The Beacon Center of Tennessee recently released its 2023 agenda focusing on the top four policy issues most affecting Tennesseans. The organization describes its ‘2023 Back to the Basics’ agenda as a “blueprint for restoring Tennesseans’ freedom.”
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RICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke at a small rally on Monday where he shot hoops with children and called for his supporters to pressure their legislators to support the tax relief package included in his budget amendment proposal.
“We can pay for this. We have an expected surplus. We’re projecting continued excess revenues. We can afford this and we can still invest in a record education budget. We can still invest in the transformation of our behavioral health system. We can still invest in law enforcement. We can still invest to make government work for you,” he said.
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Ohio’s plea for a preliminary injunction to stop the city of Columbus’ most recent gun control measures was denied by a court in Fairfield County.
According to Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, the restrictions are now in place as of midnight on January 21st.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) was recently named the Chairman of the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee for the 118th Congress.
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Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) has reintroduced legislation to block funding and forbid agencies from implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Orders 14076 and 14079. The two orders, issued in 2022, required the Department of Health and Human Services to research and advance access to reproductive healthcare services.
“As tens of thousands of proud pro-life Americans attend the March for Life in our nation’s capital today, I’m proud to stand for the sanctity of life by reintroducing legislation to block and defund President Biden’s pro-abortion executive orders,” Clyde said in a January 20 press release announcing the “Protect the UNBORN (Undo the Negligent Biden Orders Right Now) Act.”
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Elementary students in the Madison Metropolitan School District will be treated to a weeklong introduction to gender identity and sexual orientation curriculum as part of the so-called Welcoming Schools agenda. Parents in the district received an email last week advising them about this week’s lesson plan, part of the Health and Social Emotional Learning curriculum. Children will learn about “different identities, which include gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and sexual orientation.”
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Despite Republican State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) re-introducing the Parental Education Freedom Act to empower parents to be the primary decision-makers regarding where and what type of education their children receive, an undercover investigation has revealed that school administrators in Cincinnati, Ohio have admitted to covertly indoctrinating students with Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classrooms.
As part of Accuracy in Media’s investigation, numerous school administrators admitted that teachers are sneakily and covertly introducing CRT to their students unbeknownst to their parents and that they don’t plan to stop even if lawmakers pass legislation prohibiting this.
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The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement, the University of Pennsylvania think tank of which President Joe Biden was once the de facto leader, has had no publicized activity for nearly a year and its future is uncertain.
Biden reportedly used the Washington, D.C.-based center as his main D.C. office for much of the time between the end of his vice presidency in 2017 and his presidential run in 2020. From 2017 to 2019, Biden received approximately $900,000 in salary for a Penn professorship that did not require him to teach regular classes.
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More than two dozen DFL legislators — nearly all from the suburbs — have signed onto a bill that would attempt to put permanent brakes on a highly contentious, planned copper-nickel mining facility near Ely that could bring upwards of 2,000 new jobs to northeast Minnesota.
Critics of what would be Minnesota’s first copper-nickel facility, proposed by Twin Metals, argue that copper-nickel mining in the area would irreversibly pollute the environment in the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Supporters have said that Twin Metals has demonstrated its plant will use the best available technology to mitigate and prevent such pollution. The project remains up in the air as Twin Metals has sued the Biden administration over lease rights to the project.
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After being sued for violating the First Amendment, Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens spent 15 minutes at Tuesday’s council meeting airing her grievances against the public.
Owens complained that at a previous meeting, her daughter heard a member of the public criticizing her.
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A New College of Florida (NCF) Board of Trustees member recently appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis clashed with board officials by requesting to open every meeting in prayer.
DeSantis appointed six new members to the NCF board of trustees earlier this month, a decision anticipated to move the college’s mission in a more conservative direction. Eddie Speir, one of the new appointees, announced on Twitter that he requested to begin every board meeting with prayer; however the request was denied by board chair Mary Ruiz and legal counsel David Smolker.
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As a new administration takes over operations for the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), led by Superintendent Tom Horne (R), it appears they are swamped with a massive backlog of Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) requests leftover by the former administration of Kathy Hoffman (D). Christine Accurso, an advocate for ESAs, is now the program’s executive director and is shacking up how the office tackles requests to deal with the backlog.
“Our team is processing expense requests in sections, by category so that we can get through them efficiently and effectively. In the past the requests were processed in the order they were received. We are working on new processes to use going forward, as we work through the backlog,” Accurso said in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.
