Day: March 9, 2022

Tennessee State Rep. Wants to Criminalize COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Peter D'Abrosca
Bruce Griffey

A member of the Tennessee General Assembly Tuesday filed a bill that would criminalize COVID-19 mandates in the state, saying that he doesn’t think Tennessee has done enough to combat such mandates.

“I don’t feel that the legislature went far enough during October’s special legislative session on this issue. This is about protecting an individual’s freedom to make their own medical decisions and the freedom of parents to make healthcare decisions for their children,” State Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) in a press release. “Those individuals who want to get vaccinated should be able to do so.  However, those individuals, who have concerns about the vaccine, should not have to live in fear that they may lose their jobs or their children may not be able to attend school or they may not be able to enter a business to purchase groceries if they don’t get vaccinated.”

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Exclusive: Former Teen Sex Educator Schools Parents on Sound Strategy to Deal with Pornographic Books

Susan Berry, PhD
Monica Cline

A former Title X family planning instructor who was trained by Planned Parenthood and then taught at sex ed conferences for teens told The Star News Network parents who are outraged to hear about sexualized curricula in schools should plan an organized grassroots effort that involves sound research and documentation.

In an extensive interview with The Star News Network, Monica Cline stressed parents with concerns about sexualized books available to their children in school should join with other like-minded parents and approach the situation with logic and sufficient research to make sound arguments to school boards.

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Justice Democrat Odessa Kelly Announces Run for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District

Aaron Gulbransen

Far-Left Justice Democrat Odessa Kelly has announced her bid in the Democrat primary for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, where Republican U.S. Representative Mark Green is the incumbent.

Kelly had been previously running in the 5th Congressional district primary against retiring Rep. Jim Cooper, who dropped out of the race due to redistricting.

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Commentary: Reject Liz Cheney’s War

Admin
Liz Cheney

After nearly two weeks, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues with the Russian military steadily gaining ground and methodically taking control of key assets such as highways, bridges, airports, and power plants. As the Russians advance, they are also encircling and cutting off the main concentrations of the Ukrainian military. If those encirclements are completed, it could get ugly.

It’s into that cauldron that U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) would plunge the United States. On “Face the Nation” last week Cheney was nothing short of bellicose calling for escalation across the board.

Cheney wants Biden to expand already sweeping sanctions and seize the Russian Central Bank’s foreign reserves. Weaponizing the dollar and the banking system in this way, she apparently fails to realize, carries with it risks to dollar-supremacy and the global dominance of American financial institutions. As other nations watch America use the dollar and important elements of the international banking infrastructure such as the SWIFT system as weapons, they will realize their own vulnerability and take steps to protect themselves from U.S.-dominated financial systems. China already offers alternatives and Biden’s actions are the best advertising for those systems they could ask for.

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Nashville Courthouse Arsonist’s Sentencing Postponed for Fourth Time

Aaron Gulbransen

Wesley Somers, who pled guilty in connection to the Nashville Courthouse riot that occurred in May 2020, had his sentencing hearing postponed for the fourth time because a continuance was requested.

According to the clerk’s office of the Middle District of Tennessee Court, Somers is now scheduled to be sentenced on March 23, 2022 at 10am by Judge Aleta Trauger. Trauger was the judge who granted the motion to continue and reset the date.

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Tennessee House Sponsor Bids Adieu to His Proposed Interstate Compact Legislation

Laura Baigert

Legislation that would have entered Tennessee into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Mississippi for the greater Memphis region was bid adieu Tuesday by the sponsor during a House committee meeting.

State Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), at the start of the House Commerce Committee he chairs, announced amidst the status of the 12 bills on the calendar, he wanted to say some words over his HB1989, “Before I bid it adieu.”

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GOP Primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Attracts Another Carpetbagger

Aaron Gulbransen

Recent New York transplant David M. Vitalli, who told a magazine that he’s a JFK Democrat and will run for President of the United States in 2024, has joined fellow carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Vitalli is listed as collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office and he has filed FEC paperwork. Twelve other individuals are currently collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary.

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Tea Party Patriots Action Tours Pennsylvania to Champion Election Integrity

Bradley Vasoli

Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA), a national conservative nonprofit, began a tour of Pennsylvania Monday to emphasize the importance of election integrity.

TPPA kicked off the trek in Grove City and has since visited Du Bois, State College and Altoona. The organization plans to push eastward, penultimately visiting Philadelphia on March 29 and finally the state capital of Harrisburg on March 30. At each stop, organizers will impress upon audiences the need for both legislative reforms and for citizen involvement to improve voting and vote-count processes. Toward that end, TPPA is recruiting citizens for local election integrity task forces to aid area elections.

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Connecticut Senate Republicans Bringing Up Anti-Crime Proposals

Bradley Vasoli

This week, Connecticut Senate Republicans are seeking consideration of proposals they made last autumn to mitigate the Constitution State’s crime problem.

