Latest news with #Ogles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Stockard on the Stump: Far right goes after Belmont despite conservative, Baptist roots
Belmont University. (Photo: John Partipilo) Despite deep ties to Tennessee conservatives and Republican power players, Belmont University is finding itself targeted by the Trump administration and its allies. Belmont has long been intertwined with the GOP. Gov. Bill Lee was once on its board, and the state's former Republican House speaker served as an adjunct professor, while its law school dean was the former U.S. Attorney General under President George W. Bush. The medical school is named for HCA co-founder Thomas Frist Jr., brother of former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Tennessee's wealthiest person. All these ties make the recent attacks by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Culleoka more noticeable. Noem accused the university of 'obstruction against federal immigration law.' Ogles' former campaign treasurer and prominent conservative donor Lee Beaman is on the Belmont University Board. Yet Ogles called for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the university for violating President Donald Trump's executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and called for the elimination of any federal funding for the university if found in violation Both accused Belmont of a litany of violations related to immigration and DEI after a conservative news outlet published an edited video of a school staffer discussing inclusivity programs and potential students who might not be legal U.S. residents. This type of language has turned Belmont into persona non grata with Trump allies, but it also means the alleged undocumented students graduated from high school and did well enough academically to be admitted to the challenging and pricey university. Ogles has been calling for investigations into several Nashville-related organizations since Trump's election He demanded an investigation of Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell for updating a longstanding policy requiring city personnel to report interactions with federal immigration agents. Of course, Ogles didn't send out any statements showing he raised only $53,000 this year for the next election. But that's another matter. In this newest threat, Ogles says Belmont is 'injecting anti-gospel DEI into its curriculum,' a violation of Trump's order. 'The preservation of faithful Christian education in Middle Tennessee is non-negotiable,' Ogles said in a recent statement. Ogles did not return a phone call for this article. Gov. Lee served on the Belmont board from 2011 until his first election in 2018, even though he graduated from Auburn University. Lee Company, which he placed in a blind trust, continues to hold a suite at the Curb Center where Belmont's basketball teams play home games. Granted, Belmont isn't quite the same college it was 40 years ago when this writer haunted its hills and hooped for the former Rebels in old Striplin Gym, the site of numerous Battles of the Boulevard with Lipscomb. Back then when enrollment was around 2,000, Belmont was connected to the Tennessee Baptist Conference, which provided funding and picked the college's board members. All students were required to go to chapel two or three times a week and sit in assigned seats so attendance could be monitored. Some scofflaws got others to sit in their seats so they could skip. Seniors were to go to a seminar with a college dean, a requirement that wasn't strictly enforced. (I skated.) These days, with enrollment around 9,000, students can opt for other spiritual fulfillment through programs besides chapel, though it is still offered. Belmont cut ties with the Tennessee Baptist Conference in 2007 and agreed to a $11 million settlement to set its own course with a board no longer dominated by the Baptist Church and, eventually, with members who didn't have to be Christians. Belmont wanted to grow, but it couldn't stretch its legs unless it broke away from the Tennessee Baptist Conference, a part of the Southern Baptist Conference. While attached to the past and its former life as Ward-Belmont College for Southern belles, Belmont has increasingly tied itself to Nashville's music and arts community. Curb Event Center, named for record industry executive Mike Curb, opened in 2003, completing the basketball program's move to the NCAA from NAIA and a shift in athletics overall as the university dropped the Rebels moniker and its old Confederate trappings for the Bruins. The transformation wasn't easy as the basketball teams, with no home gym or conference, had to play for several years at the Municipal Auditorium or go on the road. When Curb opened with an attached parking garage, offices, practice gyms and fitness areas, it seemed Belmont had built a four-star hotel on campus to replace a Motel 8. The center was a welcome relief from dumpy Striplin, and former players felt the university had graduated from the low-budget days when players were happy to have a bologna sandwich and bruised apple on road trips. Fast-forward to 2025, and Belmont is offering medical and law schools in addition to what is considered the premier music-business college in the country, often providing students with Music Row internships. Alberto Gonzales, the U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007, is dean of the law school, where former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell taught as well. They're not exactly bleeding-heart liberals, even if they don't fit today's chaotic conservatism. Money doesn't seem to be a problem, either, considering the multimillion-dollar, pillared academic