Day: April 7, 2017

Special Fuel Tax CUT for FedEx Preceded Haslam Push for Fuel Tax INCREASE on Regular Tennesseans

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Tennessee Star

  The Haslam administration and their pro-tax allies in the Tennessee General Assembly have increasingly relied upon a “user fee” argument to disguise the actual impact of their proposed gasoline and diesel fuel tax increase plan. The bill, now under consideration in the current session of the Tennesssee General Assembly under its “new and improved” name, the IMPROVE Act “Tax Act Cut of 2017,” proposes to fund an additional annual infusion of $350 million for road and bridge construction through what is now a 6 cents per gallon gas tax increase and a 10 cents per gallon diesel tax increase. Former Reagan official and respected economist Art Laffer specifically dismissed the “user fee” claim in testimony before the House Transportation Subcommittee last month. “The talk about the gas tax being a user fee is not correct,” Laffer testified. “It’s a tax pure and simple.” Nevertheless, in 2015 the Haslam administration promoted and passed a huge “user fee” jet fuel tax break to Memphis-based FedEx, whose Chairman Fred Smith sits on the Board of the Governor’s family business Pilot/Flying J, shortly before embarking on the effort to impose a huge fuel tax increase on Tennessee drivers.  The special tax break on aviation…

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BREAKING: President Trump Says He Will Nominate Mark Green to be Secretary of the Army

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  President Trump will nominate Tennessee State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) to be Secretary of the Army, the White House said on Friday. In a press release issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary,  Green was named along with several other individuals who will be nominated for top adminstration positions. “President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate key additions to his Administration,” the statement read, adding this about Green: Mark E. Green of Tennessee to be Secretary of the Army. Dr. Mark Green currently serves as Tennessee State Senator for District 22. He is the Chaplain of the Senate GOP Caucus and was selected as the Tennessee Journal’s Rookie of the year in 2013. Dr. Green is the CEO of Align MD, an emergency department staffing company, which provides leadership and staffing to emergency departments and hospitalist services in forty-seven hospitals in nine states. In 1986, Second Lieutenant Green graduated from West Point with a degree in economics and began his military career as an infantry officer. Dr. Green served as a rifle platoon leader, scout platoon leader, battalion personnel officer, a supply officer, an airborne rifle company commander in the famed 82nd Airborne…

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State Senator Mark Norris Accuses House Speaker Beth Harwell Of Working Covertly On Gas Tax Alternative

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris has accused House Speaker Beth Harwell of working behind the scenes on a plan to avoid a gas tax increase, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. “There’s a fine line between indecision and deception,” Norris (R-Collierville) said Thursday, who did not elaborate on his comment. On Wednesday, Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) told the Budget Subcommittee that he, Harwell and others were working on alternative funding plan for Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act. The amended legislation includes a gas tax hike of six cents and a 10-cent increase on diesel over the next three years, while cutting three taxes in the general fund, including the sales tax on groceries. The Tennessee Star reported Thursday that Harwell (R-Nashville) and others want to use revenues from the sales tax on new and used vehicles toward funding road projects. Harwell said details of the plan are still being finalized. Hawk’s announcement caught Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally, Budget Subcommittee Chairman Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) Gov. Haslam and others by surprise, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. On Wednesday, State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), chairman of the House Transportation Committee and co-sponsor of the gas tax increase proposal, presented a lengthy argument…

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Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation Backs Syrian Airstrikes

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee’s Congressional delegation is supporting the airstrikes in Syria ordered by President Trump and carried out on Thursday. Both United States Senators from Tennessee and all nine members of the delegation from the Volunteer State in the U.S. House of Representatives–seven Republicans and two Democrats– in public statements late Thursday and early Friday gave Trump’s actions their support. The airstrikes are in response to a chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian government against its own people in a rebel-controlled area. Sen. Bob Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a news release that he approves of Trump’s “decisive action.” “The U.S. and world community stood by as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad brutally tortured and murdered more than 500,000 of his own people, and I applaud President Trump for taking decisive action following the latest chemical weapons attack,” Corker said. “It is critical that Assad knows he will no longer enjoy impunity for his horrific crimes against his own citizens, and this proportional step was appropriate. As we move forward, it will be important for the administration to engage with Congress and clearly communicate its full strategy to the American people.” Sen. Lamar Alexander…

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BREAKING: Senate Confirms Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court

