Sanjay Gupta, CNN Doctor, Who Has Never Examined President, Claims Trump Has Heart Disease

CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta disputed President Trump’s clean bill of health this week, claiming that the numbers actually suggest the president has heart disease. “The president has heart disease,” the neurosurgeon, who has never examined Mr. Trump, declared on “New Day” Wednesday, adding that the president needs a medical plan to prevent a major heart problem in the near future.

Read the full story

Huckabee Sanders Asks Reporters Why NBC Gave So-Called ‘Racist’ Trump a Show for Years

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wants to know why NBC forged an extended relationship with President Trump if he’s the “racist” critics claim. The infamous (but disputed) “sh-hole” immigration comments attributed to Mr. Trump were raised again by reporters on Tuesday, but Mrs. Huckabee Sanders did not shy away from the debate.

Read the full story

Donald Trump Blames Democrats for Shutdown Showdown

PALM BEACH, Fla. – President Trump laid the groundwork Monday to blame Democrats if the government careens into a partial shutdown at the end of this week, saying their decision to turn their back on him in ongoing negotiations is a recipe for failure. The White House is increasingly confident it can win a shutdown showdown, saying the situation is entirely different from 2013, when Republicans took the bulk of blame for the shutdown.

Read the full story

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn 9th Circuit Decision to Reinstate DACA

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court Tuesday to overturn this month’s stunning ruling by a lower court that found the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty legal – yet also ruled the Trump administration’s effort to phase out the program was illegal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the ruling “defies both law and common sense,” and said they’re asking the justices to hear the case directly, skipping over the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which would be the normal path.

Read the full story

Maxine Waters: Martin Luther King Jr. Would Have Wanted Trump Impeached

Rep. Maxine Waters marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Twitter by suggesting that the slain civil rights icon would have advocated for the impeachment of President Trump if he was still alive today. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have encouraged every responsible human being to march for justice, to march for peace, and most of all, to march for the impeachment of Donald Trump. #ThankYouMLK50,” the California Democrat tweeted Monday.

Read the full story

FLASHBACK: Lindsey Graham Called Mexico, Other Countries ‘Hellholes’

Tennessee Star

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called Mexico and other Latin American nations “hellholes” in a 2013 debate with the Senate Judiciary Committee. The old comments came back to light as Graham blasted President Donald Trump after he reportedly used the term “shithole” to describe Haiti and El Salvador during a bipartisan immigration sit down Thursday.

Read the full story

Transgender Felon Chelsea Manning, Whose Sentence Was Commuted by Obama, Files to Run for Senate from Maryland

Chelsea Manning, the transgender Maryland woman convicted of sharing thousands of military documents with WikiLeaks, has filed to run for Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin seat in this year’s election. Manning declared her intentions Jan. 5 with the Federal Election Commission, which posted the document on its website Thursday. She is running as a Democrat.

Read the full story

Commentary: Mick Mulvaney Can End the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

By Printus LeBlanc   A slew of recent reports painted an unflattering picture of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). These are the latest in a long line of suspect actions by the unconstitutional agency. It is time to do something about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) pet agency. In December, the New York Times reported on a group of CFPB employees using encrypted messaging applications, such as WhatsApp and Signal, to communicate amongst one another on their government-issued phones. The group calls themselves “Dumbledore’s Army.” The group is using the apps to avoid creating official records of what they are doing, and according to the article, they have the goal of undermining the orders of the newly appointed Director Mick Mulvaney. This is problematic for two reasons: Actively disobeying orders to undermine your boss’s lawful order is a violation of the federal employee oath of office. Disobeying lawful orders fails to faithfully discharge the duties of the office. If the group is conducting work business with the apps, it is a violation of the Federal Records Act. The act requires all federal agencies to preserve the records of anything that relates to a government employee’s duties. Those using the apps…

Read the full story

CNN’s Tapper Silent as Kasich Makes Dubious DACA Deportation Claim

Jake Tapper of CNN allowed Ohio Gov. John Kasich to claim without challenge on Friday that agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are deporting “thousands” of so-called dreamers under President Donald Trump. Tapper had the “NeverTrump” Republican on his Friday afternoon show, CNN’s “The Lead,” when Kasich made the claim.

