Free Republic

Citing concerns about about a possible economic crisis and a desire for monetary stability, the State of Tennessee is now officially on record supporting the establishment of a depository facility to house gold and other precious metals for Tennesseans. In a remarkable example of bi-partisanship on serious issues, the resolution passed unanimously in both the state House and Senate before being signed by the governor. But more work remains, according to pro-Constitution and sound money activists supporting the efforts. Analysts and supporters said the measure was an important step on the road to restoring honest money and a stable monetary...

A Tennessee lawman who posted an Easter message and other religious-themed comments on Facebook said Tuesday he is ready for a legal showdown with an atheist group that accused him of violating the Constitution. Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson, who had the message posted on the department’s Facebook page on Easter, said he is considering a countersuit against American Atheists and a woman identified as “Jane Doe,” after they sued him in federal court over the message. "Today is one of the most historic days; not only did Jesus die on the cross for our sins, but he rose on...

There was some big news in the entertainment industry recently as the television show “Nashville” was cancelled after four seasons. As a casual fan of the show and a Nashville resident, I enjoyed watching the show. It allowed me to brag to my friends about where I live, plus the music was always on point. Obviously, the market didn’t agree, as the ratings were not high enough for ABC to renew the show for another year.However, the real issue with this show being cancelled has nothing to do with the quality of the show itself. The problem is that this...

After raising its premiums for coverage on the Obamacare exchange by 36.3 percent for 2016, the state's dominant health insurer is heralding another increase of the "same order of magnitude" for 2017. BlueCross BlueShield claims it lost more than $150 million in 2015 when its rates were among the lowest in the land. But the 36.3 percent increase for 2016, the largest of any state, brings Tennessee rates to just about the national average. So how on Earth can costs be going up so exponentially to justify such a rate increase on the part of a nonprofit insurance company whose...

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – Three Ridges Baptist Church in north Knox County is now scarred after someone vandalized their building, Pastor Darryl Wilson can only look at the damage and wonder why? “Heartbreaking, heartbreaking…It hurts us but we’ll keep going,” he said. The person responsible busted out windows and spray-painted a vulgar message on the church doors. “Of course it’s frustrating for a small church like us,” said Pastor Wilson. It’s frustrating because the church has to spend money out of its own pockets to fix the damage, pastor Wilson says the church will eventually re-paint the doors and replace the...

It only takes a glance at what is occurring around the world to see Islam becoming the largest and most dominant way of life. Muslims are adhering to exactly what their doctrine ascribes, to make Islam dominant over all religions. So why then, do Christian pastors believe conversations with Muslims are so important? Do Christian pastors not have a responsibility to protect the church and its congregants from those who practice following the life of the prophet Muhammad, who was peaceful in the Meccan years, but became political and violent on his journey to Medina. “Good” Muslims are commanded to...

Nashville Tennessee usually recognized as “music city” is becoming identified now as a “welcoming city”, but not so much for the tourists but rather for refugees. As a matter of fact, Nashville was once nick named the “gateway for refugees” as groups like the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) became heavily involved with pushing for more displaced persons to enter the state. But TIRRC isn’t just about refugees, it’s about a plan for a “new south”. TIRRC is about using legal and illegal immigration to change the demographics to mutate our communities until they satisfy a leftist open-borders,...

How is it the Buckle of the Bible Belt is falling into the hands of Islamists and the apologists that embrace them? Wake up Nashville, another Muslim Brotherhood proponent is open for business and making giant strides in changing the culture of the South. Don’t be fooled by its name, Peace Ambassadors USA, it is an Islamic organization, and the peace won’t last long. As if taken directly from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Goal for North America, Muslim Brotherhood Manifesto Arab & English (a document which was evidence in a federal trial in Dallas TX in 2008 for this country’s...

Two weeks ago, 27 Republican House members sent a terse letter to state GOP head Ryan Haynes, demanding to know why one of their “contract employees” – who is also married to the state party’s political director (nah, no conflict there) – was working for candidates running against incumbent GOP officeholders in the August primary. The legislators were ticked. While political consultant Taylor Ferrell was at the center of their complaints, the letter was also a vehicle for conservatives to vent their frustration over years of double-dealing by party poohbahs when it came to favoring more establishment-friendly GOP candidates. They...

