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Siloam Health Chooses Not to Help Stop Female Genital Mutilation in Tennessee

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Working in partnership with Catholic Charities’ TN Office for Refugees, Siloam Health Care Services, Inc., headquartered in Nashville, serves as the Statewide Refugee Screening Coordinator for Tennessee and provides the initial domestic medical screening for refugees resettling in Middle Tennessee. Siloam also contracts with Christ Community Health Center in Memphis, and Cherokee Health Systems in Chattanooga and Knoxville to provide the medical screenings in East and West Tennessee where federal resettlement contractors are bringing refugees. Siloam has confirmed to the Tennessee Star that they do not screen for FGM as part of a refugee’s initial exam, and because Siloam says they don’t provide follow-up primary care for the refugees, they have no idea what the “actual prevalence of FGM among refugees” might be: Performing a pelvic exam is not a routine part of that first exam.  For that reason we can’t comment on how prevalent FGM is among the refugees that we screen.  Follow-up care (continuity of care or ongoing primary care) is with local TennCare practitioners in the county, so the actual prevalence of FGM among refugees may be known by others in our community. However, Siloam’s January 29, 2017, Facebook post expressly acknowledges the continuing medical-patient relationship with “many” of the refugees who…

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Boss Doss Admits To TDOT Contract After Being Elected

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

For the first time, State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma), who is the House sponsor of Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” and is serving as Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, admitted to having a contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) since he was elected in 2012. The admission came during an interview with WSMV Monday, as he was attempting to refute conflict of interest charges related to his sponsorship of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” The potential conflict of interest, as reported by The Tennessee Star, was raised on March 27 via a letter from the Tennessee Republican Assembly (TRA) to Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) that called for an ethics investigation.  Rep. Doss, serving as Chairman of the Transportation Committee and House sponsor of Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act with his “capability to sway the committee” or “manipulation of the rules” with the outcome of the legislative process having the potential for “direct financial impact on his business” did not meet the “Guiding Principle” of avoiding even the appearance of conflicts, TRA said. Thus far, Speaker Harwell has not responded to the request for an investigation and Doss had not commented. That was until Monday, when Rep.…

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Carol Swain: College Students In Safe Spaces Aren’t Being Educated

Wendy Wilson

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–College administrators who provide students with safe spaces are robbing them of a good education, retiring Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain said Monday evening in her final lecture at the school. The topic of her speech was “Political Correctness and the Decline of American Universities.” Swain, a nationally-known speaker and author who has taught law and political science at Vanderbilt since 1999, is famous for her bold Christian conservative views that have upset many on her university campus. Swain said universities across the country are encouraging progressive groupthink at the expense of a free exchange of ideas, which has a moderating influence that tends to drive out extremes. It’s “a very dangerous thing to do,” she said. Even though she disagrees with the idea of safe spaces, Swain said the irony is that it’s conservatives who would need them, because they are the ones being shamed into being compliant or silent. Those championing safe spaces don’t need the protections. “They actually own the campus,” she said. “They run the campus.” Swain cited problems that conservative thinkers and writers – namely Ann Coulter, Charles Murray and Heather Mac Donald – have had recently with being invited to speak on college…

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Bill Lee Announces Candidacy For Governor, Calls Gas Tax Increase ‘Water Under the Bridge Now’

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Kicking off his campaign for governor Monday, Bill Lee described himself as a Ronald Reagan-admiring fiscal and social conservative whose leadership experiences in business and agriculture compensate for his lack of political experience. Lee, who is chairman of Lee Company, a large family-owned construction, facilities and home services company, is casting himself as a conservative outsider in the race for the Republican nomination. However, Lee’s hesitant position on Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase, which has passed both the House and Senate, is likely to disappoint conservatives who want candidates with a stronger anti-tax stance. “I’m opposed to raising taxes,” he told the media Monday morning at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, but he did not offer a definitive opinion on the gas tax increase. He said he might have handled it differently, but noted that the IMPROVE Act also included tax cuts and said the bill is “water under the bridge now.” When pressed, he said that because he wasn’t privy to all the legislative discussions surrounding the bill, he didn’t want to comment further.   (You can hear the audio below.) Lee was set Monday to launch his “95 Counties, 95 Days RV Tour” with his wife Maria, a…

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6 Things Boss Doss Got Wrong In His Sales Pitch For Governor Haslam’s Gas Tax Increasing IMPROVE Act

Laura Baigert

  As the House sponsor of the IMPROVE Act Tax Cut Act of 2017 (HB 534), State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma) was well versed on all of the related subject matter and respectful throughout his long and challenging sales pitch for Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act to the various committees and on the House floor. There were, however, several things Rep. Doss got wrong.  And, as former Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) said several times through the process, “You can have your own opinions, but you can’t have your own facts.” Here are the top six things Boss Doss got wrong: 1. “I’ve been proud that we cut taxes by $300 million so far.” The state portion of the annual budget has grown from $13.7 billion in 2011-12 to a recommended $16.5 billion for 2017-18.  Since state law requires that all of the revenues be allocated, that’s a $2.8 billion, or 20 percent, increase in state spending in just six years. 2. The average family of 4 will recognize a monthly increase of $5.54 from the gas tax hike versus a savings in their food tax of $7.72, for a net savings of $2.18 per month. In terms of the…

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Letter to the Editor: Governor Tim Burchett?

Tennessee Star Staff
Burchett

  Dear Tennessee Star, With Dr. Mark Green’s nomination to be the next Secretary of the Army it has left many in the state desperately trying to find a true conservative candidate they can support in next years gubernatorial race. There is one person that all conservatives can support, that person is Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, if he decides to throw his hat in the race. ● Why Burchett? As mayor he’s proven himself to be a fiscal conservative. Burchett isn’t afraid to stand up to anyone in his fight for limited government, even special interest groups that are influential at the local level. During one of his ‘budget fights’ with the schools he had this to say, “I want to very respectfully say that it is easy to claim that more money will solve our problems, but we need only to look to Washington, D.C., though, to see that this is simply not true.” When the big government folks on the School Board wanted more money which would have resulted in a tax increase he pledged to veto any measure to raise taxes. Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd even testified before the Knox County Commission in support of the massive…

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Tennessee Department of Health Says Female Genital Mutilation Is Not Our Problem

