Stevie Giorno Discusses Plot to Oust Him from Belmont University’s Student Government Association Presidency Nearly Four Years Ago

Stevie Giorno

Chairman of the Tennessee Young Republicans and former Belmont University study body President Stevie Giorno recently joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss how students at Belmont University bullied him during the time he served as the school’s student body president.

While serving as Belmont University’s student body president in 2020, Giorno acknowledged the Fourth of July holiday with a post on Instagram that read, “Proud to be an American, celebrating the sacrifice of those that gave their all so that we may have freedoms and liberties intended for us on this day in 1776.”

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Independence Day Cookout Spending to Hit Record High Amid Inflation

Individual spending on Fourth of July food items has risen to $93.34 on average across the U.S., the highest the National Retail Federation (NRF) has recorded since it began collecting this information in 2003.

The cost of one person’s July Fourth foods rose about 10 percent over the past year from $84.12, according to NRF. Inflation remained twice as high as the Federal Reserve’s target in May, according to a Labor Statistics (BLS) report, and the price of energy and food increased 4.0 percent on an annual basis last month.

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Commentary: New Hampshire U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster’s Very Un-American Fourth of July

by Michael Graham   If you’re at one of the many Fourth of July celebrations across New Hampshire this week and happen to spot Congresswoman Annie Kuster in the crowd, please loan her your copy of the Declaration of Independence. In particular, this part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Kuster does not concur. Instead, Kuster declared on the eve of Independence Day weekend that she believes some people are more equal than others. Kuster made the statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling that racial preferences violate the “all men are created equal” principles of the Constitution. Rather than celebrate equal treatment, Kuster attacked the Court and defended the race-based policies Harvard and the University of North Carolina used to reject qualified applicants based on their skin color. In particular, Kuster supports the policy of turning away qualified Asian students in the name of “diversity.” Why does Annie Kuster support anti-Asian discrimination? You’ll have to ask her. (Kuster will not respond to questions on the topic from NHJournal.) It’s…

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Blackburn Calls Trump’s Fourth of July Speech ‘One of the Best’ of His Presidency

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called President Donald Trump’s Independence Day speech at the annual Salute to America celebration “one of the best” of his presidency.

The president delivered back-to-back speeches over the holiday weekend, the first of which took place Friday night in front of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. In both addresses, Trump delivered an unapologetic defense of American culture and history, mercilessly deriding the “cancel culture.”

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President Trump Kicks Off Independence Day Celebrations at Mount Rushmore

President Trump traveled to South Dakota Friday to kick off Independence Day celebrations across America with an historic appearance at Mount Rushmore.

In front of a packed, open-air audience of about 7,500, the president delivered a much-anticipated remarks White House representatives promised would be an unapologetic and full-throated defense of American culture, values, history, and future.

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DC Mayor Tells Residents to Stay Home for 4th of July, Promotes Black Lives Matter Gatherings

Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told residents to spend the 4th of July at home, despite encouraging Black Lives Matter (BLM) gatherings happening en masse amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“Just because there are going to be fireworks downtown — doesn’t mean I have to go,” Bowser said at a press conference Thursday. She said she hopes to see a significant reduction in crowd sizes related to July 4th events, according to Fox 5.

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As Trump Prepares for Independence Day Visit to Mount Rushmore, Tribal Leaders Say They Want It ‘Removed’

President Donald Trump will kick off Independence Day weekend with an event at Mount Rushmore, which has prompted some local leaders to call for the removal of one of the nation’s most iconic monuments.

Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit. The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009.

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Watchdog Groups Question Ohio Company’s Donation to Trump’s Fireworks Display

  Phantom Fireworks, an Ohio-based company, is facing scrutiny from so-called “non-partisan watchdog” groups after the company donated $750,000 worth of fireworks to President Donald Trump’s “Salute to America.” The company’s CEO, Bruce Zoldan, was invited to an Oval Office meeting in May to discuss the impact of tariffs with fellow business leaders. Zoldan and his colleagues have been clear that a 25 percent import tax on Chinese goods would be “devastating” for the fireworks industry. “It would be pretty devastating,” Phantom Fireworks Vice President Bill Weimer recently told ABC News. “The problem is there’s no alternative source for us to get the fireworks. We have to stay with China.” So some were turning their heads when Trump announced on July 2 that Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci were donating supplies for the Independence Day celebration. “Thanks to Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci for their generosity in donating the biggest fireworks show Washington D.C. has ever seen. CEOs Bruce Zoldan and Phil Grucci are helping to make this the greatest 4th of July celebration in our nation’s history,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Thanks to “Phantom Fireworks” and “Fireworks by Grucci" for their generosity in donating the biggest fireworks…

