Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes that the Best of Tennessee Action Fund’s goal is to “get rid of anybody who will support” former President Donald Trump based on the political candidates the treasurer for the dark money group has donated to in the past.
Read the full storyCategory: Tennessee Star Report
Listen to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy weekdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on WENO AM760 The Flame.
Metro Councilman Jeff Eslick: Some Council Members Try to Shame Opponents of Far Left Resolutions
Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick detailed how the council has recently taken up resolutions surrounding statewide issues and how some members request that a hand vote be recorded as a “shaming move” against members who oppose the resolutions.
In addition to activists taking advantage of the public comment period during Metro Council meetings to speak on the current situation in the Middle East between Israeli and Hamas forces, Eslick said the council has taken up three different types of resolutions that “condemn or express disappointment with the state” in recent weeks.
Read the full storyReporter Tom Pappert: New ‘The Best of Tennessee’ Fundraising Organizations Parallel Agenda of the Lincoln Project
Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, detailed how three new fundraising entities in the Volunteer State – collectively called The Best of Tennessee – mirror the agenda of the nationally focused, Never-Trump organization The Lincoln Project.
Read the full storySteve Bannon Calls Out Leftist Author Jim Wallis for Infusing the New Testament with Social Justice Politics by Pointedly Ignoring the Gospel of Mark
Matt Giffin, a reporter at The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Star, discussed a recent segment from Steve Bannon’s War Room where host Bannon explained how leftist Christians deceptively cherry-pick elements from the Gospel to push a socialist agenda.
Bannon specifically used Jim Wallis, founder of the non-profit, faith-based organization Sojourners and author of The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Re-founding Democracy, as an example of those using selective elements from the Gospel to paint Jesus as a social justice warrior.
Read the full storyMike Benz Reveals How NewsGuard Plans to ‘Warp’ the Minds of ‘Tens of Millions of School Children’
Mike Benz, a former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, revealed how NewsGuard is making its way into K-12 public schools and “warping” the minds of tens of millions of schoolchildren.
NewsGuard is a for-profit entity dedicated to countering what it calls “misinformation” founded by journalist Steven Brill and former Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz.
Read the full storyReporter Tom Pappert: NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams ‘Ought to be Embarrassed’ for Illegitimate Responses to Questions Surrounding Legality of Recorded Phone Call in Anti-School Choice Hit Piece
Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said News Channel 5’s Phil Williams “ought to be embarrassed” as the investigative journalist continues to provide illegitimate responses to inquiries surrounding the legality of a recorded phone call the network aired during last Monday’s 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece.
Read the full storyMichael Patrick Leahy: New Covenant Killer Investigation Revelation That ‘There Was a Failure to Report’ and ‘Massive Failure of the Mental Health System’ of ‘Epic Proportions’ Highlights Public Interest in Release of Documents
Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, dissected a critical revelation in the case of The Covenant School shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who took six lives last year at the Nashville school.
Hale, who identified as transgender, shot and killed three adults and three students at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, 2023.
Read the full storyState Senator Kerry Roberts Explains Why Bill to Increase Penalties for Transporting Illegal Aliens into Tennessee Failed in Committee
State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) said a bill that would prohibit individuals from transporting illegal aliens into the Volunteer State failed in committee because its language was not “exact.”
The bill, SB 2802, would increase the penalty fine for transporting an illegal alien from $1,000 to $5,000.
Read the full storyMatt Boyle: House Republicans Need to Focus ‘Exclusively’ on Putting the Heat Directly on Joe Biden Until November
Matt Boyle, the national political editor at Breitbart News, said Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives need to “put the heat directly on” President Joe Biden from now until the November 5 General Election in order to “save America.”
Read the full storyPhil Williams’ Use of Phone Call Recorded by ‘Someone in the Room’ Not a Party to the Call in NewsChannel 5 Report Raises Questions About His Journalistic Credibility
Matthew Giffin, a reporter for The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Star, questioned the legality of News Channel 5’s airing of a so-called secret recording of a call between Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable.
On Monday, the news outlet ran investigative reporter Phil Williams’ 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece focused on AFP-TN’s push for state lawmakers to advance the governor’s bill.
