Outraged Vanderbilt Students Demand Wendy’s Ouster in ‘Boot the Braids’ Protest

Tennessee Star

Vanderbilt students, outraged by purported unfair farm worker labor practices took some time to take a walk outside to get some fresh air protested forcefully against fast-food giant, Wendy’s. Nashville’s News Channel 5 reports: Vanderbilt students hit the streets to demand the school cut ties with the fast food chain Wendy’s. The group, which also included Nashville residents, marched from Vanderbilt’s campus to the Wendy’s location on West End. The event was organized by the group “Nashville Fair Food.” The march was part of the “Boot the Braids” campaign led by students at universities across the country. Their parents must be so proud.

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Senate Passes Joint Resolution to Elect Tennessee’s Attorney General

Tennessee Star

State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) successfully began the process to amend the Tennessee Constitution to allow the State Attorney General to be elected by a popular vote, with the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 57. “Currently, the attorney general is twice removed from those he or she is supposed to represent – the people of Tennessee,” said Senator Beavers aid in a statement disseminated to media by Republican Press Secretary Darlene Schlicher.  “It is time we let the citizens have more of a say in their government.” The Senate Join Resolution passed overwhelmingly 22 – 8. To amend the Tennessee Constitution, the proposal will require a simple majority by the 110th General Assembly currently in session, and then a two-thirds majority in the 111th General Assembly elected in 2018. After passage in 2018, the amendment would go to a statewide referendum in 2022. Finally, in order to be adopted, a proposed constitutional amendment needs 50 percent-plus-one votes more than the number of votes cast in the gubernatorial election. The statement reads: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Beavers-elected-AG-2017-floor-vote.pdf” title=”Beavers elected AG 2017 floor vote”]  

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6 True-Life Facts About St Patrick to Impress Your Friends (and Deepen Your Faith)

Tennessee Star

  Saint Patrick’s Day is here, and so it goes we join millions across the globe to don our best green garb and imbibe in a panoply beverages from the unnaturally verdant Shamrock Shake to the local pub’s green draft – all in a joyous tradition to cheer one another in the name of a spiritual hero of Ireland. But did you know the true-life story of the man who would become St. Patrick is as harrowing as any high adventure you might find in the pages of a Batman comic? Here are 6 facts you might not have known about the life and times of St. Patrick: (1) St. Patrick was not Irish. St. Patrick’s only known name prior to his canonization is “Patricius.” He was a born late in the fourth century in Roman Britain – most likely the modern Wales region, although some scholars say it was Scotland. Like many Romans of that era, his family were devout Christians. His father, Calpurnius was a deacon, and his grandfather Potitus, was a priest. (2) St. Patrick did not share his family’s faith, and was a skeptic. In his book, Confessio, St. Patrick writes that as a boy, he was…

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Snowflake Flurries Blown Away by Nashville’s Trump Supporters

  A little over one hundred protesters – mostly left wing “snowflakes” in their twenties – gathered in front of the television satellite trucks in front of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday as an estimated 10,000 supporters heard from President Trump inside. “There were a few protesters who were clearly trying to get the attention of the media, and the media was obliging them with more attention than their numbers deserved, ” one Trump supporter who was outside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium just before the event started told the The Tennessee Star. The Trump supporter said all the energy of the day was with the large pro-Trump crowd, not the few anti-Trump protesters. “In terms of crowd enthusiasm, the Trump rally was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in Nashville,” he said. “This was a huge crowd that came out to support President Trump,” another person who attended the event said.  “Nashville saw nothing like it on the various occasions when President Obama came to town – and this is a Democrat-majority city. Supporters of President Trump vastly outnumbered the protesters. In a Democrat city.” But despite their best efforts, the protesters were largely ignored by the pro-Trump crowd. The…

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RIGHT NOW: Nashville Welcomes President Trump

Tennessee Star

  As the afternoon rolls on, an estimated 30,000 people are lined up to see President Trump speak tonight at 6:30pm. We have pictures coming in from the airport where Gov Haslam is waiting to welcome Air Force One, as well as in and around the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. UPDATE:       UPDATE:   UPDATE: First video from inside the venue…     Developing… – – – The Tennessee Star is on-the-ground now with RIGHT NOW coverage all day.    

