Federal officials on Friday unsealed a nine-count indictment Friday charging the former Cumberland County, Tennessee Solid Waste Director with civil rights violations, including kidnapping and sexually assaulting women he supervised. This, according to a press release that officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee published on their website.
Read the full storyDay: July 17, 2021
Commentary: Inflation Has Arrived
Wildly excessive federal spending is causing major inflation and shortages, which may lead to a recession and perhaps a financial crisis. Despite the evidence of inflation, Congress is proposing to spend $3.5 trillion on top of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed earlier this year and the intended $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. For comparison, federal revenue is only expected to be $3.8 trillion this year.
Evidently, the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden have adopted Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) to the peril of every American citizen. MMT, which is similar to Keynesian economics, says that the U.S. should not be constrained by revenues in federal government spending since the government is the monopoly issuer of the U.S. dollar. MMT is a destructive myth that provides cover for excessive government spending. And it’s not modern, since reckless government spending has been around for thousands of years.
Embracing MMT is similar to providing whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. We know the outcomes will not be good.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Capitol Cover Up
Judge G. Michael Harvey sounded floored.
During a detention hearing this week for Robert Morss, arrested last month for his involvement in the Capitol protest, a federal prosecutor told Harvey she needed permission from the government before she could turn over to him a slice of video related to Morss’ case. Joe Biden’s Justice Department continues to seek pre-trial detention for people who protested Biden’s election on January 6; prosecutors want to keep Morss, an Army ranger and high school history teacher with no criminal record, behind bars until his trial can begin next year.
But assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson hesitated when Judge Harvey asked to see the footage captured by the U.S. Capitol Police surveillance system cited as evidence in government charging documents.
Read the full storyBlack Lives Matter Issues Statement of Support for Cuba’s Communist Regime
The official Black Lives Matter organization is facing widespread criticism after releasing a statement in support of the Communist dictatorship in Cuba, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation issued its statement earlier this week, amidst the sudden grassroots protests that broke out in Cuba against the incumbent regime. In it, the organization claims, with no evidence, that “the U.S. government has only instigated suffering for the country’s 11 million, of which 4 million are black or brown.”
BLM further claims that the ongoing American embargo on Cuba, which has been in effect since the Cold War, is “at the heart of the crisis,” and went on to praise Cuba’s “strong medical care.” The far-left group’s rhetoric closely matches that of Cuba’s current dictator, Miguel Diaz-Canel, who explicitly blamed the United States for the protests.
Read the full storyTennessee’s Fifth Congressional Republican Candidate Robby Starbuck Talks Cuban Protests and Saving America
Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Nashville’s Fifth Congressional Candidate (R) Robby Starbuck to the newsmakers line to weigh in on the Cuban protests and reverse the damage done by Democratic leadership.
Read the full storyLongtime FBI Signature Expert Says Hunter Biden Signed Receipt for Abandoned Laptop
A retired FBI counterintelligence agent with longtime expertise in signature analysis tells Just the News that Hunter Biden signed an April 2019 Delaware computer repair shop receipt, adding fresh evidence that a controversial laptop turned over to the bureau with eye-popping emails about Ukrainian and Chinese business deals belonged to the president’s son.
Retired Special Agent Wayne A. Barnes, a 29-year FBI veteran who mastered signature analysis while unmasking Soviet spies during the Cold War, says the “R.H. Biden” signature — short for Robert Hunter Biden — on the receipt issued in spring 2019 from John Paul Mac Issac’s repair shop in Delaware matches those on documents known to have been signed by the president’s son, such as Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and other public documents.
“The signature on the computer repair store from April 2019 was signed by RHB,” Barnes wrote in a 24-page report commissioned by Just the News.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Dictatorial Democrats – Using the Rhetoric of Democracy to Subvert It
Those who prattle on about democracy the most support it the least. “In America, if you lose, you accept the results,” said Joe Biden on Tuesday. Meanwhile, his fellow Democrats were conducting an undemocratic stunt to thwart the people’s will in Texas.
Read the full storyHouse Republicans Launch ‘Freedom from Big Tech Caucus’
Republican Reps. Ken Buck and Lance Gooden announced Friday the launch of the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus, a group of House Republicans working towards reining in major tech companies.
The caucus will focus on addressing anticompetitive and monopolistic practices by major tech companies, political censorship, and Big Tech’s relationship with China, Buck and Gooden announced in a statement. The caucus will also include Reps. Madison Cawthorn, Burgess Owens, and Paul Gosar, according to the announcement.
