EXCERPT:Brown's claims that "the people seen in the video. . .were just interns, they were volunteers" is belied by the Federal Election Commission records obtained by The Tennessee Star which show that all three of the individuals featured in the Project Veritas video-Will Stewart, James Miller, and Maria Amalla-are paid staffers employed by the Tennessee Democratic Party.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -Will Stewart, the Tennessee Democratic Party employee who was captured on an undercover Project Veritas video shot at the Bredesen for Senate campaign offices in Nashville's West End saying that Democrat Senate nominee Phil Bredesen lied when he said he would have voted "yes" to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, is still working in a position of authority at that Bredesen for Senate campaign office.
Stewart was identified by Project Veritas in the undercover video as a "field organizer, Phil Bredesen campaign."
The Tennessee Star spoke in person with Stewart inside Bredesen's West End campaign offices at 117 28th Avenue North in Nashville early Thursday afternoon.
"I've been instructed to give a 'No comment' to any and all questions," Stewart told The Star.
The Star did not see the other campaign staff members featured in the video, identified as field organizer Maria Amalla, and James Miller, whose role was listed as "voter protection."
Publicly available records from the Federal Election Commission indicate that all three Bredesen campaign workers featured on the Project Veritas video-Stewart, Miller, and Amalla-are paid staffers of the Tennessee Democratic Party, and are not "volunteers" or "unpaid interns."
Bredesen's communications staff did not respond to an email with written questions Thursday.
Specifically, The Star wanted to know if Stewart and the others caught on video were, in fact, stating the unofficial inside position of the campaign.
Though the Bredesen campaign was silent on the devastating comments made by Bredesen campaign workers about Gov. Bredesen's lack of truthfulness in the Project Veritas video, Mark Brown, the spokesperson for Tennessee Victory 2018, a project of the Tennessee Democratic Party, did offer a comment on the undercover video.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris has been named as a federal judge in West Tennessee, leaving his position open in the state senate.
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday evening to confirm Norris in a close vote. The final tally was 51-44 in his favor.
"I recommended Senator Norris to the president, and I strongly supported Mark's nomination," United States Senator Lamar Alexander said. "He is respected by his peers around the country, having been elected chairman of the Council of State Governments, and has been an advocate and a champion for federalism and for the separation of powers."
He was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump in July 2017. The West Tennessee jurisdiction includes Memphis. After that nomination ran out, he was re-nominated in January.
Trump still needs to sign off on the confirmation before it takes effect. Once he does, Norris is expected to resign, leaving his seat in Tennessee's District 32 open.
The Senate also confirmed Eli J. Richardson, a Nashville attorney, to the bench in the Middle District over Nashville and its surrounding area.
State government experience
Norris, who hails from Collierville and has served in the legislature since 2001, was expected to be a gubernatorial candidate, given his vast knowledge of state government and the budget process.
"Mark Norris has made Tennessee a better place as senate majority leader and he will continue to do so as a federal judge for West Tennessee. Personally, I thank (Morris) for carrying our legislation these last eight years and for his great public service to our state," Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said in a tweet Thursday.
Phil Bredesen seems at home in the woods. Wearing a flannel and a shooting jacket three weeks ago, he blasts orange clay pigeons out of the sky and into black dust clouds with an over and under shotgun before turning to the camera to talk about the Second Amendment in one ad.
Phil Bredesen also seems comfortable in the city, raising money from wealthy liberals.
Wearing a sharp black suit on Wednesday, he arrived in Manhattan to glad hand at a fundraiser hosted by Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor famous for banning oversized soft drinks and dropping millions of dollars in support of candidates who oppose the Second Amendment.
BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI AND BOB CHRISTIEAssociated Press
October 11, 2018 07:00 PM
Updated 10 hours 39 minutes ago
PHOENIX
Republican activists on Thursday released a video of Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist Democrat now running for an open Arizona U.S. Senate seat, advising liberal activists how to "stop your state from becoming like Arizona."