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Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway Previews President Trump’s Agenda for Upcoming Nashville Visit

Tennessee Star

White House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway spent a few minutes this morning on Fox and Friends discussing President Trump’s visit to Nashville. She outlined the president’s agenda for Wednesday’s rally, which included Obamacare repeal and replace; job creation; energy and infrastructure investments; budget; and tax reform. Experienced political observes may note Conway did not specifically mention Speaker Ryan’s current healthcare repeal-and-reform proposal – an indication that the widespread panning by conservatives has reached the White House. In addition to the long list of action items the president is tackling, Mrs. Conway noted that President Trump’s unique ability to communicate and connect directly with people is perhaps the only way to nullify the mainstream media’s consistent strategy of what she dubbed, “the noise and the silence.” “Sometimes they don’t want to cover anything at all what he’s doing – that’s the silence. And then there’s the noise: things that are either misinterpreted or under-covered, or, frankly, just unfairly covered. “I think Donald Trump is at his best as the president when he takes his case directly to the people. He is the most brilliant communicator and most natural connector I’ve ever seen; and so the more he can do that and get…

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Commentary: Republicans Should Remember the Lessons of the Scurrilous Path to Obamacare Passage

By George Rasley, CHQ In 2009 Democrats, flush with victory in the 2008 election and in control of the White House, Senate and House – a victory won largely on jobs and economic issues – embarked, not on the passage of a job creation and economic reform agenda, but on a costly and politically debilitating government takeover of the healthcare and insurance industries. The legislation, written behind closed doors by a handful of Democratic leaders in consultation with liberal consultants, was rammed through Congress by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-President Barack Obama. Pelosi famously said at the time, “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy” and Obama spent enormous amounts of his political capital framing the healthcare takeover as one of government acting to improve and reform the healthcare insurance market and selling the socialist utopian idea that access to healthcare unlimited by market forces is a “right.” Both of these sales points turned out to be lies and everyone on the inside knew them to be. MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber, the architect of the bill said that if Americans knew the truth “the…

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Representative Scott DesJarlais Joins Large Majority in Support of $584 Billion Defense Bill

Tennessee Star

Wednesday, Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (R-TN-04) voted to boost troops’ numbers, pay, training, and equipment in the 2017 Defense Appropriations bill that passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin. The $584 billion defense spending measure for this fiscal year is the first of a series of appropriations bills the House will likely pass before April 28 – the date the continuing spending resolution expires. The final vote tally was 371-48, with five Republicans and forty-three Democrats voting to oppose. The military funding bill reverses the Obama Administration’s proposed troop reductions and includes $1.6 billion over the previous president’s budget request. President Donald Trump and the new Republican Congress have made rebuilding the U.S. military a centerpiece of their agenda, along with a stronger foreign policy to deter aggression. Politico reported on some specific line items of the bill: It notably includes a $6.8 billion boost in procurement funding above the Obama administration’s final fiscal 2017 budget request, including more fighters, helicopters and ships. That includes $979 million for 12 Boeing-made F/A-18 Super Hornets, $750 million for six additional Navy and Marine Corps F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and $495 million for five extra Air Force F-35s. Appropriators also added nearly $3 billion for Navy…

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The Tennessee Star to Host RIGHT NOW Coverage of President Trump’s Visit to Nashville Wednesday, March 15

