Day: July 13, 2022

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson Supports Keeping Tennessee National Guardsmen That Refused Vaccine Mandate on Payroll, Attorney General Process, and His Campaign

Julie Carr
Jack Johnson

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, Leahy was joined on the newsmaker line by Tennessee State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, to discuss his advocation for the Tennessee National Guardsmen who refused the Covid-19 vaccine to maintain on payroll, the process in which the state attorney general is picked, and his campaign efforts.

Read the full story

Radical Leftist Organization Distributes Mailer Encouraging Democrats to Vote for Jeff Eby in House District 69 GOP Primary

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), a radical leftist organization, distributed a literature piece that hit mail boxes last week and appears to target Democrats, encouraging them to vote for Jeff Eby because he is against school vouchers and charter schools in the August 4 House District 69 Republican primary.

The Tennessee Star has obtained a copy of the mail piece, which says on one side, “In the fights ahead, we need Jeff Eby as our state representative.”

Read the full story

Combat Veteran Jeff Beierlein on Kurt Winstead Skipping TN-5 Debate: ‘First Time in Tennessee History a General Ran from a Fight’

Aaron Gulbransen

TN-5 candidate and combat veteran Jeff Beierlein criticized retired National Guard Brigadier General Kurt Winstead for agreeing to and later skipping the Epoch Times 5th Congressional District candidates debate held on Tuesday, saying, “this is the first time in Tennessee history, a general’s ran from the fight.”

Prior to Beierlein’s statement, debate moderator, Epoch Times Editor-at-Large Roger Simon, who is also an All-Star Panelist of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, mentioned that Winstead agreed to the debate, the organizers moved the time of the debate to accommodate him, and then he [Winstead] dropped out.

Read the full story

Commentary: A Visit to U.S. Immigration Court, Where the Action Is Not Happening

RealClearWire

by James Varney   NEW ORLEANS—The courtrooms handling illegal immigration cases here are tucked into the fifth floor of a white skyscraper on the bank of the Mississippi River. A few floors below is a Saks Fifth Avenue, reputed to be one of the tony department store’s most profitable locations, and a few floors above is a U.S. passport office so busy admittance is barred without an appointment. The New Orleans immigration courts have none of that bustle. Over five days during a two-week period in June that officials described as typical this year, two active courtrooms heard about 50 combined cases each morning, wrapping up business by 11 a.m. even though all those cases were continued. The brief activity seemed puzzling for a system that all sides of the immigration debate agree has been overwhelmed by a growing national backlog of at least 1.8 million cases. For the New Orleans courts, the backlog currently stands at more than 40,000 cases, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University, which focuses on immigration topics. But the darkly wooded courtrooms — featuring the Department of Justice seal on to the wall behind the judge (photography not allowed) — feel more like…

Read the full story

Five Candidates Seek Republican Nomination for Tennessee House District 32 Open Seat

Laura Baigert

Five Republicans are seeking the nomination for the Tennessee House District 32 open seat, created by the retirement of five-term Representative Kent Calfee (R-Kingston).

The winner of the Republican primary on August 4 will face off against Democrat Jan Hahn, who is running unopposed in the primary, to represent citizens of Roane and a small portion of Loudon County. The district includes not only the city of Oak Ridge, but the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, production site of the Manhattan Project’s atomic bomb, as well as the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Governor Signs Compromise Bill Banning Outside Election Funding

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) this week signed legislation banning nongovernmental entities from issuing grants for election administration and also creating a state-run grant program to meet such administrative needs.

State Senators Lisa Baker (R-Dallas) and Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-Jacobus) sponsored the measure in response to revelations that left-leaning nonprofits like the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) bestowed large sums of money on localities across the nation in 2020. (Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, contributed $350 million to the organization that year.) Most CTCL grants going to Pennsylvania counties subsidized election administration in Democrat-heavy areas.

Read the full story

Former Florida Secretary of State Releases First Political Ad

Grant Holcomb

Former Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee released her first political ad of the campaign season. Lee is running for Florida’s 15th Congressional District which encompasses northeast Tampa communities and stretches up to Zephyrhills, and across to Lakeland.

In the ad, Lee touts her track record for implementing election integrity laws that were passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. She also described herself as a “conservative that will battle Biden’s leftist agenda,” will continue to support building a wall on the southern border started by former President Donald J. Trump (R), and defend gun rights.

Read the full story

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Touts $77 Billion 2023 Budget, Despite No Tax Relief

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is touting the $77 billion 2023 fiscal year budget that she says will improve Michigan’s economy and workforce.