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Ilhan Omar Sends Somber Fourth of July Message Days After Celebrating Somali Independence Day

by Molly Prince   Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar urged Americans to celebrate the Fourth of July by reflecting on “how much further we have to go,” standing in contrast to her joyful celebration of Somali Independence Day four days prior. “Today gives us all a chance to reflect on how far we have come as a country and how much further we have to go to achieve full equality for all people,” Omar tweeted July 4. “We are at a tipping point for progress right now.” “Happy 4th of July,” she added. Today gives us all a chance to reflect on how far we have come as a country and how much further we have to go to achieve full equality for all people. We are at a tipping point for progress right now. ✊🏽 Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 4, 2019 Omar’s congressional office also tweeted a Fourth of July message, stating that Independence Day is a time to celebrate American values such as freedom of the press, equal protection of all minorities and America’s role in guaranteeing human rights worldwide. While there was no mention of America’s independence from Britain, the tweet…

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Commentary: What Americans Often Forget

by Janet Beihoffer   Our nation’s birthday is approaching once again, along with the celebrations which have accompanied the holiday for so many years. In recent years, however, Independence Day celebrations are often overshadowed by bickering over race or class. With this in mind, I’d like to share a story from my classroom years ago. As a former teacher of upper elementary grades, I spent nine weeks on human anatomy. The biological systems covered depended on the age of the students, which spanned nine to 12. All students were taught the circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems. They were also taught about the five senses. At the end of this unit, students were required to make a model of an organ, write a report on its functions and diseases, and then give a presentation to the class on how important that organ or sense was to the human body. While these models were on display, my principal – a tall black man with a “John Bunyanesque beard and stance – came to our classroom. Spotting the science projects on the windowsill he asked, “What are those?” “These are our science projects at the end of our human anatomy unit,” I replied.…

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Red, White but Rarely Blue – the Science of Fireworks Colors, Explained

by Paul E. Smith   In the earliest days of the United States, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about the celebration of independence, “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” “Bonfires and illuminations” refer directly to what we know as pyrotechnics and firework displays. I’m a chemist and also president of Pyrotechnics Guild International, an organization that promotes the safe use of fireworks and using them here in the U.S. to celebrate Independence Day and other festivals throughout the year. As a chemist, and someone who leads demonstrations for chemistry students, I consider fireworks a great example of combustion reactions that produce colored fire. But the invention of colored fireworks is relatively recent and not all colors are easy to produce. Early history of fireworks It was John Adams who suggested using fireworks on the fourth of July. Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) Firecrackers were first invented serendipitously by the Chinese in 200 B.C. But it wasn’t until one thousand years later that Chinese alchemists developed fireworks in 800 A.D. These early fireworks were…

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Commentary: Remembering the Real Revolution of July Fourth

by Patrick Garry   The words are engrained in our national consciousness: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These inspirational and linguistically beautiful words of the Declaration of Independence justified the American colonies’ break from England. But they did more than that. They explained to the world and to history that natural rights formed the basis of civil law and government. This was the truly revolutionary aspect of that document signed on July 4, 1776. After the Declaration, the world was never the same. The legacy of natural rights meant that law and government would no longer legitimately flow from the whims of a monarch. Tyrants would no longer carry any moral authority. Human dignity would transcend the interests of the empire. The Declaration and its natural law foundations vaulted the human world into a new orbit of political philosophy, where deprivations of individual dignity could not be convincingly justified by the self-interests of a ruling elite. The Declaration led to a political and legal system that in turn gave birth to a flourishing of…

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Commentary: Reigniting the Flame of Liberty this Independence Day

by Rick Manning   July 1, 2, 3 and 4 are perhaps the four most consequential dates in American history. The second President of the United States and one of the authors and signers of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams believed that July 2 would be known as our nation’s birthdate, as it is when the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. It was that courageous vote which was the act of rebellion setting the Revolutionary War and indeed the events of the past 243 years careening forward. However, the actual document that is known as the Declaration of Independence was not finalized and signed until July 4, and the heading of it, In Congress, July 4, 1776, is what became the official demarcation of the formation of our new nation. Primary author Thomas Jefferson’s masterpiece is an incredible statement of individual rights, and it forms the very DNA of America. It is not only a statement of separation but a founding principle of individual liberty written to provide the true beacon of hope for the people of a new nation. The Declaration begins by explaining its purpose: “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for…