Read the full story

Trump: Maybe Congress ‘Should Start Thinking About Going Back to a Form of Earmarks’

Tennessee Star

President Donald Trump suggested last week that lawmakers bring back “earmarks,” a practice that for centuries helped transform Washington into a “swamp” riddled special interests, out-of-control spending and unaccountability. “Maybe all of you should start thinking about going back to a form of earmarks,” Trump said Tuesday to a group of Republican and Democratic congressman gathered…

Read the full story

Terry McAuliffe Says He’d Punch Donald Trump: ‘You’d Have to Pick Him Up off the Floor’

Outgoing Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Thursday that he would punch President Trump if he ever tried to “get in my space.” During an interview Thursday on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” host Chris Matthews asked the Virginia Democrat how he would react if Mr. Trump leaned over him during a debate, as he did with Democratic rival Hillary…

Read the full story

John Feeley, U.S. Ambassador to Panama, Resigns; Says He Can No Longer Serve under Trump

The U.S. ambassador to Panama resigned Friday, saying he can no longer serve in his post under President Trump. Ambassador John Feeley wrote a letter to the State Department announcing his decision, Reuters reported. “As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies,” Mr. Feeley said in the letter, Reuters reported. “My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”

Read the full story

Twitter Says Employees Were Openly Speaking of Censorship ‘in a Personal Capacity,’ Not for Company

Twitter says that individuals shown in an undercover video casually talking about how they plan on censoring certain viewpoints on the social media platform were speaking only “in a personal capacity.” They “do not represent or speak for Twitter,” a company spokeswoman said. The video in question, secretly recorded by Project Veritas, shows eight current or…

Read the full story

Dem Representative Denies Reality, Claims There’s Really No Chain Migration

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) claimed Thursday that chain migration “doesn’t, for the most part, exist” and slammed those who believe in “this idea that chain migration is real.” She made her comments during an interview on CNN’s “At This Hour.” Jayapal, who immigrated to the U.S. from India as a teenager, urged lawmakers to avoid including chain migration limits in their proposals for how to solve their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) dilemma.

Read the full story

Cheryl Chumley Commentary: Donald Trump’s ‘Sh–hole’ Remark Reason He Was Elected

President Donald Trump reportedly suggested the United States shouldn’t take in immigrants from Haiti or other “s—hole countries” because they do little to bolster an America First agenda – and now the world is on fire, tittering about racism and vulgarities and the foul-mouthed impoliteness of this White House commander-in-chief. But really folks, this is why Trump was elected in the first place.

Read the full story

Report: Donald Trump Asks Senators Why US Should Accept Immigrants From ‘S***hole’ Countries

WASHINGTON — As he rejected a bipartisan compromise Thursday to resolve the standoff over so-called Dreamers, President Donald Trump asked participants in an Oval Office meeting why the U.S. should accept immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa, according to two people briefed on the meeting. “What do we want Haitians here for?” the president asked, according to two people who were at the meeting.

Read the full story

Commentary: The DACA Lovefest at The White House

by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor   It was great to see President Trump at the top of his game yesterday; completely in charge as he stage-managed a White House meeting with congressional leaders. The often-recalcitrant Republicans came across as the President’s docile supporters and the Democrats looked completely flummoxed by an in-command Donald Trump. The only bad thing about the meeting – and make no mistake it is very bad – was that the whole meeting was about how to grant amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens that Obama attempted to legalize through his unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We tend to agree with author and conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who, in a series of tweets and interviews, denounced President Trump’s apparent willingness to make a deal to allow so-called DREAMers to remain in the country. Coulter called out Trump for his squishy language about the wall and for expressing a willingness to work with Democrats on DACA. Three of Coulter’s tweets nailed our take: “But don’t worry! There will be “border security”! (Political euphemism for: You’re not getting wall.)” And: “This DACA lovefest confirms a main thesis of Michael Wolff’s book: When Bannon left. liberal…

Read the full story

Education Issues May Dominate 2018 Legislative Session of the Tennessee General Assembly

Tennessee Star

Several contentious education issues may highlight the legislative session of the Tennessee General Assembly that convened on Tuesday. And if a recent Tennessee Star Poll of likely GOP Primary voters is any indication, Republican legislators need to be sure they are on the right side of the issues if they want to return to the Legislature next year. IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS. Another effort by State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R- Chattanooga) to resurrect a plan to allow illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition at Tennessee colleges and universities is under consideration. A Tennessee Star Poll conducted in December 2017 that focused on GOP Primary voters underlines how support for using taxpayer funds to subsidize tuition for illegal aliens may be for Republican candidates facing primary opposition. Those polled were asked: In 2018, the Tennessee state legislature is expected to reconsider a bill to make tax-payer subsidized in-state college tuition available to illegal immigrant students. Do you support or oppose providing taxpayer subsidized in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students? The question resulted in an astronomically high level of opposition, with 88.3% opposing in-state tuition for illegals while 6.4% were supportive and only 5.3% were undecided. The poll results are…

Read the full story

Judge Throws Out Case Against Bundys, Bars Retrial in Devastating Defeat for Federal Prosecutors

Cliven Bundy

A federal judge dismissed Monday all charges against rancher Cliven Bundy stemming from the 2014 Nevada standoff and barred prosecutors from retrying the case, citing “flagrant prosecutorial misconduct.” U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gloria Navarro’s dramatic ruling during a hearing in federal court in Las Vegas wasn’t entirely unexpected, given that she declared a mistrial last month after finding that federal prosecutors had willfully withheld evidence from the defense.

