Day: August 11, 2021

Famous Tennessee Music Festival Will Require Vaccines to Enter

Peter D'Abrosca
Bonnaroo 2015

A famous Tennessee music festival is set to require its patrons to be vaccinated, or submit to compulsory testing. 

“The safety of our patrons and staff is our number one priority. As such a full COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test will be required to attend Bonnaroo 2021,” Bonnaroo said on Twitter. “Bonnaroo strongly encourages vaccination. The last day to receive the second shot of Moderna or Pfizer, or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson is Thursday, August 19th.”

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Commentary: The Hypocrisy Variant

Admin

Acontagion is ravaging the Democratic Party, destroying the credibility of its leaders and scaring away its supporters. It is the deadly Hypocrisy Variant. The most prominent Democratic carriers of this infectious strain of duplicity are former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Less significant Democrats who have tested positive for the Hypocrisy Variant are Rep. Cory Bush (D-Mo.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the Texas Democrats who fled their state in order to hobble the democratic process.

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Williamson County to Require Masks in Schools, Despite Warnings from Clay Travis and Other Furious Parents

Chris Butler

Parents in Williamson County who insist they — and only they — have the right to force a COVID-19 mask on their children faced off Tuesday night against members of the Williamson County School Board. Board members considered whether to implement a mask mandate to combat the Delta variant of COVID-19. They had not reached a solution before The Tennessee Star went to press late Tuesday night.

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Commentary: America’s Automotive Future

Admin

Joe Biden, emulating trendsetting blue state governors like California’s Gavin Newsom and New York’s Andrew Cuomo, recently has declared that by 2030, new car sales must be 50 percent zero-emission electric vehicles.

The problem with this decree is that it violates the proverbial rule against the government picking winners and losers. It’s one thing for the government to subsidize energy research, or, for that matter, any pure research. Libertarian purists might object to that, but sometimes these public-private research partnerships can accelerate innovation and help keep American manufacturers competitive. It’s quite another thing, however, for the government to restrict what sort of technology powers our vehicles, because there’s no way we can predict how technology will evolve between now and 2030.

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Dickson County, Tennessee Judge Strikes Testimony Related to Personal Feelings on Death Penalty in Wiggins Trial

Bradley Vasoli

Judge David D. Wolfe of Tennessee’s 23rd Judicial District, presiding over sentencing of convicted murderer Steven Wiggins, advised witnesses on Tuesday that they may not testify to their own philosophical opinion against the use of the death penalty in all cases. 

The judge thus struck a portion of the testimony Peter Schaffer gave Monday during sentencing proceedings to determine what punishment Wiggins will receive for the shooting death of Dickson County Sergeant Daniel Baker: life imprisonment or death.

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Senate Passes the Largest Infrastructure Package in Decades, over a Dozen Republicans Vote in Favor

Admin

The Senate on Tuesday passed its bipartisan infrastructure bill, moving what would be the largest public works package in decades one step closer to becoming law months after negotiations first began.

The bill, which advocates praised as the largest investment in America’s infrastructure since the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s, passed 69-30. Nineteen Republicans joined every Democrat in voting for the package.

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$3.5 Trillion Budget Reconciliation Package Includes Mass Amnesty for Millions of Illegals

Admin

The Democrats’ massive budget reconciliation package, finally revealed on Monday, includes a plan to give mass amnesty to “millions of” illegal aliens in the United States, according to The Hill.

The $3.5 trillion spending package will provide $107 billion for the Senate Judiciary Committee to determine the fastest route for providing blanket amnesty, with a deadline of September 15th to come up with such a solution. The bill itself does not single out any particular group of illegals or preferred methods, but instead orders the committee to provide “lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants,” as well as handing out green cards to “millions of immigrant workers and families.”

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Appellate Court Overturns Pre-Trial Detention for January 6 Detainee

Admin
January 6 riot at the capitol with large crowd of people.

In a stunning but well-deserved rebuke, the D.C. Court of Appeals on Monday ordered that the pre-trial detention of George Tanios, one of two men accused of spraying Officer Sicknick and others on January 6, be reversed.

The brief ruling, which did not include the usual opinion explaining the court’s decision, bluntly stated:

“ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the district court’s May 12, 2021 order be reversed and the case remanded for the district court to order appellant’s pretrial release subject to appropriate conditions, including home detention and electronic monitoring. On this record, we conclude that the district court clearly erred in determining that no condition or combination of conditions of release would reasonably assure the safety of the community.”

