Almost 200,000 flags were planted on the National Mall before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, intended to replace those who can’t attend in-person, The Hill reported Tuesday.
The exhibition was illuminated Sunday eve and extends from the National Mall, Third Street to 13th Street in the city’s downtown, according to The Hill.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that China’s policies on Muslims and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang region constitute “crimes against humanity” and a “genocide.”
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In one of the most extraordinary passages of his most extraordinary book, C.S. Lewis, the 20th century’s greatest Christian apologist, wrote of Jesus Christ, that he was either the son of God, as he claimed, or a madman. In the Christmas season, believers take comfort in their faith and joyfully embrace the first alternative.
The United States has a tradition of separating church and state, but there is a competing tradition, equally venerable, that our government is only fit for a religious people, one that understands there is a divine order to which humankind ought to conform, and that, as Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett once explained, it is our task to contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee State Representative Clay Doggett to the newsmakers line to discuss the special session on education and their focus on literacy.
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State Sen. Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis), already in legal trouble for embezzlement and wire fraud charges, learned Monday that her legal problems have only intensified. Federal officials have charged Robinson, 40, in a new case, along with two other co-defendants, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. This, according to a press release that officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee published on their website Tuesday.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain to the newsmakers line to discuss her role and the purpose of the 1776 Commission.
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Guatemalan officials report that 6,500 migrants are moving from Honduras to the USA. The migrants began pushing through the Guatemalan southern border.
The spokeswoman for Guatemala’s immigration authority, Alejandra Mena, estimated that there were some 6,500 Hondurans crossing the country’s southern border on Saturday, making their way north, with 3,000 to 3,500 of them already in Guatemalan territory. A Honduran police officer said he observed “more or less 5,000 people” walk past his checkpoint.
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The U.S. scientist behind an effort to stymie debate surrounding the possibility that COVID-19 could have accidentally escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology admitted through a spokesman that he did so to protect Chinese scientists from online criticism.
Dr. Peter Daszak, the president of the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, orchestrated a statement published in The Lancet medical journal in February, prior to any serious research on the origins of COVID-19, condemning “conspiracy theories” that suggest the virus doesn’t have a natural origin.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed TN (R) Representative Susan Lynn to the studio to discuss the upcoming special session in the General Assembly and its focus on education.
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Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s and Wayfair have all stopped selling MyPillow products after the company’s CEO continued alleging mass voter fraud occurred during the presidential election.
Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s called MyPillow CEO and Founder Mike Lindell this week informing them of their decision, he told Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) in an interview Monday. Wayfair and grocery store chain HEB also dropped MyPillow products, Lindell told St. Paul, Minnesota Fox affiliate KMSP-TV Tuesday.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Representative Susan Lynn to the studio to explain her role and mission as one of the board of directors at the American Legislative Exchange Council.
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A handful of conservative organizations have signed onto a letter to House Republicans stating their opposition to any proposed anti-trust action against Big Tech companies, according to Breitbart.
The 10-page letter, addressed to Congressmen Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), declared on behalf of these groups that “both sides of the aisle are pushing for the weaponization of anti-trust, either as a tool to punish corporate actors with whom they disagree or out of a presupposition that big is bad.”
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The “experts” that dominate government, big business, universities, and international institutions vitriolically insist that “science” purportedly establishes beyond doubt that carbon dioxide emissions are raising global temperatures and that the warmer earth will be catastrophic.
In 2020, the pandemic-induced shutdowns that inflicted so much economic harm, particularly on the Third World’s already poor, reduced CO2 emissions by a record-breaking 7 percent. Those demanding that Americans reduce emissions must be especially pleased: the U.S. led the world with a 12 percent reduction.
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The Virginia state Senate on Wednesday voted to update the body’s standing committees for 2021 and simultaneously stripped GOP gubernatorial candidate Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) of her lone committee assignment from the previous year, resulting in a lengthy debate that highlighted the disconnect between the lawmaker and her colleagues.