Read the full story

Therapist Writes In Washington Post That Trump News Cycle Is Ruining Her Clients’ Lives

One Washington, D.C.-based therapist’s clients have 99 problems, and they all seem to be about President Donald Trump. Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, a psychotherapist and founder of the DC Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, writes in The Washington Post that a number of her patients have been complaining that the media’s fixation on Trump is taking a toll on their personal lives.

Read the full story

State Senate Candidate Shane Reeves Promises to Donate His Legislative Per Diem to Charity if Elected

Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves, a Republican candidate in the 14th State Senate District special election, is promising to donate his legislative per diem to charity if he is elected. Legislators within 50 miles of the Capitol currently receive mileage reimbursement for travel at a rate of 47 cents per mile and $59 per day for meals and incidental expenses while in Nashville on legislative business. “I am a conservative family man and businessman that plans on taking this same conservative approach to Nashville as a State Senator,” Reeves said in  statement released on Friday. “Since I am seeking to work for the people of the 14th district, my travel expenses from Murfreesboro to Nashville should fall on me– not the taxpayers. I am pledging today to make the ‘Conservative Per Diem Pledge’ and donate all of those funds back to the 14th district taxpayers,” Reeves added. Reeves did not disclose exactly which charity would benefit from his contribution of the per diem reimbursements if he is elected. The statement continued: Lawmakers across Tennessee receive reimbursement for the expenses they incur for driving back and forth from Nashville and for nights away from home. Some lawmakers have been known to take…

Read the full story

Free Speech Group ‘Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism’ Set to Hold Online Conference This Weekend

Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (CEAFU) will host their annual online conference at noon eastern this coming Saturday, January 6. They will discuss the latest on the Janus case, and its implications for teachers. The Janus case could be a very influential decision for the nation. More information, including legal briefs in the case, can be found at www.nrtw.org/janus. The oral argument date in Janus has been set for Monday, 2/26, which is a week later than expected. Matthew Brouillette is president and CEO of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs pointed out in a recent editorial that Taxpayer resources – not only at the state level but at school district levels – are regularly used to collect campaign contributions and funnel them to a select group of organizations that, not coincidentally, are among the largest bankrollers of political campaigns in the state. He added “And it’s no secret. The public has known it for years.” Brouillette also pointed out that “ending the use of public resources for unions’ political fundraising would in no way prevent public employees from engaging in politics or limit their ability to do so. They would just have to do so like everyone else, without taxpayer…

Read the full story

President Trump Ends His Voter Fraud Commission, Asks Homeland Security To ‘Review The Issues’

President Donald Trump decided to dissolve his commission on voter fraud Wednesday, citing refusal from states to cooperate with his commission. Trump, who created the commission in order to investigate possible instances of voter fraud in the 2016 election, is instead asking the Department of Homeland Security to review the matter, the White House said in a statement.

Read the full story

Senator Charles Grassley Says James Comey Likely Leaked Classified Information

A top Republican senator said Wednesday that it appears former FBI Director James Comey leaked classified information in his effort to shape the narrative surrounding President Trump’s decision to fire him. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Mr. Comey wrote seven memos, and shared four of them with a professor he was using as an intermediary to defend him. Of the seven, four are marked at the confidential or secret level – meaning at least one of the memos Mr. Comey shared contained restricted information.

Read the full story

Republican Wins Virginia House of Delegates Tie-Breaker in Random Drawing

Virginia Republicans will retain their control of the state House of Delegates after incumbent GOP Del. David E. Yancey held his 94th District seat after defeating Democrat Shelly Simonds in a rare random drawing Thursday in Richmond. After several recounts election officials said the November vote was an exact tie, with the GOP’s 18-year control of…

Read the full story

Leahy Invites Conservative Activists to Attend Constitution Mentors 2018 Kick Off This Saturday