“Big Tech has abused its market power for decades, and Congress must act to hold these companies accountable and preserve the free market, promote competition and innovation, protect the freedom of speech, and foster a thriving digital economy,” Buck said in the statement.
Read the full storyDr. K. Drops Bombshell: ‘College Athletes Have Now Become Professional Entertainers of Sorts’
Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Dr. K. to the newsmakers line who dropped the bombshell news that college athletics will become decentralized and deregulated per NCAA President Mark Emmert.
Read the full storyBeth Harwell on Career as Speaker, Illegal Immigration, and Cultivating Pride of America
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell in studio to discuss her career and the importance of teaching our future generations to love their country.
Read the full storyU.S. Retail Sales Increased as States Ended Restrictions
U.S. retail sales jumped in June, boosted by states widely loosening coronavirus restrictions and businesses returning to full capacity.
Retail sales increased 0.6% and totaled $621.3 billion in June, according to the Department of Commerce report released Wednesday. The monthly increase was driven by general merchandise, including food service, clothing, personal care, electronics and gasoline sales, the report showed.
“Sectors that were buoyed by the pandemic are slowing down a little bit, but not to a degree that I’d be concerned about,” Square economist Felipe Chacon told The Wall Street Journal. “Household finances have been bolstered by a few rounds of stimulus spending, so it bodes pretty well.”
Read the full storyFacebook Working with White House to Censor Content
In a Thursday press conference, Press Secretary to President Joe Biden admitted that the White House is colluding with Facebook to censor content on the social media platform.
“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team — given as Dr. Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic,” Psaki reportedly said
Read the full storyCommentary: The Macro Subjectivity of ‘Microaggression’ Studies
Ever since the most blatant forms of racism and discrimination in America faded, what are called microaggressions have, in the view of leftist academics and social justice activists, taken their place. These are “a form of racism,” the slights and insults that, though subtle and small and typically unconscious, are insulting and harmful to their targets.
Read the full storyParents, Educators Dispute over Critical Race Theory, Wit and Wisdom Curriculum at Metro Nashville Public Schools Board Meeting
Parents and educators debated over the Wit and Wisdom curriculum and critical race theory during the Metro Nashville Public Schools’ (MNPS) board meeting on Tuesday.
The room was filled with individuals, 60 of which had signed up to speak. Not all of the public commentary concerned the Wit and Wisdom curriculum or critical race theory – but the dialogue that did focus on those two topics was equally, deeply divided. A total of 10 individuals spoke in favor of critical race theory and the Wit and Wisdom curriculum; 3 spoke against it.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Fight for Freedom in Cuba
Thousands of demonstrators in more than 40 cities and towns throughout Cuba have taken to the streets to protest 62 years of oppression. In a communist country that suppresses dissent, the recent wave of protests is the most significant grassroots stand against the dictatorship in more than three decades.
Since the end of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the Cuban people have lived under the oppressive rule of the Castro dictatorship. Upon Raúl Castro’s recent retirement, his handpicked successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel seized control of the Communist Party, Cuba’s only legal political party, and the presidency, in an election that was neither competitive, free, nor fair.
As the communist regime attempts to deflect blame for the state of unrest, basic goods and services are in short supply. The fact is Cuba is suffering from a severe economic crisis. Food is scarce, the health care system is overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and electricity outages are a regular occurrence.
Read the full storyCrom Carmichael on the Rising Fentanyl Deaths Versus COVID and the Dismantling of Our Military
Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss the dismantling of America’s woke military and compared Opioid deaths to COVID.
Read the full storyIllegal Immigration Continues to Rise, Border Patrol Announces over 188,000 Encounters in June
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced on Friday that officers with the agency encountered 188,829 persons attempting entry along the U.S. southern border in June alone.
The staggering June numbers demonstrate a continued rise in attempted illegal border crossings — June’s total represented a five percent increase over May.
Read the full storyEducation Department Civil Rights Nominee Rejects Presumption of Innocence for Accused Students
The Biden administration’s nominee to lead the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights told a Senate committee Tuesday that a year-old Title IX regulation does not require the presumption of innocence for students accused of sexual misconduct.
The claim drew bafflement from critics of Catherine Lhamon, who held the same job in the Obama administration’s second term.
In response to threats from Lhamon to pull their federal funding, colleges lowered evidentiary standards and enacted policies that treat accusers more favorably than accused students. Courts have been steadily reining in those practices, sometimes citing the pressure from Lhamon’s office as evidence of bias.