buildings that line the campus. The university also has a little building on Belmont Boulevard called the Fisher Center, that makes the Schermerhorn Symphony Center pale in comparison. But if you want clear proof the university has gone to hell in a handbasket, consider its new outlook on alcohol. Once scorned, banned and considered cause for removal, alcoholic beverages are allowed at university events. (You might be asking: What's the difference between a Methodist and Baptist? A Methodist will say hello on the way out the door at the liquor store.) No, they aren't selling beer at ballgames, and fans aren't getting hammered like Tennessee Vols backers at Neyland Stadium. A little wine and beer might be available at Belmont activities, if the organizers can swing it. Belmont, though, remains an ecumenical, Christian university, and the administration under President Greg Jones is serious about recruiting all types of students. So far, the university has remained above the fray, declining to respond to questions about Ogles' threats, none of which are likely to stop Belmont from thriving along Wedgewood Avenue on Nashville's south side. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Lookout Senior Reporter Sam Stockard played basketball for Belmont from 1984-86 and earned a bachelor's degree in 1986. He remains a basketball booster.) Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Amid controversies, Ogles turns in low fundraising numbers
Against the backdrop of the national Democratic Party targeting his seat, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles turned in a paltry fundraising total. Why it matters: Ogles figures to need a healthy sum in order to fend off challengers for his District 5 seat, which covers parts of Nashville and its surrounding suburbs, in 2026. By the numbers: Ogles reported raising $53,187.28 for the period ending June 30. He has $59,406.19 cash on hand. He continued to report a $20,000 outstanding loan. Zoom out: In the same period where his fundraising lagged, Ogles has been in the news quite a bit. He called for changing the 22nd amendment so President Trump could serve a third term. Ogles used Islamophobic language while calling for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to be denaturalized. And he unleashed an intense attack on Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell for his response to ICE arrests in Nashville in May. State of play: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has plans to target Ogles' seat. It is an unprecedented effort by the DCCC in recent Tennessee political history, and figures to pump money into the Democratic nominee's campaign. Metro Councilmember Mike Cortese announced his candidacy for the seat last week. What they're saying: Jake Sherman, founder of the Washington D.C. politics outlet Punchbowl News, called Ogles' fundraising numbers "absolutely horrific." DCCC spokesperson Madison Andrus seized on the report, sending out a statement asking, "Does Andy Ogles know he's running?" Axios reached out to the Ogles campaign for comment. Reality check: Ogles has shown the ability to win tough races, fending off Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston in the last GOP primary and cruising to victory in the general election. He still has time to turn around his fundraising. Flashback: Ogles' fundraising has been a source of controversy and the subject of an ethics probe. He reported a $320,000 loan over the course of several financial disclosures.
The Hill
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Torres to introduce resolution condemning Ogles over Mamdani, Jeffries comments
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he is planning to introduce a resolution condemning Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) for using offensive language towards fellow lawmakers, including comments he made against New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. 'I have profound differences of opinion with Assemblymember Mamdani, but we had a mutually respectful conversation last weekend, and we're committed to building a relationship and continuing the dialogue,' Torres said during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC's 'The Briefing Room with Jen Psaki.' 'But I have a deeply felt obligation to speak out against hate, whether it's anti-Jewish bigotry or anti-Muslim bigotry,' he added. Ogles previously accused Mamdani of supporting terrorism and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to denaturalize and deport him. A week later, the Tennessee lawmaker referred to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as the 'dollar store Obama' in a social media post on X. 'Dollar Store Obama has been hysterically rambling for over three and a half hours, whining about tax cuts for working Americans, bonuses for our brave law enforcement, and mass deportations of illegals,' Ogles wrote on Thursday. 'He's still droning on like a broken record… Hakeem needs to get off the House floor, take a drug test, and start putting America first – not last.' Torres said the comments are unacceptable and the behavior should not be condoned in the lower chamber. 'That kind of bigotry has no place in the United States of America. America is and should be a multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious democracy whose creed is e pluribus unum,' he told Psaki. 'That's what we should be celebrating on Independence Day.' The Hill has contacted Ogles for comment.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump Mount Rushmore Proposal: Will President's face get added to monument? See if it is a possibility or not
