Day: December 7, 2023

Tennessee State Sen. Brent Taylor Wants Shelby County Judge, DA Investigated over ‘Illegal’ Release of Man Serving 162 Years

Tom Pappert

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) requested investigations on Wednesday into Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s Office to determine if they orchestrated the “illegal” release of a Memphis man serving a 162-year prison sentence and the decision to move double murderer off death row.

In a Wednesday press release, Taylor noted Skahan and Mulroy worked together to secure the 2022 release of Courtney Anderson, who they claimed received an unjust sentence of 162 years, by reducing his sentence to 15 years. That decision was overturned by the Tennessee Court of Appeals this year, with Judge J. Ross Dyer writing in his October 18 opinion that Skahan “illegally” granted clemency for Anderson by essentially commuting his sentence, a power which the state constitution solely grants to the Governor of Tennessee.

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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Helps Introduce Bill That Would Reveal Foreign Investments into American Universities

Kaitlin Housler

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) this week in introducing the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act.

The bill, according to Blackburn’s office, would “bring much needed transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for American colleges and universities.”

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Metro City Council Votes Against Taser Upgrade for Metro Nashville Police Department

Tom Pappert

The Metro Nashville City Council voted against a new contract to purchase the latest model of Tasers for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Tuesday, declining what proponents claimed was the opportunity to save money on new technology that will be more expensive to taxpayers when its purchase is eventually required.

Council Member Courtney Johnston (District 26) sponsored the resolution to expand the city’s ongoing contract with Axon, the company that manufactures and supports Taser devices, to upgrade to the company’s latest model.

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Joe and Hunter Biden’s Commingling of Finances Shows No ‘Absolute Wall’ of Separation

Just the News

With the release of the latest Hunter Biden bank records, there is increasing evidence—both direct and circumstantial— that first son commingled his finances with President Joe Biden during his time in and out of the White House.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer—Abbe Lowell—on Monday pushed back on new House Oversight Committee evidence showing Hunter Biden sent direct payments to his father from a business account. Yet, Lowell’s explanation for the payments does not address questions about the origin of the funds or about the possible flow of foreign funds between son and father.

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Tennessee Secretary of State Certifies Presidential Candidates for 2024 Super Tuesday Ballot

Kaitlin Housler

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office announced it certified the names of nine Republicans and one Democratic presidential candidate for the Super Tuesday Presidential Preference Primary and County Primary Election.

The 2024 Tennessee presidential primary will be held on the same day as primaries in 14 other states on March 5, 2024, known as Super Tuesday.

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Dark Money Group Founded to Boost Biden’s Agenda Is Scaling Back Operations

Admin

The super PAC tasked with “making the case to the American people for President Biden’s bold, progressive policy agenda,” scaled down its operations in 2022, according to new tax forms obtained by Axios.

Build Back Together, a dark money group that accepts unlimited donations from anonymous donors, only raised $8 million in 2022, down from the $41 million it raised in 2021, Axios reported. The group also wound down its expenditures, spending just $15 million in 2022, less than half of the $33 million it spent in 2022.

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Tennessee Tech Receives Largest Grant in School History to Modernize Appalachian Region Electric Grid

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee Tech University announced this week that it has secured the largest grant in its 108 year history, which will be used to help bolster the electric grid in Appalachia. 

“The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) – an economic development partnership between the federal government and 13 states across Appalachia – awarded Tech a $10 million grant to lead a four-state consortium that will help rural electric utilities and energy supply companies deploy smart grid technologies to better serve their communities and address challenges such as the rolling blackouts that have impacted consumers across the country during times of peak energy usage,” according to the school.

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Commentary: Reforming Private Sector Unions

Admin

Unlike public sector unions, which are inherently corrupt and need to be outlawed, private sector unions have a vital role to play in American society. But these unions have become coopted by the same special interests they were originally formed to oppose. The political agenda of America’s unions is almost exclusively leftist, and being part of America’s institutional “Left” is not what it used to be.

The biggest misconception in American politics today is that the political Left is fighting corporate power. Leftists may still attack corporate profits and demand corporations pay their “fair share,” but on every major issue affecting the economic freedom and prosperity of working families in America, these presumed antagonists are actually in perfect alignment.

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YoungkinWatch: Williamsburg Festival Denies Hanukkah Celebration Ever Scheduled After Governor Condemns Cancellation

Tom Pappert

A Williamsburg music and arts festival is denying it ever scheduled a menorah lighting to celebrate Hanukkah after Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) condemned the group’s purported decision to cancel it amid Israel’s defensive war against Hamas.