Read the full story‘Evil is What It Is,’ Says Journalist Steve Baker, Who Reported on J6 and 3 Years Later Self-Surrendered on Misdemeanor Charges, Only to Be Placed in Leg Shackles by U.S. Marshalls
Steve Baker, a current opinion contributor for Blaze News and an investigative journalist, said he is being treated as a “terrorist” by the weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ) for covering the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, as an independent journalist.
Baker has been charged with four misdemeanors for being present at the Capitol on January 6.
Read the full storyTennessee GOP Chairman Scott Golden Stresses the Importance of Early Voting in the November General Election
Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden explained why the Republican National Committee (RNC) and state Republican parties are pushing voters to vote early in this year’s November general election when the time comes.
Read the full storyOhio State Rep. Beth Lear Explains Why Bill to Close Primaries Will Make Elections Fairer
Ohio State Representative Beth Lear (R-Galena) said her bill that would modify the timeframe for voters and candidates to declare a political party is a “simple” piece of legislation that would work to make elections fairer in the Buckeye State.
Read the full storyReporter Tom Pappert: Fani Willis’ Conduct Is a ‘Disgrace to the Legal Profession’
Tom Pappert, reporter for The Georgia Star News and lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, said the conduct of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, specifically amid the aftermath of her decision to appoint her former lover, Nathan Wade, as the special prosecutor overseeing her case against former President Donald Trump, is a “disgrace to the legal profession.”
Read the full story‘Our Kids Deserve Better’: AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable Responds to News Channel 5’s Anti-School Choice Hit Piece
Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable responded to News Channel 5’s investigative segment on Monday accusing the conservative political advocacy group of threatening Tennessee state lawmakers to advance Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill.
Read the full storyCorey DeAngelis on State Rep. Todd Warner’s Anti-School Choice Stint on News Channel 5: ‘Time to Vote Him Out’
Corey DeAngelis, a school choice activist and senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, said it’s time for Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) to be voted out of office amid his anti-school choice stunts, including his recent work with News Channel 5’s Phil Williams.
Read the full storyAuthor Peter Schweizer Reveals the Reason Why American Leaders Refuse to Push Back on China
Peter Schweizer, author of Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, said a majority of U.S. leaders are silent on China’s role in inciting American issues due to their personal, financial entanglement with the foreign nation.
Schweizer said his book focuses on a multitude of American issues – including crime and drugs – and details the “overwhelming evidence” connecting China to such issues.
Read the full storyImmigration Expert Says the Mainstream Media Refuses to Cover How the Biden Administration Caused Haiti’s Current Chaos
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the mainstream media’s refusal to acknowledge how the Biden administration’s compliance in scuttling Haiti’s elections back in 2021 contributes to the chaos currently unfolding in the Caribbean country stems from the fact that the backstory is a “terrible” look for President Joe Biden.
Read the full storyMetro Nashville Councilman Jeff Eslick Says Smart Lights Are the Only Part of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transit Plan, So Far, That Will Improve Traffic Flow
Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick explained how one aspect of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, which will be on the November ballot, would help control the flow of traffic for drivers in Music City.
Read the full storyActivists Sheila Matthews and Amy Miller Detail Legislative Win on Tennessee Bill to Help Determine Link Between Mental Health Drugs and Mass Shooters
Sheila Matthews, co-founder of the national non-profit parent organization AbleChild, and activist Amy Miller with the Reform Pharma initiative of Children’s Health Defense, detailed the progress a bill that would help determine the link between Big Pharma drugs and mass shooters has made in the Tennessee General Assembly since its introduction.
Read the full storyReporter Tom Pappert Says Tennessee Congressional Delegation ‘Fear’ Defending J6 Prisoner Ronald Colton McAbee
Tom Pappert, lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, said members of the Tennessee congressional delegation have not shown an interest in taking up J6 prisoner Ronald Colton McAbee’s case due to the level of “fear” surrounding the overall defense of J6 defendants.