Have they fast forwarded the corruption of Tennessee’s party of Lincoln? Recently, when 27 state legislators identified their unethical practices in a letter to Haynes, Leatherwood and Haynes resorted to denying facts, claiming “false allegations,” and taking a blasé, ho-hum, all-in-a-day’s-work attitude. But we all know the John Adams truism, “[f]acts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” June 2011 – January 2013 – Taylor working for TNGOP 2013 – Brent Leatherwood hired as TNGOP Executive Director March 2014 – Walker...

Today is the first anniversary of the Islamic State’s first attack in the homeland. Just a couple of short months later, in response to the Chattanooga jihadi who slaughtered four Marines, one Navy officer said: “The War Has Just Begun. More to Come.” He was right. Yet one year after jihadis attacked our Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in defense of free speech, the West is in full surrender mode. We went into the event with our eyes open. We knew the risks. But we knew the risks were greater, for our children and our children’s children, if we...

In Tennessee, SB 1736(pdf)  has passed the House and the Senate. It is a bill that grants immunity for toleration of Second Amendment rights.It has been enrolled and sent to Governor Bill Haslam.  Governor Haslam promised to sign “Constitutional” carry if it reached his desk, six years ago.  It seems likely that he will sign this bill. The bill passed the Senate 26 to 4, the House 77 to 13.  The bill follows a trend started by Wisconsin and Kansas, where people who chose to allow others to exercise their Second Amendment rights are granted immunity from civil action...

First they heard the screams. Karl Williams, the assistant coach for the Ooltewah High School basketball team, hurried downstairs to the rooms where the 14 teenage players were staying for the duration of their four day tournament in Gatlinburg, Tenn. There he found a 15-year-old freshman player covered in blood, urine and feces, Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston told ESPN. Two sophomore players were holding the boy down, while a third teammate, a senior, shoved a pool cue up his rectum. The freshman was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to repair his bladder and colon, which...

Sen. Bob Corker: Donald Trump "delivered a very good foreign policy speech". Read the whole statement...

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WATE) – A Middle Tennessee pastor is stirring up controversy from both supporters and those opposed to the transgender bathroom bill. Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet’s video about Target’s new bathroom policy has received over 14 million views. In April, the Tennessee House sponsor of the bill, which would have require students in public school grades K-12 and higher education institutions to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth. Shortly after the bill was pulled, Target issued a store policy that allows transgender customers to use the bathroom...

Updated | A Tennessee college student has apologized and a professor is “devastated” after an uproar began when six nooses of different colors arranged in the order of the rainbow found on Monday hanging from a tree on the campus of Tennessee’s Austin Peay State University (APSU) led to confusion and anger and were called “deeply disturbing and hurtful” by the university president—but on Tuesday an investigation found the display was a class art project. The display gained national attention after the Instagram account for the university’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) posted...

Last Thursday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed HB0615/SB1108; legislation that, in the exact language of the bill, stated “The Holy Bible is hereby designated as the official state book.” Justifying his veto of a bill that passed with overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, Haslam wrote in a letter to the Speaker of the House, “In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text. “If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn’t be recognizing...

On Thursday, Williamson County Circuit Court Judge Michael Binkley rejected pro-abortion advocates’ efforts to invalidate Tennessee’s Amendment 1, which clarifies that the state Constitution contains no right to abortion. Abortion advocates had challenged the law, which voters enacted in 2014, on an interpretation of the state requirements for constitutional amendments that claims the number of “yes” votes must be equal to or greater than the number of people voting for governor plus one, and therefore only voters who voted in the gubernatorial race should have their votes on the amendment counted. The state countered by arguing that Amendment 1 was...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Controversy is threatening to bring an early end to the regime of thirty-year-old Ryan Haynes, who was named chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party in April 2015. More than two dozen Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives signed an April 18 letter to Haynes demanding the immediate termination of his political director, Walker Ferrell, on the grounds that his wife, Taylor Ferrell, a paid consultant of the Tennessee Republican Party, is also being paid to defeat a number of incumbent Republican members of the House in primary challenges. The latest problem comes less than a month after...

GOP State Party officials caught in a huge conflict-of-interest. 27 GOP legislators call Haynes and staff on the carpet for “unethical” behavior. Wife of state GOP political director paid to defeat incumbent Republican officeholders. In the Pantheon of Dumb Political Operatives, these people deserve a special place of honor. Instead of us here at RTP rehashing today’s events, we provide our loyal readers (both of ‘em) the actual letter, delivered of course by (more than) one of our Merry Band of Tipsters. Letter 1 letter 2 Whew! There is already major fallout over this, what with everyone scurrying to cover...