Read the full storyFormer Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell Discusses Maneuvering Around and Up the Ladder at the Tennessee Capitol
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Beth Harwell, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives to the studio to discuss successes and failures on the path to Speakership.
Read the full storyState Sen. Burt Jones Requests Senate Investigation into Numerous and Documented Failures of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Cited by 45th President Donald Trump
Georgia State Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) on Thursday made a formal request for an investigation by the Senate Government Oversight Committee into the failures of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which he characterized as numerous and documented, catching the attention of 45th President Donald Trump.
In a statement issued by Trump Friday, which included a copy of Jones’ letter, he said:
The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, together with Brad Raffensperger, allowed this Election in Georgia to be Rigged and Stolen. Why they ever agreed to Stacey Abram’s Consent Decree nobody will ever know. Thank you to Senator Burt Jones and all of the other Patriots for continuing the fight. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger have done an absolutely terrible job of watching over Voter Integrity in Georgia. They must be held accountable!
Read the full storyGovernor DeSantis Questioned About Cuban Protests and Anti-Riot Law
After multiple Cuban protests across the state of Florida made their way to the streets and highways, Governor DeSantis was questioned about the protesters who were breaking the “anti-riot” law.
At a news conference on Thursday, DeSantis alluded that the Cuban protesters broke the law but were not arrested because of the peaceful nature of the protests.
Read the full story‘Let Them Die:’ Fairfax NAACP Leader Wishes Death on Anti-CRT Parents
Fairfax’s NAACP Vice President Michelle Leetma appeared outside a Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting Thursday night, where she wished death upon those who do not want Critical Race Theory taught in public schools.
“So let’s meet and remain steadfast in speaking truth, tearing down double-standards, and refuting double-talk,” Leetma said. “Let’s not allow any double-downing on lies. Let’s prepare our children for a world they deserve.”
Read the full storyConvicted Felon Sentenced to Prison for Robbing Traveler at Georgia I-75 Rest Area
Federal officials have sentenced a Florida man — also a convicted felon — to federal prison following a high-speed chase along Interstate 75 after he robbed a traveler at gunpoint. U.S. District Judge Louis Sands sentenced that man, James Clemente Holloway, 43, of Jacksonville, Florida, to serve 80 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. This, after Sands previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Read the full storyTrump Praises Efforts of State Sen. Burt Jones, Hits Gov. Kemp and Secretary of State Raffensperger
Former President Donald Trump praised State Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) for his efforts in examining the results of the 2020 election, while knocking Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for their lack of action.
“Thank you to Senator Burt Jones and all of the other Patriots for continuing the fight. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger have done an absolutely terrible job of watching over Voter Integrity in Georgia. They must be held accountable!” Trump said in a statement.
Read the full storyReport: Minnesota Election System ‘Weakest in the Nation’
A Minnesota think tank released a new report this week exposing flaws in the state’s election system and recommending a number of possible reforms.
The “‘vote now, check later’ verification process” that Minnesota uses for same-day voter registrants has a number of “weaknesses,” according to the report.
Minnesotans who register to vote prior to Election Day are subjected to a verification process before their vote is counted. Same-day registrants go through the same verification process but only after the election.
“Their vote is counted,” the report says. “The county auditor runs the same verification using the Department of Public Safety database and the Social Security database. But if a problem is discovered, it is too late, because the vote has already been counted.”
Read the full storyGovernor Walz Signs Executive Order Banning Conversion Therapy
Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order on Thursday, banning the use of conversion therapy in Minnesota. The Minnesota Family Council called the order an example of “executive overreach” and said it was an attack on the constitutional rights of Minnesotans.
Read the full storyNew Poll Spells Bad News for Progressives in High-Profile Ohio Special Election
Nina Turner and Shontel Brown, the two leading Democrats vying to fill a House seat that includes Cleveland, are tied with 33% support, a new poll shows.
The Aug. 3 special election will likely determine who will succeed Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge, who resigned the seat after getting confirmed in March. Though Turner, a close ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, entered the race as an overwhelming favorite, Democrats seeking a moderate alternative have lined up behind Brown in recent weeks.
Brown has been endorsed by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Hillary Clinton, the Congressional Black Caucus and other high-profile members of the Democratic establishment, while Turner has the support of the “Squad” and other progressives.
Read the full storyAll Star Panelist Roger Simon on His 1959 Trip to Cuba: ‘Communism Is Not Communistic’
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Roger Simon in studio to describe his trip to Cuba in 1959 and his impressions of Communism.