Last month, McAbee was sentenced to almost six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $32,165 in restitution after being convicted and pleading guilty to six felony charges and one misdemeanor charge for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Read the full storyMike Benz Warns: The Supreme Court Needs to Exercise ‘Bravery’ in Murthy v. Missouri Case to ‘Dismantle the Government Censorship Complex’
Mike Benz, former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, said the Supreme Court is going to have to exercise “bravery” as opposed to “wisdom” in its ruling of Murthy v. Missouri for the government censorship complex to be dismantled.
Murthy v. Missouri seeks to determine whether the government’s “challenged conduct transformed private social media companies’ content-moderation decisions into state action and violated respondents’ First Amendment rights” related to COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election.
Read the full storyImmigration Expert Todd Bensman Says Current Chaos in Haiti Is a Direct Result of the White House’s Decision to Repatriate Del Rio Camp Migrants in Return for Scuttled Elections
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Biden administration’s compliance in scuttling Haiti’s elections back in 2021 has resulted in the chaos currently unfolding in the Caribbean country as armed gangs have taken over.
In 2021, thousands of Haitians were deported back to Haiti from a Del Rio, Texas migrant camp allegedly in exchange for the country’s elections to be postponed at the request of unelected leader Ariel Henry, who has served as the acting Haiti Prime Minister and the acting president of Haiti since July 2021 after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Read the full storyNashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s ‘Greendoggle’ Transit Plan Will Lead to Increased Property Taxes, Watchdog Predicts
Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, which will be on the November ballot, will inevitably lead to property tax increases.
Last month, O’Connell officially announced that his long-awaited transit plan will be on the November 5 ballot, however, he did not release any information regarding what the plan entails.
Read the full storyThe Future of AI Will Be ‘Utterly Miserable,’ Says AI Expert
Joe Allen, author of Dark Aeon: Transhumanism and the War Against Humanity, said he believes the future of artificial intelligence (AI) will be “utterly miserable.”
Allen, on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, explained how AI will most likely not evolve into a full-out “total doom human extinction” model nor into an “elaborate and spectacular” model that provides cures for diseases and invincible security, but instead evolve into something in between.
Read the full storyVinnie Vernuccio Says New Attempt to Unionize the Chattanooga Volkswagen Plant Seems to be ‘Failing’
Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, said workers’ latest attempts to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga appear to be “failing.”
On Monday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced that a group of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to join the labor union.
Read the full storyNashville Metro Councilman Jeff Eslick Says There’s ‘Room for Improvement’ for Keeping Nashville ‘Safe’ and ‘Clean’ amid Missing College Student Case
Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick said the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has “room for improvement” in regards to keeping the streets of Music City “safe” and “clean.”
Eslick made the comments during a recent episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show as he and host Michael Patrick Leahy were discussing the disappearance of college student Riley Strain, who has been missing since March 8 after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar in downtown Nashville.
Read the full storyBryan Quigley: Ohio U.S. Senate GOP Primary Is a ‘Flip the Coin Election’ Where ‘Every Vote is Going to Count’
Political pundit Bryan Quigley said Tuesday’s GOP U.S. Senate primary in Ohio will be a toss-up race where “every vote is going to count.”
Three Republican candidates – businessman Bernie Moreno, Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose – are competing for the GOP nomination on Tuesday to face off with incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in the November general election.
Read the full storyFormer U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Dan Foote: Victoria Nuland and the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Cut the 2021 Deal with Now Deposed Haiti Strongman Ariel Henry to Repatriate Del Rio Camp Migrants in Return for Scuttled Elections
Former U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Dan Foote said Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison “teed up” the deal with unelected leader of Haiti Ariel Henry to delay elections in the country.
Read the full storyClaiborne Thornton Says Governor Lee Did Not Consult with Homeschoolers While Crafting School Choice Bill
Claiborne Thornton, president of the Tennessee Home Education Association, said Governor Bill Lee did not consult with homeschool families before crafting his universal school choice bill, which is currently undergoing debate in the Tennessee General Assembly.
“The bill, the way it was written, the way it was crafted, was without any consultation from any homeschoolers,” Thornton explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Thornton said particular objections to the bill surround the Tennessee Department of Education’s role in facilitating the program.
