Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley has no comment on election day rival Carol Swain’s call for Metro Nashville Government’s Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling to resign. “Mayor Briley doesn’t have any comment,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told The Tennessee Star late Sunday in response to a request for…
Read MoreMonth: May 2018
Andy Martin Analysis: Why They Lost the May 1st Nashville Transit Plan Referendum
by Andy Martin The May 1st County Primary vote on the $8.9 billion transit tax referendum is one for the record books. 123,963 votes: 44,636 FOR and 79,327 AGAINST. For reference, the last County Primary May 6, 2014 had 38,804 total votes. What happened? In a rush to scoop…
Read MoreLow Turnout in Early Voting for Nashville’s Special Mayoral Election
Turnout on the first day of early voting for Nashville’s special mayoral election on Friday was low, a stark contrast to the heavy early voting seen in the just completed May 1 transit plan referendum and the August 2015 mayoral election. Only 277 residents of Nashville/Davidson County early voted on…
Read MoreTrump Initiative Protects Religious Rights, Faith Groups’ Equal Access to Federal Dollars
by Fred Lucas President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday focusing on protecting freedom of religion and exploring new ways faith-based agencies can partner with government to effectively provide services. “We condemn all crimes against people of faith, and today we are launching another historic action to promote…
Read MoreActing Mayor David Briley Echoes Megan Barry in His New TV Ad ‘Moving Forward’
Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley is echoing the themes and policies of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry in his new television ad, titled “Moving Forward.” The ad began airing Thursday on both local broadcast networks and cable outlets. With a bank roll in excess of $400,000, Briley is expected…
Read MoreCommentary: The GOP’s Secret Weapon in November Just Could Be the Deranged Democrats
by Jeffery Rendall It’s no big secret in media circles how many conservatives and Republicans are upset (to put it mildly) with the party’s congressional leadership. With a healthy House majority and a slim but viable senate preponderance going into the first term of President Donald Trump last year,…
Read MoreCommentary: Here’s What Small Business Owners Like Me Need in Tax Reform 2.0
by Mark J. Bollman What’s even better than one federal tax cut bill? Two rounds of tax cuts. It just might happen this summer, according to House Speaker Paul Ryan. Tax Reform 2.0, as it’s being called, would aim to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s individual tax cuts permanent, extending them past their 2025 expiration date. But…
Read MoreErica Gilmore Blasts Acting Mayor David Briley’s Metro Nashville Budget Proposal for 2019
At-large Metro Council Member Erica Gilmore took the gloves off Friday and blasted Acting Mayor David Briley’s Metro Nashville budget proposal for 2019. Gilmore, who is among the top tier of candidates challenging Briley in the May 24 special election in which voters will select a permanent mayor to serve…
Read MorePredators Fall to Jets 6 to 2
Hopes that the Nashville Predators will make a repeat appearance in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Championship Finals diminished in Bridgestone Arena Saturday night when the visiting Winnipeg Jets easily defeated the home team in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, 6 to 2. The loss put the Predators one…
Read MoreLiberal Media Interest in The Tennessee Star Continues . . . And Documents Some of Their Own Journalistic Flaws
Another day, another story expanding upon the Politico story about “Baby Breitbarts” that highlighted The Tennessee Star. Jason Schwartz talked to Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill a few times, got some insights from those familiar with The Tennessee Star — including critics like the Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary…
Read MoreLiberal Activists Target Kanye West’s Adidas Sponsorship
by Peter Hasson The liberal activist group running a powerful boycott campaign against Breitbart News appears to have a new target: Kanye West. The group, Sleeping Giants, has been the driving force behind a boycott against Breitbart, costing the website an estimated 90 percent of their advertisers. The group is now targeting…
Read MoreDiane Black Calls on Gov. Haslam to Sign Anti-Sanctuary City Bill
On Wednesday, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, called on Gov. Bill Haslam to sign the anti-sanctuary city bill (SB 2332/HB2315) passed by the Tennessee General Assembly last month. “The voters of Tennessee want our leaders in Nashville to get tough on illegal immigration,”…