On Friday Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy asked constitutional conservatives from around the state to attend the 2018 kick off of the Polk Foundation’s Constitution Mentors program that will be held this Saturday, January 6, from 1 pm to 4 pm. Anyone interested in attending can sign up here. The event will be held at the offices of Professional Educators of Tennessee at 5100 Linbar Drive, Suite 101, in Nashville. “We held our first Constitution Mentor training session back in November. Now, it’s time to add more Constitution Mentors in preparation for the next Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, sponsored by The Polk Foundation, which will be held in Williamson County at the Main Auditorium of the Williamson County Administration building in Franklin from 9 am to noon on Saturday, April 28,” Leahy said. Secondary school students interested in participating in the April 28 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee can sign up here. “While our primary target is students in grades 8 to 12, we have in the past accepted younger students who have demonstrated zeal for the subject, and they have done quite well,” Leahy said. Leahy added that anyone who shares an originalist view of the Constitution…

Read the full story

State Senate Candidate Shane Reeves Made No Contributions to President Trump’s Campaign in 2016

Shane Reeves’ initial mail pieces and television spots in the special election for the 14th District State Senate seat vacated by former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) highlight his support for Presidential Donald Trump and his anti-Establishment agenda.  However, an examination of Reeves’ record finds scant evidence of support for President Trump either during the Tennessee Presidential primary election or during last year’s general election. While Reeves has a record of supporting moderate candidates in Tennessee and nationally with campaign contributions, including Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, and 2012 Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, there is no record at the Federal Election Commission of Reeves making any contribution to President Donald Trump in 2016. Reeves has also made a contribution to, and endorsed, self described “moderate” Republican candidate for Governor Randy Boyd. As reported by The Tennessee Star in November 2016, then ECD Commissioner Randy Boyd directed a million dollar “fast track” grant to Reeves’ company.  Then, once Boyd left ECD to pursue his campaign for Governor, Reeves donated $5000 to Boyd through his PAC — and endorsed him during a campaign stop in Murfreesboro. The Boyd-Reeves connection is particularly relevant to Reeves’ campaign claim of support for President…

Read the full story

OFF THE RECORD: The Tennessee Star’s Awards for Best of the Best in 2017

On Tuesday, we dished out last year’s “bad” awards with our “Worst of the Worst for 2017.” Today, we hand out the “good” stuff, with our “Best of the Best for 2017.” “The envelope please…” COMEBACK KID. Congresswoman Diane Black caused many political pros to question her decision to accept the Budget Committee Chair while prepping a run for Governor, knowing that getting anything done would be a heavy lift. Yet, she dodged most of the landmines and when the Trump tax cuts passed she was standing right next to the President accepting accolades in word and tweet for a job well done. Look to see those Trump comments in commercials this year as she works to “out Trump” her opponents. As she and Randy Boyd start spending their respective personal fortunes on media in the coming weeks, the noise will drown out the pack and one of the two will emerge as the frontrunner. Thanks to Trump, who will be in Tennessee next week, Diane may have the slight edge at this point. BIGGEST SURPRISE. When Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett entered the race to succeed longtime Congressman Jimmy Duncan in the 2d District the biggest question mark was…

Read the full story

OFF THE RECORD: The Tennessee Star’s Awards for Worst of the Worst in 2017

Too much good and bad during 2017 to pick just one “hero” or “villain” to celebrate or revile, so The Tennessee Star has decided to do a throwback to high school days when Senior Superlatives were dished out to a wide number of contenders. Today, we dish out the best of the “bad.” Tomorrow, we hand out the “good” stuff. MOST DESPICABLE. Pretty easy pick here as Senator Bob Corker entered the year as a front runner and only enhanced his selection when Rolling Stone added ethical transgressions to his resume late in December. His verbal “slap fight” with Trump, while the President continued to enjoy astronomical approval ratings among Tennessee Republicans, cemented his retirement plans. Opposing tax cuts, then flip flopping; opposing repeal of Obamacare; and the continued negative consequences surrounding his signature legislative accomplishment (the Iran Deal) all helped secure unanimous support for Corker being named “Most Despicable” for 2017. There are indications that there is much more to come regarding the insider financial deals that made him rich as a U.S. Senator, so Corker may be set to repeat in 2018! NIT-WITTIEST. The Tennessean was poised to win this category in a runaway, particularly with their fawning…

Read the full story

‘Obvious Violations of Law’ in Abedin Emails Show Need for New Probe, Fitton Says

Justice Department officials should launch a “serious investigation” of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server and email address to conduct official U.S. business, according to Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. The probe should include the “obvious violations of law” by her top aide, Huma Abedin, he also said.

Read the full story

Pentagon Preparing for Shift in Syrian Strategy

The United States is preparing to shift its approach in Syria, pledging to help with the initial recovery following the collapse of the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate. U.S.-backed forces liberated the terror group’s Syrian capital of Raqqa in October. Since then, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have focused their efforts on eradicating remnants of Islamic State.

Read the full story