…

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Commentary: Democrats Hate It When Peace Breaks Out

by CHQ Staff   We remain optimistic pessimists on President Trump’s efforts to secure a denuclearization deal with the North Koreans. We’re optimistic because President Trump’s efforts have curtailed the North Korean missile and nuclear weapons tests, but we are pessimistic that the Stalinist North Korean Kim dynasty will risk its hold on the people of North Korea for the incentives that the President could reasonably offer. But that doesn’t mean President Trump should revert to the Bush – Obama policy of refusing to have anything to do with Kim and his government; we tried that, and it obviously didn’t work. So, if giving Kim Jong Un a little respect, meeting him at the DMZ and walking with him into North Korean territory keeps him at the bargaining table and keeps the possibility of a denuclearization deal alive that is, in our view, a cheap price to pay for peace on the Korean Peninsula. However, that’s not how the Democrats running for President see it. According to Japan Today reporter Doina Chiacu, Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a Twitter post, “Our President shouldn’t be squandering American influence on photo ops and exchanging love letters with a ruthless dictator.” Her Senate…

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Cory Booker’s New Immigration Plan Would Sidestep Congress

by Evie Fordham   Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s immigration plan announced Tuesday would sidestep Congress and drastically change U.S. immigration policy through executive orders. “But we can’t wait for Congress to act, which is why, as president, Cory will start on Day One to end the abuses of the Trump Administration and use his executive authority to reform our immigration system,” a statement on Booker’s presidential campaign website reads. NEW: I’m introducing a plan to fix our broken immigration system—without Congress. https://t.co/PFCuvn4yOg pic.twitter.com/d8hyHlZjYG — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 2, 2019 Booker’s plan isn’t wildly different from those of other 2020 candidates, but it is one of the most detailed, according to The Associated Press. Tenets of Booker’s plan include steps to: “Virtually eliminate our nation’s reliance on immigration incarceration, including ending the use of for-profit detention facilities.” “Stop treating immigrants as criminals [because] criminal prosecution of improper entry has been used by the Trump Administration as a basis for the separation of thousands of families.” End the Trump administration’s travel ban of several Muslim-majority countries. Booker’s plan would also squash a Trump administration proposal to make it easier to deport immigrants who are deemed “public charges” because they…

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New Tennessee Law Requires Civics Test for High School Students

  A new Tennessee law requires the state’s high school students not only take but pass a high school civics test. As Chalkbeat.org reported, Tennessee high school students previously only had to take the test to graduate. Now, they must also pass the exam. No one at the Tennessee Department of Education returned The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment by voicemail and email Tuesday. Specifically, The Star asked to see an example of the test, information about who will take the test, and what are the consequences for performing poorly. According to Chalkbeat.org, however, the questions are varied and detailed. “From the Declaration of Independence to the U.S. Supreme Court, the 50 questions are drawn from the citizenship test administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” the website reported. “Students must get at least 70 percent right to receive their diploma, and they can take the online test multiple times. The goal is to build a more informed citizenry.” The Johnson City Press quoted various state officials and educators about the test. According to the paper: • Tennessee State Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, said the exam is “one way of teaching Tennessee kids the importance of our God-given liberties and…

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Steve Rogers Commentary: ‘A Salute to America’ Is the Embodiment of President Trump’s Love of Our Military, Over the Establishment’s Protests

by Steve Rogers   It’s funny how the same people who are furious with President Trump for inviting our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to be honored on the National Mall this Independence Day seem to be just as upset that he didn’t send our troops into harm’s way in some far-flung corner of the world. There’s nothing remotely “un-American” about a military parade like the one our Commander-in-Chief is planning as part of a July 4th “Salute to America,” along with a host of other tributes to our military. We’ve had them for centuries, especially around the Independence Day holiday. Remember, there never could have been a Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, if there hadn’t been a Continental Army, founded almost exactly a year earlier. In fact, that army’s commander-in-chief, George Washington, would lead about 500 of the same men who fought with him during the Revolution in a parade through New York City as he occupied the same public office that Donald Trump now occupies. If there were liberals and detractors condemning that parade as “un-American,” that fact went unrecorded by history. The best part about military parades — even more uplifting than the triumphal pageantry,…

