White House Responds to the Predictably Dour CBO Score of the American Healthcare Act

Tennessee Star

  Within an hour of the ‘non-partisan’ Congressional Budget Office’s report showing, among other things, that over 22 million Americans would lose their insurance coverage over the next decade, President Trump issued the following statement: The CBO has consistently proven it cannot accurately predict how healthcare legislation will impact insurance coverage. This history of inaccuracy, as demonstrated by its flawed report on coverage, premiums, and predicted deficit arising out of Obamacare, reminds us that its analysis must not be trusted blindly.  In 2013, the CBO estimated that 24 million people would have coverage under Obamacare by 2016.  It was off by an astounding 13 million people – more than half—as less than 11 million were actually covered.  Then, CBO estimated that 30 million fewer people would be uninsured in 2016, but then it had to reduce its estimate to 22 million, further illustrating its inability to present reliable healthcare predictions. We know the facts.  To date, we have seen average individual market premiums more than double and insurers across the country opting out of healthcare exchanges.  As more and more people continue to lose coverage and face fewer healthcare choices, President Trump is committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare, which…

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Two Tennessee Families Split Reward Money In Georgia Convicts Case

Two Tennessee families are splitting $20,000 in reward money for help in catching two Georgia convicts accused of killing two guards and escaping from a prison bus, reports the Associated Press. The names of the recipients are being withheld at their request, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Each household has been given $10,000. A total of $130,000 had been offered for information leading to the arrests of Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe. It wasn’t clear if or when other funds might be distributed. The men, who escaped June 13, held a Shelbyville couple at gunpoint in their home and stole their vehicle on June 15. The husband alerted police and a chase ensued with the fugitives firing at officers before they crashed the vehicle. Dubose and Rowe ended up on foot at the home of Patrick Hale in Rutherford County later that same day. In an unusual turn of events, the men surrendered to Hale and were taken into custody when deputies arrived. Hale had loaded his weapons when he heard the men were in the area, but did not have to take out a gun, he said at a press conference June 16. A Georgia prosecutor has said he…

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63 Members of Tennessee House of Representatives Object to Passage of Nashville’s Proposed Sanctuary City Ordinance

Tennessee Star

  Sixty-three members of the 99 member Tennessee House of Representatives, all Republicans, released a statement opposing the passage of a proposed sanctuary city ordinance by Metro Nashville Council. “With the Second Reading of the Ordinances filed by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge having passed and a vote pending from the Metro Council, we are compelled to make public the intent and purposes of this Ordinance and to make it known that as Representatives of the State of Tennessee, we soundly object to their passage. Tennessee is currently being represented by the Thomas More Law Center in a lawsuit questioning the ongoing practice of settling refugees in Tennessee through various non-governmental organizations without the proper vetting, channels or protocol being followed,” State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), State Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro), and State Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) said in a statement released on Monday from Matheny’s office: The Ordinances would formally put policies in place that would officially make Nashville a Sanctuary City. In essence, the Ordinances would: 1) Prohibit Metro Nashville employees from inquiring into anyone’s immigration status, effectively enabling illegal aliens to access public benefits they would otherwise be barred from using. This practice is not…

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Latinos For Tennessee Opposes Nashville’s Proposed ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance

Tennessee Star

Latinos For Tennessee is opposing the “sanctuary city” ordinance being considered by Metro Council that would restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials in Nashville and Davidson County. The ordinance passed a second reading last week and will be considered for a final vote July 6. Tommy Vallejos, chairman of the conservative group, issued the following statement in a news release: Nashville’s decision to create a sanctuary city is an affront to the rule of law and puts the well-being of the entire state at risk by blatantly ignoring federal immigration law. True compassion for our community means upholding the rule of law—one of the central pillars of any free, fair and secure society. The Davidson County Sheriff opposes this proposal, and we agree that tying the hands of local law enforcement is not only legally questionable, but it’s dangerous. Just last week in Virginia, Darwin Martinez Torres was arrested for brutally killing a 17-year-old girl. Torres is an illegal immigrant who should not have been in this country at all—he had already been held on local charges that made him removable from the United States. Nashville’s Metro Council still has time to prevent this ordinance from being enacted by rejecting the…