Tennessee Star

  President Trump is coming to Nashville next Wednesday, March 15, and The Tennessee Star will be there to cover all the pageantry, protesters, and most importantly, the president and “We the People.” This is going to be a large event, and we recognize that there might be moments we miss, and so we are excited to announce we have set up dedicated channels to receive pictures, video, reports, and recordings from YOU! We call it RIGHT NOW Coverage. Here’s what to do: – At the rally, use your smartphone to take a picture or short video – Text your picture/video to The Tennessee Star at 615-538-8526 – Include your name (first name, last initial) and your hometown – Also include a short description of your picture/video Optional: Email your picture/video and description to [email protected] Example: “Three generations of our family are here to support President Trump! ~ Sarah T., Franklin, TN” We will have staff standing by to post your pictures and reports live and in REAL TIME all day – from before the Nashville Municipal Auditorium opens until the last protester leaves (about 2pm – 10pm). If your haven’t already, get your tickets to attend the event here. We are…

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Veterinary Board Rule Change Threatens Fines and Jail for ‘Unlicensed Horse Massage’

Tennessee Star

The Beacon Center Legal Foundation announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the state Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. The Vet Board recently defined “animal massage” as a form of veterinary medicine, meaning that merely rubbing horses now requires a veterinarian license. The Beacon Center – a nonpartisan, independent organization dedicated to developing and supporting free market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee  – believes this law is unconstitutional and has filed suit on behalf of Martha Stowe and Laurie Wheeler of Franklin, as both of their careers and livelihoods depend on horse massage therapy. Continuing to practice horse massage therapy subjected them to fines and even potential jail time. The Beacon Center warned the Vet Board in a letter of its intention to sue, should the Board keep the bizarre rule change. The two weeks passed, the Vet Board kept the licensure requirement, and the Center, in fact, filed suit. This is the third lawsuit the Center has filed, winning its first lawsuit against the city of Nashville for its unconstitutional homesharing regulations. The group also looks likely to get a second legal victory after its challenge of a Haslam Administration expansion of a similar licensing requirement for shampooing. A repeal of that rule is in the works. Beacon Center Litigation Director Braden…

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Unpredictable: President Trump Surprises Group Touring the White House

Tennessee Star

This short video was shared this morning via Twitter by White House aide Cliff Sims. It shows President Trump emerging behind a screen to the surprise and delight of White House tourists, many of whom are children. https://twitter.com/CSims45/status/839124695769313280 The White House Visitors’ Center and the Tours themselves were re-opened on February 14th – Valentine’s Day – by First Lady Melania Trump after being closed during the period between the Obama and Trump Administration transition. UPDATE: FOX 10 Phoenix has the “other side” of the video   (h/t Twitchy)  

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POLL: 95 Per Cent Nashville Taxpayers OPPOSE Subsidizing Opryland Water Park Deal

Tennessee Star - Sound Waves

Last week we told you about the Beacon Center’s online poll asking Tennessee taxpayers if they supported the Metro Nashville City Council’s preliminary vote to grant a tax incentive deal worth $14 million to Opryland. The early results showed that a staggering 92.5% opposed the luxury resort receiving generous tax breaks to build a private water park available to only their hotel guests. The poll is now completed, and the final numbers are in. After a full week of voting, an even larger margin of Tennessee Taxpayers – 95% – now oppose the deal. With such an overwhelming response, the Beacon Center took a look at how else that $14 million could have been used. Based on average salaries in the city of Nashville, this $14 million tax break to the Opryland hotel could have paid for one year’s salary for 276 teachers, 280 police officers, or 335 firefighters.  Mark Cunningham of the Beacon Center noted in a statement, “Nashvillians and Tennesseans are almost unanimously opposed to giving taxpayer money to a water park. A whopping 95% of Tennesseans believe that this incentive deal to the Opryland Waterpark is a bad idea, which is truly incredible. Not even 95% of people…

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EXCLUSIVE: Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft to Speak at Nashville Spirit of America Rally Saturday, March 4