Read the full storyState Senator Kerry Roberts Says Amendment to Ban Prisoners from Receiving Gender Hormone Therapy, Sex Reassignment Surgery Will Pass ‘Overwhelmingly’
Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) said he expects his amendment that would ban state funds from being used to pay for gender hormone therapy for prisoners incarcerated in the Tennessee Department of Correction to pass “overwhelmingly.”
Read the full storyTennessee Star Reporter Tom Pappert ‘Very Skeptical’ of Federal Bureau of Prisons Refusal to Move Unjustly Imprisoned J6 Defendant Stewart Parks to Minimum Security Camp Based on Original Security Classification
Tom Pappert, lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, said he is “very skeptical of the federal officials at the Bureau of Prisons” after an official with the bureau formally refused a written request by Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) to move unjustly imprisoned January 6 defendant Stewart Parks to the minimum security satellite camp located at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis.
Read the full storyImmigration Expert Warns: There Will Be a ‘Marine Mass Migration’ if First Boat of Haitian Migrants are Welcomed with Open Arms
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the way the Biden administration handles the first boat of Haitian migrants en route to the Florida Keys amid the Caribbean country’s current state of emergency will determine whether or not another mass migration crisis will rock the U.S. in addition to the one unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read the full storyBreitbart Editor Matt Boyle Details What Trump Must Do from Now Until November in Order to Defeat Joe Biden
Matt Boyle, the national political editor at Breitbart News, said former President Donald Trump needs to turn out the “disaffected, working class voters” in November in order to pull off a victory against President Joe Biden.
Read the full storyBen Cunningham: ‘It’s Pathetic’ School Choice Advocates are not Given a Voice by Local Media Outlets
Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said it’s “pathetic” that advocates of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice voucher program are not being given a voice through local news outlets across the Volunteer State.
Read the full storyState Senator Mark Pody Explains Why He Believes Not Many Illegal Alien Families Will Take Advantage of the School Vouchers Program
Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) confirmed that Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice voucher program would be forced by a Supreme Court ruling to distribute scholarships to illegal alien students. However, he said he believes that not many will take advantage of the program because its application requires parents to provide their children’s social security numbers.
“Everybody has to fill out the form, including a social security number and so forth. If you don’t have a social security number, then anybody that doesn’t have one, we want to make sure that those authorities are aware that these students don’t have a social security number,” Pody said on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Read the full storyState Senator Mark Pody Discusses ‘Real,’ ‘Genuine’ Concerns Homeschool Families Have with School Choice Voucher Program
Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) addressed two concerns he has heard from families that choose to homeschool their children regarding Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice program, which would give $7,000 education savings account scholarships to 20,000 qualifying students in the first year of its inception.
“[Homeschoolers] have real concerns and they’re genuine,” Pody said on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “These objections are real because there’s something that is an underlying statement: If government funds it, government runs it. So if you take government money, no matter where you are or what you are, if you don’t think there’s a string attached somewhere, you’re not looking close enough.”
Read the full storyBrent Hamachek Hopes His New Book, Dissidently Speaking, Will Change the Way Americans Think
Brent Hamachek, author of Dissidently Speaking: Change the Words. Change the War. and vice president and associate publisher for Human Events Media Group, said he hopes his new book will challenge the way Americans think and motivate individuals to stop saying “it is” and instead start asking, “is it?”
Hamachek said his book challenges the “things that people have generally accepted about structures in the world around them.”
Read the full storyMark Pulliam Says Nullification Movement ‘Not Constitutional,’ Argues Best Way to Challenge Federal Law Is Through the Courts
Mark Pulliam, a retired attorney and Misrule of Law blogger, said a series of nullification bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly are not constitutional despite seemingly being an “easy fix” to federal overreach.
“A lot of people these days come up with these theories and solutions of problems that sound good, that seem like it’s an easy fix, but they’re just not, at the end of the day, serious, and in some cases not workable, and in some cases not constitutional, and this whole nullification movement…is an example of one of those, I think, shamiracle solutions,” Pulliam explained on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Read the full storyTennessee State Sen. Mark Pody Favors a Professional Management Team for Proposed East Bank Development Authority
Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) said the East Bank development in Nashville should be a “private act” that does not fall on the backs of Tennessee taxpayers.