Read the full storyCitizens Property Insurance Raising Rates
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is raising their rates after its board of directors met on Wednesday. The rate increase is a result of a new state law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and will vary across Florida, but the increase still requires approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation.
“These necessary adjustments reflect the efforts of the Florida Legislature to return Citizens to its role as a residual insurance company,” Citizens Chairman Carlos Beruff said in a press release. “Unfortunately, we have become the first choice, or only choice, in too many regions of the state.”
Read the full storyOhio Rep. Joyce Beatty Arrested During Protest at Capitol
U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) was arrested on Thursday by U.S. Capitol Police while protesting in the Hart Senate Office Building — a section of the U.S. Capitol complex.
The group was advocating for the U.S. Senate to pass H.R. 1 — legislation that would dramatically overhaul the election system within the country and give the federal government more power over elections.
Read the full storyDeWine Signs Bill Banning Ohio Public Colleges from Forcing Student Vaccinations
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) Thursday signed HB 244 into law, a bill that disallows schools and universities from forcing their students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Until the three COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer, respectively, receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that law will stand, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Read the full storyMichigan Senate Approves Petition to Revoke Whitmer’s Pandemic Powers
The GOP-led Michigan Senate approved the Unlock Michigan campaign on a 20-15 vote, likely ending the 1945 law employed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to exercise pandemic powers for the past 16 months.
Democrats and Republicans exchanged heated remarks over COVID-19 policy.
“This petition will hamstring our leaders of both parties — from preventing or slowing the spread of a deadly disease. This is about our ability to react to other pandemics and disasters in the future,” Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills, said pre-vote.
Read the full storyCommissioner Land Asks for About $216 Million in ARPA Funds for Virginia Mental Health Hospital System
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner Alison Land asked for about $216 million in American Recovery Plan Act funds in a presentation to legislators. Her number-one ask was $75 million to increase salaries to retain and attract staff to Virginia’s troubled mental health facilities.
A week ago, Land closed admissions at five of the state’s eight mental health facilities. On Thursday, she told the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the 21st Century those closures were necessary to help reduce the number of patients at dangerously understaffed facilities.
Read the full storyDisney Moving Thousands of Jobs to Florida
The Walt Disney Company announced they are moving around 2,000 jobs from California to a new campus in Florida, which has yet to be built. It will be in Lake Nona, and the move will take approximately 18 months.
“Florida’s business-friendly climate” was one of the main reasons they decided to make the move while California’s lockdown measures have shuttered Disneyland’s doors for three months.
Read the full storyAtlanta’s Rising Crime Rate to Get Scrutiny from Georgia Legislators
Members of the Georgia House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee are scheduled to meet Monday to address Atlanta’s rising rates of crime. State Rep. J. Collins (R-Villa Rica) chairs the committee. Those committee members are scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. Monday, July 19, in Room 406 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta.
Read the full storyGovernor’s Race Draws Record-Breaking June Fundraising; McAuliffe Out-Raises Youngkin
Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe have already raised a combined $40 million, according to new finance data through June, reported by the Virginia Public Access Project. A VPAP graphic shows that previous years through 2001, previous fundraising through June never reached $20 million. The June period is the first reporting period after the parties nominated their candidates.
Due to $12 million in personal loans, Youngkin out-raised McAuliffe in the January through May period. But McAuliffe’s June fundraising beat Youngkin. McAuliffe raised about $7.5 million in June, while Youngkin raised about $3.6 million.
Read the full storyPhoenix Suns Arena Renamed ‘Footprint Center,’ Will Serve as Testing Ground for Environmental Initiatives
The Phoenix Suns Arena will now be known as the “Footprint Center,” named after their new partner: local material science and environmentalist company, Footprint. This partnership will reportedly advance environmentalist initiatives concerning plastics. The company’s main initiative is eliminating single-use plastics entirely.
Included in the partnership are the valley’s professional men’s and women’s basketball teams, the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, as well as the professional men’s soccer team, Real Mallorca.
Read the full storySeven State Legislators Score 100 Percent in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Rankings
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club completed its rankings of how Arizona legislators performed during the 2021 legislative session, and one Senator and six House members scored a perfect 100%. AFEC ranked them based on election integrity, income tax policy, “regulatory relief and ongoing government overreach from the covid-19 pandemic, banning critical race theory in our taxpayer-funded institutions and school choice.”
The seven legislators with a perfect score are Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and Reps. Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa), Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction), Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), and Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert).
Read the full story