News broke on Sunday that the 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival in Williamsburg canceled a menorah lighting scheduled for its December 10 event, with The Virginia Gazette reporting that festival founder Shirley Vermillion “said 2nd Sundays are inclusive to different religions and cultures,” and reported that Vermillion stated the menorah lighting “seemed very inappropriate” due to what the outlet called “current events in Israel and Gaza.”

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Haley on Defense as DeSantis, Vivek Take Turns Throwing Bombs

Just the News

The fourth Republican presidential primary debate saw former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley play defense in the face of relentless attacks from Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and tech executive Vivek Ramaswamy.

Haley has emerged as a media favorite in recent months, drawing considerable airtime and headlines, but has remained in a clear third place behind Donald Trump and DeSantis in most polls. At present, Trump boasts 61.0% support in the RealClearPolitics polling average, compared to DeSantis’s 13.5%, Haley’s 10.3%, Ramaswamy’s 4.9%, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2.5%.

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Dutch Semiconductor Company ASM to Invest over $300 Million into Arizona

The Center Square

The semiconductor industry continues to make waves in Arizona.

ASM International, a Dutch semiconductor equipment company with offices in Phoenix, announced that they are investing over $320 million into a new campus in Scottsdale. They have had a presence in Phoenix since the 1970s, but they said this expansion will help with their overall growth. The transition to the Scottsdale facility is expected to be completed in 2026. The company didn’t have any estimates on new jobs in the facility.

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Fani Willis Reportedly Wants Mike Pence to Testify Against Trump in Georgia Election Trial

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) reportedly plans to call former Vice President Mike Pence as a witness in the Georgia racketeering trial of former President Donald Trump.

Willis reportedly lists Pence among nearly 150 witnesses she intends to call at trial, according to a CNN report published Wednesday. Citing sources “familiar with court documents that remain under seal, the outlet reveals that Willis’ latest witness list includes Pence’s name.

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Retired Lawyer Files Ethics Complaints Against Maricopa County Judges Who Were on the Election Ballot Yet Ruled Against Election Challenges

Rachel Alexander

Retired attorney A.S. Martin, who has closely followed the election illegalities in Arizona, filed bar complaints against 12 Maricopa County Superior Court judges who ruled on election lawsuits in 2020 or 2022 despite being on the ballot themselves for retention elections. Martin said she believes this is a conflict of interest and self-dealing since the judges had an interest in upholding the election due to wanting to retain their seats. Usually, judges easily win retention elections, but this past year was different, since progressives targeted some of them, causing three judges to lose their elections.

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Alabama’s Tuberville Ends Nine-Month Hold on Most Military Promotions

The Center Square

Alabama Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday ended his nearly 10-month hold on most military promotions over the Department of Defense’s abortion policies.

Tuberville made his stand in response to Pentagon policy using taxpayers’ money to give service members time off and pay to travel to other states for abortions. The policy from the Biden administration was enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

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New Zealand Whistleblower Claims Public Health Data Shows COVID Vaccines ‘Are Killing People’

Admin

A public health worker in New Zealand was arrested on Sunday for allegedly accessing personal information on work databases.

Barry Young​, a whistleblower from New Zealand’s public health agency, Te Whatu Ora, leaked the information to tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, a prominent vaccine critic, on November 9. In an interview explaining his motives, Young said the data shows that the COVID jab “is a killer’ and is causing a “river of tears.”

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Commentary: An Amazing Story of Redemption Out of Pearl Harbor

RealClearWire

December 7th, 1941 is “a date which will live in infamy,” declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Japanese pilot that led the infamous raid on Pearl Harbor is the subject of a new fascinating book, Wounded Tiger by T. Martin Bennett. Christian apologist Josh McDowell calls Bennett’s book, “mesmerizing.”

I spoke with Bennett on my radio show about this amazing story of violence, repentance, redemption, and forgiveness. I have been aware of Fuchida’s incredible story before, having produced a TV segment on his conversion for D. James Kennedy Ministries-TV about 30 years ago.

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Commentary: Charter Schools Rise to the Challenge

Admin

Due to pandemic-related issues, declining birthrates, inferior education, radical curricula, etc., government-run schools are bleeding students. Whereas traditional public schools (TPS) had 50.8 million students enrolled in 2019, the number had shrunk to 49.4 million one year later. The federal government now projects that public school enrollment will fall even further – to 47.3 million – by 2030, an almost 7% drop in 11 years.

Where are the kids going? The U.S. Census Bureau reports that families are moving to private schools and setting up home schools at a great rate. But what can parents do if they can’t home-school or afford a private school and there are no educational freedom laws on the books? Their option then would be charter schools, which are independently operated public schools of choice that aren’t shackled by the litany of rules and regs that TPS are encumbered with and, importantly, are rarely unionized.

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