On Wednesday, the CT General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee will convene virtually to consider GOP legislation to aid police recruitment, modernize law-enforcement data gathering and promote “explorer” programs to foster relationships between juveniles and law-enforcement officers.

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With Tight Schedule, Virginia Budget Compromise May Not Be Ready for Weekend Vote, Which Would Force General Assembly Session Extension

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – Legislators are meeting in behind-the-scenes meetings to try to finalize a budget compromise before the General Assembly is set to adjourn on Saturday, but are divided by a House of Delegates desire for substantial tax cuts and a Senate desire for higher state employee salaries plus a desire to preserve more future tax revenues. House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) said that negotiations may take too long to have a compromise ready for a weekend vote, although he emphasized that his Senate counterparts including Finance Chair Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) are cooperating in good faith.

“I think with the time constraints that we have, with the two bodies doing our business, I’m not sure we’re going to make it,” Knight told reporters on Tuesday.

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Federal Judge Orders Biden Administration to Halt Release of Illegal Alien Minors

Admin

On Friday, a federal judge in Texas ordered the Biden Administration to stop its mass releasing of illegal alien minors into the country after they come across the southern border.

Breitbart reports that the ruling came from Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019. Pittman’s order forbids the Biden Administration from releasing any more illegals by declaring them exempt from Title 42, an immigration policy first enacted by President Trump which allowed immigration authorities to immediately deport illegals after apprehending them. The policy was one of several strict immigration measures implemented shortly after the coronavirus outbreak, citing health concerns with regards to the high number of unhealthy people crossing the border and potentially spreading the disease even further.

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Democrat Georgia Election Board Member Celebrates Start of Absentee Voting in Primaries

Peter D'Abrosca
Sara Tindall Ghazal

A Democrat member of the Georgia Board of Elections late Monday night celebrated the beginning of absentee voting for the state’s upcoming primary elections.

“I almost forgot-Happy First Day To Apply For An Absentee Ballot For The Georgia General Primary! (SB 202 shrank the timeframe for apply for an absentee ballot from 180 days in advance to 78.) Print your application here and mail to your county registrar,” Sara Tindall Ghazal said on Twitter.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer: $400 Checks Should Arrive by May 9

The Center Square
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

A $400 check for each insured vehicle in Michigan should hit state residents’ mailboxes by May 9 at the latest.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) will complete the transfer of $3 billion in surplus funds to Michigan’s auto insurers this week.

“These $400 refunds are game-changers for so many Michigan families,” Whitmer said in a statement. “I called for these refunds because I am committed to lowering costs for Michiganders and putting money back in people’s pockets. They are possible because we worked across the aisle to pass bipartisan auto insurance reform, and we will keep working together to grow our economy and build a state where families can thrive.”

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Florida Officials Recommend Against COVID Shots for Children

Grant Holcomb

Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced new COVID guidance and part of that guidance is that the state is officially recommending against healthy children receiving the COVID shots. DeSantis and Ladapo were joined by numerous doctors and experts to echoed comments railing against lockdowns and mandates.

DeSantis referred to the press conference as ending the “COVID theater.”

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GA-10 Republican Candidate Taking Heat from Far Left over Transgender Military Ban Position

Aaron Gulbransen

Mitchell Swan, a retired military colonel and candidate in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, is taking heat from the far Left because he wants to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s 2017 transgender military ban.

Media Matters, and LGBTQ Nation are among the far-Left outlets that are criticizing Swan’s position.

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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Appeals in North Carolina, Pennsylvania

Cooper Moran

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, an attempt to prevent the states’ redistricting maps.

GOP leaders in both states asked the Court for a temporary stay of the two maps in order to block them from being fully enacted. Because the ruling is not on the constitutionality of the maps, litigation can continue while the boundaries are in place.

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General Assembly Passes Dog-Breeder-for-Testing Oversight Bills; Sen. Stanley Celebrates with Puns

Eric Burk

Both the House of Delegates and the Senate unanimously passed several of Senator Bill Stanley’s (R-Franklin) bills on Monday and Tuesday to regulate dog breeders, the result of bipartisan work spurred by dramatic reports at a Virginia beagle-breeder-for-medical-testing Envigo. The bills are now headed to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk. An outright ban on the practice sponsored by Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) is set to die in the House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee after being passed by the Senate. Oversight bills from Bosyko and Senator David Marsden (D-Fairfax) are also doomed in the same committee.

“I want to thank all of you for the hard work that y’all did. We had the Envigo incident and Senator Boysko, Senator Marsden, Senator [Barbara Favola (D-Arlington)], Senator [Travis Hackworth (R-Tazewell)], Delegates [Rob Bell (R-Albemarle)] and [Bobby Orrock (R-Carolina)] worked very hard to make sure that we’re going to hold those people that breed dogs, especially beagles, for scientific purposes, accountable,” Stanley said.

