Day: March 14, 2021

Tennessee Celebrated Disability Advocacy Day, Representatives Passed Resolution to Commemorate It

Corinne Murdock

On Thursday, Tennessee celebrated Disability Advocacy Day 2021 with lit-up landmarks and a General Assembly resolution. Lights the color of “Coalition Blue” lit up landmarks across Tennessee to commemorate the day. The event gained traction across social media, with users noting all the areas across the state commemorating the event. The Tennessee House passed a resolution for the day as well.

Tennessee Disability Coalition Director of Communications & Technology Tom Jedlowski explained to The Tennessee Star that having a day of advocacy versus awareness was an important distinction.

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Bipartisan House Leaders Say National Guard Presence at Capitol Is Unwarranted

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The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Armed Services Committee called the current National Guard deployment on Capitol Hill unwarranted.

Democratic Rep. Adam Smith and Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, the committee’s respective chairman and ranking member, asked the Department of Defense to implement a “measured drawdown” of the guardsmen stationed at the Capitol in a joint statement Thursday.

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Daylight Saving Time Starts Today

Zachery Schmidt

Americans – except for those in Arizona and Hawaii – will wake up this Sunday, March 10, and realize an hour has been deleted from their day. Welcome to daylight saving time! Beginning on March 14 2:00 a.m. through November 7 2:00 a.m., clocks will ‘Spring forward’ an hour.

The short answer to why we go through this yearly ritual is so that we can enjoy more of the natural daylight in the Summertime. So the hour people will lose on Sunday is totally worth it to enjoy more daylight in the Summer!

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Turning Point USA Nashville Hosts First-Ever Songwriter’s Night

Corinne Murdock

Conservative non-profit organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Nashville hosted their first-ever Songwriter’s Night on Friday in downtown Nashville. The event packed the house at the Bold Patriot Brewing Company.

The lineup for the night included Nashville-based artists Reid Morris, Johnny Cole Murdock, and Parker Hastings. Murdock and Hastings are both current students at Belmont University, and Morris attended previously. 

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Schumer, Gillibrand Call on Cuomo to Resign

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign Friday over allegations of sexual misconduct and assault.

The Democratic senators released a statement Friday afternoon after the majority of the New York Democratic congressional delegation called for Cuomo’s resignation in coinciding statements Friday morning. One of Cuomo’s accusers, Lindsey Boylan, had announced earlier Friday that she would focus a political action committee against both Schumer and Gillibrand since they had not yet called for Cuomo to resign.

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As Vaccinations Ramp up, One-Third of Americans Still Say They Don’t Want One

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As more people receive vaccines across the U.S. coronavirus cases have continued to fall, but one-third of Americans still say they will not get one, according to a Thursday NPR/Marist poll.

While 45% said they would get vaccinated and 22% said that they had already received a shot, 30% of Americans said they would not get one, the poll showed. Among Republicans, 41% said they would not take one, compared to just 11% of Democrats.

Those unwilling leapt to 49% among Republican men, while just 6% of Democratic men said the same.

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Analysis: These 11 Examples of Defensive Gun Use Undermine Push for More Gun Control

Admin

March is Women’s History Month, yet Congress appears ready to celebrate in the worst way possible by creating more barriers for women who seek to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

While COVID-19-related bills have taken up much of the national spotlight, several gun control bills are primed for passage this week in the House. This is hardly surprising, given that just last month, President Joe Biden called on Congress to enact a plethora of new federal gun legislation.

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Leon Benjamin Announces Non-Profit Virginians for America First to Re-Take Virginia House

Eric Burk

Former congressional candidate Leon Benjamin is founding a new political non-profit focused on helping Republicans retake Virginia House of Delegates seats. Virginians for America First will focus on grassroots training and education to retake control of the House in the 2021 elections by initially focusing on districts that recently flipped from Republican to Democrat control.

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Educator/Reporter Blasts Loudoun County Public School Board During Public Comments

Eric Burk

A northern Virginia educator and Right Side Broadcasting Network reporter attracted attention this week after blasting the Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) Board during a public comments period on Tuesday.

“I’m a teacher speaking on behalf of every fed-up teacher in this nation,” Lilit Vanetsyan said. “This school district continues to show up on national news and it is absolutely embarrassing to see what once used to be the nations’ leading school district has [descended] to.”

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Minneapolis to Pay Record $27 Million in George Floyd’s Wrongful Death Settlement

The Center Square

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to settle George Floyd’s wrongful death lawsuit for a record $27 million. 

The settlement was announced on Friday.

In a viral May 2020 video, former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, causing police brutality protests worldwide. Floyd died later that night. By the end of the week, the three officers involved were fired. 

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Legal Sports Betting Clears First Hurdle in Georgia General Assembly

The Center Square

Legislation legalizing sports betting in Georgia has cleared the Georgia Senate and will be considered in the House.

Senate Resolution 135 would amend Georgia’s Constitution to legalize sports betting as a game played through the state lottery, which already is a legal form of gambling in the state.

The resolution cleared the Senate, 41-10, last week. If SR 135 passes the House, Georgians would vote on the constitutional amendment in the 2022 general election. Sports betting would then be legal by January 2023.

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Ohio Shows Worst Unemployment Recovery in Nation

The Center Square

Ohio had the slowest weekly unemployment claims recovery in the nation last week, based on a new report from the personal finance website WalletHub.

The report compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia over three metrics: changes in claims during the latest week compared with 2019 and 2020 and changes in claims filed from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic versus the previous year.

Based on the data, Ohio ranked 51st out of 51 in recovery over the latest week and 37th since the pandemic began. Ohio ranked behind Colorado, West Virginia, Mississippi and Virginia in weekly recovery.

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Michigan Senate Authorizes Second Lawsuit Against Gov. Whitmer

The Center Square

The GOP-dominated Michigan Senate on Thursday approved a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

At issue is a possible attempt by the governor to unilaterally spend nearly a million dollars attached to a bill she vetoed this week.

Senate Resolution 26 reads: “Any attempt by Governor Whitmer to expend moneys that she vetoed without further legislative approval or expend certain funds without the enactment of Senate Bill No. 1 or House Bill No. 4049 would be contrary to both law and Michigan’s constitutional system.”

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Lawsuit Claims Northam’s COVID-19 Restrictions Discriminate Against Certain Businesses

The Center Square

A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Roanoke claims COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Gov. Ralph Northam discriminate against certain businesses while allowing others to operate more freely.

Northam recently eased the COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor gatherings for amusement and entertainment venues. However, the governor failed to include wedding venues and other businesses in the recent change.

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House Republicans Kill Bill Requiring More Fair Use of E-Verify by Tennessee Employers

Laura Baigert

A bill that would create equity amongst Tennessee employers as to the required use of the E-verify system was killed by five Republicans in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee, even as thousands of illegal immigrants surge the southern border.

HB 0801, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris), would require employers in the state with six or more employees to utilize the federal government’s E-verify system in hiring future employees.  Griffey’s bill lowered the threshold from the current law, which required e-verification for employers with 50 or more employees.

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