Ogles Cites Trump's Achievements Interior Department Response to Trump Mount Rushmore Proposal Live Events Trump Mount Rushmore Proposal Technical and Cultural Challenges Can Mount Rushmore Have More Faces? Mount Rushmore Rock's Poor Quality Trump Mount Rushmore Proposal Political Support and Resistance FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel has hogged the limelight again as a renewed political push has emerged to add a fifth face to Mount Rushmore, this time that of President Donald Trump. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) has formally requested that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum study the feasibility of the addition. However, experts and park officials continue to emphasize the structural and philosophical Ogles wrote a letter to Secretary Burgum urging the Department of the Interior to consider expanding the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He pointed to Trump's domestic policy bill, which passed Congress on Thursday, and the administration's ongoing border security also posted his proposal on social media, writing that the monument should evolve to include recent moments in US Department of the Interior did not directly comment on the expansion proposal. A spokesperson said the agency reviews all correspondence from Congress seriously and thoroughly. The National Park Service, which manages Mount Rushmore, did not issue a fresh statement in the past, NPS officials have stressed that the rock surrounding the current sculpture is unsuitable for new acknowledged the difficulties involved in modifying Mount Rushmore. He suggested a feasibility study involving the public and experts to address technical, legal, and cultural concerns. Mount Rushmore sits on sacred Lakota Sioux land, a source of ongoing dispute with Indigenous argued that recognizing Trump's accomplishments would increase the site's importance and visitor numbers, benefitting South Dakota and local officials and geologists have repeatedly warned that the monument cannot safely accommodate another face. Maureen McGee-Ballinger of the NPS stated in 2020 that no suitable rock remains near the sculpted area.A long-standing engineering partner, RESPEC, supports this view, saying any new carving could destabilize the existing engineer Paul Nelson said removing more material could harm the support of the monument, possibly risking structural Rushmore's original sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, made several changes to his design due to the rock's poor quality. Jefferson's first face had to be blasted away and moved. Roosevelt's face was carved in a narrow space near a crack, and Lincoln's face is held by the 1990s, scientists mapped over 140 fractures across the site, showing it is already fragile. Park rangers even angled Jefferson's gaze to avoid a Ogles, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has introduced legislation to begin carving Trump's face on the mountain. The bill has not yet received a past interviews, Trump expressed interest in being added to the monument. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem once said Trump told her it was his sculptor Borglum's granddaughter said the monument was not intended to celebrate individuals but ideals. Past suggestions to include other presidents were never acted say the rock is unstable. Carving more faces risks damage to the existing sculpture and could make the entire structure Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced a bill in January to carve Trump's face, but it has not advanced in Congress.
Int'l Business Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Democrats Secretly Hope Republican Rep's Campaign to Deport Zohran Mamdani is 'Successful,' Lawmaker Claims
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles claimed a Democratic lawmaker expressed support for his campaign to deport Democratic Socialist and New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, saying they hope it is "successful." Ogles appeared Thursday on "The Benny Show," a podcast hosted by conservative commentator Benny Johnson, where he made a stunning claim about bipartisan support for his efforts against Mamdani. "I had a Democratic member of Congress come up to me on the House floor yesterday," Ogles said. "And he said, 'You know what, this is officially where I'd say you're a horrible human being for targeting Zohran in New York. But the reality is, we hope, we as Democrats, hope you're successful because he's the worst thing that's ever happened to our party.'" "That's a Democratic member of Congress coming to me on the House floor and thanking me for targeting this knucklehead, because he's a Socialist Marxist," Ogles continued. "He's gonna destroy the city of New York." The former Tennessee mayor went on to argue that Mamdani "represents everything that's wrong with the Democratic Party," claiming Mamdani's run will help Republicans win the midterms and the White House—again—in four years. Last week, Ogles sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging a federal investigation into whether Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Uganda, could potentially be deported for past statements, including a rap performance in which he called for the release of the Holy Land Five. The group of five men was convicted and sentenced to between 15 and 65 years in prison in 2008 for allegedly supporting terrorism, money laundering and tax fraud through the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that, if true, Ogles' accusation warrants an investigation. President Donald Trump has also condemned Mamdani, warning that he could face arrest if he interferes with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Originally published on Latin Times