Chris Alto

The Tennessee Department of Health’s (TDH) Mission Statement is to: [p]rotect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee….Protecting people’s health by preventing problems that contribute to illness, disease and injury is the overall emphasis of the department. As a matter of public health, however, it appears that the TDH does not consider that eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM) is part of their mission. A search of the TDH website and the wide variety of resources including reporting and training shows not a single reference or resource to FGM, even as an “adverse childhood experience.” Despite the estimated high risk to women and girls in Tennessee from FGM the TN Department of Health has elected not to address the threat as part of its mission. After learning about the twenty-one cases of FGM in Tennessee in 2011, The Tennessee Star asked the TDH whether any of those cases had been reported to any of the local or regional health departments and whether TDH was aware of any other incidents of FGM occurring after 2011. Without any additional comment, TDH responded by quoting back the 2012 FGM reporting law and underscoring the law’s mandate that law enforcement has an affirmative duty to receive and report when…

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Haslam Bargained with Democrats and Establishment Republicans to Pass Gas Tax Increase Bill

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” (HB 534), which includes a 6 cents per gallon gas tax increase and a 10 cents per gallon diesel tax increase phased in over three years, garnered 23 votes from Democrats and 37 establishment Republicans, which was more than sufficient to get it to pass in the Tennessee House of Representatives by a vote of 60 to 37 late Wednesday. It was a long day for State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss, the leading co-sponsor of the bill, who spent several hours presenting the case for the bill on the floor of the House prior to the final vote. Only two Democrats, State Rep G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) and State Rep. John Mark Windle (D-Livingston), joined the conservative caucus  of Republicans, who cast 35 votes against the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Rumors swirled throughout the capitol Wednesday that Governor Haslam had made a deal with the Democrats to secure their votes. Rep. Doss (R-Leoma) was seen conversing on the floor with several Democrats throughout the day, which was not, by itself, particularly unusual. More significantly, Democratic Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley) was seen accompanying administrative staffer Warren Wells to the…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Calls Passage of Gas Tax Hike ‘A Momentous Day in Tennessee,’ Looks Ahead to Mass Transit Plan

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has been cheering Gov. Haslam’s gas tax hike for road improvements, while keeping an eye ahead toward implementing a $6 billion transit plan. Barry pushed for Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act, which includes the gas tax hike, in the hours leading up to Wednesday’s action on the bill. The bill passed in both the House and Senate. After the bill passed, Barry celebrated with this tweet: Statement on passage of the IMPROVE Act to improve infrastructure & allow local option: This is a momentous day. https://t.co/mtVkjCCePm pic.twitter.com/B30v14FQCe — Megan Barry for Congress (TN-7) (@MeganCBarry) April 19, 2017 “Our most immediate need is funding,” said Barry, a Democrat, earlier this month in an interview with WSMV Channel 4. The $6 billion transit plan, known as nMotion, was adopted last year by the board of directors of the Regional Transportation Authority. The RTA is made up of Middle Tennessee mayors and Haslam appointees. Their endorsement is nonbinding but gives the plan momentum. The proposal calls for the project to be phased in over 25 years. Funding sources are still on the drawing board but would likely include tax increases. If former mayor Karl Dean’s failed 2014 Amp rapid bus…

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Haslam Reduced Highway Fund Budget By 13 Percent, Grew State Budget By 20 Percent Before Proposing Gas Tax Increases

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam reduced the Highway Fund budget by 13 percent, while he grew the State budget by 20 percent during his first six years in office. Only after he made these reductions in the Highway Fund budget did he propose the gas tax and diesel tax increases included in the IMPROVE Act when he introduced it in January 2017. From Governor Haslam’s first budget year of 2011-12 to the most recent 2016-17, Highway Fund allocations went from $867 million to $757 million, a reduction of 13 percent. HIGHWAY FUND ALLOCATIONS Link 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17  Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Estimated DOWN  Budget $ $866,886,300 $823,104,600 $683,800,400 $792,219,800 $740,645,600 $756,856,000 -13%  Sheet 54 of 656 54 of 545 54 of 542 54 of 550 54 of 558 54 of 558 Page A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 During that same period, the state portion of the budget, excluding the unpredictable and heavily mandated federal funding, grew from $13.7 billion in 2011-12 to $16.5 billion in 2016-17, representing a 20 percent increase. STATE BUDGET IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS Link 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Estimated INCREASE  Billion $ $13.7 $14 $14.6 $14.8 $15.3…

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Council on American Islamic Relations, Unindicted Co-Conspirator in Terror Financing, Opposes Mark Green Nomination

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) a named unindicted co-conspirator in the federal 2008 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial, the largest terrorism financing prosecution in the U.S., is opposing President Trump’s nomination of Tennessee state Senator Mark Green for Secretary of the Army. CAIR has joined LGBT advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign to work against Green’s confirmation. Both groups are leveling “phobic” claims against Green. Green, is a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran who was deployed three times during his term of service. After completing his training in emergency room medicine, he served as a special operations flight surgeon during the 2003 Red Dawn raid that resulted in the capture of Saddam Hussein.  Green monitored Hussein during the 24 hours prior to his extraction. Green received a variety of awards during his years of service. After leaving the military, he founded Align MD, an emergency room staffing company and the Align MD Foundation which provides health care to underserved populations. The Foundation operates free medical clinics in several cities and organizes medical missions trips to places like Ethiopia and Cambodia. CAIR was founded by the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) which was established to advance the political…

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Constitution Series: The Electoral College and the Selection of the President

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

    This is the third of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23. The method of selection of a President to head the executive branch for a term of four years is the most notable illustration of the foundational concept of Federalism seen in the body of the text of the Constitution of the United States that emerged from the Constitutional Convention. Federalism, as we explained earlier in this series, “defines the relationship between the national government and each of the state governments that comprise our republic. Both entities–the national government and each state government–remain sovereign, while the powers of governance and responsibilities to the citizenry are balanced between the two.” And it was the Tenth Amendment, ratified in 1791 and part of the original constitutional “compact” or “covenant” between the states and the national government upon which our republic was organized: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. “The executive Power…

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Here is How Google Celebrated Easter Sunday

Tennessee Star Staff

New media and search engine giant Google celebrated Easter Sunday 2017 the same way it has celebrated Easter for years. Not at all. A.J. Delgado, writing at Mediaite, remarked on Google’s disinterest in Easter Sunday back in 2013. Google’s homepage is known for its ‘Doodles‘ — temporary changes to its homepage logo to commemorate certain days. As defined by Google, its homepage changes are meant “to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.” But on Easter Sunday, a day celebrated by over one billion around the world and by the vast majority of Americans, Google’s homepage is mum on the holiday. Instead, Google chose to commemorate Big Labor icon Cesar Chavez. (In 2011, President Obama designated March 31 as Cesar Chavez day.) Google’s official position over the Easter Sunday-Cesar Chavez controversy in 2013  was “it’s difficult for us to choose,” as the Washington Post reported at the time. Among the holidays the company regularly celebrates with Google Doodles, other than Easter Sunday, are Earth Day, Martin Luther King Day, Lunar New Year, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The first Google Doodle, celebrating the annual Burning Man event, appeared in 1998. Since…

