Month: March 2021

Georgia Legislators Want to Require Law Enforcement and 911 to Speak Languages Other Than English

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia General Assembly filed various bills this week that would, if enacted into law, require law enforcement agencies to speak in languages other than English when working with members of the public. The first bill, SB 308, calls on the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA) and the state’s 911 systems to have a statewide system of language translation services. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Sen. Sheikh Rahman (D-Lawrenceville) as the bill’s primary sponsor. Nineteen other state senators, all Democrats, are co-sponsoring the bill.

Read the full story

Bomb Threats Called into Hampton Courthouses for Second Time This Month

Peter D'Abrosca

For the second time this month, Hampton’s courthouses have been subject to a bomb threat, forcing occupants to evacuate. 

“Hampton Police and [the Hampton Fire Department] are investigating a bomb threat at Hampton General District Court. All three court houses have been evacuated as a precaution and surrounding streets are closed. Call received at 8:29 a.m. Nothing further at this time,” according to a Tweet from the Hampton Police Department (HPD). 

Read the full story

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn Gave $8 Million Contract to Company That Employs Her Husband

Corinne Murdock

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s husband works for the company that benefited from an $8.06 million reading initiative contract.

Apparently, Commissioner Schwinn keeps it all in the family. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, sources claimed that Schwinn imported former colleagues from Texas when she assumed her role within TDOE. They also claimed that they were subjected to hiring freezes and pressure to slash budgets, though Schwinn had no problem with maintaining the six-figure salaries for her imports.

Read the full story

Speaker Sexton Spares House Members from Rule 53 Vote on E-Verify Legislation

Laura Baigert

During the House floor session Monday evening, Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) spared his members from a Rule 53 vote regarding the proposed E-Verify legislation.

Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) invoked the Rule 53 provision from the House Permanent Rules of Order for the 112th General Assembly, which is the process of recalling a bill from committee.  If a Rule 53 effort is successful, the subject bill would be scheduled directly to the House floor for a vote, bypassing the committee process that killed the bill.

Read the full story

Tennessee State, National Guards Helping Handle COVID-19 Vaccinations

Corinne Murdock

For about a year now, both the Tennessee National Guard and Tennessee State Guard (TNSG) have been mobilized for COVID-19 efforts – which now includes vaccinations. The Tennessee National Guard began assisting with COVID-19 testing on April 1 following the tornado cleanup efforts, while TNSG joined in nearly a week later. Since December, both of the guards began transitioning to begin assistance with vaccine administration throughout the state. 

Established by the General Assembly in 1887, The Tennessee National Guard differs from the TNSG in that the latter is composed of volunteers underneath the state. That means that TNSG answers to Governor Bill Lee. Unlike the Tennessee National Guard, TNSG can’t be federalized or deployed outside of the state. The Tennessee National Guard can because it’s part of the U.S. Army and National Guard. Both are branches of the Tennessee Military Department.

Read the full story

Commentary: If The GOP Wants To Put America First, It Should Put The Chamber of Commerce in Its Place

Admin

Georgia Republicans want to make their elections work better after the 2020 disaster. They’ve proposed sensible measures to eliminate no-excuse absentee ballots, remove dubious ballot drop-off boxes, and reform early voting times. This effort would restore trust in the election process and ensure every ballot is legitimate. But, for some strange reason, this legislation has drawn the ire of the state’s business community.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce last week expressed its “concern and opposition” to these measures in an official statement endorsed by Home Depot and Coca-Cola, two major corporations based in the Peach State. Black Lives Matter, Stacey Abrams, and other left-wing activists are pressuring these corporations and others to do more to oppose these election reform laws. They’re running TV and newspaper ads to strongarm companies into doing their bidding, and there’s a good chance the corporations eventually will bend the knee. Few corporations nowadays can resist the woke mobs.

Read the full story

Cofounder of Global Fraud Organization Responsible for Stealing More Than $500 Million Sentenced to Ten Years in Jail

Admin

A Russian national, who co-founded a global fraud operation that’s responsible for stealing more than $560 million from millions of victims was sentenced to a decade in jail on Friday, the Department of Justice announced.

Russian citizen Sergey Medvedev, 33, and Syvatoslav Bondarenko, who is from Ukraine, co-founded Infraud, court documents said, according to a Justice Department press release. Infraud, a worldwide criminal organization that engaged in financial fraud and stole identities, bragged about having more than 10,000 participants at its height, according to the press release.