Whitmer bragged that the budget negotiated with Republicans doesn’t raise taxes. However, it also keeps $7 billion of taxpayer money locked in state coffers while spending another $7 billion more than the prior budget.

Read the full story

Rep. Wittman Again Calls to Cancel House August Recess

Eric Burk

Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) wrote a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi encouraging her to cancel the House August recess, citing legislative priorities to fund the government.

“One of Congress’ most basic duties is to fully fund the government, yet with few legislative days remaining, lawmakers have found themselves unable to get the job done. Despite Congress’ failure to even consider the twelve annual appropriation bills on the house floor, Congress is set to adjourn for 6 weeks beginning in August. With so much work left to be done, it astounds me that Members of Congress feel justified in taking a month off,” Wittman wrote in the July 6 letter.

Read the full story

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost: No Evidence of Raped and Pregnant 10-Year-Old Girl Traveling to Indiana for Abortion

Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Monday night there is no evidence of a 10-year-old girl in his state who was raped, became pregnant, and traveled to Indiana for an abortion, as Joe Biden claimed during his remarks justifying his executive order that attempts to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“Not a whisper,” Yost told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime. “We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere.”

Read the full story

Georgia U.S. Attorney Tapped to Advise Attorney General Garland

Peter D'Abrosca

A U.S. Attorney from Georgia has been appointed to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC), and will serve as an advisor to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

“It’s a great honor to be selected for the AGAC,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, who was selected for the position. “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Attorney General and the leadership of the Department of Justice on issues affecting the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney Office community, and our federal, state, and local stakeholders.”

Read the full story

‘Personhood Act’ to Prohibit Abortion Introduced in Ohio

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio state Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) this week introduced a bill to protect pre-born human life from abortion.

Titled “The Personhood Act,” Click’s legislation stipulates that the state “shall recognize the personhood, and protect the constitutional rights, of all unborn human individuals from the moment of conception.” The measure would not prohibit abortion in any case where doing so would “endanger the life of a mother.” 

Read the full story

Marcy Kaptur Stays Close to Biden Administration’s Policies Despite Public Opinion During Presidential Visit

Aaron Gulbransen

As Joe Biden made his way to Ohio on Wednesday, Ohioans likely won’t forget that their longtime U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) has been a rubber stamp for the liberal Biden agenda that has left families across the country to pinch pennies.

America Rising PAC Press Secretary, Kristen Bennett said to The Ohio Star, “Marcy Kaptur’s decision to stand by Joe Biden today, puts on full display her decision to be a rubber stamp for the Biden agenda that caused the runaway-inflation crisis plaguing Ohioans.”

Read the full story

Mark Brnovich Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to Protect Consumers in Class Action Settlements

Neil Jones

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) recently led a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to protect the rights of consumers in class action settlements.

“Class action settlements should benefit people who have been harmed and not just the attorneys,” Brnovich said in a press release. “That’s why we are asking the court to ensure consumer interests are being faithfully represented.”

Read the full story

David Schweikert Introduces Amendment to Withdraw $6 Billion in Military Inflation-Subsidy Spending from the National Defense Authorization Act

Neil Jones

Arizona Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ-06) introduced an amendment Monday to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to remove $6 billion in additional inflation-adjustment spending.

“There is no question that reckless spending by Democrats and the Biden administration have contributed greatly to inflation that is burdening families in every corner of our country,” Schweikert said in a press release. “The last thing we should do is use taxpayer dollars to subsidize increased federal spending to cover rising inflation costs in our annual defense bill. I hope that Democrats accept my amendment and strike this wasteful and unnecessary spending.”

Read the full story

Amtrak Adds Second Daily Washington-Roanoke Round Trip

Eric Burk

Amtrak announced a new Washington, D.C.-to-Roanoke daily round trip Monday, adding to the already-existing round trip. The new trip leaves Washington at 8:05 a.m., arriving in Roanoke at 1:00 p.m., and the return leaves at 4:30 p.m., arriving back at 9:28 p.m, with stops in Alexandria, Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. The existing train departs Roanoke for Washington at 6:32 a.m. and arriving in Washington at 11:34 a.m., while a return departs Washington at 5:00 p.m. and arrives in Roanoke at 10:06 p.m.

Fares for the 8:05 a.m. Roanoke-bound train and the 4:30 p.m. Washington-bound train currently start at $20 one-way.

