Author: Star News Contributor

Commentary: The Left Couldn’t Beat Us at the Ballot Box, So They Went to Court

Star News Contributor
Judge rules in court

Right now, while you’re reading this, left-wing activist groups are using a Tennessee law to dismantle every conservative policy victory that our state has achieved in the last decade. They’re doing it in courtrooms because they can’t win at the ballot box. And the worst part? We never saw it coming. I have spent years advocating for conservative legislation, organizing grassroots conservatives, and working with the conservative supermajority that passed these laws. What I’m about to tell you should make every one of us angry: a single Tennessee law has become the most powerful weapon that the radical left has ever had against conservative governance in this state. It’s called TCA § 1-3-121.

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Commentary: With a Majority Trump-Appointee Board, the TVA is Now in Good Hands

Star News Contributor
TVA Control Room

With four new Donald Trump appointees confirmed to the board, and now sworn in, The Tennessee Valley Authority has finally been freed from the rust-like wokeness that once stalled its progress. The swearing-in of the four new members in January put enough bodies in seats for a quorum to be held after months without a meeting. Now the Valley can finally say good riddance to the Sleepy-Joe Biden era board members.

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A Colossus on the Court: A Review of James Rosen’s Biography of Justice Antonin Scalia

Star News Contributor
Justice Antonin Scalia

A decade after the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, veteran journalist James Rosen has released the second volume of his magisterial biography of the great jurist, entitled Scalia: Supreme Court Years, 1986-2001. The first volume, reviewed here by former Scalia clerk Ed Whelan, was widely acclaimed for its thoroughness, “sparkling prose,” and deep mastery of the legal intricacies that animated Scalia’s career — rare for a non-lawyer author.

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Commentary: Tennessee Families Deserve Proven Credit Standards, Not a Risky New Model

Star News Contributor
home buyers

Families across Tennessee have worked hard to rebuild wealth and stability after the 2008 housing crisis, a crisis fueled in part by irresponsible lending and credit models that ignored key indicators of financial risk. Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is on the verge of repeating those same mistakes.

Director Bill Pulte is pushing to implement VantageScore 4.0, a model owned by the three major credit bureaus. They are hardly an independent entity – with this new model, they would have a vertical monopoly of the entire mortgage market. In fact, the National Taxpayers Union has concerns that this unilateral decision could end up hurting taxpayers and our housing market. 

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Commentary: Tennessee Conservatives Coalition’s Legislative Priorities for 2026 Session

Star News Contributor
TN Capitol

The snow in Tennessee this week isn’t the only thing accumulating in Nashville. With our general assembly back in session and the bill deadline looming – legislative priorities for our representatives and senators are coming into view. And, for Governor Bill Lee, who enters his last year in office – it’s his last chance to advance his policy agenda. 

As in years past, The Tennessee Conservatives Coalition will be monitoring legislation and having an impact on issues that conservatives in Tennessee care about – from bedrock conservative principles of expanding school choice, to social issues including protecting the unborn and addressing human trafficking, to economic issues of ensuring low taxes, a conservative budget and maintaining and promoting a business friendly environment. 

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Commentary: Marsha Blackburn Takes on Ticketmaster

Star News Contributor
Marsha Blackburn

On Wednesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will get the opportunity to grill one of the top five hated companies in America: Live Nation, the unhinged monopoly that owns Ticketmaster. 

As the Chair of the Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy subcommittee, Sen. Blackburn said she called the hearing because the industry has “[enabled] scammers to drive up ticket prices and take advantage of consumers.”

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Commentary: European-Style Price Controls Won’t Cure High Drug Costs – Less Government Intervention and Real Innovation Are the Answers

Star News Contributor

Americans are rightly frustrated with high prescription drug prices. But if we truly want lower costs and better care, price controls are not the answer. Importing European-style mandates – such as “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) pricing – would do more harm than good, crippling innovation and reducing access to future cures.

And, it will benefit our adversaries like China as more research and development along with production of drugs are moved overseas – the exact opposite of what we want in the R&D and manufacturing and supply pipeline.

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Commentary: Rejecting Private Market Interference Should Be GOP’s Top Affordability Priority

Star News Contributor

From Main Street in Jackson to factories in Cookeville, Tennessee families and employers are doing the math every month to manage health care costs and pay for the medicines they need. After years and years of Americans being price gouged when it comes to our prescriptions and getting ripped off by drug companies, President Trump and his administration have finally pulled the rug from underneath them. 