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The last time racial reparations made the major news was on the eve of September 11, 2001 attacks. The loss of 3,000 Americans, which for a time fueled a new national unity, quickly dispelled the absurdities of the reparation movement, and turned our attention toward more existential issues.
Now the idea is back in vogue again. Here are 10 reasons why the nation’s—and especially California’s—discussions of reparatory payouts are dangerous in a multiracial state, and why reparations are not viable either in an insolvent state or a bankrupt nation at large.
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Growth in plants connected to electric vehicles has roared across the country.
Not everyone, however, is quickly jumping in.
When Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said last week that he stopped efforts to establish a Ford Motors battery plant at a megasite in the state due to its Chinese partner, it was the first time University of Texas professor Nathan Jensen could recall a state rejecting an economic incentive deal for a battery plant.
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As Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares investigates potential civil rights violations in the widespread withholding of timely National Merit Scholar award notifications to students in suburban Washington, D.C., possibly on “equity” grounds, a local law professor known for public health crusades is floating a novel legal strategy for aggrieved students.
George Washington University’s John Banzhaf says Virginia courts this century have recognized a “somewhat obscure” class of legal claims known as “prima facie torts” that don’t depend on difficult-to-prove allegations such as intentional infliction of emotional distress or racial discrimination.
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Campaign ads are headed back to TVs across Wisconsin ahead of the election for a seat on the State Supreme Court.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz’ campaign on Friday announced a $700,000 ad buy in the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She’s one of four challengers trying to land the seat held by Justice Pat Roggensack, who has said she will not seek reelection.
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Florida Democrats still have no clear leader or plan for the future two months after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis swept the state in the November midterm elections, numerous lawmakers and leaders told The Washington Post.
DeSantis won his reelection by 19 points after winning his initial election by only 0.4 points in the former battleground state. There is no clear frontrunner to replace Manny Diaz, former Florida Democratic Party chair, following his recent resignation, and Democrats both within and outside Florida appear to be giving up on the third most populous state, according to the Post.
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On Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers will deliver his fifth State of the State speech before both chambers of the Legislature and the judiciary. Like many governors before him, a pronouncement that the state of the state is strong is all but to be expected. But is this truly the state of affairs in Wisconsin? Is state government serving the needs of its citizens and providing the services that we all expect? With a looming recession, is state government looking at how to help Wisconsinites — or at least not make things worse?
Here is what we hope the governor will say in his address.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ is defending her administration’s decision to keep in place a money transfer surveillance program that paves the way for a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the country to keep tabs on the dealings of potentially illegal activity.
With the database originally set up nearly a decade ago under the stewardship of a Republican attorney general, the so-called Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC) act was billed as a voluntary agreement with Western Union aimed at combating drug trafficking that has now expanded to touch more than 600 law enforcement agencies.
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Republicans lawmakers will again tackle regulatory reform and the separation of powers in the new legislative session.
Previous efforts made some progress, but failed to become law.
The latest attempt is proposed Senate Bill 188 that would require legislative approval of “economically significant regulations.”
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) recently implemented pistol brace final rule could classify millions of gun owners as felons should they fail to comply with the updated requirements, according to the gun rights advocacy groups.
The rule, announced in January, will void all previous guidance on pistols braces, opting to redefine “rifle” as any weapon “designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder,” forcing pistol brace owners, many disabled, to register their pistols as short barrel rifles (SBR) with the federal government. The ATF has allowed 120 days for gun owners with pistol braces to adjust the barrel longer than the required 16 inches, file a Form 1 to “make” the pistol a SBR, remove the brace, surrender the firearm or destroy the firearm.
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Former Western Kentucky University English instructor Ryan Hall said he was fired after canceling his classes in protest of his school’s political bias to embrace and enforce diversity, equity and inclusion above free speech and academic freedom and discourse.
Hall, who describes himself as a liberal who has never voted for a conservative, said he risked his two-decade career in academia to defend the principles of classical liberalism the university “abandoned” in its pursuit of a DEI dogma.
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Prices for electricity in the United States soared well above overall inflationary levels last year, putting an added squeeze on consumers already reeling from significantly inflated costs of most consumer goods.
