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Nashville Attorney Representing Lower Broadway’s Bar and Restaurant Owners Says John Cooper Lied About COVID-19 Numbers, Shut Businesses Down Out of Spite

Chris Butler

Nashville Mayor John Cooper and his senior advisor allegedly misled the public and never intended to reveal the actual number of confirmed COVID-19 cases that Davidson County officials traced back to bars on Nashville’s lower Broadway.

As reported, Cooper ordered those bars and restaurants closed after he said they posed a health threat because of allegedly too many COVID-19 cases.

But Cooper and his senior advisor, Ben Eagles, closed those establishments because the two men allegedly had a vendetta against Steve Smith. Smith owns Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse.

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Julie Strauss Levin Commentary: It’s Our Suburbia, Let’s Keep It That Way

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We moms treasure suburban life. We dream of having a home where our children can ride their bikes and play safely with their friends. We save our money for that special home on that special street in that special neighborhood and that special school district to educate our children. We live in the suburbs because we know what’s best for our families. And dads do, too.

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CNN Fails to Accurately Report on Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s July 2 Decision to Shut Down the City’s Bars

Chris Butler

When Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced at a July 2 press conference that he was shutting down all bars in the city for at least 14 days, temporarily shutting down entertainment and event venues, and reducing restaurant capacities from 75 percent to 50 percent, he made no mention of an internal email sent within the Metro Davidson County Health Department just two days earlier on June 30 that stated there had been only 19 cases of COVID-19 traced to bars in the city, just three cases traced to restaurants, but 1,159 cases traced to long term care facilities and health care facilities, and a whopping 1,251 traced to the construction industry since March. The Tennessee Star has obtained copies of that and several other emails exchanged between the Metro Health Department and Mayor Cooper’s office in June and July. The email dated June 30, 2020 sent from Leslie Waller in the Metro Health Department at 2:31 pm to Benjamin Eagles in Mayor Cooper’s office contained this message from Waller with the accompanying COVID-19 tracing data: Late Tuesday night, Fox 17 reported this update to its story that aired earlier in the evening, an interview of Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) about…

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Restaurant Owner Refuses to Back Down in Calling Out Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s ‘Manipulation and Suppression’ of Low Coronavirus Numbers

Jason M. Reynolds

One barbecue restaurant says Nashville Mayor John Cooper does not have a leg to stand on when it comes to his cover-up of low COVID-19 case numbers in bars and restaurants and his 34-37 percent tax increase.

Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker, located in the Gulch, posted on Facebook Saturday that he would not retract a public letter to Nashvillians he had written which referenced a story by Dennis Ferrier. Peg Leg Porker’s Facebook page, with both letters, is here.

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A Year After Impeachment, Hunter Biden’s Ukraine Activities Come Home to Roost

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A year ago this month, Democrats began their impeachment crusade against President Trump because he had sought an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine. And the rallying cry then was that any concerns about the Bidens were pure, discredited conspiracy theories.

What a difference a year makes.

The GOP-led Senate Finance and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees plan to release a joint report as early as this week disclosing the results of a year-long probe into Joe Biden’s stewardship of Ukraine anti-corruption policy while his son earned big money as a board member at the corruption-plagued Burisma Holdings gas firm.

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No Credible Evidence to Support Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s July Shutdown of Bars and Reduction of Restaurant Capacity, Despite Bullying Tactics by His Administration

Jason M. Reynolds

When Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced at a July 2 press conference that he was shutting down all the city’s bars for 14 days, reducing restaurant capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent, and temporarily closing event venues and entertainment venues, all due to “record” cases of COVID-19 traceable to restaurants and bars, he apparently knew that his own Metro Health Department said less than two dozen cases of COVID-19 could be traced to those establishments. But he failed to disclose that the “record” of bar and restaurant traceable cases to which he referred to was about one tenth of one percent of Davidson County’s 20,000 cases of COVID-19.

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Attorney Warns That Mayor John Cooper and Others are Privately Seeking Ways to Sabotage the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act

Chris Butler

Members of the Metro Nashville Election Commission met privately Friday, and at least one of the five commission members refused to say what they discussed, even though it was government business.