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Commentary: Preserving Hope and Health Through the MINI Act

Star News Contributor
Physical Therapy

Tennesseans who care about the future health of our state have found a champion in U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn. With her support of the Maintaining Investments in New Innovation, or MINI, Act, research into transformative therapies will be encouraged, leading to the development of new medications that will improve lives and help improve rural health in Tennessee.

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Commentary: U.S. Senate Must Approve President Trump’s New TVA Board Nominees

Star News Contributor
Trump and TVA

For six months the Tennessee Valley Authority Board has not had enough board members for a quorum. Thankfully, President Trump is working with Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty to help provide much needed sweeping reform to the TVA to help restore accountability and get the TVA back on track to its core mandate: energy production. 

While the process has been slow like any government process, hope is now on the horizon that Trump’s TVA board nominees will be confirmed soon, as the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing recently for four of the five nominees. At least there is clear progress towards getting the nominees out of committee and to the full Senate for hopeful approval. 

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Commentary: New Treatments That Reach the Heart of Tennessee

Star News Contributor

As a cardiologist who focuses on prevention and heart failure, I’ve witnessed how hard Tennesseans fight for their health. Some drive hours from rural communities just to sit in my exam room. Others juggle multiple medications, side effects and daily uncertainty. All in the hope of staying one step ahead of a chronic illness.

I am grateful to see leaders in Washington paying attention. United States Senator Marsha Blackburn has been a strong advocate for health advancements, and her support for genetically targeted technologies gives patients across Tennessee reason to believe in real progress.

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Commentary: Strengthening Career Education Depends on a Robust Workforce Pell Program

Star News Contributor
office worker

Pell Grants have long been a cornerstone of access to higher education, helping tens of millions of qualifying students at colleges and universities across the country. The program was originally designed to propel low-income students in traditional degree pathways, but as the nature of work shifts, so must our educational programs. Thanks to lawmakers in Washington D.C., the Pell Grant program has been modernized to meet the needs of today’s workforce and economy with its expansion to provide funding for short-term high-quality work force development program.

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Commentary: Don’t Let Washington Undercut Tennessee Innovators

Star News Contributor
business work

From the bustling research corridors of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the advanced manufacturing plants in Clarksville and the growing tech ecosystem in Nashville, Tennessee’s entrepreneurs are fueling America’s innovation economy.

But their future depends on leaders like Senator Marsha Blackburn, who has built her reputation on fighting for Tennessee’s small businesses and standing up to Big Tech. Now, she and her colleagues must reject a dangerous new proposal that would make it harder for Tennesseans to protect their intellectual property from theft.

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Commentary: Americans Want a Trump Budget Rather than a Schumer Shutdown

Star News Contributor
Trump Schumer

In two days, the federal government is set to run out of money, which would deprive service members of their hard-earned paychecks, halt grants to state and local law enforcement, jeopardize care for seniors, and freeze other services that Americans depend on. This shutdown is completely avoidable. Yet Senator Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his Democrat colleagues are determined to make it happen.

Republicans in the House of Representatives already passed a stop-gap funding bill that would keep the government open through November 21. By keeping spending at current levels, it would provide us the time we need in Congress to pass all of Senate Republicans’ appropriations bills through regular order. This would ensure that President Trump’s America First agenda is reflected in government spending, which is exactly what the American people voted for in November.

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Commentary: Caucuses Are an Insiders’ Club Masquerading as Democracy

Star News Contributor
Gary Humble

In his bid for a re-match against Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson to be the Republican nominee for Senate District 27, candidate Gary Humble vows to “put Tennessee voters back in charge.” This is ironic, for two reasons. First, his platform includes a pledge to seek “term limits for our General Assembly.” We already have term limits; they are called “elections,” and the voters can send a legislator home at the end of his term by voting for a different candidate (as Humble hopes will happen to Sen. Jack Johnson in 2026). Term limits would keep popular legislators with proven track records from continuing to serve in Congress or the General Assembly. Preventing voters from re-electing someone they trust is hardly putting them “back in charge.”

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Commentary: Fake Weight Loss Drugs Are Poisoning America and It’s Time to Fight Back

Star News Contributor
Overweight man on a treadmill

The supply chain of illicit drugs from outside our country’s borders are threatening the safety and security of communities here in Tennessee and across the country. Along with the threat of scams and predatory marketing targeting innocent consumers – our state and our country are fighting a pernicious threat that combines both – and it could be in your refrigerator or medicine cabinet right now.