The Consumer Price Index Summary released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics this month showed the 12-month average price of electricity last month jumping a whopping 14.3 percent, more than double the 6.5 percent of overall price increases.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, Nashville singer-songwriter Gary Chapman in studio to comment upon the death of Lisa Marie Presley and country star John Rich’s legal victory against wokeness.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed PJTN’s Laurie Cardoza-Moore in studio to talk about the guest speakers and activities attending Sunday’s Taking Back America’s Children-Tennessee Summit.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed CEO and Founder of PJTN, Laurie Cardoza-Moore in studio to talk about the upcoming event this Sunday called, Taking Back America’s Children for families of students.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed The Epoch Times reporter, Nathan Worcester to the newsmaker line to discuss his recent article addressing bias at the National Archives and links to the Penn Biden center document scandal.
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Arizona Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego on Monday launched his 2024 Senate campaign, possibly setting up a challenge against incumbent independent Sen. Krysten Sinema.
The announcement and the date was expected, with Gallego in recent weeks and months becoming increasingly critical of Sinema and her politics – including her failure to support Senate Democrats’ effort to end the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster that blocked passage of several of the party’s signature spending bills, then switching her party affiliation to independent.
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Tennessee’s unemployment rate finished the year at 3.5 percent, matching the U.S. unemployment rate and just 0.1 percent lower than the seasonally adjusted December 2021 mark.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee painted the state as a leader in the nation and highlighted the work still ahead during his second inaugural speech held in Nashville.
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As readers of this space know, former President Donald J. Trump is suing CNN for defamation. Trump claims in his suit that CNN defamed him by repeatedly likening him to Hitler and, in particular, by claiming that his complaints about the integrity of the 2020 election are nothing but a “Big Lie,” such as was used by Hitler to win and maintain power. For its part, CNN claimed in a motion for dismissal filed over the holidays that, even if it said everything Trump alleges, he still has no case. According to CNN, its comparisons of Trump to Hitler were mere “opinion” and “rhetorical hyperbole,” not the kind of factually false derogatory claims for which one can sue for defamation.
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A coalition of 18 state attorneys general, all Democrats, on Wednesday submitted an amicus brief in support of New York’s firearms industry accountability law.
In the brief, the coalition led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul asserts the law’s legitimacy to protect residents public health, safety and welfare.
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HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee – Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr presented the 2023 Property Taxpayers Protection Act to the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, during the group’s regularly scheduled meeting Saturday at the Shackle Island Fire Rescue Hall in Hendersonville.
The Sumner County Constitutional Republicans is a five-year old organization that formed and exists to recruit and train God-fearing, action-based conservatives to run for local office, its Chairman Kurt Riley told The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
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Former White House COVID-19 czar Jeff Zients is expected to replace President Joe Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain, according to multiple media reports.
Klain is expected to resign in the coming weeks, likely after Biden’s State of the Union address next month, and news emerged Sunday that Klain tapped Zients to fill his position, Axios reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
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The Prostasia Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that claims to work to prevent child sex abuse, has fought against measures cracking down on fetish activities involving sexually fantasizing about children, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.
Prostasia’s stated mission is to prevent child sex abuse before it happens through research, consulting, “defending the innocent” and advocating for “effective laws” that could help prevent abuse, according to the group’s website. In practice, however, Prostasia has advocated for policies that would expand adults’ access to childlike sex toys and fictitious child pornography while making life easier for convicted sex offenders; the organization argues that these activities do not harm children and may help pedophiles avoid committing crimes.
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At least 225,797 people were apprehended entering the U.S. illegally nationwide in December, according to official U.S. Customs and Border Protection data released late Friday.
Combining official apprehension data with preliminary Border Patrol reported gotaway data obtained by The Center Square – a record 87,631 in gotaways – December numbers total at least 313,428, another record.
December’s total was greater than November’s record-breaking total of at least 306,069.
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With the nation stuck at its $31.38 trillion debt limit and the Department of the Treasury imposing “extraordinary measures” to keep the government running, one GOP lawmaker is floating a new proposal to default federal spending to current levels to avert recurring standoffs over raising the debt ceiling.
Democrats are demanding a vote on a clean debt ceiling increase, while House Republicans, in particular the party’s conservative wing, hope to match any such increase with spending cuts. The White House has thus far rebuffed calls from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to negotiate.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect who vandalized a Nashville pregnancy center last year.
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Gary Rose, political science and global affairs chair and professor at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, will retire from the institution this spring after 40 years of teaching following an alleged dispute regarding curriculum change and diversity programming.
The Dean of the Department of Arts & Sciences, Mark Beekey, had asked Rose to implement within his department “new courses and diversity stuff added to the curriculum,” Ryan Silverstein, a Sacred Heart alumni and Rose’s former research assistant, told The College Fix in a telephone interview.