Medvedev, the Russian national, conducted an “escrow” service for illegal transactions in the Infraud network starting in November 2010 until law enforcement shut down the organization in February 2018, court documents said, according to the press release.

Read the full story

Knoxville Mayor Budget Priorities Include: Alternative Policing, Homeless Housing, African American Reparations Task Force

Corinne Murdock

Knoxville’s upcoming budget appears to hold a primary focus on the expansion of many key social justice initiatives. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon introduced these focuses in a budget presentation last month.

These types of initiatives within Knoxville’s proposed budget include: alternative forms of policing, permanent housing for the homeless, expanding affordable housing, clean energy implementation (such as electric cars), an African American Equity Restoration Task Force, increased diversity in businesses, and equitable hiring in local government.

Read the full story

Music Spotlight: Sam Hatmaker

Bethany Bowman

The first time I saw Sam Hatmaker was with the Song Suffragettes before COVID. Every songwriter who is part of the Song Suffragettes collective is amazing, but Hatmaker was unique and different. I knew even back then, I wanted to interview her.

It turns out that Hatmaker is from Knoxville, Tennessee. Her mom did theater and her dad was a performer too. It was natural for her to want to be on stage. When she was ten-years-old, she auditioned and was cast in a Christmas show at Dollywood. That ended up with her working at Dollywood for three years.

Read the full story

Border Patrol Holding Thousands of Migrant Children Past The Legal Limit, Some Detained Longer Than 10 Days

Admin

Customs and Border Protection has held at least 800 unaccompanied migrant minors in custody for over 10 days, Axios reported

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can legally hold unaccompanied minors for 72 hours, though over 3,300 were in custody over the limit as of Saturday, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by Axios. Over 2,200 unaccompanied minors were held for more than five days and around 820 were in custody for over 10 days.

The number of unaccompanied minors in CBP custody for over 10 days has quadrupled in the last week, Axios reported. Only around 180 unaccompanied minors were in CBP custody for over 10 days as of last Monday.

Read the full story

Biden Administration Facing Media Scrutiny for Not Allowing Press Access to Child Migrant Detention Facilities

Admin

Reporters in the White House Press Briefing Room expressed frustration on Wednesday with the Biden Administration for failing to provide proper information or press access regarding the increasingly overflowing migrant detention facilities on the southern border, as reported by Breitbart.

One reporter grilled White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on this issue, asking “It’s now been three weeks since….you were first asked about getting us some press access” to these facilities, which have been filling up with child migrants in particular. “Why have we still not seen any images inside these facilities?”

Psaki dodged the question, and instead tried to claim that Biden himself is receiving such information in briefings, saying that “he talks to plenty of officials.” Psaki also continued blaming other factors for the lack of information, including various restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the privacy of children who occupy these facilities.

Read the full story

Elizabeth Warren Calls Filibuster Racist Months After Filibustering Tim Scott Police Reform Bill

Admin

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the filibuster racist Thursday, months after she filibustered Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform legislation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the filibuster is both racist and shouldn’t be permitted in the Senate since it gives the minority veto power, according to Axios. The legislative filibuster, which dates back to the 1800s, is a rule that requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass in the Senate.

“The filibuster has deep roots in racism, and it should not be permitted to serve that function, or to create a veto for the minority,” Warren told Axios on Thursday. “In a democracy, it’s majority rules.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden Will Prove Reagan Right About Big-Government Incompetence

Admin

Respected Washington Post journalist and CNN host Fareed Zakaria has thrown down the gauntlet by betting that President Joe Biden “can show us that Reagan was wrong” when the Gipper said that “government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.”

The headline in the Washington Post was “Biden is showing government can work,” and this assertion was supported by a commitment from a Biden White House official that “For people like us who believe in government, task number one is to make government work.”

Read the full story

Lawyer Linked to Steele Dossier is Working for House Dems to Overturn Results of Iowa Election

Admin

House Democrats have hired Marc Elias, the elections lawyer linked to the infamous Steele dossier, to help in their bid to overturn the results of an Iowa House race won by a Republican incumbent.

According to Politico, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is paying Elias to represent the campaign of Rita Hart, a Democrat who lost by six votes to Rep. Mariannette Miller-Marks.

Hart has appealed to Congress to adjudicate the outcome of the election after state officials declared Miller-Marks the winner. Hart claims that Iowa officials failed to count 22 ballots that would have swayed the election in her favor.