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Music Spotlight: Firerose

Bethany Bowman

Firerose is an Australian singer and songwriter who moved from Sydney to Los Angeles at age 19. Even though her music has a dance-pop vibe, with her fiercely personal lyrics, she is as good a songwriter as any country lyricist out there.

Firerose states she grew up in a musical family. She was writing songs as soon as she could speak. She was born with a gift and she knew it was hers to cultivate.

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Senate Passes Infrastructure Bill; Tennessee’s Hagerty Warns of a Move Toward ‘Western-Europe-Style Socialism’

Bradley Vasoli

By a vote of 69 to 30, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a $1.2 billion infrastructure bill that Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) warns is an endeavor to “fundamentally move America toward Western-Europe-style socialism.”

“Investing in infrastructure the right way is a wise investment in America’s future and in our long-term competitiveness, but that’s not what we’re being asked to vote on here,” Hagerty told fellow senators in the run-up to Tuesday’s vote.

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Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Ron Kind to Retire in District Trump Won, Opening Door for GOP Contenders

Cooper Moran

U.S. Representative Ron Kind (D-WI-03) will retire from Congress at the end of his term, deciding not to run for re-election in the Wisconsin swing district.

Kind’s southwestern Wisconsin district has gradually evolved over his approximately 25-year career in the House of Representatives, with former President Trump winning the district in the November 2020 election.

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Fauci Says He Supports Vaccine Mandates for Teachers

Admin

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday he supports efforts by local governments to mandate vaccinations for teachers against the novel coronavirus.

“I’m going to upset people on this but I think we should [mandate vaccinations for teachers]. I mean, we are in a critical situation now,” Fauci told MSNBC “We have had 615,000 deaths and we are in a major surge now as we’re going into the fall, into the school season. This is very serious business.”

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Local Grassroots Groups to Host ‘Safeguard Our Schools’ Event This Saturday in Sumner County

Laura Baigert

A trio of local grassroots groups have announced that they are co-hosting a free “Safeguard Our Schools” event this Saturday afternoon in Hendersonville and invite the public to come together to take a look at “our most important asset,” our schools.

As Tennessee students are returning to school this week with the backdrop of spiking COVID-19 cases prompting mask mandates in some districts, there are a number of issues to be addressed at the grassroots gathering.

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Commentary: Instead of Tightening Government’s Grip on Healthcare, Give Americans a Personal Option

RealClearWire
Healthcare workers

As America begins to put the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview, the lesson from this once-in-a-generation crisis couldn’t be clearer: We need less, not more, central planning in our lives.

For example, a study earlier this year by health economist Casey Mulligan revealed that economic lockdowns mandated by government were counterproductive, given the significant steps workplaces took to prevent the virus from spreading.

The same is true with health care. By now, most folks know the story of how Operation Warp Speed — the previous administration’s unprecedented plan to trim bureaucracy from the vaccine development process — resulted in the creation of multiple safe and effective vaccines in record time. But an equally important storyline is how states took a sledgehammer to their own bureaucracies to expand access to care for those in need.

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After Vaccinations, Michigan Breakthrough Cases Less Than One Percent

The Center Square
a health care provider places a bandage on the injection site of a patient, who just received a vaccine

COVID-19 isn’t over in Michigan but early 2021 data from 24 states suggests a fully vaccinated person is much less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

As summer winds down, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked Michigan as having “substantial” community COVID-19 transmission with a seven-day average case positivity rate between 5% to 7.9%.

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Burt Jones Launches Campaign for Georgia Lt. Governor, Hints He Might Get Donald Trump Endorsement

Chris Butler
Burt Jones

Georgia State Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) announced Tuesday he’s running for lieutenant governor, and, while he didn’t elaborate, said he feels “real good” about getting an endorsement from former U.S. President Donald Trump. The Georgia Star News asked Jones Tuesday if he knows something about a possible Trump backing that he has not yet publicly disclosed.

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Arizona Ranks First in Nation for Small Business Growth

Rachel Alexander

A new report from the payroll company PayChex ranked the states in order of small business job growth and Arizona came out No. 1, with nearly 6% growth over the past year. Phoenix ranked third among the country’s 20 most populated cities. The Arizona Legislature released a report shortly before that showing Arizona is in great condition, breaking records. The state passed historic tax cuts this year, preventing a 77% increase on small business taxes, reducing small business property taxes by 10%, and capping the maximum tax rate on businesses at 4.5%.