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Partly Reinstates Trump Travel and Refugee Bans

U.S. Supreme Court

  The Associated Press is reporting that ” The Supreme Court is letting a limited version of the Trump administration ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries to take effect, a victory for President Donald Trump in the biggest legal controversy of his young presidency.” The court said Monday the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could be enforced as long as they lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The justices will hear arguments in the case in October. Trump said last week that the ban would take effect 72 hours after being cleared by courts. The Trump administration said the 90-day ban was needed to allow an internal review of the screening procedures for visa applicants from those countries. That review should be complete before Oct. 2, the first day the justices could hear arguments in their new term. In addition, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration a win on its 120 ban on refugees, as the Associated Press reported: A 120-ban on refugees also is being allowed to take effect on a limited basis. Three of the court’s conservative…

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Republican Congressman Steve Scalise, Injured in Shooting, Upgraded to Fair Condition and Moved Out of Intensive Care

U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, who was shot and seriously injured in an attack on Republican lawmakers last week, is in fair condition and was moved out of the intensive care unit earlier this week, hospital officials said Saturday. The Louisiana lawmaker, a member of the House Republican leadership, has had “continued good progress,” MedStar Washington Hospital…

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Retired Marine Staff Sergeant and Trump Supporter Kat Gates-Skipper Honors Wounded Veterans at Warren County GOP Event

  Kathryn “Kat” Gates-Skipper, a 20-year Marine Corps veteran and early supporter of President Donald Trump, whose campaign she served as a veterans advocate, was the featured speaker at the Warren County Republican Party Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner Saturday night at the Westwood Church of Christ in McMinville. Warren County Republican Party Chairman Ben Nixon introduced Gates-Skipper to the crowd of 200, the largest Warren County Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner crowd in recent memory. Bishop noted that Gates-Skipper, a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps, was “the holder of many military ‘firsts for women,’” and is married to  “Army veteran Charles Skipper, who was decorated for his service in Vietnam.” She and her husband are parents of four children and four grandchildren, Bishop noted. “In addition to running two businesses, work on the Trump campaign and continuing her activism for veterans, Kat has recently launched her campaign for County Commission of Polk County, Florida,” Bishop added. Gates-Skipper wowed the crowd with her compelling personal story. “I consider myself a ‘True Marine, because I was literally born on the shores of Tripoli. I was adopted at 18 hours old, by an Air Force Colonel and his wife. I became part of the Peters’…

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Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett Says He’s Not Running For Governor, But Guarantees He Will Be On The Ballot In 14 Months

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee – At the Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday evening, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, invited to speak during the “Comments From 2018 Candidates and Political Guests” portion of the agenda, after joking that “These primaries make everybody nervous,” ended the suspense when he said, “I’m not running for governor.” Burchett later said, “You’ll see me on the ballot in about 14 months, I can guarantee it,” but gave no indication as to which office he would be seeking.  Burchett will be term-limited out of office as Mayor of Knox County in 2018.  There have been rumors that he has considered a run for Tennessee governor, as he has been teasing pundits that all options are on the table. Burchett’s comments immediately began speculation that he may run for either the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), or the Congressional seat currently held by Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan (R-TN-02) Gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and businessman Randy Boyd were both in attendance, as was House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) who gave the keynote address and has been rumored to be considering a primary run as the Republican candidate for…

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British Parliament Targeted With ‘Sustained And Determined’ Cyberattack

Hackers have attempted to breach internet accounts associated with the U.K. Parliament, British authorities said Saturday, triggering a security response that left lawmakers unable to access their emails outside of Westminster this weekend. The Houses of Parliament “discovered unauthorized attempts to access accounts of parliamentary network users” and is actively investigating the incident in coordination with…