Read the full story

Far-Left Southern Poverty Law Center Holds over $160 Million in Offshore Bank Accounts

Admin

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a far-left hate group that specializes in smearing right-wing groups and individuals, is currently holding over $160 million of its assets in offshore bank accounts, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The revelation comes from the most recent financially-audited statements, which show about $162 million in such foreign accounts as of October 21st of last year. The group raised about $108 million over the course of a year between November 2019 and October 2020, which was up $11 million from their previous year’s total.

Read the full story

CNN Losing Viewers Following Trump Exit

Admin

CNN has been losing viewers at a record rate since former President Trump left office, dropping nearly 50% its audience in key metrics since January, Fox News reported.

The cable news channel had averaged 2.5 million primetime viewers from November 4 through Inauguration Day on January 20, according to a Fox News analysis of Nielsen data.

However, data shows once President Joe Biden took office the network averaged only 1.6 million total primetime viewers from January 21, through March 15, according to the report.

Read the full story

West Chester University Implements Mandatory Diversity Training for All Employees

Admin

West Chester University in Pennsylvania has recently instituted mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff.

The required training would take place on the electronic platform EverFi, according to a memo sent to employees obtained by The College Fix.

Employees were notified that this program would serve to demonstrate the “mission, goals, values, and strategic plan” of the public university in ensuring an inclusive and welcoming work environment.

Read the full story

Commentary: Save America From Action Civics

RealClearWire

Booker was about twelve when he first set foot in a classroom and discovered that he needed a last name. He invented one on the spot, and for the rest of his life, he was Booker Washington. It was then and still is a civics lesson for America. As a slave born on the Burroughs Plantation in 1856, he was simply Booker. But as a freed individual determined to make something of himself, he chose to identify with his country’s founder. 

Booker T. Washington—he added the T later—spent the rest of his life getting educated and educating others, black and white. He is out of fashion these days because he preached black advancement through relentless hard work and veered away from challenging the racist public policies of his time. But he still has something to teach us, namely that Americans have to own their history.

Read the full story

Illegal Immigrants in Rio Grande Valley Being Released Without Court Date

Admin

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector of Texas are reportedly releasing illegal immigrants seeking asylum into the U.S. without giving them court dates, Fox News reported Sunday.

Illegal immigrants claiming asylum are not given a Notice to Appear before being released from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, multiple unnamed Border Patrol agents confirmed with Fox News. Since the migrants aren’t given a court date to attend an asylum hearing, the responsibility is on them to schedule one through Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or other legal assistance.

Border Patrol agents were reportedly told to use prosecutorial discretion when determining to skip the paperwork needed to schedule a court date, according to Fox News. Biometrical data is gathered from the migrants before they’re released into the U.S.

Read the full story

Left Wing Blog Drops ‘Believe All Women’, Says Cuomo Shouldn’t Resign

Peter D'Abrosca
Andrew Cuomo

A fascinating article in the far-left blog Virginia Mercury says that New York’s Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo should not resign amid mounting sexual harassment claims from scores of women, because Virginia’s Democrat Governor Ralph Northam survived his own racism scandal. 

According to the blog, persuing and implementing the left-wing agenda is more important than Democrat politicians continuing their charade of signalling virtue on issues like women’s rights and anti-racism. 

Read the full story

Michigan Business Owner Arrested After Flouting COVID-19 Restrictions, Food License Suspended

The Center Square

by Scott McClallen   The state has arrested a business owner for violating the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, including operating her restaurant nearly two months after the state suspended her food license. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday morning that Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria in Holland, continually violated the state’s food laws, public health orders and a court-ordered temporary restraining order. The Michigan State Police (MSP) arrested Pavlos-Hackney, 55, Holland, at 5:45 a.m. Friday morning following a traffic stop on an outstanding Ingham County civil warrant for contempt of court, for failing to comply in a civil case filed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). “Governor Whitmer got a free pass for flouting her own COVID rules and her deadly nursing home policy while Attorney General Nessel is arresting a restaurant owner trying to save her livelihood,” Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action, said in a statement. Sachs was referring to the attorney general’s decision previously this week that she would not investigate the governor’s role in placing COVID-19 patients in Michigan’s long-term residential facilities. MDARD suspended Marlena’s food establishment license on Jan. 20, but Pavlos-Hackney refused to close, posting her decision to…

Read the full story

Northam Signs Bill to Remove Statue of Democratic Governor Harry Byrd, Sr.