Jim Hoft

Nashville’s Spirit of America Rally organizers announced exclusively to The Tennessee Star that grassroots superstar Jim Hoft will appear at the event this Saturday, March 4th. “We are excited to announce that Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit will speak at the rally.  His organization has recently been granted White House press credentials to the dismay of the liberal main stream media,” Spirit of American organizer and founder of the Memphis Tea Party Mark Skoda said. “Jim has made a difference at his conservative news blog with over one million views per day during the election.  And as a new media leader, he is driving the left crazy,” he added. Jim Hoft stated, “I am really looking forward to speaking to the people of the Great State of Tennessee.  President Trump is off to a roaring start and I am proud to stand behind him today as he moves to Make America Great Again.  I plan on making a special announcement at Saturday’s rally!” Skoda noted that this confirmation of the March 4 event comes on the eighth anniversary of the first Tea Party rallies, which were held in fifty cities across the country on February 27, 2009. Those rallies were followed by…

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Nashville Talk Radio Led Opposition to Sundquist Income Tax But Is Split on Haslam Gas Tax

Tennessee Star - Steve Gill v Ralph Bristol

When former Gov. Don Sundquist proposed imposing a state income tax on residents of Tennessee in 1999, Nashville talk radio hosts Steve Gill and Phil Valentine led the horn-honking opposition that ultimately killed the unpopular proposal three years later in 2002. It is a different media landscape in 2017, as political controversy surrounds Gov. Haslam’s proposal to increase the gas tax to fund road construction. Like Sundquist, Haslam is a Republican. WLAC, 1510 am, is no longer in the local political talk business. 99.7 FM WWTN owns the local conservative talk market, with all local hosts,  beginning at 5 a.m. with Ralph Bristol, 9 a.m. with Michael Del Giorno, noon with Dan Mandis, and 3 to 7 p.m. with Phil Valentine. The day’s talk agenda is set by Nashville’s Morning News host Ralph Bristol, and he testified before the State Senate Transportation Committee in favor of Gov. Haslam’s plan, provided it is truly revenue neutral, which he says it currently is not. Former Nashville talk radio host Steve Gill, in contrast, came out guns a-blazing in opposition to the gas tax increase in a commentary posted today at The Tennessee Star. “17 years ago, talk radio lead the fight to stop…

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Showdown in Williamson County: Conservative Grassroots Debbie Deaver Vs. Establishment Tom Miller in Fight for GOP County Chair

Tennessee Star - Deaver v Miller

For some, Tuesday, Feb 28 might be just another National Chocolate Soufflé Day, but to the Williamson County Republican Party loyalists, it’s time to pick a new GOP Chair. The election in 2015 of outgoing Chairwoman Julie Hannah was a great victory for the conservative grassroots. Of the two candidates running to replace her, many activists believe Debbie Deaver represents a continuation of Hannah’s high-energy, principled leadership. Party insiders agree the choice between the two candidates emerging from the Willamson County GOP Convention earlier this year is stark:  Establishment-supporting, Moderate Tom Miller, or conservative crackerjack, Deaver. Miller served as a Franklin alderman-at-large from 1997-2003, then was elected the Mayor of Franklin for a single term in 2003. However, although Miller enjoys a nearly ubiquitous reputation as a “nice guy,” some Republican activists fear the longtime Realtor and Franklin resident will “do nothing” but take orders from the Establishment Party Leaders in Tennessee like Governor Bill Haslam, and Senators Bob Corker and Llamar Alexander. “If Tom Miller is elected to the Williamson County Chair, we will go from being a strong conservative party organization, to simply being a big-government, liberal tax-and-spend organization,” said activist and Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips.…

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Haslam Gas Tax Hike Opponents Gather at ‘Tank the Tax’ Rally Set for Wednesday

