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...

A black bear bit through the tent and into the lower leg of a man who was hiking the Appalachian Trail and camped for the night at a national park in Tennessee, park officials said on Thursday. Bradley Veeder, 49, of Las Vegas, was sleeping around 11 p.m. local time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday when the bear attacked, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said by telephone. Because it was so dark, Veeder and nearby campers did not see the bear, which was initially scared away by his screams, Soehn said. Park officials said it was a...

"Carlie is safe tonight because of an entire community pulling together with law enforcement to bring her home," Mark Gwyn, Director of the TBI, told reporters at a press conference Thursday evening. Gwyn said there are no indications that Carlie was harmed, but she is being taken to a hospital as a precaution to be examined. Gwyn said her safe return came after two men, Donnie Lawson and Roger Carpenter, were checking property as the TBI had asked people to do, when they found Carlie and her uncle on a trail only accessible by four-wheeler vehicles. Carpenter, a Baptist minister,...

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...

A few days ago we selected the “Winners” of this past legislative session. Today RTP brings you the Losers. This selection was much more difficult, as there were so many more Losers than Winners, but we gave it a shot: Speaker Beth Harwell. It is hard to imagine a Speaker having a worse legislative session. Ok, maybe former short term U.S. House Speaker Robert Livingston. Oh, and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. But we digress. From the Jeremy Durham nightmare (where Beth not only shot herself in the foot by ignoring it, she then pulled out a full automatic and...

LA CENTER, KY (KFVS) - An earthquake near La Center, Kentucky was felt in parts of Illinois and Missouri early on Sunday morning. According to the National Weather Service in Paducah and the USGS, a magnitude 3.5 was recorded about 8.7 miles north of La Center and 24.2 miles west of Paducah. It happened around 1:12 a.m. and had a depth of about 8.3 miles. The quake was felt in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. The furthest the quake was reportedly felt was in Miller, Mo. which is 267 miles away from the epicenter.

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...

Boy, the leaks just keep on coming. Seems that Rocky Top kicked over a rock and all sorts of noxious secrets are now slithering out from underneath. The Rocky Top Tipsters (www.rtptipline.com) have given us so much inside information, we are having to line up the stories like planes at the Atlanta airport. Here’s the latest: Unable to refute the facts of their conflicts and insider dealing, the state party staff and some officials have resorted to ad hominem attacks and threats. Their only defense has been to fall back on a narrow and dubious interpretation of the party by-laws....

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...

GOP Gov. Bill Haslam cites law’s requirements for referrals, helping at-risk individuals. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a law Wednesday that allows professional counselors to use personally held principles as reasons to refuse clients and refer them on, projecting his state into the national debate over measures affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

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

Political consultant/wife of state GOP political director working to defeat incumbent conservative GOP legislators while working out of office in GOP HQs. Posed as an official representative of the Tennessee Republican Party to reporter covering the delegate controversy. RTP has learned that party officials Brent Leatherwood and Walker Ferrell were repeatedly warned about the appearance and ethics of contracting with Ferrell’s wife. That arrangement on its face was highly questionable, but exploded into the public view when it was learned she was also under contract to defeat several Republican officeholders. This unethical “backdoor” attempt to circumvent party by-laws was exposed...

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...