Eric Burk

Former Democratic Governor and U.S. Senator Harry Byrd, Sr., is finally leaving Virginia’s Capitol Square. On Friday, Governor Ralph Northam signed Delegate Jay Jones’ (D-Norfolk) HB 2208, which directs the Department of General Services to place the statue in storage until the General Assembly decides what to do with it. Byrd is known for his decades of political power, which he used to boost Virginia economically, build roads, and fight desegregating schools.

Read the full story

Commentary: Your Freedom of Speech Ends Wednesday

Admin

The Senate’s Committee on Rules and Administration Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has announced she is holding a hearing Wednesday, March 24th at 10:00 AM ET on H.R.1/S.1, the Democrats’ misnamed “For the People Act.”

This is the first announced Senate hearing on the Democrats’ plan to do away with your freedom of speech, and if you were hoping the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration would act to correct the outrages that are central provisions of the House-passed bill, think again.

Read the full story

Insurance Company Drops $5 Million for University of Minnesota’s Anti-Racist Health Center

Admin

The University of Minnesota is mobilizing a $5 million donation to launch an antiracist health center.

According to a February 24 announcement from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, the “Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity” is dedicated to “addressing and uprooting structural racism’s impact on health and healthcare.”

The center will “develop education and training on structural racism and health inequities,” “foster authentic community engagement to address the root causes of racial health inequities and drive action,” “change the narrative about race and racism to one that does not hold up whiteness as the ideal standard for human beings,” and “serve as a trusted resource on issues related to racism and health equity.” 

Read the full story

Governor Northam Signs Consumer Data Protection Act

Eric Burk

Virginia now has consumer data protection laws after Governor Ralph Northam signed HB 2307. Out of 139 legislators in the General Assembly, only 15 voted against the Consumer Data Protection Act. According to legal site JDSupra, that makes Virginia the second state (after California) to pass such a law.

Key provisions of the bill allow consumers to opt out of data collection, require entities to post conspicuous notices when collecting data to be sold to third parties, and require them to post privacy notices describing how to opt out. However, the bill also allows those entities to deny the opt-out request under certain circumstances, authorizing the consumer to file a complaint through the attorney general.

Read the full story

Northam Announces $20.1 Million for Virginia Broadband Infrastructure

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is directing $20.1 million in grants for 11 projects in the commonwealth to strengthen broadband infrastructure, his office announced Thursday.

The projects are designed to increase broadband connectivity throughout 17 localities. The projects will connect more than 13,400 establishments, which will include households, businesses and anchor institutions and is leveraging $18.8 million in private and local investments.

“Quality broadband service is key to growing our economy, and learning, competing, and succeeding in today’s digital world,” Northam said in a statement. “This funding will have an enormous impact on thousands on unserved Virginians and bring us closer to our goal of every community in our Commonwealth having access to high-speed internet.”

Read the full story

DeWine Will Veto Bill Tuesday that Limits his Unchecked Power, State Senator Says They Will Override Wednesday

Jack Windsor

COLUMBUS, Ohio – During a Monday COVID briefing, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine said he will veto Senate Bill 22 (SB22) on Tuesday – a proposed law that provides scope and duration to government power during public health emergencies.  After the veto, the bill would then go where it originated, the Ohio Senate. There it could be brought to a veto-override vote.

Ohio Senator Andrew Brenner (R-District 19) told The Ohio Star he believes the upper chamber will consider and override the bill as early as Wednesday – an override would require 20 “yes” votes. It passed the Senate 25-8 the first time.

Read the full story

Judge Rules Gourmeltz Can Stay Open While Case Proceeds

Eric Burk

Gourmeltz 90’s Music Bar & Drafthouse will stay open for now, after a judge denied a request for an emergency injunction to force the restaurant to close.

Even after being contacted by the health department officials, Gourmeltz owner Matt Strickland has refused to comply with some provisions of Governor Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 Executive Orders.As a result, Strickland’s health certification allowing him to operate legally was rescinded, but Gourmeltz remained open. The Attorney General’s office is now bringing a case against Strickland, but they asked the court for an emergency injunction to close the restaurant while the case proceeds.

Read the full story

A Win for Tennessee’s Female Athletes: House Passes Bill Protecting Girls in Sports, Now Heads to Governor for Approval

Corinne Murdock

The Tennessee General Assembly determined that girls in sports shouldn’t have to fear lost opportunities or bodily harm due to transgender athletes. The House passed House Bill 3 on Monday, after a debate lasting nearly half an hour.