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No Evidence Haslam Administration Requires Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation to Tennessee Department of Health, Despite High Potential Risk in Nashville

Chris Alto

  The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 20th in the country for the potential risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) being performed on women and girls, as reported by the Population Reference Bureau. Among state rankings Tennessee is number 18  overall for risk to women and girls from FGM. Yet under the administration of Governor Bill Haslam, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) does not require any reporting of FGM by Tennessee healthcare providers to the TDH, so far as The Tennessee Star can determine based on publicly available records. The 2017 mandated reporting to the TDH by healthcare providers of “diseases, events, and conditions” which includes both communicable diseases and “events” such as lead levels and carbon monoxide poisoning, but does not include any form of female genital mutilation (FGM), despite a state law passed in 2012 specifically for the purpose of reporting FGM. The TDH’s Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant FY 2017 Application and Annual report which is administered in part for TDH initiatives related to Maternal and Child Health (MCH), specifically references the FGM prohibition as one of the state laws that provide “basic protections for the MCH population” and which applies to TDH’s use of…

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Kentucky Governor Says Bible Is Welcome In Kentucky Public Schools

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed two bills into law emphasizing that the Bible is welcome in state schools, the Baptist Press reports. This week the Republican governor signed legislation allowing students to take Bible literacy as an elective. Last month, he signed a bill clarifying that students can express religious and political viewpoints in K-12 schools and colleges. Bevin had declared 2017 the Year of the Bible. A Republican state senator sponsored the legislation about expression after a Johnson County elementary school took out biblical references from a presentation of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Carol. There are already rights in place for religious expression, but the law is intended to clear up misunderstandings on the part of some teachers and administrators. As for Bible literacy classes, some schools already offer them but the law will offer more protection. C.B. Embry, a Republican state senator from Morgantown, was quoted by the Baptist Press as saying that children need a basic understanding of the Bible. “I don’t think there is another document in the history of our culture that has had more impact on our culture, our society or our values than the Bible,” Embry said. Even most of the Democrats in…

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Governor ‘Hot Boxing’ Legislators to Get Yes Votes on Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

Governor Haslam is concerned enough about the final outcome of next week’s proposed gas tax increase vote on his IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” to set up a series of private 20 minute meetings with state legislators who are on the fence. In an email sent to staff assistants of fifteen members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Wednesday obtained by The Tennessee Star, one of the governor’s administrative assistants “requested” these targeted legislators appear in “his conference room on the first floor of the Capitol,”beginning on Thursday. The purpose of these meetings appears to be for the governor to give these state legislators the “hot box” treatment. “Hot boxing” is a method of interrogation in which the person being interrogated “is locked in a ‘hot box’ – a small, hot room,” according to List Verse. In the political world, “hot boxing” usually refers to intense one-on-one pressure applied by a powerful political figure to a less powerful political figure. The treatment is delivered in an environment totally controlled by the more powerful political figure. Its purpose is to coerce the less powerful political figure to comply with the political will of the more powerful political figure.…

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Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metro Area One of Top 20 Places in U.S. Where Women and Girls at Risk for Female Genital Mutilation

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

Tennessee outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM) in 1996, but 2013 data collated in a Population Reference Bureau (PRB) report, shows that the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 20th in the country for the potential risk of FGM being performed on women and girls. Tennessee is number 18 in overall state rankings for risk to women and girls from FGM. The Population Reference Bureau is a non-profit supported financially by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, and the United States Agency for International Development and several other foundations. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) includes the terms FGM, female circumcision and female genital excision, under the broader heading of “female genital cutting:” “Female genital cutting refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for any cultural, religious or otherwise nontherapeutic reasons. This practice is common in many refugee populations, particularly those from East Africa (i.e. Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan), although the practice is pervasive throughout the world. This controversial practice is considered a human rights violation by many, and it is illegal in the United States in people under 18 years of age.”  [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/us-fgmc-all-metros-table.pdf”]   Minneapolis, Minnesota,…

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WWTN’s Ralph Bristol Blasts Conservative State Representative Who Opposes Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase Bill

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News on 99.7 FM WWTN, blasted a leading conservative Republican State Representative who opposes Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal, the IMPROVE ACT “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” on his program Thursday morning. Earlier this month, State Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) called on Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) “to hit the restart button in regards to the IMPROVE Act and to send the bill back to Transportation Subcommittee to be debated fairly and openly,” as The Tennessee Star reported. Bristol is no fan of Sexton or his opposition to the gas tax increase, and made that point very clear on his program Thursday. Recent developments “will hopefully bury Jerry Sexton in the graveyard of political one-hit blunders,” Bristol said near the end of a lengthy soliloquy in which he praised the current version of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase bill. The IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” he said, “is still, in my opinion, by far the most conservative plan on the table to increase funding for transportation in Tennessee.” Bristol also seemed eager to participate in the debate on the floor of the Tennessee House or Represenatives next week when the…

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BREAKING: Majority of House Republicans Oppose Gas Tax Increase in ‘Secret’ Whip Vote, 37 to 30

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Earlier this week the House Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) conducted a secret poll of the House GOP Caucus members to gauge support for the Haslam IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Williams distributed popsicle sticks to members of the Caucus for them to cast their votes in favor or opposition to the bill as it currently stands. The Tennessee Star has obtained a copy of the Williams vote tally, which shows a clear majority of the Caucus poised to vote against the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” that was passed out of the Finance Committee yesterday by voice vote. The “secret” vote among the Republican Caucus members revealed that there are currently 37 “no” votes, 30 “yes” votes, 2 “present and not voting”, and 4 popsicle sticks that were not returned. The GOP Caucus is currently comprised of a total of 73 House Members. Passage of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” on the House Floor will require 50 votes. Therefore, if the numbers revealed in the secret vote tally hold, Governor Haslam will have to secure the votes of almost the entire Democratic Party Caucus to pass his tax plan,…

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Tommy Vallejos Will Run For Mark Green’s State Senate Seat