Frank Fiorelle, vice president of risk, compliance and data analytics at Paychex, explained that a lot of the job growth is due to the pandemic ending. “A lot of those restaurants are coming back online, opening the doors and turning on the lights, he said. He added that states which reopened their economies earlier have higher job creation rates.

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Florida Plans to Appeal Judge’s Decision in Norwegian Cruise Line Lawsuit

Casey Owens

The state of Florida plans to appeal U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ decision to grant the injunction proposed by Norwegian Cruise Line against the law that bans Florida businesses from requiring vaccine documentation for service. 

While state attorney Peter Patterson previously stated that they may take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, it will first appeal the ruling in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal, which has previously sided with the state regarding the ban on vaccine passports.

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Florida Officials Defying Mask Optional Rule Could Have Salary Suspended

Grant Holcomb

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is reminding officials who are defying his executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s schools, they could have funding withheld or the superintendents and school board members who impose the mandate could have their salaries suspended. DeSantis’ Press Secretary Christina Pushaw reminded the noncompliant school districts of the possible ramifications:

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General Assembly Elects Eight Judges to Fill Newly-Expanded Virginia Court of Appeals

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – The General Assembly approved eight new judges for the Court of Appeals of Virginia Tuesday. Although tradition kept Republicans from voting against the candidates, votes on individual candidates varied as Republican legislators abstained. That completed the General Assembly’s goals for the special session: allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and filling court vacancies.

“I thought it was an historic session,” Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told The Virginia Star. “What just happened with the Court of Appeals was the largest number of judges to go on the Court of Appeals since 1985, and we gave Virginians the same right to appeal their legal matter that every other American has.”

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As Michigan Secretary of State Benson Calls for ‘Educating Voters,’ Questions Surround Zuckerberg-Funded Nonprofit She Founded

Bradley Vasoli

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, speaking remotely to the American Bar Association on Monday, called for “educating voters” about supposed GOP efforts underway to “undermine democracy,” but questions remain regarding her role with the “voter education” efforts of a Mark Zuckerberg-funded nonprofit she founded. 

Benson is a former president of the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration (MCELA), an organization that received $12 million in grants from the D.C.-based Center for Election Innovation and Research.

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Virginians for Safe Communities Alleges Misconduct Committed by Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office

Eric Burk

Virginians for Safe Communities (VSC) is the second organization to try to recall Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. Now, the organization wants an ethics investigation into the prosecutor, alleging misconduct in a August 9 letter to the Virginia State Bar (VSB).

“Mr. Descano, as the leader of the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney, has engaged in serious matters of professional misconduct that constitute a violation of the VSB’s Professional Guidelines,” the letter states

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University of Minnesota Will Require Student Vaccination If FDA Approved

Hayley Feland

The University of Minnesota announced that they will require the COVID vaccine for students if the vaccine is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. As long as the plan to mandate the vaccine is approved by the Board, the University has said that they will offer some exemptions, the email from University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel said. The vaccine will not be required for faculty or staff.

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Nearly 300 Unaccompanied Minors Crossed into U.S. Through Arizona Last Weekend

Peter D'Abrosca

In four separate groups over a period of less than 24 hours over the weekend, 280 unaccompanied minors illegally crossed into the United States, with Arizona as their destination.

“Within 24 hours, 4 separate groups, totaling over 400 migrants, surrendered to #Tucson Sector #BorderPatrol agents after illegally crossing the border. More than 280 were unaccompanied migrant children,” said Tucson Sector U.S. Border and Customs Protection (CBP) Interim Chief John R. Modlin on Twitter.

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Leon County Judge Sets Trial Date for Lawsuit Challenging 2015 Florida Abortion Law

Casey Owens
baby sleeping in crib

A lawsuit arguing the constitutionality of a 2015 law (HB 633) that requires women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion is set to be heard in trial next year, as directed in an order issued by Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey on Wednesday. 

 The lawsuit was filed by two women’s health clinics in Florida and a group of medical students shortly after the law was signed by then Governor Rick Scott. 

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Brentwood High School Students Allegedly Asked About Their Gender Pronouns

Chris Butler

Brentwood High School staff members gave students a questionnaire on the first day of school this year and allegedly asked them to identify themselves by the gender pronouns “She/her/hers,” “He/him/his,” “They/them/theirs,” or “other.” Middle Tennessee residents posted a screenshot of the questionnaire on their Facebook pages late last week. The posters said someone at Brentwood High — whom they did not identify — took the photograph.

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