Day: February 16, 2017

Letter to the Editor: Protesters Crossed the Line

Admin

Dear Tennessee Star, February 15, two lawmakers, Sen. Mae Beavers and Rep. Pody, attempted to conduct a press conference about two bills they are sponsoring, the Traditional Marriage Bill and the Bathroom Bill. Protesters disrupted the conference. It was abruptly halted. Protesters crossed the line for peaceful protesting. Not only did they shout the legislators down from speaking, protesters followed them out shouting even more. Protesters were belligerent , crude, and rude. Denying the legislators to speak and the public’s right to be heard showed bullying at its best. When you peel back the layers of this incident it boils down to good versus evil. Fidelity in relationships of marriage, parenthood, and friendship; commitment to right principles in business, sanctity of one’s word…all of these are ancient landmarks placed by God in His holy word. Spiritual landmarks are there for all time and are changed at the changer’s peril. Spiritual landmarks do not need updating and changing because human needs and nature remain the same as they were from the beginning. Removing those ancient landmarks endangers human happiness. Those who honor those ancient landmarks have it all – inner peace, satisfaction, and most of all, assurance that they will spend…

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Commentary: Another Federal Judge Seizes Presidential Power

Christina Botteri

by George Rasley, CHQ Editor February 15, 2017 Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com Emboldened by Judge James L. Robart’s anti-constitutional power grab and the refusal of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate his order temporarily restraining President Trump’s Executive Order 13,769 temporarily pausing immigration from seven terrorist hotspots Judge Leonie Brinkema, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has also chosen to seize the president’s Article II constitutional prerogatives. (To oppose this power grab please sign our Impeach Power Grabbing Judges Petition). In a 22-page ruling Monday night, Judge Brinkema, said lawyers for President Trump had provided no evidence supporting the restriction of travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. According to WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Judge Brinkema said, “…they [the Trump administration] have not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO (executive order), or even described the process by which the president concluded that this action was necessary.” The claim that the government has “not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO” is either incredibly bad pleading by the government’s lawyers, willful blindness on the part of Judge Brinkema – or an anti-constitutional power grab. Last summer, Muna Osman Jama and Hinda Osman Dhirane, two Somali immigrants, were found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and providing material support to…

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Tennessee Legislators First in Nation to Help Home Health Care Providers Get Paid

Chris Alto

A bill filed by Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), “The HMO Transparency in Claims Processing Act of 2017,” makes Tennessee the first state to address problems home health care companies encounter in getting paid for their services. HB51/SB133 will establish processes to facilitate prompt payment of claims and improved management in addressing the denial of claims for services delivered by home health care providers. Home-based health services can provide an alternative to the nursing home model by offering care that enables seniors to “age in place,” often in their own residence and communities. According to AARP, seniors who have depleted their assets or never had resources sufficient to pay for needed care, typically resort to Medicaid as their safety net: “Nearly a third of older people are projected to deplete their life savings and turn to Medicaid for assistance as their ability to care for themselves declines.” However, data collated by AARP in 2013 showed nursing home use by seniors enrolled in Medicaid programs had decreased by about one-third since 1995, “despite the enormous growth among the oldest age groups most at risk of using nursing home services.” AARP credits the use of private and less…

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Gov. Haslam to Hold ‘Town Hall’ on Gas Tax Increase Monday in Winchester

Tennessee Star Staff

Gov. Haslam will “hold a town hall meeting on proposed gas tax increase” on Monday, February 20, at 6:00 pm in Winchester, the Franklin County seat, the Winchester Herald Chronicle reports: Gov. Bill Haslam will be in Franklin County Monday to discuss his plan for a 7 cent tax increase per gallon on gasoline and 12 cents on diesel to go toward roadway improvements. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Franklin County Annex Building [located at 855 Dinah Shore Blvd. in Winchester, 90 miles southeast of Nashville]. The purpose of the event, which is open to the public, is to provide a forum on a plan focusing exclusively on increasing much-needed funding to repair and maintain safe highways and bridges throughout Tennessee. Haslam has also proposed that sales tax be reduced on food products. Curiously, the governor’s website makes no mention of the event, which the Herald Chronicle calls “a town hall” in its headline, but which sounds more like another stop in the governor’s promotional tour for his proposed 7 cents a gallon gas tax. Typically, a town hall on a particular public policy topic is an open discussion of all possible solutions on that…

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Diane Black (TN-06) Set to Replace Tom Price as Budget Chairman

Christina Botteri
Diane Black (TN-06)

The Republican Steering Committee recommended interim Budget Chairman Diane Black of Tennessee to officially head the panel in the wake of former House Budget Chairman Tom Price being confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The House Republican Conference is slated to confirm the vote Thursday morning, which will officially make…

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