Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Mayor Andy Ogles in studio to weigh in on how local news stories have become national news through left-wing local media arms.
Leahy: Well, Andy Ogles, mayor of Maury County there is a little story. And I would put this in the category of a tempest in a teapot, right? Wouldn’t you? (Ogles laughs) So they’re making a big deal about this. And the guy’s name is John Little.
I have to say I was not paying a lot of attention to that special election in November 2020. Until he was elected in November 2020 as the ninth school board member, he’s the only male, I think, who’s on the school board right now.
The only member of the school board that we’ve ever talked to who’s ever entered into our studio is Fran Bush, who actually is a sane person. We know that the seven of the other members of the school board are not sane.
And John Little, we don’t know whether he’s sane or not because we haven’t talked to him. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. It does seem like this is kind of one of those little he said she said things.
Ogles: Yes. The question is, did he say something then all of a sudden people start digging, just looking for an excuse or reason to attack him.
So it would appear that he lives outside of his district is what I understand. But again, is it a case of two residences? I mean, the devil’s in the details.
Leahy:Â And also it’s not a criminal violation, although apparently if his primary residence was outside of district four where he’s elected from, then he could be removed in civil matters.
This seems to be a bit of a tempest in a teapot. But also if I am a member of the board of education here and I’m supposed to live in a district, I would probably not purchase another house outside the district just because you may be able to skate by on it. But probably somebody who’s not your friend, is going to, I don’t know, make sure Yahoo News covers it.
Ogles: That’s right. We had a situation down at Maury County, where we had a commissioner move outside the district, and subsequently, they resigned because they were no longer in the district.
And they notified the chairman of the commission and all the appropriate steps. But technically, if he’s outside the district, depending on how their statute and their rules read, that’s what governs and dictates the next steps.
Leahy: What’s interesting about this story is, I put it in the tempest in the teapot category, (Ogles chuckles) but very interesting how this is now a national story. How did that happen? I will tell you how it happened.
The left-wing has tons and tons of money from billionaire totalitarians. And some of that money has found its way into the state’s newsroom. They’re trying to compete with us.
The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. We’re in nine states. We’re actually in 20 states right now. But some of their money goes into a little operation that Holly McCall runs here called the Tennessee Lookout.
You know, Holly from Williamson County. Nice person. Far-left. I wouldn’t call her a lunatic but far left but approaching. Holly, come on in here we can talk about. I’ve been on Fox 17 with her, but boom.
She immediately goes off into the left-wing diatribe. And so there’s a pile of money that some billionaire has given to this group. And they went off and they hired a lot of former Tennesseean reporters.
One of them was this guy named Nate Rau. Nate has now moved up in the world to Axios. Axios again is another left-wing funded by, like, $100 million bucks. I think Mike Allen put together a former Politico guy.
Axios now is doing newsletters in local communities. They’re doing Axios in Charlotte. I saw that. Now they have an Axios in Nashville. And they’ve got, like, three or four reporters.
And, oh, by the way, NPR here has like 10 reporters going on 15. Lots of money coming from the left there. He goes from The Tennesseean to the left-wing Lookout.
And then more money. Apparently, Axios Nashville, which is a newsletter gets picked up by wait for it…Yahoo News. That’s how this little tempest in a teapot becomes a national story. And it seems to be a little suspicious.
John Little lives in District Four with one house. He buys another house outside of District Four. And I think it’s still in Nashville.
And so technically, you’ve got to live there. If you have two residences and you claim one is your primary, I mean, you got to do an investigation to determine that.
Ogles: What’s crazy is like you said, this is a national story? (Leahy chuckles) We’ve got a crisis on the border. You’ve got all the shenanigans being taught in public schools across the state of Tennessee.
You’ve got Afghan refugees being brought in here by the planeloads into Tennessee. Why aren’t they covering this stuff?
Leahy: I got a word for you. Are you ready?
Ogles: Fire away.
Leahy: Misdirection.
Ogles: Oh, sure.
Leahy:Â You like that? This is what it is. This is a tempest in a teapot that makes national news. The news out of Nashville that’s not being covered is all the Afghan unvetted Afghan refugees coming in.
Ogles: Just walking.
Leahy: Walking away. Unvaccinated and not tested for COVID. We don’t know how many there are here. They are at least 400, but they’re growing every day.
There’s no report on that. The other story they’re not reporting on is Bill Lee’s absence from tomorrow’s border conference call.
The press conference that is going to be down to Mission, Texas, that 11 Republican governors are holding to call Joe Biden out for failing to defend our border.
They’re not reporting on that. We’re reporting on that. Apparently, Bill Lee is too busy talking about stewardship and given $500 million to Ford Motor Company. He had this clip the other day.
I don’t know if you heard it, but it was really crazy. He defined stewardship as wait for it…as either regulation or innovation. That was stewardship.
I looked through my Bible and I can’t find a parable in the Bible where regulation is considered stewardship. I missed that. He must have the verse somewhere there. (Laughs)
Ogles: I don’t know, but talking about misdirection from the left. If you’re the White House, if you’re Biden, if you’re the powers that be you’ve got to be loving AOC and Bernie Sanders right now because the crazier they are, the more normal all this other stuff becomes or appears to be.
Leahy: Let me tell you what’s not normal. Attorney General Merrick Garland has ordered the FBI to go after parents who oppose critical race theory. I kid you not. This was all a setup. The Breitbart story by Paul Boyce.
Days after a national organization purporting to represent school board officials lamented to the Biden administration about, “hate groups,” intimidating education officials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has directed the FBI to combat threats of violence against school boards and school administrators from parents.
In other words, you can’t get up and criticize their push for critical race theory. They’re pushing for masks when there’s no science to support it. Their authoritarian actions. You can’t criticize them or they’ll sick the FBI on them. I don’t like that.
Ogles: The world is upside down right now. I mean, not even the world, but the United States. When you have France saying that the United States was too woke.
Leahy: France is saying that. France! Give me a break! (Laughs)
Ogles:Â When you say France, conservatism does not come to mind right?
Leahy: When France says you’re too woke, you’re in big trouble. (Laughs)
Listen to the second hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