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Montgomery County Commissioner Tommy Vallejos says he plans to run for state Sen. Mark Green’s vacated seat. Green (R-Clarksville) was recently nominated by President Trump to become secretary of the army. There will be a special election to replace Green once he is confirmed. Vallejos, a county commissioner since first getting elected in 2010, also serves as board chairman for Latinos For Tennessee, a group that promotes conservative values and policies. A retired army veteran, he is an associate pastor at Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville and has been involved in prison ministries and gang awareness and prevention. Vallejos told The Tennessee Star he wouldn’t run as a Republican but then legislate as a liberal once at the Capitol. “We have too many RINOs there now,” he said, referring to the moniker Republicans in Name Only. “I don’t want to be one of those. You’ve got to stand on principles.” Vallejos, 54, lives in Clarksville and has been married almost 35 years. He and his wife have four children and seven grandchildren. He is a native of New Mexico. Early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, Vallejos campaigned for Ted Cruz but later stood by Trump after he became the Republican…

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Gas Tax Increase Passes House Finance Committee on a Voice Vote

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), chairman of the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, presided over a voice vote on Tuesday that advanced the controversial IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” to the Calendar and Rules Committee, where it awaits scheduling for a vote on the floor of the full House. Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), as sponsor of the bill, once again presented the features of the  IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Doss unexpectedly made a point of saying that the renaming of the bill last week to include The Tax Cut Act of 2017 was something that was not important to him, but it was to its sponsor, Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga). Chairman Sargent allowed a leisurely-paced question and answer period from Committee members to Rep. Doss, which came primarily from Democrat members of the Committee. Rep. Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) pointed out that while he wished it wasn’t included in the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017”, he wouldn’t vote for a bill that didn’t include the change from the franchise and excise tax to the single sales factor due to the loss of Polaris from his district to the state of Alabama. Rep. David Hawk (R- Greeneville)…

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Constitution Series: Three Things That Make the United States Constitution Unique in World History

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star - Constitution Series

    This is the second of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23.   Today’s high school students may yawn when they hear teachers describe what a world-changing document the United States Constitution was when it was ratified in 1788 and a new government was formed a year later in 1789. But a deeper look behind the scenes reveals the three dramatic innovations the Founding Fathers introduced in just 4,400 words that changed the course of history for the better over the next 228 years, not just in the United States of America, but around the word: A Single Written Agreement Was Now the Highest Authority for “The Rule of Law” in America Federalism The Separation of Powers 1. A Single Written Agreement Was Now the Highest Authority for “The Rule of Law” in America. Two-thirds of the four million residents of the United States in 1789 (67 percent) were of British ancestry. Another 14 percent were from other parts of Europe. Nineteen percent (750,000) were from Africa, the vast majority of whom…

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Groundbreaking ‘Trans-Siberian Orchestra’ Founder Paul O’Neill Found Dead

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  The music world has suffered another loss as the unexpected passing of Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) founder Paul O’Neill was announced Wednesday.   The Los Angeles Times reported: Paul O’Neill, who founded the progressive metal band Trans-Siberian Orchestra that was known for its spectacular holiday concerts filled with theatrics, lasers and pyrotechnics, has died at the age of 61. O’Neill was found dead in his room by hotel staff at a Tampa Embassy Suites late Wednesday afternoon, University of South Florida police spokeswoman Renna Reddick said. There were no obvious signs of foul play, and a medical examiner is working to determine an official cause, she said. TSO burst onto the music scene shortly after their founding in 1996 with their unique re-imagining Christmas carols an original holiday-themed tunes – but many will remember their first time hearing the band with this classic viral video from 2005: https://youtu.be/rmgf60CI_ks   Selling more that 12,000,000 albums and selling out the largest arenas, TSO defied the struggles many music acts face in today’s marketplace. LATimes: O’Neill was a rock producer and manager who began putting together the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 1996, blending heavy metal with classical music and creating a unique brand…

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Clarksville NAACP Opposes U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s Visit To Austin Peay

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  The Clarksville NAACP is opposing U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s visit Monday to Austin Peay State University, according to an article in The Leaf-Chronicle. The group said in a press release sent to The Leaf-Chronicle that Blackburn (R-TN) refuses to host a town hall meeting to address concerns of Montgomery County residents. However, Blackburn was quoted as saying she has offered to meet with the group’s leaders but they have declined. “This press release misrepresents the willingness we have displayed to sit down and have a conversation,” she said. Leaders with the NAACP said they didn’t want to meet with Blackburn on their own because it wouldn’t afford an opportunity to address the concerns of the entire community. Blackburn will be in Clarksville Monday to host the 4th annual Congressional Leadership Summit for high school juniors and seniors. In February, Blackburn hosted a town hall in Fairview in Williamson County where she faced protesters, few of whom were from the Fairview community. The Tennessee Star reported earlier on how those on the left are organizing online to disrupt town halls and other forums, in some cases traveling far from where they lived to attend. The left has attempted to turn the traditional town hall…

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DESPERATE: Laughingstock Boss Doss Renames Failing ‘IMPROVE Act’ Gas Tax Increase to ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017’

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Peals of laughter echoed through the House Finance sub-committee chamber Wednesday as Transportation Committee Chairman Rep Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma) moved an amendment renaming the troubled legislation increasing fuel taxes known as the ‘IMPROVE Act’ to the ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017.’ Proponents of the bill have been claiming it is revenue neutral, despite the fact that they are using tax cuts passed in previous years to balance against the huge fuel tax increases contained in the legislation aimed at increasing road funding by approximately $300 million per year. Now, proponents are rebranding the legislation again as a “tax cut” despite the fact that the primary “cuts” flow only to a few dozen large manufacturing companies. Last month, Boss Doss blatantly broke House rules to ram Gov. Haslam’s gas tax proposal – then known as the IMPROVE Act – through the House Transportation Committee he chairs. On Monday State Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) and 16 other members of the House called on Speaker Beth Harwell to send the bill back to the House Transportation Subcommittee for a “fair and open debate.” On Tuesday Speaker Harwell’s office told The Tennessee Star she did not have the legal authority to…

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Southern Baptist ERLC Research Fellow Criticizes Mike Pence’s Approach To Honoring His Marriage

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

A research fellow with the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has written a piece for a liberal website criticizing Vice President Mike Pence for the boundaries he sets for his marriage. Karen Swallow Prior wrote in Vox that “virtue ethics is better than the Billy Graham rule.” Prior, an English professor at Liberty University, referenced the vice president’s longstanding rule to never eat alone with a woman other than his wife or attend events where alcohol is served unless his wife is with him. A recent Washington Post profile of Pence’s wife, Karen, mentioned how the vice president had spoken publicly about this commitment back in 2002. Such an approach to honoring marital fidelity is dubbed “the Billy Graham rule” by some evangelicals because the famed evangelist is known for teaching and practicing similar safeguards. But Prior said the focus on rules is misplaced and that what should be discussed is prudence. “Prudence, in fact, is what seems to be missing from the conversation about the vice president’s ‘rules.’ And I don’t mean prudence in the way that some supporters of the Billy Graham rule are using the term. Prudence as properly understood is a virtue, not a rule,” Prior wrote.…