Read MoreBill Lee on Anti-Sanctuary City Legislation: ‘As Governor I Would Sign This Bill’
Bill Lee, one of four candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, weighed in on the anti-sanctuary city legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that Gov. Haslam has not yet signed into law. “As I’ve said throughout this campaign, I am opposed to sanctuary cities,” Lee said in a…
Read MoreNFIB Grades 110th Tennessee General Assembly from the Small Business Perspective
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) rated the 110th Tennessee General Assembly on Wednesday, just few days after Tennessee’s legislative body adjourned for the year. “The Tennessee Legislature is now adjourned, but NFIB/TN worked hard to protect the state’s small business owners right until the end. In late April,…
Read MoreNashville’s Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee Sponsors SPLC Talk on Hate Speech
The Community Relations Committee (CRC) of the Nashville Jewish Federation has invited Joseph Levin, Jr., co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to speak at an event titled “Then and Now: Hate in the Mainstream.” The May 23rd event is free and open to the entire community. The Jewish…
Read MoreCoup by Intimidation: The Swamp Fights Back
by Rick Manning On May 2, the Daily Caller reported, “House Democrat Warns Trump Team: You’ll End Up ‘Sullied’ Like Ronny Jackson,” writing, “Democratic Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen warned on Wednesday that members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle will end up ‘sullied’ like former White House physician Adm. Ronny Jackson —…
Read MoreCommentary: Rod Rosenstein’s Attempted Coup Against President Trump Intensifies
by George Rasley, CHQ Editor Anyone who thinks the Deep State gave up its attempt to unseat President Trump when the Obama-era FISA abuses were revealed should think again. Yesterday, NBC News revealed Federal investigators wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for President Donald…
Read More$7 Million Federal Funding Scandal Hits Metro Nashville Administrations of David Briley, Megan Barry, and Karl Dean
A WSMV investigation revealed on Friday that $7 million in federal flood relief funds provided to the Metro Nashville Government in 2010 were not used for flood relief at all, but were instead used to build the Ascend Amphitheater downtown. The stunning revelation rocked the special mayoral election, and cast…
Read MoreMayoral Candidate Carol Swain Calls For Immediate Resignation of Metro Nashville Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling After $7 Million Funding Scandal
Mayoral candidate Carol Swain called for the immediate resignation of Metro Nashville Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling on Friday. Earlier in the day, WSMV broke the story that Metro Nashville Government used $7 million in federal funding received in 2010 and 2011 that was supposed to be dedicated to flood…
Read MoreCNN’s Reliable Sources: Brian Stelter Interviews Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill
CNN’s Brian Stelter interviewed Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill in Thursday’s edition of the network’s Reliable Sources podcast about the recent national interest in The Star and its reporting on state and local news. “Steve Gill, co-founder of The Tennessee Star website, tells Brian Stelter about his local coverage…
Read MoreEarly Voting Begins Today in Nashville’s Special Mayoral Election
Early voting in Nashville’s special mayoral election began today, just three days after residents of Nashville/Davidson County went to the polls and defeated the $9 billion Nashville transit plan, 64 percent to 36 percent. Taxpayers will spend an extra $2 million on the May 24 special mayoral election, thanks to…
Read MoreAttorney Who Won Special Mayoral Election Case: Head of Davidson County Election Commission Who ‘Set Fire to $2 Million of Taxpayer Money’ Should Resign
Jamie Hollin, the attorney who represented plaintiff Ludye Wallace in the historic mayoral special election date case the Tennessee Supreme Court decided unanimously in his client’s favor last month, is calling on Jim DeLanis, Chairman of the Davidson County Election Commission to resign for causing the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Government to…
Read MorePreds Party in the Park to be Held on Saturday, May 5 for Game 5
Preds Party in the Park will be held on Saturday, May 5 for Game 5, Round 2 of 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with outdoor viewing party to include 2 giant screens, food trucks and more.