Read the full storyState Senator Mark Pody ‘Much Happier’ with Senate Version of Governor’s School Choice Bill Compared to House Version
Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) said he is “much happier” with the Senate’s version of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill compared to the House’s version, which includes additional incentives not particularly related to school choice.
Read the full storyJust the News’ John Solomon: Republicans are ‘Playing the Long Game’ on Biden Crime Family Probe
John Solomon, editor-in-chief of Just the News, explained how Republicans in Congress are “playing the long game” when it comes to bringing accountability for the acts of the “Biden crime family.”
Read the full storyRachel Alexander: ‘Zero Percent Chance’ Any Legal Challenge Would Change Law Permitting Noncitizens to Vote in Federal Elections by November
Rachel Alexander, lead reporter at The Arizona Sun Times, said there is a “zero percent chance” anything could happen legally between now and November to change federal law allowing no proof of citizenship to be submitted in order for an individual to be eligible to vote in a federal election.
“These 10 million invaders that have come here into the United States under the Biden administration, they’re going to try to get them to vote,” host Michael Leahy said to Alexander on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “Are there other things that we can do to prevent illegal aliens from voting in the federal election in November 2024?”
Read the full story‘Censorship Industry Heavyweights’ Carrying Out ‘Very Nasty Tricks’ to Interfere in 2024 Election, Mike Benz Says
Mike Benz, former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, said all of the “major censorship industry heavyweights” are currently carrying out “very nasty tricks” to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.
“The main two tools that they’re using for 2024 censorship are the states because the federal censorship mechanism has been weakened after the Missouri v. Biden trial court ruling, which is now before oral arguments in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is likely to deal them a very heavy blow. So they’re moving into the states to help coordinate that rather than the federal government,” Benz explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Read the full storyTennessee State Senator Joey Hensley Explains ‘Present’ Vote on School Choice Bill
Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said he voted present on the State Senate’s version of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill this week in the education committee because he said he believed there needed to be “more discussion” on the bill before it advanced out of committee.
“I was present, not voting, because I felt like we needed more discussion in the education committee,” Hensley said on Thursday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Read the full storyPhil Williams’ School Choice ‘Nothing Burger’ Report Deceptively Withheld Key Comment from Mark Gill
Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, slammed News Channel 5’s Phil Williams for his omission of a key comment submitted by Mark Gill in response to the outlet’s attack piece featuring an undercover video recording taken during a strategy session for school vouchers in 2016.
Read the full storyTodd Bensman with the Center for Immigration Studies: ‘The Biden Administration has Industrialized Parole Authority’
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Biden administration has “industrialized parole authority” through its program that has flown 320,000 inadmissible aliens into 43 American airports over the past year.
“[The migrants] are coming in on an authority called parole. That’s supposed to be for two or three immigrants a year on a case by case basis, like an emergency medical treatment or, they need somebody to testify in an important case, and then they turn them right back,” Bensman explained on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “The Biden administration has industrialized parole authority. Now they’re just letting hundreds of thousands in all at once instead of two or three as the law says on a case by case basis.”
Read the full storyMichael Patrick Leahy Vows to Help Find, Support Challenger to State Rep. Todd Warner Following Vote Against School Choice Bill
Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, vowed to help “lead the charge” to retire Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) in response to the lawmaker’s vote against Governor Bill Lee’s proposed school voucher program.
Read the full storyTennessee State Rep. Gino Bulso Says Flag Bill Ensures ‘Parents Remain in Control of What Values are Being Instilled in Their Children’
Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) said he expects his bill prohibiting the displaying of certain flags on or in a public school, including LGBTQ pride flags, to soon pass the Senate and be signed into law by Governor Bill Lee.
Read the full storyMichael Patrick Leahy: Phil Williams’ ‘Nothing Burger’ School Choice Story is Built on Secretly Recorded 2016 Strategy Session of Choice Advocates
JC Bowman, founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, debated an audio recording slated to be released by News Channel 5’s Phil Williams supposedly addressing the “origin of school vouchers” in Tennessee.
Read the full story