Tennessee Star - Tank the Tax Rally March 1

As the Haslam IMPROVE Act plan to increase fuel taxes returns to the Transportation Subcommittee on Wednesday March 1, Americans for Prosperity and other activists plan to “turn up the heat” by gathering at Legislative Plaza to express opposition to the proposed tax increases. The Transportation Subcommittee, Chaired by Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster), is scheduled to meet at noon. Andy Ogles, Tennessee Director of Americans for Prosperity, said that activists will be coming from across the state to express opposition to the proposed tax increases. “Once taxpayers realize that the huge tax increases proposed by the Governor are coming when we have a TWO BILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS their reaction to the plan becomes almost a unanimous ‘NO’ and they can’t understand why their elected officials are even entertaining the idea,” Ogles noted. “The only way the Haslam Plan passes is if their supporters successfully hide the truth about what the plan actually means to the wallets of working men and women in Tennessee. To stop it, we simply need to get the truth out and encourage taxpayers to get engaged in this fight.” Ogles also expressed concern about the glaring absence of conservative leadership in the Legislature on this issue.…

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Nashville Taxpayers Voice Skepticism of Proposed $14 Million Tax Incentive Deal for Opryland Waterpark Development

Tennessee Star - Sound Waves

Once again, powerful business interests have approached the Metro Nashville Development and Housing Agency for a tax break, and once again, the Metro Nashville Development and Housing Agency appear to be all-too-happy to grant their request. Nashville taxpayers, however, are not so eager. In a statement released by the Beacon Center of Tennessee: According to a new rapid online poll released by the Beacon Center of Tennessee and Nashville-based polling firm icitizen, a full 92% of Tennesseans are opposed to the Metro Council’s proposal to use $14 million in taxpayer money to fund a waterpark at the Opryland Hotel that only hotel guests are allowed to use. Only about 5% of respondents approve of this deal. The incentives for the waterpark are viewed extremely unfavorably by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. “With this tax break, [the new Opryland development, Sound Waves] are competing with other, existing water parks, with government help. And on top of that, it is not open to regular Nashville residents,” said Mark Cunningham, Beacon’s marketing and communications director, in an interview with The Tennessee Star this morning. The Beacon Center is a 501 c(3) dedicated to “empowering Tennesseans to reclaim control of their lives.” “So let’s think about this,”…

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Norma “Jane Roe” McMorvey Dies at 69

Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff at the center of the controversial “Roe v Wade” decision in 1973 has died. She was 69. McCorvey was only 21, divorced, and homeless in Dallas, Texas when she became pregnant with her third child in 1969. After trying and failing to obtain an illegal abortion, she was referred to two freshly-minted attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were looking for a case to challenge the Texas statue barring the termination of pregnancies. McCorvey agreed, but never attended a single trial in the three years the case wound its way through the Courts. Her child, born healthy in 1970, was adopted. Later in life, McCorvey called her role in the landmark case “the biggest mistake of her life,” and spent the rest of her life as an outspoken, pro-life activist. https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/833035677411459073      

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Commentary: Another Federal Judge Seizes Presidential Power

by George Rasley, CHQ Editor February 15, 2017 Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com Emboldened by Judge James L. Robart’s anti-constitutional power grab and the refusal of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate his order temporarily restraining President Trump’s Executive Order 13,769 temporarily pausing immigration from seven terrorist hotspots Judge Leonie Brinkema, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has also chosen to seize the president’s Article II constitutional prerogatives. (To oppose this power grab please sign our Impeach Power Grabbing Judges Petition). In a 22-page ruling Monday night, Judge Brinkema, said lawyers for President Trump had provided no evidence supporting the restriction of travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. According to WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Judge Brinkema said, “…they [the Trump administration] have not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO (executive order), or even described the process by which the president concluded that this action was necessary.” The claim that the government has “not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO” is either incredibly bad pleading by the government’s lawyers, willful blindness on the part of Judge Brinkema – or an anti-constitutional power grab. Last summer, Muna Osman Jama and Hinda Osman Dhirane, two Somali immigrants, were found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and providing material support to…

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Diane Black (TN-06) Set to Replace Tom Price as Budget Chairman