The standing committee’s membership was updated at the request of Republicans in order to fill the vacancies left by the late Sen. Ben Chafin, who passed away from COVID-19 complications on New Year’s Day, according to Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax).
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Inpatient hospitalizations due to COVID-19 cases dropped again on Tuesday – brining the overall decrease to 30 percent over the past month, according to the state COVID website. Despite acknowledging the dip during the Tuesday press briefing, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) shied away from calling it a trend.
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With Ohio moving closer to vaccinating school employees with the goal of getting more students back in the classroom, state economists say a return to school statewide should provide a boost to the economy.
But, back to school won’t mean a quick economic fix, the experts say.
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Virginia House Democrats have introduced two bills expanding healthcare coverage of abortions. HB 1922, introduced by Delegate Cia Price (D-Newport News) would expand Medicaid abortion coverage and require private employers who offer health coverage to cover abortions. HB 1896, introduced by Delegate Sally Hudson (D-Charlottesville), removes a Virginia prohibition of abortion coverage under Obamacare.
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The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) banned all “hate speech” by its members – not just in members’ professional capacity, but in every aspect of their lives. The policy changes were approved by the NAR Board of Directors during a meeting on November 13.
The policy on hate speech encompasses an array of broad issues: “harassing speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” Collectively, these speech-related issues fall under what the NAR terms “public trust,” which also includes misappropriation of client or customer funds, or property and fraud that causes significant economic harm.
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The Michigan Republican Party is seeking to remove Aaron Van Langevelde, the GOP member of the Board of State Canvassers who voted to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Van Langevelde cast the deciding vote to certify on Nov. 23, after many Republican operatives and Michigan state legislators pushed to delay. The other Republican member, Norm Shankle, abstained after initially saying that he would vote against certification.
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Legislation to abolish the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Virginia was advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday morning.
Introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), Senate Bill 1165 was reported out of the committee by a vote of 10-4, mostly along party lines with Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin County), chief co-patron on the measure, the only Republican who voted in support.
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The Virginia House of Delegates passed a voting reform bill on Tuesday. Key provisions of HB 1888 require ballot drop boxes in all localities, allow voters to “cure” or fix errors on their own absentee ballots, and require elections officials to begin processing absentee ballots before Election Day. Additionally, it requires localities to provide ballot marking tools and screen reader assistance technology for visually impaired voters.
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A judgment allowing or prohibiting the inspection of Fulton County’s mail-in ballots may occur as early as next week. The plaintiffs, organized by the election integrity organization Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia (VoterGA), have been engaged in litigation for nearly a month to obtain an inspection of those ballots.
VoterGA had anticipated receiving a ruling allowing them to inspect the county’s mail-in ballots during their last hearing on January 15. However, after three hours debating the county’s compliance with open records requests concerning the mail-in ballots, akin to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements, Chief Judge Brian Amero decided to only address that issue.
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Two Democrat Senators-elect who won runoff elections in Georgia earlier this month saw their victories certified by the Secretary of State Tuesday, despite lingering questions regarding election integrity in the Peach State.
“Senators-elect Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have now been certified as Georgia’s next senators, and can soon be sworn in,” WXIA said Tuesday.
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Nearly all of Ohio’s schools have committed to returning to some form of in-person learning by March 1, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Tuesday.
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Various left-leaning groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Southern Center for Human Rights, have endorsed a new initiative in Georgia to restore felons’ voting rights. Six Georgia state representatives filed legislation to allow felons the right to vote in Georgia. This, according to a press release that the Georgia House of Representatives emailed Monday.
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Minnesota is launching a COVID-19 vaccine pilot program this week, but the number of vaccines available is extremely limited.
Nine appointment-only sites across the state will start offering vaccines on Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz said in a news release.