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Commentary: Getting Smart on Tobacco Harm Reduction

Star News Contributor
Man smoking a cigarette

Nearly 50 years ago, Tennessee made history. In 1977, it became the first state to require child car seats—a simple act of harm reduction that saved lives and set an example for the nation. Harm reduction isn’t complicated; it’s the same principle behind buckling a seat belt or applying sunscreen. It doesn’t eliminate risk, but it makes life safer. And today, that same commonsense approach can help us address one of the most significant public health challenges we face: smoking.

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Commentary: The U.S. Senate Must Pass the Equal Representation Act Now

Star News Contributor
Elections day

As the America First conservative running to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, I’m fed up with the Washington swamp putting illegal aliens ahead of hardworking American patriots. The Equal Representation Act, championed by our rock-solid Senator Bill Hagerty, is a common-sense fix, and the Senate must pass it now. This bill is about one thing: making sure only American citizens count when it comes to congressional seats and Electoral College votes. Anything less is a slap in the face to every citizen who loves this country.

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Commentary: On AI, Congress Just Provided a Huge Win for Children, Creators, and Conservatives

Star News Contributor
Marsha Blackburn

Last week, the Senate passed President Trump’s landmark legislation to make America great again, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). Among its provisions, there is so much to celebrate: The largest tax cut in U.S. history, including reduced taxes on overtime and tips and a $6,000 enhanced deduction for seniors; permitting reforms to make America energy dominant; funds to complete the southern border wall and hire thousands of Border Patrol agents; historic investments to strengthen our military; the elimination of hundreds of billions of dollars in far-left, Green New Deal spending; and so much more.

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Commentary: Tennessee Leaders Stand Strong Against Illegal Immigration

Star News Contributor
State Rep Lee Reeves, State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, Re. Andy Ogles

As a proud Tennessean and a grassroots Republican leader with the Williamson County Conservatives, I am heartened by the bold leadership of Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, State Representative Lee Reeves, and Congressman Andy Ogles in their unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting our communities from the challenges posed by illegal immigration. Their recent actions, particularly in confronting Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s troubling stance on immigration enforcement, deserve our gratitude and support.

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Commentary: TVA Is Failing Tennesseans – It’s Time for Oversight and Reform

Star News Contributor
TVA employee monitoring equipment

For decades, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operated with the noble promise of bringing affordable, reliable energy to the people of Tennessee. While covering all of Tennessee, it also serves a larger seven state region including portions of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. However, today it’s clear that TVA – a federal entity – has drifted far from its original mission. What was once a respected public utility has become an unaccountable bureaucracy – plagued by mismanagement, bloated salaries and misplaced priorities – including a focus on green energy and woke policies like fully embracing far-left ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives and net-zero.

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Commentary: Immigration Cannot Solve the U.S. Birth Dearth

Star News Contributor
Babies

Like all other First World countries, the United States is experiencing a significant decline in fertility.  President Trump has suggested paying Americans to increase the nation’s fertility rate. He is right to be concerned. Low fertility and increasing life expectancy are the two primary drivers of population aging. Some have argued that because immigrants tend to have more children, immigration can fix this problem. But the latest fertility data show that immigration has at most a small impact on birth rates.

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Commentary: Tubi v. Keller Postman Is the Posterchild for Why Companies Need Automated Arbitration

Star News Contributor
Tubi

Law firm Keller Postman is defending itself in front of the DC District Court today for a recent litigation scheme it ran against TV streamer Tubi. If your company has a standard arbitration clause, Keller could’ve run the same scheme against you. And even if Judge Ana Reyes finds that Keller’s play was unlawful, they’ll be back in time with another—as will any number of other clever firms. The best defense is an automated arbitration clause, and we’ll tell you why.

Here was Keller’s play: They wrangled nearly 24,000 allegedly disgruntled Tubi users and had each of them file an arbitration demand against the streaming giant for advertising discrimination. That meant Tubi suddenly had to pay for 24,000 individual arbitrations—which means paying 24,000 individual arbitrators to facilitate 24,000 private trials that last an average of six months and cost an average of $100,000 total. Each arbitration also comes with a filing fee of $1,000—meaning Keller’s scheme would cost Tubi $24 million just to initiate all the proceedings.

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Commentary: Don’t Let SB1154 Live On—Governor, Please Reject the Waiver

Star News Contributor
Grocery Shopping

I work in the grocery industry, supporting stores like Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, and 99 Cents Only Stores—places that are more than just convenience options. For many Tennesseans, especially in rural and underserved areas, these are the only nearby sources of groceries. That’s why I’m deeply concerned that even though SB1154, the so-called “Tennessee Healthy SNAP Act,” didn’t pass the General Assembly, its policies may still move forward through a federal waiver.