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Happy Independence Day, Tennessee

  Happy Independence Day! As America celebrates her 243th birthday, families and friends are coming together to enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers, patriotic fireworks, parades, and generally speaking, all things patriotic. In America’s early days, however, such was not the case. A long-standing argument brewed among the Founders as to which day should be “Independence Day:” July 2, when the Declaration of Independence was proposed; or July 4, when the history-making document was signed. The idea to mark the importance of Independence Day at all got a big boost after the victory of the War of 1812 when the Federalist Party and Democratic-Republicans political parties started having their own separate celebration. These events grew in popularity as major celebrations for people, and were celebrated by hosting all-day events featuring bonfires, concerts, parades and public canon firings – taking place on either July 2nd or the 4th. It was a little more than a decade later – exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence – when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826 – that the argument was settled once and for all. It took Congress another 44 years to make Independence Day a federal holiday…

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Steve Rogers Commentary: ‘A Salute to America’ Is the Embodiment of President Trump’s Love of Our Military, Over the Establishment’s Protests

by Steve Rogers   It’s funny how the same people who are furious with President Trump for inviting our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to be honored on the National Mall this Independence Day seem to be just as upset that he didn’t send our troops into harm’s way in some far-flung corner of the world. There’s nothing remotely “un-American” about a military parade like the one our Commander-in-Chief is planning as part of a July 4th “Salute to America,” along with a host of other tributes to our military. We’ve had them for centuries, especially around the Independence Day holiday. Remember, there never could have been a Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, if there hadn’t been a Continental Army, founded almost exactly a year earlier. In fact, that army’s commander-in-chief, George Washington, would lead about 500 of the same men who fought with him during the Revolution in a parade through New York City as he occupied the same public office that Donald Trump now occupies. If there were liberals and detractors condemning that parade as “un-American,” that fact went unrecorded by history. The best part about military parades — even more uplifting than the triumphal pageantry,…

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Independence Day Across America: Fun and Festivities to Join in Tennessee

  Check out these and other great events all across the Volunteer State. Knoxville Events: Festiville on the 4th: Knoxville is hosting a July Fourth event called “Festival on the 4th” that will take place at the Worlds Fair Park. Families will get to enjoy miniature golf, music, games and fireworks. This event starts at 4 p.m. and goes till 10 p.m. For more information go to visitiknoxville.com. Farragut Independence Day Parade: Families going to a parade on America’s birthday is an annual tradition. To continue this tradition, Knoxville locals can head over to Farragut High School for the “Town of Farragut Independence Day Parade.” Come celebrate America’s birthday by seeing floats, antiques, old cars and music. The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. and goes to 12:30 p.m. Farragut’s July Fourth parade’s route will start on Stadium Drive and go to Boring Road. Mabry Hazen House: A house built in 1858 is hosting an event to celebrate America’s 243rd birthday. The Mabry-Hazen House is putting on an event where can get tours of this Victorian-era home, food, beer, live music and a great lookout spot for fireworks. This event costs $12 and starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 10…

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St. Paul Canceled $100K Fireworks Display, But Will Pay $225K to Bring Red Bull Event to Town

The City of St. Paul has agreed to bring Red Bull’s Flugtag event back to town at a cost of $225,000, raising questions about why the city canceled its $100,000 Fourth of July fireworks display last year. Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, is a “human-powered gliding” competition that was last in St. Paul in 2010. Red Bull is bringing the event back to town on September 7, and has already started promoting the festivities. But according to The Pioneer Press, the city is on the hook for $225,000 in public sponsorship, which Visit St. Paul Chief Executive Terry Mattson said he has searched for “under every seat cushion.” “We’ve looked under every seat cushion and came back with $85,000 for the city,” he said. “We haven’t signed a contract or anything like that, but that’s what we deemed available. There’s a finite amount of resources.” The mayor’s office said it already budgeted $50,000 for an event such as the Flugtag in its 2019 budget. “St. Paul has been teaming up with Red Bull, our tourism bureau and partners in the private sector for nearly a decade and the 2019 Red Bull Flugtag will continue to place St. Paul…

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