Nashville attorney Jim Roberts told The Tennessee Star Saturday that he suspects commission members met to discuss ways to undermine the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act. As reported last month, this referendum, if approved, would roll back Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s 34-37 percent tax increase. The referendum would also limit property tax rate increases to 2 percent every year without voters approving it. Voters are scheduled to decide during a December 5 referendum.

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Out of 8,000 Federal Donations Made to PACs and Politicians by CDC Employees in the Last Five Years, FEC Records Show Only Five Went to Republican Causes

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Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made more than 8,000 contributions totaling over $285,000 to Democratic candidates and causes since 2015, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of political contributions.

Only five contributions were sent to a Republican PAC or candidate. Out of these five contributions, which totaled just over $1,000, three sent money to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign efforts, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records indicate.

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Mortality Rate Not Listed as Factor in Davidson County’s Reopening Metrics Plan

Jason M. Reynolds

Davidson County has a plan for reopening the city from COVID-19. This plan uses a number of data points including the status of transmission rate, 14-day new case trend, public health capacity, testing capacity, and the number of regular hospital beds and ICU beds.

However, a key metric that is missing from the county’s reopening plan is mortality rate.

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Friends Petition President Trump to Help Serbian Orthodox Priest in Nashville Who Faces Deportation Over Immigration Lawyer’s Error

Jason M. Reynolds

  A Serbian Orthodox priest in Nashville is trying to stop the deportation of himself and his family that is happening because his lawyer allegedly failed to update his green card application on time. Father Aleksandar Vujkovic is the parish priest of the St. Petka Serbian Orthodox Church in the Germantown-Salemtown community of Nashville. He and his wife and their three young children — born in America — are facing deportation by Aug. 16. The family will leave for Serbia unless President Donald Trump intervenes, Robert Blagojevich, president of the church’s board of directors, told The Tennessee Star. The priest’s supporters from around the United States are engaging in a campaign to draw the president’s attention. Vujkovic is a law-abiding person and will not hide illegally, Blagojevich said. In Serbia, he will reapply to return to America. Following the law is important to the St. Petka congregation, Blagojevich said. The church was formed in the early 2000s by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, mainly Serbian and Bosnian refugees from that nation’s war. They also have Russian members who are here legally, as well as Greeks and American converts. Many also are second-generation Americans whose parents emigrated to the United…

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Carol Swain Commentary: Bill Hagerty Is My Choice for the U.S. Senate

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I enthusiastically endorse Bill Hagerty in his bid to become Tennessee’s next U.S. Senator.  My decision is based on several factors: personal conversations with Bill, a comparison of his issue positions with those of his primary opponent Dr. Manny Sethi, who has emerged as a serious contender, and lastly, President Trump’s early endorsement of Bill.  In evaluating the candidates, I have spoken with numerous people and heard from supporters and opponents on both sides. 

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Analysis: Black People Do Not Suffer Disproportionately from Police Brutality

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A recent New York Times article by Jeremy W. Peters claims it is a “fact” “that black people suffer disproportionately from police brutality.” He also asserts that President Trump’s rejection of this accusation is “racially inflammatory” and “racially divisive.” To the contrary, comprehensive facts show that this allegation against police is false. Furthermore, this deception has stoked racial divides and driven people to despise and even murder police officers.

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Nashville Physician’s Analysis of Excess Deaths in the U.S. and Tennessee: Not Due to COVID-19

Laura Baigert

Dr. Damon Petty, a Nashville-area physician, presented to the Conservative Caucus Saturday his analysis of data related to the excess in deaths and found they are not due to COVID-19.

An economics-degreed Harvard graduate who then went on to medical school, Dr. Petty’s goal was to analyze the data in order to make his presentation reflect the University’s veritas – or truth – shield.  The motto of the University, “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae,” translated from Latin meaning “Truth for Christ and the Church,” was adopted in 1692.

