Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots on IRS: ‘Another Example of How This Administration and the Radical Leftists Want a Centralized Power to Control People Around the Country’

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed to the newsmaker line Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots and columnist for The Washington Times, to voice deep concerns with the IRS’s intent on auditing middle-class Americans and violating the rights and privacy of citizens.

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Pro-Transgender Groups to Sue Florida over Medicaid Ban on Gender-Altering Procedures

In Florida, a coalition of far-left groups is preparing to sue the state government over a directive that orders the state’s Medicaid regulator to ban coverage of so-called “gender-affirming” procedures.

According to Politico, the Southern Legal Counsel’s Transgender Rights Initiative announced on Wednesday their plans to file their case in federal court, where they will seek a preliminary injunction to prevent the ban from going into effect.

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Lawmakers Worry Amtrak Potentially Helping Illegal Immigrants Cross Border

Lawmakers sent a letter to Amtrak Wednesday requesting a briefing as well as all documents related to how taxpayer subsidized Amtrak may be used to transfer illegal immigrants across the border.

The Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee signed the letter, led by railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark.

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Tennessee Firearms Association Questions Why FBI Wants Access to Handgun Permit Databases in Certain States

In an emailed statement released on Thursday, the Tennessee Firearms Association revealed their inquiry to the Tennessee Department of Safety which sought to find out if the FBI has requested access to the state’s handgun permit database in a similar manner to what the agency has done in Missouri.

In July 2022, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to confront the federal agency with reports that their agents had been in contact with local law enforcement officials in that state in order to attempt to perform audits that included onsite reviews of Missouri concealed weapons permits.

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Commentary: Peter Strzok Remains Exhibit A of the FBI’s Politicization

Before the Trump era, members of official Washington who held ostensibly nonpartisan positions of public trust made some effort to conceal their biases. Indeed, many of these figures would hold themselves out as uniquely apolitical and dispassionate. But sheer hatred of Donald Trump has made them throw off that mask. Turn on MSNBC or CNN at almost any hour of the day and you will hear their liberal ranting.

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New York Attorney General Sends Threatening Letter to Church Suggesting Their ‘ReAwaken America Tour’ Is ‘Extremist’ and ‘Racially Motivated’

A letter sent by New York Attorney General Letitia James to Cornerstone Church in Batavia, New York, threatened the church, in advance of its hosting a ReAwaken America Tour event this past weekend, with investigation and prosecution of “acts of violence, intimidation, threats, or harassment” toward others based on “a belief or perception” of characteristics including “race,” “national origin,” “gender,” and “sexual orientation.”“national origin,” “gender,” and “sexual orientation.”

“As New York’s top law enforcement officer, I have significant concerns that the ReAwaken America Tour’s upcoming event at the Cornerstone Church in Batavia, New York on August 12 and 13 could spur extremist or racially motivated violence,” James said in the letter sent to Clay Clark, organizer of the tour, and General Michael Flynn, who travels with it, in care of the church.

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Lake Slams Hobbs for Voting Record on Abortion

In a series of tweets, Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake slammed her opponent, current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, for Hobb’s record on abortion.

“[Katie Hobbs] supports Abortion up to the moment of birth & even 3 days after She also supports the gruesome, unimaginable act of leaving babies on a medical tray to die, should they survive a botched Abortion procedure,” Lake said. “This is the stuff out of nightmares & horror stories.”

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Critics Slam $350 Cash Payments to Georgia Welfare Recipients Engineered by Gov. Kemp

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is again turning to the federal government to dole out more cash to Peach State residents.

The governor has funneled more than $1 billion in money from the American Rescue Plan’s State Fiscal Recovery Fund to the state’s Department of Human Services. The agency will give up to $350 in cash to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients in Georgia.

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600 Illegal Aliens Cross Border Overnight in Yuma

According to local reports, about 600 illegal aliens crossed into the United States on Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

“Roughly 600 people crossed in separate groups into Yuma since midnight according to volunteers handing out water,” said reporter Ali Bradley. “When I arrived there were roughly 100 still waiting. This is the gap I’m told will stay open to act as a funnel for Border Patrol to work more efficiently.”