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Mae Beavers at Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner: ‘Illegals Are Costing Us Somewhere Between $400 to $600 Million A Year’

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee — In her remarks as a gubernatorial candidate at the Grainger County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday night, Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) relayed her strong voting record against special privileges for illegal aliens, and reported that, “Illegals are costing us somewhere between $400 to $600 million a year for education, for food stamps, for housing, for all those things that we have to pick up after Catholic Charities and other organizations bring them in here.” Beavers shared that Donald Trump’s stance on illegal immigration was one of the main reasons she decided to support him for president.  She went on to be an at-large delegate for Trump, garnering more votes than any other delegate, and was later elected by the Tennessee delegation as the state’s delegation chair, an honor usually reserved for the governor of the state. In light of the recent controversy over two Metro Nashville/Davidson County ordinances that would make Nashville the most liberal sanctuary city in the United States Beavers noted that she voted for the 2009 bill that made sanctuary cities illegal in Tennessee. “That’s been in the news the past few days with Nashville and Nashville’s Mayor pushing sanctuary cities,” Beavers…

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Pentagon Has Greater Autonomy and Decision-Making Authority Under President Trump

Pentagon officials are welcoming the greater autonomy and decision-making authority under President Trump, after what they say were years of Obama administration micromanaging. Within the hallways and offices of the Pentagon, top military brass and national security leaders have lauded the actions taken by the Trump administration, saying privately that the Defense Department now has an…

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Commentary: Democrats in Disarray Over Pelosi and Party’s Future

Tennessee Star

Just days after their Party received a crushing blow in a special election for Georgia’s Sixth district, Democratic lawmakers struggled to agree on a way forward to repair their party’s electoral fortunes. On the Sunday shows, Democratic members of Congress particularly clashed over whether House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi should continue to lead their caucus. Republicans…

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Trump: ‘Resist’ Movement Has Backfired on Democrats by Turning Off Voters with ‘Terrible’ Message

President Trump said Sunday that the left’s “resist” campaign has backfired on Democrats by saddling them with a “terrible theme” that voters are rejecting. “That’s a terrible word. Think of it. Their theme is ‘resist.’ Their theme should be, ‘Let’s get together. Envelop. Let’s get together,’” Mr. Trump said in an interview aired Sunday on “Fox…

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Sen. Bernie Sanders Rips California Democrats for Pulling $400 Billion Single-Payer Bill, Asks Supporters to Pressure State Legislature

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lashed out Saturday at California Democrats for shelving an ambitious single-payer bill, urging them to vote on the health-care legislation estimated to cost $400 billion per year. California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced Friday that Senate Bill 562 had been pulled indefinitely because it “does not address many serious issues,” including “financing,…

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Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd Donated $250,000 to La Raza Affiliate And Has Not Renounced Nashville Sanctuary City Ordinance

  Almost immediately after the Metro Nashville Council voted on second reading to pass a sanctuary city ordinance last week, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) and gubernatorial candidates, Mae Beavers and Bill Lee, issued strong rebukes to the city’s move to violate federal and state law. The Randy Boyd campaign, despite being asked directly by The Tennessee Star for a comment regarding the proposed Nashville ordinance, did not respond. In a state where The Tennessee Star’s polling results showed that 1,007 likely Republican primary voters rejected in-state college tuition for illegal aliens by a stunning 84 percent to 11 percent margin and where 1.5 million voters helped elect President Trump, Boyd’s silence on a key immigration issue, could prove costly to his campaign. Three days after announcing his candidacy for governor on March 6, 2017, The Star reported on Boyd’s $250,000 donation in 2016 to Conexion Americas, an affiliate partner of the National Council of La Raza (NC La Raza). Renata Soto, co- founder and executive director of Conexion Americas served for three years as vice-president of the NC La Raza Board and was elected to lead the NC La Raza board in 2015, the year before Boyd made his donation. Days later The Star asked Boyd whether he knew…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, June 26

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing June 26, Monday Joshua 24:15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Psalm 80:18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

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