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Board Members of Nonprofit Founded by Dr. Sethi Attacked Sen. Blackburn in Ads, and One Oversees Mayor Cooper’s COVID-19 Task Force

Jason M. Reynolds

One board member of nonprofit Healthy Tennessee, founded by Dr. Manny Sethi, has taken positions excusing protestors for spreading the coronavirus, and he and another director have attacked U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

Alex Jahangir and Jesse Ehrenfeld were listed as directors of Healthy Tennessee on the nonprofit’s 2018 Form 990EZ, available here.

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Bill Hagerty Resigns from Board of Company After It Was Exposed for Supporting Black Lives Matter Movement

Anthony Gockowski

Bill Hagerty’s Senate campaign confirmed with The Tennessee Star that the Republican has resigned from the board of an investment firm that issued statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hagerty previously served as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Japan and was endorsed by the president in the race to replace Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who is retiring at the end of his current term.

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Nashville Metro Council Passes Record 34 Percent Property Tax Hike, Includes Employee Raises and More Police Funding

Laura Baigert

During another lengthy meeting that began Tuesday night and went into Wednesday morning, by a 32 to 8 vote the Nashville Metro Council passed a budget that includes a record 34 percent property tax increase, increased funding for police, cost-of-living raises to city employees, increases funding to the school district as well as funding for a school district minimum wage of $15 per hour.

The Council-approved property tax increase is even higher than the 32 percent increase that Mayor John Cooper called for in his budget proposal.

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Commentary: It Is Time to Break Up Nashville

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The most charitable thing anyone can say about Nashville right now is that the city is a dumpster fire.  It isn’t just a small dumpster fire. It is a stinking, raging fire that is going to get out of hand if nothing is done about it.

Part of Nashville’s problems are not its own doing. No one could control the tornado that struck Nashville in March and no one could see, at least initially, what would happen with the COVID-19 outbreak.

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University of Michigan Leadership Moves to Block President Trump’s Action to Combat Chinese Theft of U.S. Research

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In response to new restrictions on Chinese students and researchers in the U.S., recently announced by President Donald Trump, the University of Michigan issued a statement vocalizing the school’s opposition to the Republican administration’s latest move.

Signed by the college’s President, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Research and Dean at Rackham Graduate School, the letter says that these restrictions have “led to understandable worry.” They express resistance to the restrictions on the grounds that “our Chinese students, post-doctoral scholars and faculty have enriched our institution through teaching, learning, research and impact on society.”

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Truck Drivers Say They Won’t Deliver to Cities That Defund Police Departments

Anthony Gockowski
Tennessee Star

As Minneapolis prepares to “abolish” its police force, a recent survey found that most truck drivers won’t deliver to cities with defunded or disbanded police departments.

According to a survey from CDLLife, a resource site for the trucking industry, 79 percent of truck drivers said they will refuse to deliver freight to cities with defunded police departments.

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MyPillow Refuses to Join Advertising Boycott of Tucker Carlson

Anthony Gockowski

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he won’t join other major companies in boycotting Tucker Carlson’s prime-time show on Fox News.

“MyPillow is not changing its advertising. I make all my advertising decisions based on what is best for my customers and my employees,” Lindell said in a statement provided to Newsweek. “MyPillow believes all lives matter and values all our employees and customers, treating them like family.”

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Carol Swain Commentary: Americans Should Reject Joe Biden’s Race-Baiting Tactics

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“You ain’t black if you don’t back me over Trump.” I cringed when Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, made this startling, demeaning statement about black Americans who dare think for themselves. His ugly, offensive remarks that I and other blacks who support President Trump are no longer black is a racist statement, period. It should be categorically rejected by all Americans.

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Walz Stumbles Incoherently Over Explanation for Why Churches Are Limited to 10 People, But Restaurants Can Host 50

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday that bars and restaurants can now host up to 50 people for outdoor dining, but churches are still required to limit both indoor and outdoor services to 10 people.

The governor was asked during his Wednesday press briefing why restaurants can host 40 more people than churches for outdoor gatherings.

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Nashville Bar Owner Takes Bill Lee and John Cooper to Court Over COVID-19 Orders

Chris Butler

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee relied on erroneous information about COVID-19 and acted against the state and U.S. constitutions when he passed down executive orders that forced one Nashville businessman to close his bar.