Read MoreIowa and Texas Anti-Sanctuary City Laws Are Strong Precedent for Haslam to Sign New Tennessee Legislation
Governor Bill Haslam should look to Texas, Iowa and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to support signing Tennessee’s new anti-sanctuary city legislation which passed 64-23 in the House and 25-5 in the Senate. The Texas sanctuary city law signed last year, is the strictest in the country and more…
Read MoreCommentary: New Study Shows Trump is Right, Gun Free Zones Make Schools More Dangerous
by CHQ Staff Our friend Christopher Hull, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, of the Center for Security Policy just shared an eye-opening study with us, that demolishes the liberal shibboleth that “gun free zones” make schools safer. You can read the entire study through this link, and it is well worth…
Read MoreDiane Black, Marsha Blackburn, and Scott DesJarlais Nominate Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) and fifteen additional Republican members of Congress nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday. Black broke the news first with this tweet: Moments ago, Rep. Diane Black released her and several other members of Congress’s…
Read MoreMemphis Democrat Tami Sawyer Uses Elite and Expensive Education to Push Radical Socialist Platform
Tami Sawyer, winner of the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission, is not only a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement and a #TakeEmDown901 statue destroyer, she is also a graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal elite and expensive all-girls private school in Memphis. Tuition at…
Read MoreWTN Host Brian Wilson To Debut ‘Throw That Catfish Down’ Song in Support of the Nashville Predators Live at 7:30 AM
SuperTalk 99.7 WTN Host Brian Wilson releases “Throw That Catfish Down” as a pre-game anthem in support of the Nashville Predators playoff efforts.
Read MorePredators Beat the Jets 2 to 1 to Even the Series, Head Back Home for Game 5 on Saturday
The Nashville Predators came through in the clutch, beating the Winnipeg Jets by a 2 to 1 margin in the fourth game of the Western Conference semi-finals of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday, evening the series at 2 games apiece. Game 5 will be played at Nashville’s Bridgestone…
Read MoreGrand Ole Opry Announces Lineup for ‘Opry at Bonnaroo 2018’
The Nashville-based Opry has rarely in its 92-year history taken its iconic show outside Music City but is doing so this year by bringing the Opry to Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.
Read MoreWWE Wrestler Jacobs Wins Knox County Mayor Primary by 17 Votes
WWE wrestler Glenn Jacobs has won the Republican primary for Knox County mayor by a margin of only 17 votes, WATE reported. The Knox County Election Commission says there are, however, a few provisional ballots, so the results won’t be official until next week. Jacobs, a former WWE wrestler aka “Kane,”…
Read MoreState Sen. Mark Green Calls for Special Session of Tennessee General Assembly to Override Gov. Haslam Veto of Cancer Patient Bill
State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and State Rep. Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville) have called on the Tennessee General Assembly to reconvene for a special session to override the Governor Bill Haslam’s veto of the Cancer Patient Choice Act. That Act, which gives patients and their physicians the choice of proton therapy…
Read MoreTransit Tax Debacle Winners and Losers
by Steve Gill Any election or referendum has a clear winner and loser after the votes are count-ed. The margins may be wide or slim, but the results are there in black and white. Every election cycle also produces less apparent winners and losers who were not on the…
Read MoreSponsor of Anti-Sanctuary City Bill Rep. Jay Reedy Asks Newspaper to Correct ‘Incomplete and Misleading’ Information in Articles About His Bill
Rep. Jay Reedy, sponsor of the anti-sanctuary city legislation passed by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly, has asked The Tennessean’s editor to correct “incomplete and misleading information” in two of the newspaper’s articles written about his bill. In support of his request, Reedy cited to…
Read MoreKenny Chesney Offers ‘Songs For the Saints’ July 27
Kenny Chesney’s ‘Songs for the Saints’ is an album about the refuges we all have, how temporary life is and the way we navigate to better places, dig in and face the destruction.