Read the full story

Hispanic Groups Blast Jill Biden for Taco ‘Caricature’

The Center Square

First Lady Jill Biden is taking fire from Hispanic groups after her comments comparing them to different kinds of breakfast tacos.

“The First Lady’s comments yesterday comparing Hispanic people to tacos shows yet again Democrats’ low regard for our people,” said Elizabeth Castro Gray, state chair for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. “She reduced us to a caricature, a stereotype. Mrs. Biden demonstrated yet again why Hispanics are leaving the Democratic Party in huge numbers. We have little patience for a party that treats us as helpless victims. Who looks to us as little more than a reliable voting bloc.”

Read the full story

Biden’s HHS Pressures Healthcare Providers to Perform ‘Emergency’ Abortions

Admin

The Biden administration is claiming that, under existing law, doctors are required to perform abortions in emergency situations even if state laws ban the procedure, according to new guidance issued to healthcare workers.

Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released guidance Monday explaining that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act applies to abortions in life- or health-saving emergencies. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra clarified that this preempts state laws in a Monday letter to healthcare providers.

Read the full story

Connecticut Minimum Wage Not a Guarantee to End Poverty

The Center Square

Employees in Connecticut are now earning a minimum wage of $14, and one industry expert says the wage isn’t enough to support a family.

Connecticut increased its minimum wage on July 1 for the fourth time since 2019. Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut, said many of the jobs available are lower-wage jobs that don’t offer benefits such as health care.

Read the full story

Poll: More Americans Want Trump to Run in 2024 than Biden

Admin

More Americans would like to see former President Donald Trump run in 2024 than President Joe Biden, but neither candidate enjoys broad support for a potential campaign, a new Politico poll found.

Of all registered voters, 35% reported that Trump should “definitely” or “probably” run, whereas just 29% reported the same answers for Biden, the poll showed. However, the poll is not all positive for Trump, as both men have staunch opposition to their prospective candidacies in 2024 and almost half of the population strongly opposes either of them running.

Read the full story

Poll: Majorities of Democrats and Young Voters Want to Abolish the Supreme Court

Admin

A new poll reveals that over half of Democratic voters, and an even larger majority of younger voters, believe that the Supreme Court must be abolished after a series of rulings that greatly increased personal freedoms.

As reported by the New York Post, the poll from the Heartland Institute saw 53 percent of Democrats voice their support for eliminating the Supreme Court altogether, in favor of replacing it with a “new, democratically elected…court with justices chosen by the American people directly.” Of these respondents, 33 percent said they were “strongly” in favor of such an idea. In the same poll, a slightly larger majority of voters between the ages of 19 and 39 want to abolish the high court, at 54 percent. By contrast, only 21 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of independents supported abolition.

Read the full story

Liberal Group Offers Cash Payouts to Workers Who Identify Locations of Conservative SCOTUS Justices

Admin

As the political fallout over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade continues, a hard-left activist group is offering cash payouts to D.C.-area workers who inform on the locations of conservative Supreme Court justices.

ShutDownDC issued the lucrative offer in a tweet last week, offering big payouts to “DC Service Industry Workers” who inform the group on the whereabouts of the justices.

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden’s Bonkers Idea to Welcome Terrorist-Tied Foreigners into America

Admin

Just when we thought it was impossible for Joe Biden to make his immigration policies any more ridiculous, he finds another low. Against the backdrop of America’s current border crisis and with adversaries increasingly viewing the United States as a paper tiger, the Biden Administration will now make it easier for foreign nationals with terrorist ties to enter the United States and take advantage of immigration benefits.

Read the full story

Epoch Times and Nashville Republican Women Hosted Unique Debate with TN-5 Candidates Beierlein, Ogles, and Wittum

Aaron Gulbransen

The Epoch Times, the Nashville Republican Women, Williamson County Young Republicans, and Davidson County Young Republicans hosted a unique debate on Tuesday evening with TN-5 candidates combat veteran Jeff Beierlein, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, and State Senate aide Tres Wittum participating.

Former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell was invited, but never confirmed her appearance. Kurt Winstead, confirmed his appearance but backed out at the last minute, organizers say.

Read the full story

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Attorney General Application and Selection Process

Aaron Gulbransen

In a press statement, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced the details of application and selection process in the search for Tennessee’s next Attorney General.

“The Tennessee Supreme Court will open the application period for the position of State Attorney General and Reporter on July 15, 2022. Under the state constitution, the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the state Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term. The term for the new Attorney General will begin September 1, 2022,” said the Court in a statement.

Read the full story