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Tennessee Farm Bureau Supports Haslam’s Gas Tax Because They Don’t Have to Pay It

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Since January 2008, Tennessee farmers have benefitted from expanded agricultural tax exemptions, including sales and use taxes on “gasoline or diesel fuel used for ‘agricultural purposes’ as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-6-102.” Farmers in Tennessee who own or lease “agricultural land from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold during the year, including payments from government sources,” are exempt from paying tax on “off road” use of gasoline and diesel fuels. A full year before Governor Haslam released his “IMPROVE Act” that raises the tax on gas and diesel fuel, Tennessee Farm Bureau’s (TFB) president Jeff Aiken said: “We could support a fiscally responsible state fuel tax increase, if and only if the money that was taken out of the funds under the Bredesen administration were first returned to the fund, and as long as the monies collected would go toward building and maintenance of roads and bridges in the state and nothing else.” Despite Haslam explicitly admitting that that up to $70 million of the gas tax can be spent on mass transit by cities and counties, the TFB has not withdrawn their support for the proposed fuel tax increases. In fact, last…

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Tennessee Farm Bureau Wants In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrant Students

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star - Top Story

  The Tennessee Farm Bureau (TFB) is reputed to be the largest farm bureau in the country. Its mission statement is: To develop, foster, promote and protect programs for the general welfare, including economic, social, educational and political well-being of farm people of the great state of Tennessee. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), is a non-profit organization with affiliate farm bureaus in all 50 states, including Tennessee. In 2016 the AFBF reported employing eighteen registered lobbyists. Among the services the AFBF provides is training new state farm bureau presidents. In 2013, like the AFBF, the TFB issued a statement of support for the proposed comprehensive immigration reform bill that the Congressional Budget Office concluded a category of “legalization” for illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S. “The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation is proud to stand today beside our friends with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and our fellow business families in support of S.744 the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. We believe this bipartisan immigration bill is a balanced reform bill, it includes fair and workable farm labor provisions, and it will help ensure an adequate supply of farm labor. After Congress failed to pass…

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State Rep. Sexton Tells Speaker Harwell: ‘Hit The Restart Button’ On Gas Tax, Send It Back to Subcommittee ‘To Be Debated Fairly and Openly’

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  State Representative Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station), joined by more than a dozen colleagues in the Tennessee House of Representatives, held a press conference Monday blasting the Republican leadership for their heavy-handed and ethically questionable tactics to ram through the Governor’s gas tax hike, the key element of the IMPROVE Act. “We are calling on Speaker Harwell, House Leadership, and those that support this bill to hit the restart button in regards to the IMPROVE Act and to send the bill back to Transportation Subcommittee to be debated fairly and openly,” Sexton announced. The Tennessee Star was there with cameras rolling: The Star has reported extensively on how State Rep. Barry Doss, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, broke the rules of the House of Representatives to push Haslam’s gas tax through the committee. On March 22, for instance, The Star published a story titled “Boss Doss Breaks Rules to Ram Amended Gas Tax Increase Through House Transportation Committee,” which provided a blow-by-blow account of the subterfuge behind the bill’s passage that day. “The people have elected Republicans to govern at all levels of state government. The Republicans control the Governors Mansion, the state house, and the state senate. We,…

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Top 10 Classes Taught at This Year’s ‘Sex Week’ University of Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff

Undergraduates at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville are not learning about the Constitution this week, the focus of The Tennessee Star’s new series of articles for secondary students in grades 8 through 12. Instead, they are participating in the school’s fifth annual “Sex Week.” “Sex Week is a whole week of student activities that our student organization called SEAT puts on during the spring semester,” the web site says: Sex Week 2017 will be April 3-7. Our goal is to create a safe space where students can openly engage in comprehensive and academically informed discussion about all things related to sex, sexuality, relationships, and gender. Basically, we want to educate, because this stuff is important! “We firmly believe that sex education is not comprehensive without including conversations about pleasure and empowerment. Learning about consent, how to communicate your needs with partners, and how to find pleasure and fulfillment in yourself is really critical to building a healthy and safe campus. Not convinced? Sexual pleasure is included in the World Health Organization‘s definition of sexual health,” the website adds. Some of the important classes University of Tennessee undergraduates can attend during Sex Week include this top ten list: (1) Sex…

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Constitution Series: A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Claudia Henneberry
Tennessee Star

  This is the first of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23.   Minutes after the Constitutional Convention adjourned in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, Elizabeth Powel, a friend of George Washington who hosted many social events for the political class of the time, asked Benjamin Franklin if the convention had given us a republic or a monarchy. “A republic, madam, if you can keep it,” the venerable 81-year-old delegate, ambassador, and inventor responded. Fifty-five delegates, from all the states except Rhode Island, attended that convention, which began four months earlier in May of that year under the premise of forming a more perfect union by revising the Articles of Confederation. You see, the United States of America was not officially formed as the republic of which we are currently citizens in 1783 when the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain acknowledged the independence and sovereignty of its former colonies, was signed. The Continental Congress of the thirteen rebellious colonies, convening in York Town, Pennsylvania (now simply called York), adopted the…

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Vanderbilt Poll: Nashville a Blue City in a Red State; Majority of City’s Residents Disapprove of President Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

  A new Vanderbilt Poll confirms what most Tennesseans have known for years: Nashville is a far left island of Democratic blue surrounded by a sea of conservative Republican red. The majority of those surveyed in Davidson County (Nashville) disapprove of President Trump, including 51 percent of white voters. Disapproval among black and Hispanic respondents tops more than 70 percent. President Trump crushed Hillary Clinton in Tennessee in the November 2016 general election, winning the state’s eleven electoral college votes in a 61 percent to 35 percent blowout over the former Secretary of State. In Davidson County (Nashville), it was an entirely different matter. Hillary Clinton defeated President Trump in the urban center of Middle Tennessee by a 60 percent to 34 percent margin. “When you’re polling registered voters rather than likely voters, your results are going to skew left because you are polling a lot of people who are not informed and engaged enough to actually vote,” former Nashville radio talk show host and media consultant Steve Gill tells The Tennessee Star. “Taking that into account, the Vanderbilt Poll essentially reflects the election day results,” he adds. “The Vanderbilt Poll has spent a lot of money to confirm what most everybody…