This, according to the federal lawsuit that The Local Spot owner Geoffery Reid filed this week. The lawsuit names Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper, among others, as defendants.

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Illegal Aliens Can Begin Applying for Cash Assistance in California

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by Jason Hopkins   Illegal aliens can apply for direct cash assistance from the California state government as of Monday, marking the implementation of the first relief program of its kind. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced in April the launch of The Disaster Relief Fund, a $125 million coronavirus relief program for illegal aliens living in the state who don’t otherwise qualify for assistance from the federal government. The program, which is being funded in large part by private donations, will also require millions more from the state. “Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to support them during this crisis,” the governor said during the announcement. “We are all in this together.” The Disaster Relief Fund will proceed despite pushback from California GOP lawmakers, a minority in the state legislature, and a lawsuit challenging the legality of the program. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal firm, filed a temporary restraining order against Newsom May 5 to keep him from spending state taxpayer funds on the program. The group argues that the relief fund violates federal law because Newsom did not receive explicit authority from the state government to distribute money to illegal aliens. Federal immigration law typically bars…

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Keith Ellison Sues Minnesota Restaurant Owner Who Planned to Open Early, Threatens $150,000 in Fines

Anthony Gockowski

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Sunday night that his office has sued a Minnesota restaurant owner who planned to reopen for business Monday.

Kris Schiffler, owner of Shady’s Bar and Grill, planned on reopening his six locations for dine-in business Monday, two weeks earlier than the June 1 reopening date set by the state. He told one local outlet that he received a call from Ellison’s office Friday threatening $25,000 in fines per location, which would amount to $150,000 in total.

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EXCLUSIVE: The Treasury Department Spied on Flynn, Manafort, and the Trump Family, Says Whistleblower

Neil W. McCabe

President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department regularly surveilled retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn’s financial records and transactions beginning in December 2015 and well into 2017, before, during and after when he served at the White House as President Donald Trump’s National Security Director, a former senior Treasury Department official, and veteran of the intelligence community, told the Star Newspapers.

“I started seeing things that were not correct, so I did my own little investigation, because I wanted to make sure what I was seeing was correct” she said. “You never want to draw attention to something if there is not anything there.”

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Ohio Professor Qing Wang the Latest to be Arrested over China Ties

Admin

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor and former Cleveland Clinic employee was arrested Wednesday over his alleged ties to China.

The Justice Department announced that Qing Wang was arrested at his Shaker Heights, Ohio home as part of a joint operation conducted by the FBI and the  Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector-General. Wang was charged with wire fraud related to more than $3.6 million in grant funding that Wang and his research team at the Cleveland Clinic had received from the National Institutes of Health.

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Tennessee Economist and Others Urge Donald Trump and Congress Not to Impose Price Controls to Fix Surprise Medical Billing Problem

Chris Butler

Members of the Washington, D.C.-based Taxpayers Protection Alliance have released a letter ripping politicians’ proposals to set price controls for health care coverage.

Several academics from around the country attached their names to the letter, including the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga economics professor Bruce Hutchinson. These economists compose a group called the Coalition Against Rate Setting.

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22 Percent of New York State Residents Tested for Coronavirus are Positive, Ohio Refuses to Release Negative Test Data So No One Knows Rate in State

Jason M. Reynolds

How many people have tested negative for the coronavirus in Ohio? That’s on a need to know basis, and Gov. Mike DeWine has decided you don’t need to know.

Meanwhile, in New York State, 22 percent of people who took the test were positive, according to The COVID Tracking Project, so residents there at least know what they’re facing.

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Commentary: China’s Post-Virus Plan to Destroy America’s Economy

Admin

The virus that originated in Wuhan, China poses a double threat to America.

The first is to our health as the virus spreads through the U.S. population. The second is to our economy as more businesses, schools, and events shut down to slow the spread of the contagion.

We must not underestimate the economic threat because the Chinese Communist Party is using the pandemic to achieve its goal of supplanting the United States as the world’s leading economic, diplomatic, and military power.

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