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Georgia lawmakers are almost certain to discuss school funding and even school choice legislation during this year’s legislative session.
“I think we’re going to have a very robust discussion when it comes to school funding, when it comes to vouchers and other issues that come before us,” House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said during a press conference this week. “I believe we have … a very diverse state when it comes to education funding, whether you’re from rural Georgia, or whether you’re from urban Georgia, and how funding impacts us all and comes into this equation.”
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Arizona State Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) announced Thursday that he is seeking federal aid in financing a project to widen Interstate 10 (I-10) between Chandler and Casa Grande.
“The state of Arizona has invested a total of $630 million into this project to date. The Mega grant is the missing piece that will finally complete this essential artery and bring relief to thousands of residents throughout Arizona and the country,” Cook wrote.
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As the number of electric vehicles grows in Michigan, so does the revenue hole from missing gas taxes that fix the damn roads.
The newly formed Coalition on Electric Vehicles and Transportation Revenue says lawmakers need to replace road funding lost by a growing number of EV drivers who don’t pay state or federal gas taxes.
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Minnesota Democrats are attempting to push through the legislature a bill to make the state 100 percent carbon-free by 2040.
HF 7 was introduced at the beginning of the new legislative session on Jan. 4, with a hearing on the bill held Wednesday by the Minnesota House of Representatives’ Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee.
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Republicans from Hamilton County have begun to emerge as potential party leaders to replace former chairman Alex Triantafilou. Former Judge Russell Mock announced his candidacy for Hamilton County GOP Chairman on Tuesday.
The previous chairman for the last 14 years, Triantafilou, resigned to become the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.
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It is critical that Tennesseans and Americans trust their election process. Almost certainly, cash is being funneled into obscure organizations in our state to attempt to influence and win elections – and shape future policies. Our state has been rocked by political scandals throughout our history. One incident – “The Battle of Athens” has been immortalized for standing up to corruption. A recent Tennessee Speaker of the House, Glen Casada, awaits trial on bribery and kickback charges later this year.
It is easy to observe that teacher unions have donated millions to political campaigns, mostly going to Democratic candidates and committees. Since 2010, Democrats replaced Republicans in dark money spending. Nobody likes to talk about the millions spent on private jets, Broadway shows, or luxury retreats by the Republican National Committee. Where did that money come from?
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The State Florida Auditor General released this week the results of an audit into the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, which analyzed the department’s nursing home staffing, time and attendance records and followed up a 2019 audit.
The first issue surrounded staff members missing meal breaks during shifts that ranged from 6 to 16 hours, while other staff were missing their entitled two 30-minute breaks during double shifts.
According to the department’s own procedures and policies, staff members must have written approval from a supervisor to be able to work through meal breaks.
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A Virginia Senate subcommittee recommended against a bill that would have allowed terminally ill people to request a medically-assisted death after Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke City) joined with Republicans in opposition; the bill will still go before the full Senate Education and Health Committee for consideration.
“I know this is a very sensitive issue, but this is an issue about which I’ve heard from so many individuals and families who have requested an option to have control over their final decisions as they reach they end of their life,” SB 930 sponsor Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) said in the Health Professions subcommittee on Friday morning.
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A Texas congressman is asking the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) to investigate funding that foreign entities have bestowed on the University of Pennsylvania.
Last week, U.S. Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX-5) authored a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in which he noted that $51 million flowed to the Philadelphia Ivy League university from non-American sources in 2021 and 2022. Of those donations, $14 million came from unnamed Chinese or Hong Kong entities and $2.4 million came from Saudi Arabia.
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Georgia state and Atlanta officials criticized a violent protest in the city on Saturday; Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said that some business’ windows were broken and a police car was set on fire, but said that no citizens or officers were injured.
“The City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department will not tolerate this and we continue to protect the right to peacefully protest. We will not tolerate violence or property destruction,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a Saturday press conference, according to 11Alive video.
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Two Republican state lawmakers in Ohio have introduced a bill to change the state’s medical marijuana regulations, which would allow more people to use cannabis for medicinal purposes and establish a new state agency to manage the program.
Senate Bill (SB) 9, sponsored by State Senators Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City) and Kirk Schuring (R-Canton), is similar to another proposal from the previous legislative session, SB 261, which was passed by the Ohio Senate in December 2021 but was defeated in the Ohio House of Representatives.
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