The surreptitious recording dates from 2011, after Arizona Republicans had passed SB1070, a controversial immigration law that led to nationwide boycotts and concern even among some Arizona Republicans that the Legislature had moved too far right. Those concerns led to a recall against the then-senate president Russell Pearce, whom Sinema blamed in her remarks for much of the discord.
But the talk also contains unusually partisan language from a candidate who is one of the more bipartisan votes in congress and who has fashioned herself as a nonpartisan problem-solver in the current senate campaign. In the speech, Sinema, of Tucson, also noted that schoolchildren are taught five "Cs" that represent Arizona and suggested adding a sixth: "Crazy."
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- President Trump has signed into law two bills that prohibit pharmacy gag clauses, or the practice of prohibiting pharmacy and healthcare transparency.
The laws - one targeted at Medicare plans and one for private and employer-sponsored plans -make it illegal for healthcare payers, managed care organizations, or pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to enact "gag clauses" on pharmacists and other providers.
Gag clauses are provisions that are a part of a pharmacists' contract with a payer or managed care organization that prohibits that pharmacist from disclosing to a patient that an equally effective but less expensive drug option exists
Gag clauses have been known as a threat to healthcare price transparency. Proponents of the newly-minted laws say getting rid of gag clauses gives patients greater freedom to access the medications that will work best for them physically and financially.
"For years pharmacists have been providing great care but have been prohibited by contractual restrictions from sharing information on how patients might better navigate their prescription drug costs," said American Pharmacists Association (APhA) CEO Tom Menighan, BSPharm, MBA, ScD (Hon), FAPhA. "This new law allows pharmacists to have those needed conversations with patients."
President Trump Signs Music Modernization Act Into Law With Kid Rock, Sam Moore As Witnesses
At long last the Music Modernization Actwas signed into law today by President Donald Trump, witnessed by a smattering of industry executives and such recordings artists as Kid Rock and John Rich, the president's besties.
After an effort that began years ago and was renewed last year, the compromise legislation, which ultimately took much more compromise than the initial version of the bill anticipated, will present a whole new set of business conditions on the music publishing industry that hopefully will be worth with the reward of higher rates for songwriters and publishers.
"The Music Modernization Act closes loopholes in our digital royalties laws to ensure that songwriters, artists and producers receive fair payment for licensing of music," Trump said just before signing the law. "I've been reading about this for many years and never thought I'd be involved in it, but I got involved in it. They were treated very unfairly. They're not going to be treated unfairly anymore."
Trump-friendly artists in attendance included Kid Rock, Beach Boys singer Mike Love and country singers Craig Morgan and John Rich. The ceremony was also attended by Christian rock group MercyMe and Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, who has gone on to a career as a missile defense consultant. Another artist expected to be at the White House, Kanye West, was nowhere to be seen
President Trump affirms right to life of Down syndrome babies in powerful statement
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 3, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) - The Trump administration will continue to affirm the equal rights and dignity of children with Down syndrome, against "persistent myths and stigmas," President Donald Trump declared Monday.
The president recognized Down Syndrome Awareness Month with a statement celebrating the "lives of the more than 250,000 Americans with Down syndrome," pledging a deeper "understanding of Down syndrome and learning more about how we can ensure the beautiful people with Down syndrome are able to fully participate in society," and honoring the "sanctity of their lives, at every stage."
"All people are endowed by their Creator with dignity and the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Trump said. "Despite some persistent myths and stigmas, even within the medical community, our Nation strongly embraces the undeniable truth that a Down syndrome diagnosis is an opportunity to embrace God's gifts."
"I stand for life - in all of its beautiful manifestations - and I, and my Administration, will continue to condemn the prejudice and discrimination that Americans with Down syndrome too often endure," he added.
The president noted that continuing research and treatment helps more people with Down syndrome live healthier and longer lives. This work, along with "innovative speech, occupational, and physical therapies," helps "ensure many of our youngest citizens with this condition are able to live fulfilling, independent, and productive lives."
Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder typically associated with physical growth delays, distinct facial traits, and often intellectual disability. Despite these challenges, a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Medical Geneticsfound that 99% of people with Down syndrome described themselves as "happy," and only 4% of parents with Down children expressed regret about having their child.