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Commentary: NO, It ISN’T a Tax Cut for Regular Tennesseeans

Steve Gill
Tennessee Star

Proponents of Governor Bill Haslam’s fuel tax increase claim it is actually a tax CUT thanks to reductions in a couple of large corporate taxes, like the Franchise & Excise tax. Cutting taxes on businesses to create more job growth while we have a $2 billion surplus is a great idea…but you don’t have to increase taxes elsewhere to justify it. As Nike ads used to proclaim: “Just DO It!!” The claim that a large tax increase on drivers in Tennessee with a slight reduction of taxes on food is a “net cut” because it is combined with unrelated cuts that benefit a few of the Governor’s cronies is the kind of misrepresentation that“fuels” a legitimate distrust of government. The tax INCREASES on fuel far surpass the CUTS in the sales tax on food. It’s not even close. Muddying the water with corporate tax cuts that benefit a few doesn’t change that truth. As the Haslam IMPROVE Act currently stands, it is a $345 million tax increase. Approximately $188 million will come from the increase in the gasoline tax; another $100 million will be generated by the increased diesel tax; and finally, about $57 million will be collected in the…

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State Sen. Joey Hensley: In-State Tuition Would Encourage More Illegal Immigrants To Come To Tennessee

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Offering illegal immigrants in-state tuition would encourage more illegal immigration into Tennessee, says state Sen. Joey Hensley. Hensley (R-Hohenwald) was one of only two senators on the Senate Education Committee to vote against the Tuition Opportunity Bill on March 22. In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Hensley said that if the bill passes, more illegal immigrant families would likely move to the state to establish residency to qualify for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. “It encourages people to be here illegally when we let them obtain benefits,” Hensley said. “We have laws about legal immigration and people need to abide by those laws.” Hensley said many of his constituents in his rural district are strongly opposed to the bill. He also opposed the bill in 2015, when it passed in the Senate but failed in the House by only one vote. Currently, at least 18 states allow illegal immigrant students to receive in-state tuition, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Three states—Arizona, Georgia and Indiana—specifically prohibit in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants, and two states—Alabama and South Carolina— bar them from enrolling at any public post-secondary institution, the NCSL reports. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in…

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FAKE NEWS: State Rep. Andy Holt Declares NewsChannel 5’s Traffic Camera Citation ‘Investigation’ of Him a Sham

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) fired back at so-called “fake news” regarding a report by News Channel 5’s Ben Hall. In a statement, Representative Holt shot down the local reporter’s implication that Holt – a notorious and outspoken opponent of automatically operated “red light cameras” by third-party vendors as a revenue generator for the state – somehow hid his record of unpaid traffic citations. Hall’s report is literally the definition of fake news. There’s a very simple reason I refused to talk to Mr. Hall about my traffic camera tickets. He’s a known peddler of fake, biased news. It’s actually funny that he fell right into the trap by writing a misleading headline and creating a fake story because I wouldn’t talk to him. The truth is, I’m more than happy to talk about my unpaid traffic camera citations, and I have been very public about that. I welcome any real journalist to come in my office, sit down with me, and report on the real story. Instead, Representative Holt said Hall’s story was a massive missed opportunity for the journalist to expose a very serious and corrupt operation. Mr. Hall really dropped the ball here. He let his…

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Senate Education Committee Approves State Benefit for Illegal Immigrant Students; Silent on Protecting Students in School Bathrooms

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  When the Senate Education Committee last week passed SB1014, Sen. Todd Gardenhire’s bill to make illegal immigrant students living in Tennessee, eligible for in-state college tuition and at the same time,  they not only voted to violate the Tennessee  “Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act,” they also turned their back on vulnerable students who need protection from predators in school bathrooms. SB1014 passed in the committee on a 7 to 2 vote. Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville), Sen. Reginald Tate (D-Memphis),  Sen.  Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), Sen. Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville), and Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) all voted yes to give illegal immigrant students in-state-tuition and violate existing Tennessee state law. Sen. Joey Hensley (R- Hohenwald) and Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) voted no. During that same committee meeting, after Chairman Dolores Gresham announced “seeing no motion” to hear SB771, Sen. Beavers’ bill designed to protect the privacy of K-12 students in Tennessee, Chairman Gresham gaveled down the bill and dismissed Sen. Beavers.  This meant that Sen. Beavers was not given an opportunity to explain her bill nor was the committee able to debate its merits, a confusing outcome to say the least since the same committee members…

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Tennessee Republican Assembly Calls for Ethics Investigation of Boss Doss Over TDOT Contracts

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

The Tennessee Republican Assembly has asked Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to begin an ethics investigation of the business conduct of State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), a vocal supporter of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal, over potential Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) contracts for his firm. “The Tennessee Republican Assembly (TRA) is calling upon you, Speaker Beth Harwell, to investigate a potential ethics violation by Rep. Barry Doss, who also serves as Chair of the Transportation Committee,” the organization said in a letter dated March 27 signed by its entire leadership team and hand delivered to members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Tuesday. “Chairman Doss should have recused himself from the proceedings that could potentially have a direct financial impact on his business,” the TRA said of his oversight of the Transportation Committee as it considered the gas tax increase proposal last week. “In this role, Rep. Doss has the capability to sway the committee by means of influence or by manipulation of the rules governing the committee derived from Mason’s Manual,” the letter continued. “In a stunning abuse of power, State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma) broke a long-standing rule of the Tennessee House of Representatives to ram…

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State Senator Gardenhire Melts Down During Radio Interview When Questioned On Fairness of Granting Illegal Immigrant Students In-State Tuition

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) had a live on-air melt down Friday during a radio interview on WWTN 99.7 FM when Nashville’s Morning News host Ralph Bristol questioned him about the fairness of granting illegal immigrant students in-state tuition. Gardenhire is the sponsor of SB 1014/HB863 in the Senate. Rep. Mark White (R-Chattanooga) is the sponsor in the House. The bill “exempts undocumented students from paying out-of-state tuition at a state institution of higher education, at the discretion of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), the state university governing boards, or the University of Tennessee (UT) board of trustees,” according to the bill summary in the Fiscal Note prepared by the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee: Such individuals shall meet certain requirements to receive in-state tuition, including but not limited to, attending a school in this state for the two years immediately prior to graduation from high school; graduating from a Tennessee high school or obtaining a GED or HiSET credential awarded by a state-approved institution or organization, or completing high school in a Tennessee home school program; and is registered as an entering student or is enrolled at a state institution of higher education. The bill passed the…