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The Tennessee General Assembly convened for a special session to discuss learning loss and literacy reforms introduced by the governor’s office. State officials are proposing a series of reforms they dubbed “targeted intervention.” The first bill would establish a full-time tutoring core, after-school camps, learning loss bridge camps, and summer learning camps. Additionally, the second bill proposed a third grade “reading gate” to ensure students are prepared before entering fourth grade and that K-3 educators teach phonics as the primary form of reading, which would be complemented by a screening tool for parents’ use.
The impact of standardized testing also faces reforms. The third bill would keep the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) in place for the 2021 school year, but wouldn’t impose any negative consequences on student assessment. This would ensure that educators and families have a benchmark to assess student progress, but no teacher or district would face penalties based on those TCAP results. Under the fourth bill, the state would adjust the state budget to give pay raises to all teachers immediately.
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Less than 24 hours before he leaves office, President Trump on Tuesday delivered a farewell address, decrying the violence that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but pledging “the movement we started is only just beginning.”
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Sweet Jordan’s, a Paris, Tennessee bakery that employs special needs workers, was one of the latest recipients of the Barstool Fund. The donation saved their business from the pandemic-related financial strain threatening to close its doors.
Sweet Jordan’s was inspired by Jordan St. John, the two owners’ son who was born with Downs Syndrome. Their family wanted to open up a business to employ others with special needs like Jordan.
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For nearly two decades, Silicon Valley made net neutrality its highest policy priority. Under the banner of a “free and open” internet, Google, Facebook, and Twitter sought regulations to ensure the uninterrupted flow of information by treating every bit equally. Or so they said.
Beginning last Friday night, these firms and others executed an unprecedented digital purge of the social media and video accounts of their political rivals. After several years of accelerating suspensions and suppressions, this time YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter permanently banned a number of high-profile conservatives and deplatformed thousands of others, at least temporarily. Many of these accounts had nothing to do with last Wednesday’s heinous events at the Capitol. Yet their histories are erased.
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The 1776 Commission published its report on the history and principles of the American founding on Monday. The 45-page account explored the key individuals, events, and documents informing this country’s founding. It addressed the contextual history and meaning of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, ideologies that both historically and presently challenge American principles, and a series of proposals to restore national unity.
The appendices included the entirety of the Declaration of Independence, as well as further insight on the topics of religious faith, identity politics, and a strong civics education. In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Vice Chair Dr. Carol Swain explained that the report focuses on the virtues and ideals of this country that unite and benefit American citizens.
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Virginia man who was arrested at a police checkpoint in Washington D.C. over the weekend, has been released from custody following a brief court appearance.
Although initial news reports hyped the story, investigators said they do not consider Wesley Beeler, a security contractor who was working in the area, to be a threat to public safety.
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President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have promised to undo a number of President Donald Trump’s pro-life policies.
Biden has indicated that he will reverse the Mexico City Policy, which bars foreign organizations receiving U.S. funding from providing abortions, abortion information or abortion referrals. He has also promised to restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood, to repeal the Hyde Amendment and to renew legal action against the Little Sisters of the Poor.
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Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga said Monday that Hungary is considering sanctions against big tech firms over alleged “systemic abuses” of free speech, Reuters reported.
Varga plans to meet with the Hungarian Competition Authority this week to discuss possible penalties for what he says are unfair commercial practices utilized by social media firms including Facebook and Twitter, according to Reuters. In addition, the minister plans to convene a meeting with the state-sponsored Digital Freedom Committee.
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Two veteran school bus drivers from a West Virginia school district have filed a civil lawsuit for suspensions related to their attendance at the January 6 Washington, DC protest.
Tina Renner and Pamela McDonald were suspended by Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson after receiving word the drivers had “posted threatening and inflammatory posts on their Facebook pages, had been present at the Electoral protest march on Wednesday that erupted in violence, and had violated […] leave policy.”
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Recently, we received a copy of a private commentary sent around by a tech founder in Silicon Valley, who wrote the following, which we quote here with permission provided the author’s anonymity is preserved:
The entire American tech stack – which enables Americans to buy, sell, pay, and communicate – has been weaponized in furtherance of a radical anti-freedom agenda.