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Trump Signs Law Making It Harder for IRS to Seize Money From Americans

by Fred Lucas   The Internal Revenue Service seized $446,000 from the bank accounts of brothers Jeffrey, Richard, and Mitch Hirsch in 2012, claiming a “structuring” violation against the owners of Bi-County Distributors Inc. for making multiple bank deposits of less than $10,000. The government never charged them with a crime, nor gave them a hearing to enable them to contest the seizure, but after intense national media attention to the case, the government returned the funds. The case was among many that highlighted an abuse by IRS agents known as legal source structuring that allowed the tax collection agency to use a law, the Bank Secrecy Act, intended to combat money laundering, to seize assets. President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill Monday to force greater accountability on the IRS in the property seizures, as well as protect taxpayers from identity theft, boost whistleblower protections, and modernize the tax agency. “We just finished signing, the important signing, of the Taxpayer First bill, the IRS Taxpayer First, which is a tremendous thing for our citizens having to deal with the IRS,” Trump told reporters after the signing. “It streamlines and so many other changes are made. That was just done…

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Beacon Center Tells 30 Largest Tennessee Cities It Will Call Them Out on July 4, 2020 on How Free Their Citizens Are

  Conservative think tank Beacon Center of Tennessee has placed the 30 largest Volunteer State cities on notice: On Independence Day 2020, it will call them out on how free their citizens are – or are not. The Beacon Center of Tennessee announced Tuesday it will release a City Freedom Index on Independence Day 2020. As many of our state and local elected officials know, thousands of people across the United States move to Tennessee each year. While their reasons may vary, many choose to live here due to state-level policies such as: Right to Work, a lack of a state income tax, low taxes per capita, and low levels of debt. These policies are well known and their benefits well documented. While certainly the state you live in has a large impact on your life, so does the city you live in. However, we have found there are few resources on the best places to live within Tennessee due to local level polices. In an emailed press release, Mark Cunningham, vice president of communications and outreach, said the center will rank the 30 cities according to an overall freedom score. Because this is a brand new report, Beacon is giving cities a…

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#WalkAway Family Targeted by Activists, Doubles Down on Trump Support

  Tyrone and Marcella Jackson are an African-American couple and small business owners of The Good Frank in Columbus. They were not politically active, but believed the Democratic talking points. Now they are conservative Trump supporters. The Jacksons are part of the #Walkaway movement. #Walkaway is a movement siphoning away support from the Democratic Party. It began in New York in May 2018. Brandon Straka, a hair stylist and self-professed liberal, founded the organization. Disenchanted by the far-Left’s takeover of the Party, Straka spoke out against the extreme policy positions of the Democrats and urged others to do the same. “(The Left) will blacklist and destroy anyone who dares to fight back,” Straka said in a video explaining his decision to cut ties with Democrats. “They’ll come for me, and then they’ll come for you.” They came for Tyrone and Marcella Jackson. And the Jacksons wanted to share their story with The Ohio Star, which, like The Tennessee Star, is owned by Star News Digital Media. The attacks against the Jacksons began shortly after a Trump rally in August 2018 at Orange High School in Delaware County. Marcella and her oldest daughter, who was wearing a MAGA hat, were clearly visible…

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Thales Academy, High Quality and Affordable Private School, Is Coming to Nashville

  Thales Academy, a non-profit company that owns and operates eight private schools in North Carolina, is coming to Nashville. Founder and CEO Bob Luddy, the entrepreneur who also owns CaptiveAire, the nation’s leading provider of commercial kitchen ventilation equipment, and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Tim Hall will be among the Thales Academy team members who will be addressing the public at an informational meeting that will be held in Nashville on Friday, July 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at West End Community Church, located at 235 White Bridge Pike in Nashville. The event is free and open to the public. You can confirm your attendance here. Nashville joins Richmond, Virginia as locations Thales Academy has identified for expansion in the 2020-2021 academic year. In each community, Thales Academy is working with local groups who want to give students and parents in their area the opportunity to be part of a high quality, low cost private education based on traditional Judeo-Christian values. The Thales model emphasizes Direct Instruction rather than Common Core to learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic for K-5 students, and a classical curriculum for 6-12 students. Direct Instruction is a teaching method that…

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