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State Legislators Who Live Near Nashville Want To Get Reimbursed for Overnight Stays Again

Tennessee Star Staff

House Majority Leader Glen Casada (R-Franklin) tells The Tennessee Star he filed an amendment on Wednesday to SB 1251/HB 1139 that will reimburse state legislators who live less than 50 miles from the State Capitol in Nashville for overnight hotel stays while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session. “I think it’s a fair request,” Casada tells The Star. The amendment reads as follows: (A) A member whose principal residence is fifty (50) miles from the capitol or less shall be paid an expense allowance for meals and incidentals equal to the allowance granted federal employees for such expenses in the Nashville area for each legislative day in Nashville or any day the member participates in any other meeting or endeavor as described in subsection (a) held in Nashville. (B) A member whose principal residence is fifty (50) miles from the capitol or less shall be paid an expense allowance for lodging equal to the allowance granted federal employees for lodging expenses in the Nashville area if the member requests on the member’s per diem reimbursement form to be reimbursed for lodging for a legislative day or any day the member participates in any other meeting or endeavor as described in subsection (a)…

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Legislators Who Give In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrant Students Are Voting to Violate State Law

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

Last week when the state’s Senate Education Committee voted to give in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students, the seven committee members that passed SB1014 also voted to violate a 2012 Tennessee law. By voting to pass SB1014, Senators Gresham, Tate, and Tracy voted against the “Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act” (EVEA), the law they had each voted to pass in 2012. Bill sponsor Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and Senators Crowe, Dickerson, and Haile also voted yes. Senators Hensley and Kelsey voted no. Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) was a named co-sponsor of the EVEA. The 2012 EVEA, which the  TN Board of Regents’ General Counsel confirmed last week, classifies in-state tuition is a state benefit. The EVEA requires that: “…every state governmental entity and local health department shall verify that each applicant eighteen (18) years of age or older, who applies for a federal, state or local public benefit from the entity or local health department, is a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States in the manner provided in this chapter.” Only U.S. citizens and “qualified aliens” are considered eligible to apply for benefits under this Tennessee law which defines “qualified alien” by referencing federal law.…

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Haslam’s ‘Drive to 55’ Used to Give In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrant Students

Chris Alto

During this week’s sessions in a House Education Subcommittee and the Senate Education Committee, Governor Haslam’s education agenda “Drive to 55” was the reason given for needing to pass bills that make illegal immigrant students in Tennessee eligible for in-state college tuition. “Drive to 55″ refers to Haslam’s higher education reform umbrella that includes the TN Promise, LEAP,  TN Reconnect and TN Advise” programs which are each intended to “increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary degree or credential to 55 percent by the year 2025.” Tennessee Star previously reported that Rep. White and Sen. Todd Gardenhire were carrying two sets of bills (SB104/HB863 and SB635/HB660), that if passed, would make in-state college tuition rates available to illegal immigrant students. On Tuesday, Rep. Mark White’s bill, HB660 which would authorize the new college and university governing boards to decide which students are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates was taken up by the House Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee. Almost immediately, Rep. Harry Brooks asked White whether he “intended this bill to create a mechanism for folks who are illegally in the country” to get in-state tuition? White admitted “that is where this thought came from.” He also admitted that…

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Says it ‘Needs’ $46 Million For Distracted Driver Programs

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has identified 15 projects in a budget category best described as “distracted driver programs” that will cost $46.4 million, part of the 962 total statewide transportation projects it has scheduled over the next 12 years at a total cost of $10.5 billion. All these projects will be built, TDOT says, provided the governor’s IMPROVE Act, which contains four state tax increases, including a 7-cent gas tax, a 12-cent diesel tax, $5 on motor vehicle registrations and 3 percent on rental cars, becomes law. The department categorized the 962 IMPROVE Act projects into eight program types: Interstate Modernization, Primary Trade Corridors, Rural Access, Safety, Urban Economic Opportunity, Highway and Facility Maintenance, Technology/Intelligent Transportation System, Local Bridges. “Through this process we have made decisions to include only ‘needs’ vs. ‘wants,’ ” Commissioner John Schroer said at the conclusion of the TDOT budget presentation for FY 2017-18. Among these ‘needs’ are the $46.4 million of projects within the “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System” category that is probably better described as “distracted driver programs.” According to SPOT, a TDOT interactive page (short for Statewide Project Overview Tracker), the program type “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System . . .  [includes] TDOT’s cameras, overhead…

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Grover Norquist’s Endorsement of Gov. Haslam Gas Tax Increase Backfires

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Gas tax increase supporters initially believed they had scored a great political coup on Monday when Washington insider Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), declared his support for the amended version of Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act that passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week. That amended version reduced the proposed gas tax increase from 7 cents per gallon to 6 cents per gallon. But the fierce backlash from conservative opponents of the gas tax increase in Tennessee to the last minute attempt by supporters of the governor’s plan to bolster its chances by calling in a “celebrity ” who has never lived in the state and knows little of the intricacies of the bill or the state’s budget, spells more, rather than less, political trouble ahead for the governor and his allies. “The recent amendments made by the Senate, and supported by Gov. Haslam, have improved the bill to the extent that the bill is now a net tax decrease, and thus not a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge…ATR scores the amended version of SB 1221 / HB 534 as a net tax cut and therefore Taxpayer Protection Pledge compliant,” Norquist wrote “in a memorandum to…

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Nashville’s Downtown Library ‘A Scary Mess,’ Mirrors National Trends Aimed At Helping Homeless

Wendy Wilson

Public libraries have long wrestled with how to address homeless people who walk through the door. What’s changed in recent years is that some libraries have started to pro-actively welcome the homeless and set up programs to try to help them. Nashville, with a growing homeless population, is on the cutting edge of this approach and has drawn national attention for its efforts at the downtown library on Church Street. But critics say that while well-intentioned, reaching out to the homeless can distract from a library’s main mission and make it a less welcoming place for the general public. “The Downtown Library is a Scary Mess” was the title of an article  in the Nashville Scene in August 2016. Writer Betsy Phillips described encountering bad smells, out-of-order toilets, dirty laundry on restroom sinks, and men darting in and out of doorways by a reading room making her feel unsafe. “There’s not a good way to talk about this without sounding like you’re being mean to homeless people,” Phillips wrote. But talk about it we must, she said. “This is a library. A library. If there is any place in town where you should not be afraid to walk into a…

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America First Federation Launches Effort to Impeach Three Federal Judges

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The America First Federation (AFF) announced today that it is launching a campaign to impeach the three federal district judges who have unconstitutionally ruled to revoke President Trump’s executive orders to protect the United States from foreign terrorists. “The three judges are Judge James Robart of Washington State, who overruled President Trump’s Executive Order 13679 on February 6, Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii and Judge Theodore Chuang of Maryland who issued separate temporary restraining orders on March 15 blocking the nationwide implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 13780,” AFF said in the statement released to The Tennessee Star. “We are organizing in several states, beginning with Tennessee, Florida, and Texas, to ask Republican members of the House of Representatives in those states to file articles of impeachment against all three of these judges (Robart,Watson, and Chuang), individually, in the House of Representatives, and to ask the Judiciary Committee to commence impeachment hearings,” Mark Skoda, founder of AFF, said in the statement. “Our efforts will initially focus on communicating this message to Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in Tennessee and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) in Texas,” Skoda said. “None…

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Commentary: Constitutional Crisis or Judicial Tyranny?