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Cook Report Signals Trouble for Oz, Though Fetterman’s Had a Rough Return to the Campaign Trail

The Cook Political Report this week changed its description of the Pennsylvania Senate race from “toss up” to “lean Democrat,” signaling trouble for Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, even as Democrat John Fetterman struggles with his return to the campaign trail. 

Cook’s shifting outlook on the Senate contest is partly a response to figures on the FiveThirtyEight data-analysis website showing that Oz, a celebrity doctor, trails Fetterman, the lieutenant governor, by an average of 11.5 percentage points. 

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DeSantis to Rally with Vance in Ohio and Mastriano in Pennsylvania

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is coming through western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio on Friday, August 19, to speak at two rallies, one for Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano and the other for Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance. 

The conservative activist organization Turning Point Action is hosting the events. In a statement, turning Point founder and president Charlie Kirk expressed his gladness to facilitate the rallies and his hope that DeSantis’s endorsement will “unite conservatives” around Mastriano and Vance.

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Wisconsin School Board Bans Pride, BLM Flags from Classrooms

A Wisconsin school board voted on Aug. 16 to prohibit the displaying of LGBTQ pride and Black Lives Matter flags in classrooms.

The Kettle Moraine school board in Wales, Wisconsin, examined a policy that prohibits educators and staff from “promoting partisan politics and sectarian religious views” which Superintendent Stephen Plum clarified to include pride and Black Lives Matter flags, according to Fox 6. The board approved the policy at the meeting, claiming that the flags are a violation of the code of conduct because they are political.

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Two of Arizona’s New Election Integrity Laws Face Lawsuits

Only three election integrity bills made it into law this past legislative year in Arizona, and at least two of them are now subject to lawsuits from progressives and Democrats. Five lawsuits have been filed against HB 2492, which requires proof of citizenship in order to register to vote — with the exception of voting in congressional elections, which is pre-empted by federal law. Two lawsuits have been filed against SB 1260, which makes it a felony to knowingly help someone to register to vote when the person is already registered in another state.

State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who sponsored HB 2492, told The Arizona Sun Times, “Since Jim Crow, when the courts were used by Democrats to institutionalize racism against black Americans, the Democrat Party and their operatives have a long track record of exploiting the judiciary branch of our government as a back door for enacting their anti-civil rights agenda.”

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South Carolina Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Heartbeat Law

The South Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily blocked continued enforcement of the state’s Heartbeat law, which bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The court’s order Wednesday grants abortion providers an emergency motion that will halt enforcement of the law which has been in effect since June 27, several days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

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Blake Masters Speaks on the Importance of Officials Connecting with the Community as RNC Opens Hispanic Community Center in Tucson

The Republican National Committee opened a new Hispanic Community Center in Tucson, Arizona, and Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters, who appeared at the center’s opening, spoke with The Arizona Sun Times via the phone about the importance of connecting with the community.

“I think people are looking, now more than ever, for their elected officials and their servant leaders to be accessible and to have a place where you can learn more and talk to like-minded people in the community and talk about issues. I think the Republican Party’s doing great, you know, with initiatives like this, with this center and others to hopefully be permanent fixtures. I don’t want this to be something we pop up around election time and then go away,” Masters said.

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YouTube Censors Conservative Show Featuring Kari Lake

Arizona Republican Gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake recently spoke on the popular Conservative show “Louder With Crowder,” but YouTube has struck down the episode.

“Tech tyrants are censoring @scrowder for something we talked about on his show last week,” Lake Tweeted. “Who knows what it was & who cares–this is wrong. IT IS UNAMERICAN. We the people must denounce censorship in any form.”

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Elite Nashville Girls School Will Pause Policy That Would Have Allowed Boys to Attend

A little more than a week after Harpeth Hall, an elite high school for girls in Nashville, said it would admit any student who identified as a girl, the school has reversed course. 

“Last week, the Harpeth Hall Board of Trustees shared with current parents and school alumnae a gender diversity philosophy, which was intended to offer clarity about hoe the school approaches gender identity at Harpeth Hall,” said a letter simply addressed to the Harpeth Hall community.

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