In one of his floor-speech comedy routines, on Monday, Stanley exhorted senators to adopt beagles rescued from the facility. Stanley said that there were 480 beagles that were overbred during the pandemic and that Envigo was allowing them to be adopted instead of euthanized. Half of those have already been adopted.

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Commentary: The FBI Goes on Trial in the Whitmer Case

Admin
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Jury selection begins in a Grand Rapids courtroom Tuesday morning in the federal trial of four men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

The long-awaited trial centers on the question of whether a loose band of misfits angry at pandemic lockdowns hatched a sinister plot to abduct Whitmer from her vacation cottage and possibly kill her—or if the foiled caper was yet another successful attempt by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to interfere in a election and sabotage Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Timing of the trial could not be worse for the scandal-plagued agency quickly losing the trust of the American people. Top FBI officials refuse to account for its role in the events of January 6, 2021, raising concerns even among some in Congress that FBI assets acted improperly before and during that day. The first trials of January 6 defendants start this month but the Justice Department has yet to make hundreds of thousands of FBI files available to defense attorneys.

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Ohio Bill Takes Aim at Workers’ Compensation Injuries at Home

The Center Square
Ohio Rep. Brian Lampton

Workers’ compensation injuries taking place at home would look more like injuries suffered in an office if a bill passed recently by the Ohio House eventually becomes law.

House Bill 447 would eliminate at-home injuries suffered by employees working from that were not a direct result of a typical work. State law does not currently differentiate injuries from injuries sustained by work-from-home employees that are outside of the employer’s control.

“The pandemic changed our lives dramatically,” Rep. Brian Lampton, R-Beavercreek, said. “With that change, legislators should act to modify laws that reflect the world we live in today. House Bill 447 codifies that injuries sustained by work-from-home employees qualify for workers’ compensation if the injury was caused by their employment and within the control of their employer.”

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One Year After Refusing to Negotiate with ‘Dictator’ Maduro, Biden Changes Course over Oil

Admin

Just one year after refusing to negotiate with Venezuelan “dictator” Nicolas Maduro, President Biden appears to have changed course.

Democrats and Republicans have put pressure on Biden to cut off Russian oil imports over Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s escalating invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Venezuela are partners in several areas including oil. Putin and Maduro recently discussed increasing a “strategic partnership,” according to Reuters.

Reports of the negotiations preceded an expected announcement Tuesday morning by President Biden that the U.S. will ban oil imports from Russia.

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Analysis: White House Keeps Misleading Public on Oil, Gas Leasing

Admin
Oil rig at sunset/sunrise

The White House has repeatedly suggested the private sector can boost oil supply amid surging gas prices, but industry groups have countered that the administration has placed hurdles for new drilling.

“There are 9,000 unused, approved drilling permits,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday. “So I would suggest you ask the oil companies why they’re not using those if there’s a desire to drill more.”

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Wisconsin Treasurer Wants to Dump Russian Investments

The Center Square
Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski

Wisconsin’s state treasurer is the latest to look to pull the plug on the state’s Russian investments.

Treasurer Sarah Godlewski on Monday released a letter to the State of Wisconsin Investment Board that asks for a report on any investments the state has in any Russian companies or funds, and asks for a plan to dump them.

“The Wisconsin Retirement System is one of the largest public pension funds in the U.S., and it is our prudent obligation to act,” Godlewski wrote. “I’m calling on the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to immediately identify any direct investments in Russia held by the Wisconsin Retirement System, the State Investment Fund, and other state trust funds; and develop a plan to divest from these holdings.”

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Biden Expected to Sign First Executive Order Regulating Cryptocurrency

Admin

Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order that will begin the process of regulating the trading of cryptocurrency, as crypto becomes a viable alternative for Russians seeking to avoid the impact of economic sanctions.

According to ABC News, at least two anonymous Biden Administration officials said that the order will be issued this week, and has allegedly been in the planning stage since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February. The order will outline the various steps that government agencies, including the Treasury Department, are to take to begin the process of imposing regulations on the buying and selling of digital currencies.

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House Sponsor of Legislation Establishing Tennessee Federal Candidate Residency Requirements Says He’ll Conform His Bill to Senate-Passed Version

Aaron Gulbransen

State Rep. David Wright, the House sponsor of the bill that establishes residency requirements for federal candidates, told The Tennessee Star that he plans to make the language in his version match Senator Frank Niceley’s Senate-passed version.

“All I’m trying to do is to get a bill to the floor in the House so I can motion to substitute and conform to the Senate version.” said Wright. “I would hope that I can get this to Calendar and Rules on Thursday morning for it to be on the floor next week.”

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