This is the single most chilling week in my lifetime, and America’s since the Civil War.
Gov. Bill Lee has unveiled legislation to address learning loss among Tennessee students caused by pandemic-related school closures and extended time away from the classroom.
A series of Lee-backed bills include proposals to provide summer school and after school tutoring, require school districts to use phonics-based literacy curriculum and suspend test-related accountability measures for teachers and schools this year. Lee said he’ll also propose pay raises for teachers, but those details have not been released.
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President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly nominate Rohit Chopra, an ally of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Chopra is a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and if confirmed by the Senate would take over an agency that he helped create alongside Warren approximately a decade ago. Chopra’s selection was first reported by Politico, which cited four individuals with knowledge of the decision.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed John Hinderaker, President of the Center of the American Experiment to the show to discuss his mission of bringing awareness to the educational curriculum standards in Minnesota’s public schools.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee (R) State Representative Justin Lafferty to the newsmakers line to discuss upcoming legislation facing Tennessee’s education and healthcare priorities.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the Senior Analyst for Strategy at the Center for Security Policy Michael Waller to the newsmakers line to give an eyewitness account of what he saw during the breach of the Capitol last week.
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A member of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office attempted to shift the blame to President Donald J. Trump and his supporters, including a newly-elected congresswoman, for the GOP’s failure in the U.S. runoffs in the Peach State.
“The drop off in GOP turnout from Nov to Jan was driven by Trump and most prominently in areas represented by Doug Collins and Marjorie Taylor Greene. These folks cost the GOP two senate seats and control of the Senate. Giving Biden and Dems a free hand,” Gabriel Sterling, the Secretary of States’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial officer said on Twitter.
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s administration has recommended to the General Assembly that the state not conform its tax code to specific provisions included in the recently-signed federal emergency relief bill that gives businesses who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans a significant tax benefit.
Under the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), signed into law by President Donald Trump in late December, businesses in the Commonwealth that got forgivable PPP loans would not be taxed on that income and could deduct their business expenses covered by the federal payment.
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Six Georgia state representatives put forward a resolution last week asking that members of the U.S. Congress create a formal commission to study whether the government should provide reparations for slavery. “The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all,” according to the language of the resolution.
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Georgia is one of several states that harvest blueberries, but U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA-08) said this week that other nations’ unfair trade practices have harmed all of America’s blueberry growers. Scott and other members of Congress want members of the International Trade Commission to help.
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A bill has been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature that would allow businesses to remain open despite further COVID-19 restrictions.
The bill, which was introduced by Sens. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, and Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, provides that businesses may remain in operation under executive orders as long as they create a COVID-19 safety preparedness plan.
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Ohio residents ages 80-years-old and older will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccination starting on Tuesday, January 19 as Phase 1B of the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program begins.
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Twitter suspended Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from her personal account temporarily on Sunday. The suspension occurred shortly after Greene posted allegations that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Gabriel Sterling were to blame for potential voter fraud.
Greene had issued a response to Sterling’s tweet which claimed that Greene, Doug Collins, and President Donald Trump were to blame for a significant drop-off in Republican turnout. Just over 270,000 less Republicans voted in the runoff elections, as compared to nearly 166,000 less Democrats.
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With Virginia’s statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general drawing ever closer, candidates’ campaign finance reports literally show who has been busy fundraising, but can also offer an early glimpse of their viability in the races.
On Saturday, year-end fundraising reports, covering the second half of last year from July 1st to December 31st, for each statewide candidate were released to the public. The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) compiled the numbers and listed the cash on hand for each candidate.
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After media reports hyped “armed protests” in Lansing, some businesses boarded up windows, and Mayor Andy Schor issued news releases telling residents to stay away from downtown.
Police say now that only 25 protesters showed up at the event’s peak.
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