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Tennessee Star

  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fulfilled his promise to President Trump and the American people this morning, by successfully ending the partisan Democrats’ filibuster and leading the Senate confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. CNN reports: The vote was 54-45, mostly along party lines. Only three Democrats: Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, sided with the GOP majority. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the vote, but was not needed to break a tie. The court has been operating with eight justices since the sudden death in February 2016 of Justice Antonin Scalia and a protracted fight over President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. The confirmation does not alter the so-called “balance of the Court,” however, the precedent-setting move to require only a simple majority vote – first made by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – could return the highest court in the land sharply toward the Constitution, should Justice Ginsberg or Justice Breyer retire. Watch the video: Reaction to the restoration of a full Court has been overwhelmingly positive. Hannah Smith, Senior Counsel with Becket and a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said: Congratulations to Judge Gorsuch and his…

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Plyler v. Doe: The Supreme Court Ruling That Influences Today’s Debate Over In-State College Tuition For Illegal Immigrants

Wendy Wilson
SCOTUS

  Long before there was debate over in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants in Tennessee and around the country, there was debate over illegal immigrant students in grades K-12. The matter was settled in 1982, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Plyler v. Doe that public schools must grant illegal immigrant children a free K-12 education as they would for any other student. Doing otherwise would violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, the court said. The ruling helped set the stage for future wrangling over providing young illegal immigrants with benefits for continuing their education and finding work after graduating from high school. In Tennessee, a bill that would provide in-state tuition for illegal immigrants is moving through the state legislature. The proposed legislation is sponsored by two Republicans, Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis). A similar bill was passed by the Senate two years ago but failed in the House by one vote. Currently, at least 18 states offer in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Proponents say it’s not fair to create hurdles for college-bound illegal immigrants after they were welcomed and encouraged in their K-12…

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The Legendary Don Rickles Has Died

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  Renowned comedy icon Don Rickles had died. He would have been 91 in May. Rickles burst into the mainstream with his acerbic style after Frank Sinatra spotted him in a night club in the late 1950s. A pioneer in the genre of ‘insult comedy,’ Sinatra said in later interviews he was impressed with how fearlessly Rickles would take on hecklers. His take-no-prisoners style soon earned him such nicknames as, “The King of Zing,” “Mr. Warmth,” and “The Merchant of Venom.” Although not really know as a big screen star, he has appeared in many box office hits, including the 1960 dramatic comedy, “The Rat Race;” campy Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello romp, “Beach Blanket Bingo;” and Scorsese’s high-stakes drama, “Casino.” But perhaps his most famous role to the current generation is as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the groundbreaking “Toy Story” series. Amid the bustle of a busy news day, the internet took a moment to mourn his passing: https://twitter.com/50sAnd60s/status/850080053773963264   Over a Bloody Mary in Beverly Hills, insult comic Don Rickles tells the best Sinatra story ever https://t.co/uvtWgghXdS #VFArchives pic.twitter.com/PucWBGkQKd — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) April 6, 2017   Comedian Don Rickles dies at 90 https://t.co/KsAzcjFcTf The only man to pick on…

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I Made it Back to Good Health … So Can You

Patrick Rooney

  Hello, and welcome to the debut of my column with the Tennessee Star! My name is Patrick Rooney. I’m the Founder and President of GREEK PHYSIQUE™, LLC, and a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Association of Fitness Certification (NAFC). Through the grace of God, dedication, and knowledge, I’ve recovered from poor health, surgery and injury. And now, well into my fifth decade, I’m in better physical condition today than I was twenty years ago – I can help you do the same. I grew up taking a particular liking to sports, especially basketball, and an anything-goes playground game of keep-away played on asphalt. Any kind of quick-turning activity on concrete is brutal on the ankles and I turned, sprained, and otherwise mangled them countless times. I mostly provided my own physical therapy and got back in the game. Looking back, this was my introduction to physical therapy and personal training. I learned to condition my body to excel at sports, and became fascinated in particular with increasing my vertical leap. At my peak, I could slam dunk a volleyball – not bad for a barely 5’ 10” Italian / Irish (i.e.: white) guy. I trained my legs running ten flights of…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Friday, April 7

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Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing April 7, Friday Proverbs 29:11-14 A fool gives full vent to anger, but the wise quietly holds it back. If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked. The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both. If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever.

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