This bill would have directed the state to ask Washington for permission to ban SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soft drinks. Supporters framed it as a public health initiative. But for those of us in the food business, this proposal was always more about control than nutrition—and more about bureaucracy than results.

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Commentary: Trump Is Delivering on His Biggest Campaign Promise

Star News Contributor
U.S. Steel

President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs sent shockwaves through global markets and diplomatic circles. But beneath the noise lies a simple political truth: using tariffs as a negotiating tactic is working. Trump isn’t just taxing imports — he’s using leverage to bring foreign investment into the United States and to restore manufacturing jobs, just like he promised during the 2024 campaign.

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Commentary: Beware of Power-Seeking Opportunists Promoting Divisive Conspiracy Theories and Exploiting Anti-Government Paranoia

Star News Contributor
Oklahoma City Bombing

I recently watched Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror, the Netflix documentary about the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 innocents (including 19 helpless children in a day care center). The cowardly terrorist attack by Timothy McVeigh and his accomplices was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the conflagration in Waco, which some anti-government extremists regarded as an act of war against innocent civilians. Detonating a crude but effective truck bomb made out of agricultural fertilizer and diesel fuel—similar to the one depicted in the far-right tract The Turner Diaries–was McVeigh’s idea of “retribution.” McVeigh, who was executed in 2001, never expressed remorse for his actions.

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Commentary: Easter Is the Greatest Holiday of All Time

Star News Contributor
Jesus Christ

Among world religions, only Christianity has a founder who professed to be the Messiah—the Son of God—who gave his life to save mankind.

The Easter weekend starts with Good Friday, the day God’s son Jesus was crucified to fulfill His plan to provide salvation from sin for those who believe in Christ. Easter Sunday is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, the third day from his crucifixion death, and the completion of God’s plan for all to know who Jesus was.

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Commentary: Tennessee Must Stop Pretending Foreclosure Notices in the Newspaper Are Enough

Star News Contributor
Foreclosure

Foreclosure is traumatic — but so is being misled by a system that claims to protect homeowners while offering little more than a performative gesture. A recent opinion piece in The Tennessean warns against a bill that would eliminate the requirement to publish foreclosure notices in newspapers, replacing it with a centralized, online system. Critics say this would reduce transparency and harm vulnerable populations.

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Commentary: Support Main Street and Made in America—Renew the 2017 Tax Reforms

Star News Contributor

Small businesses have consistently supported and expressed optimism about the impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  But now, many are growing concerned that Congress won’t act in time to renew the law or extend key parts of it that are about to expire.  That kind of uncertainty makes it harder for small businesses to plan ahead—and often leads them to hold off on the investments that help our local communities thrive.

That’s why I’m urging lawmakers in Washington, including Senator Blackburn, Senator Hagerty, and Congressman DesJarlais, to take action.  It’s time to renew the TCJA and bring back the provisions that have already expired.  These reforms have helped countless businesses in Lawrence County, across Tennessee, and beyond; failing to restore and make them permanent would deal a devastating blow to small-business owners nationwide. 

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Commentary: State Rep. Lee Reeves is a MAGA Fighter Standing with Trump to Protect Voter Rights and Election Integrity

Star News Contributor
State Rep. Lee Reeves

State Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin) is a steadfast MAGA warrior, fiercely advocating for Donald Trump and his voters through his groundbreaking legislation, HB855. This bill, which bans local caucuses and conventions in Tennessee, strikes at the heart of a corrupt, insider-dominated system that Trump has long condemned. Reeves isn’t just legislating — he’s fighting alongside Trump to dismantle the establishment and ensure that every American patriot has a say in our electoral process.

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Commentary: Sen. Ashley Moody’s Vape Misinformation Hurts Public Health

Star News Contributor
Sen. Ashley Moody

In a recent hearing before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) grilled President Trump’s nominee for FDA Commissioner, Dr. Martin Makary, about the e-cigarette marketplace. Relying on misinformation from anti-tobacco and vaping groups like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Moody perpetuated the false narrative that Chinese-made vapes are “flooding” the U.S. market and accused the FDA of “burying its head in the sand” instead of addressing so-called “chemically ridden” e-cigarettes.

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Commentary: Government Shouldn’t Tell Parents How to Feed Their Kids

Star News Contributor
Grocery shopper

As a mother, I know how hard it is to put food on the table. Every grocery trip is a careful balancing act — finding nutritious meals my kids will eat, staying within budget, and, yes, sometimes allowing a small treat. I don’t rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but I know families who do. They are hardworking parents, veterans, and seniors doing their best to make ends meet. The last thing they need is the government micromanaging what they put in their grocery carts.

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