Mark Skoda
Tennessee Star

  President Trump has now issued two executive orders temporarily halting refugees from all countries and immigration from several Middle Eastern counties deemed security risks to the United States of America. Trump’s actions are constitutional and lawful. These countries affected by the temporary travel ban have little to no infrastructure to properly vet incoming refugees or migrants to America, are known hotbeds of terrorist activity, and, in the case of Syria, are locked in a violent civil war. Three federal judges–Judge James Robart of Washington State, Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii and Judge Theodore Chuang of Maryland–have recently issued temporary restraining orders blocking the implementation of Executive Order 13769 and Executive Order 13780. None of these three judges addressed the statutes and Constitution pertaining to the legitimate authority of the Executive Branch to regulate immigration. In each of these cases, we find that the opinions of the court reflected the political perspectives of Left wing ideologues, Democrat campaign operatives if you will, as they entered campaign rhetoric as evidence prior to Trump gaining the presidency. In all cases, the opinions did not address the underlying statutes, but instead dealt with the “mindset” of the government as developed through Trump’s campaign…

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Snowflake Flurries Blown Away by Nashville’s Trump Supporters

Christina Botteri

  A little over one hundred protesters – mostly left wing “snowflakes” in their twenties – gathered in front of the television satellite trucks in front of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday as an estimated 10,000 supporters heard from President Trump inside. “There were a few protesters who were clearly trying to get the attention of the media, and the media was obliging them with more attention than their numbers deserved, ” one Trump supporter who was outside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium just before the event started told the The Tennessee Star. The Trump supporter said all the energy of the day was with the large pro-Trump crowd, not the few anti-Trump protesters. “In terms of crowd enthusiasm, the Trump rally was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in Nashville,” he said. “This was a huge crowd that came out to support President Trump,” another person who attended the event said.  “Nashville saw nothing like it on the various occasions when President Obama came to town – and this is a Democrat-majority city. Supporters of President Trump vastly outnumbered the protesters. In a Democrat city.” But despite their best efforts, the protesters were largely ignored by the pro-Trump crowd. The…

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Gov. Haslam Admits Up to $70 Million of Gas Taxes Can Be Spent on Mass Transit by Cities and Counties

Tennessee Star Staff

A spokesperson for Gov. Haslam has admitted that up to $70 million of highway user fees collected by the State of Tennessee, primarily from gas taxes, can be spent on mass transit in the FY 2017-2018 budget. In that budget, which he transmitted to the Tennessee General Assembly on January 30 of this year, Gov. Haslam estimates that $314.7 million of the $1.2 billion in highway user fees the State of Tennessee will collect in the upcoming fiscal year will be given to cities and counties. Those “Funds may be expended by municipalities receiving the funds for the purpose of funding mass transit systems,” Gov. Haslam’s top aide, Dave Smith, says in an email statement provided to The Tennessee Star by 99.7 FM WWTN’s Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News. “No more than 22.22% of the funds may be used for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith continues, citing Tennessee Code Annotated  § 54-4-203-204. “No more than 22.22% of county funds may be expended for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith adds, citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 54-4-103. The total amount cities and counties may expend “for the purpose of funding mass transit” in FY 2017-FY 2018 under the budget…

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Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development Used Like a Family-Owned Business

Chris Alto

The Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development operates like a closely held, family-owned business hiring family members of friends and friends of friends, but whose salaries are paid by state taxpayers. Former commissioner Bill Hagerty established this culture which was maintained by Randy Boyd. Shortly after taking office in 2011, Governor Haslam appointed Bill Hagerty as Commissioner of Economic & Community Development (ECD).  One year later, in 2012, Hagerty promoted Sen. Lamar Alexander’s son Will Alexander, from assistant commissioner for strategy to ECD’s chief of staff. That same year, Hagerty  hired Samar Ali and Alice Rolli. “Samar Ali is a superstar,” Steve Gill tells The Tennessee Star. “She had huge academic credentials, international credentials. She’s a Vanderbilt Law graduate,” Gill notes. “Her credentials are impeccable. The real question is, have other people been hired who are not as strong?” he concludes. When concerns started circulating regarding Ali’s hiring as International Director because of her background in sharia finance, Hagerty, speaking at a “First Tuesday” gathering defended his decision: “When it was known we were looking to fill a position in our office, I got a call from her father asking me if I would look at her resume. Like any…

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State Senate Transportation Committee Passes Amended Gas Tax Hike

Tina LaFleur

The State Senate Transportation Committee passed an amended version of Gov. Haslam’s Gas Tax hike (SB 1221) on Monday. Among the changes were a removal of the inflation indexing provision, a cut in the governor’s proposed gas tax increase from 7 cents per gallon to 6 cents per gallon, and a cut in the proposed diesel fuel tax increase from 12 cents to 10 cents per gallon. Senate revisions to Gov. Haslam’s road-funding bill: – Reduces governor’s proposed gas tax increase from 7 cents per gallon to 6 cents. Phases increases in over 3 years with 4 cents in Fiscal Year 2018, 1 cent in FY 2019 and 1 cent in FY 2020. – Reduces governor’s proposed diesel tax increase from 12 cents per gallon to 10 cents. Phases in over 3 years with 4 cents in FY 2018, 3 cents in FY 2019 and 3 cents in FY 2020 – Alternative fuel tax increase of 8 cents phased in over 3 years. – Removes inflation indexing provision – Removes 3 percent rental car surcharge – Deepens Haslam’s proposed cut to state’s sales tax by reducing the 5 percent tax to 4 percent beginning July 1 as opposed to the 4.5 percent originally…

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