Read MoreTennessee Republican Party Calls on Democrats to Invalidate Nomination of Candidate Who Voted in GOP Primary
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Republican Party called on the State Primary Board for the Democratic Party “to invalidate the nomination of Anne McGraw for Williamson County Commission.” “During early voting, Anne McGraw, a Democratic candidate herself on the May 1 primary ballot, opted to vote in the Republican primary. This…
Read MoreUniversity of Tennessee Chancellor Beverly Davenport Fired
The first woman Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Beverly Davenport, has been fired effective July 1 although she will remain on the payroll as a tenured professor of Communications. Davenport began her tenure as Chancellor in February, 2017 but was terminated by President Joe DiPietro for a number of…
Read MoreNashville Draws $70 Million Corporate Finance Headquarters
A global asset management firm will build a $70 million corporate headquarters in Nashville, the state announced in a press release Wednesday, May 2. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) officials made the announcement. The relocation of its company…
Read MoreState Sen. Mark Green, M.D. Commentary: When Government Becomes Too Powerful
After five days off life support, 23-month old Alfie Evans died over the weekend. Having a neurodegenerative disorder, doctors didn’t expect him to live long–but Alfie fought and hung in there for nearly a week. Alfie’s parents wanted to take him to a hospital in Rome for further treatment, but…
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter Leader and Statue Destroyer Wins Democratic Primary for Shelby County Commissioner Seat
Tami Sawyer, a leader in the Memphis Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and organizer of the #TakeEmDown901 activists that resulted in removing Confederate statues in the city, won the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission Tuesday, WREG reported. Sawyer won with 50 percent of the…
Read MoreNashville/Davidson County Voters Deliver Crushing Defeat to Transit Plan, 64% to 36%
NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Voters in Nashville/Davidson County delivered a crushing defeat to the $9.2 billion transit plan proposed by disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry and supported by Acting Mayor David Briley, 64 percent to 36 percent on Tuesday. A record turnout of 122,477 voters cast their ballots, with 100 percent of all…
Read MoreWeak and Wounded, Acting Mayor David Briley Big Loser in Nashville Transit Plan Blowout
Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley’s aura of inevitability came to a sudden and devastating end Tuesday night when voters soundly rejected the $9 billion transit plan he championed to the bitter end by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. The man who less than two months ago had…
Read MoreFive Takeaways From Israel’s Massive Intelligence Operation on Iran
by James Carafano The Israeli government on Monday unloaded a massive intelligence data dump that demonstrated Iran’s efforts to hide its nuclear weapons program. The revelations come weeks before an anticipated decision by the U.S. to “fix or nix” the Iran nuclear deal. Reactions to the Israeli intelligence revelations ranged from “ding-dong…
Read MoreShelby County Commissioner Billingsley Suggests County Already Operating As a Sanctuary City
Waiting until only eight of the Shelby County Commissioners were still present to conduct business on Monday, Shelby County Commissioner Mark Billingsley introduced a resolution urging Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill that was passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. In discussing his…
Read MoreTwo EPA Officials Stepping Down Amid Ethics Investigation
by Jason Hopkins In what is seen as another major blow to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, two officials have resigned from the agency. Albert “Kell” Kelly and Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta — two Pruitt allies engulfed in their own separate scandals — tendered their resignations on Monday. Kelly served as head…
Read MoreTexas AG Paxton Files Seven-State Lawsuit Against Feds To End DACA
by Will Racke Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday in a bid to force the termination of a program that gives younger illegal immigrants a reprieve from deportation, saying the Obama-era amnesty is outside the scope of executive authority. Six other states joined…
Read MoreWhat Trump Calls ‘Right Message’ to North Korea After Evidence Iran Cheats on Nukes
by Fred Lucas President Donald Trump, without saying he would pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, said Monday that he is open to signing a better agreement with the Islamist regime. Commenting after Israel accused Iran of cheating on the deal, Trump also rejected the premise that by pulling…
Read MoreCommentary: Conservatives Unanimous For Change in Support of Jordan for Speaker
CHQ Staff Conservatives are hoping Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) will decide to challenge Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker, according to a poll by FedUp PAC. Showing near-unanimity, almost 99% agree that Jordan would be more likely to successfully move President Trump’s conservative-populist agenda through the House. Less than…
Read MoreLady Antebellum to Headline Nashville’s July 4th
Lady Antebellum, Chris Janson, Lucie Silvas and Shannon Sanders among the guests to perform at Nashville’s family-friendly “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th.”
Read MoreTBI Raids Claiborne Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents arrived just as the Claiborne County Justice Center opened for business Tuesday for what the Knoxville News characterized as a raid on the Sheriff’s Office. For several hours, agents were seen filing in and out of the facility, carrying boxes of files and computer disks.…
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