In the House, the bill passed largely along party lines: 71 to 16, with 5 persons abstaining their vote. Only one Republican voted against the bill: State Representative Eddie Mannis (R-Knoxville). Only two Democrats voted for the bill: State Representatives Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) and John Mark Windle (D-Livingston).

Read the full story

Trump Will Return to Social Media on His Own New Platform, Aide Says

Admin

Former President Trump will return to social media on his own new platform in around two or three months, Jason Miller said.

“But I do think that we’re gonna see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here with his own platform,” Miller said during an interview on Fox News Channel’s program Media Buzz. “And this is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media. It’s gonna completely redefine the game and everybody is gonna be waiting and watching to see what exactly President Trump does, but it will be his own platform.”

Read the full story

New Emails Heighten Mystery Around Presidential Vote Count in Georgia’s Largest County

Admin

Internal emails from Fulton County election workers obtained by Just the News are heightening the mystery surrounding ballot-processing in Georgia’s largest county during last November’s presidential contest.

Uncertainty arose regarding the ballot processing operation at Fulton County’s State Farm Arena on and after Election Night, when ballot-scanning apparently continued even after most election workers had reportedly been sent home.

Read the full story

Member of Senate Committee Considering Legislation for Randy Boyd’s Taxpayer-Funded Baseball Stadium is Employee of Law Firm That Could Benefit From Bill’s Passage

Laura Baigert
Yarbro

A member of the Senate State and Local Government Committee is an attorney with a law firm that could benefit from the passage of the legislation enabling Randy Boyd’s taxpayer-funded baseball stadium in Knoxville.

Democrat Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville sits on the Senate State and Local Government Committee, the first stop for SB 0783.

Read the full story

Commentary: Missing from Educational Tech Discussion Is Any Kind of Purpose

RealClearWire

Educational technology, or edtech, is now a $10 billion global industry. It’s in every classroom whether physical or virtual. But gone missing from the conversation around the proliferation of edtech companies in the U.S. and around the world is a discussion of the philosophy of education. While billions of dollars are pouring into edtech companies and new technologies are delivering and creating content in creative new ways, there does not appear to be any meaningful discussion about what education’s aim should be in a world that has changed and is changing dramatically. We are now in the digital decade, a truly global society with technology driving the emergence of the metaverse, digital currencies, artificial intelligence, personalized healthcare, and the democratization of learning. But what should we teach, and how should we teach it?

Read the full story

‘That Is Not Leadership Position’: Pelosi Refuses to Back Effort to Remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from House

Admin

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that Democratic leadership won’t back the effort to remove Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House.

California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez introduced a resolution Friday to remove Greene from the House, saying the congresswoman “advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government,” CNN reported. The resolution was backed by 72 House Democrats.

“I’m not gonna get into that,” Pelosi said. “Members are very unhappy about what happened here and they can express themselves the way they do. What Mr. Gomez did is his own view, and that is not leadership position.”

Read the full story

After Senate Passage, Tennessee House to Vote on Reducing Aggravated Juvenile Rape to Class A Felony, Not Life Without Parole

Corinne Murdock

The Tennessee House will vote on Thursday whether they will rescind life without parole sentencing for juveniles who commit aggravated rape of a child. Instead, those offenders would be charged with a Class A felony and sentenced in accordance with Range III provisions – 40 to 60 years’ imprisonment. 

According to a summary of the bill, charging juveniles with life imprisonment without parole was declared unconstitutional under the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama.

Read the full story

Pfizer: Israeli Data Finds Vaccine Prevents 94 Percent of Asymptomatic Infections

Admin

Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was over 94% effective in preventing asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to real-world Israeli data released late Thursday.

The latest analysis suggests that Pfizer’s vaccine could overwhelmingly halt asymptomatic spread — a main driver of infections since asymptomatic people are often unaware they have the virus. The data also showed that the vaccine was 97% effective in preventing symptomatic cases, hospitalizations and deaths, slightly higher than the 95% effectiveness found in its clinical trials.

Read the full story

Migrants Form Tent Community in Mexico Waiting for Biden to Open the Border

Admin

Nearly 200 tents fill a plaza near the busiest port for border crossings in Tijuana, Mexico, in less than a month as migrants hope the Biden administration will allow entry into the U.S., the Associated Press reported Friday.

Around 1,500 migrants receive meals from a canopy-covered kitchen, kids play sports and volunteer security guards patrol the camp wearing orange jackets, the AP reported. Some pay to shower at a nearby hotel or to use the restroom at the pharmacy and travel agency.

“The camp is a center for disinformation,” a H

Read the full story