Diane Black (TN-06)

The Republican Steering Committee recommended interim Budget Chairman Diane Black of Tennessee to officially head the panel in the wake of former House Budget Chairman Tom Price being confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The House Republican Conference is slated to confirm the vote Thursday morning, which will officially make…

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BREAKING: Protesters Shout Down State Rep. Mark Pody and Sen. Mae Beavers Press Conference

An outbreak of protesters first disrupted, and then caused the cancellation of Mark Pody’s (R-Lebanon) and Sen. Mae Beavers’ (R-Mount Julie) joint press conference address Tennessee’s “Bathroom Bill” and Defense of Natural Marriage Act. Local NewChannel5 reporter Brandon Marshall recorded a portion of the disruption: Seconds after Rep. Pody started speaking about the proposed marriage bill, people in the audience repeated "pull the bill" @NC5 pic.twitter.com/58IdJ8OlGU — Brandon Marshall (@BroMarshall1) February 15, 2017   Via Humphrey of the Hill: A press conference State Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet, was first disrupted by protesters, then cancelled on Wednesday afternoon. Some of the protesters then followed the legislators into a Legislative Plaza hallway, confronting them with slogans and critical commentary, until Beavers and Pody were escorted from the Plaza by state troopers. The Wilson County lawmakers had announced in an email to media they would “discuss HB888/SB771 (Bathroom Bill) and HB892/SB752 (Defense of Natural Marriage Act)” at the news conference. The “bathroom bill” would requires transgender persons to use the rest room designated for their birth gender. The “Defense of Natural Marriage Act, according to the summary on the legislative website, “states the policy of Tennessee to defend natural marriage…

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The Judicial Coup Against President Trump Proceeding As Planned

by CHQ Staff February 10, 2017 Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com As we predicted in our column “The Judicial Coup Against President Trump [29]” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has left in place Federal Judge James’ Robart’s anti-constitutional order suspending President Donald Trump’s Executive Order No. 13,769 pausing immigration from seven terrorist hotspots. The Executive Order is now headed to the Supreme Court where a 4 – 4 tie is expected to leave the order in place, much as a tie left in place Judge Andrew S. Hanen’s preliminary injunction shutting down President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program while the legal case filed by Texas and other states proceeded. The Obama administration appealed, and a divided three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the injunction. When the Supreme Court split, Judge Hanen’s order remained in place while the case went forward. The Left was very strategic in filing the challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order and its strategy is unfolding precisely as planned as Far-Left progressive judges in the Ninth Circuit substitute their liberal policies for the plain language of the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress. Legal scholars, including some liberals, have suggested an alternative, however. Harvard Law School professor emeritus…

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Critics: Whacky 9th District Court of Appeals Ignore Basic Legal Principals, Side with Open Borders Zealots

Thursday evening, America’s dinner hour was interrupted by an unsavory display of jurist malpractice as the 9th District Court of Appeals once again lived up to its reputation as the Most Incompetent Court in the nation. The Court ruled 3-0 to DENY the Trump Administration’s pleading to stay the lower Court’s decision to disallow a pause in the admittance of (un)vetted refugees from 7 countries plagued by out-of-control terrorist activity and utterly failed central governments. Upon a quick review of the rambling, 29-page ruling, Legal Insurrection founder and attorney William Jacobson let loose a withering hot take on Twitter: When do confirmation hearings start to appoint 9th Circuit panel co-Directors of Homeland Security? https://t.co/1opVnWwfCA — Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 9, 2017 1/ Here's how insane 9th Circuit Order on Trump Immigration EO is: Because Court refused to draw distinction among permanent residents, — Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 10, 2017 2/ lawful visa holders in U.S., visa holders traveling abroad temporarily, and people abroad who never even have applied — Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 10, 2017 3/ some guy sitting on mountain in Yemen who has no connection to U.S. and hasn't even applied for visa yet has U.S. constitutional —…

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