After 20 of the 24 Obamacare non-profit health insurance cooperatives collapsed, despite the influx of $2.4 billion in taxpayer funds, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that its trade association would also fail. The National Alliance of State Health Cooperatives (NASCHO), the Obamacare co-op health insurance trade association, has quietly closed its doors, The Daily Caller News Foundation…
Read the full story
Dave Ramsey broke ground Thursday on new Williamson County corporate headquarters for Ramsey Solutions, his growing financial advice company. Thursday’s private ceremony was set to feature remarks from Ramsey and Gov. Bill Haslam, according to a news release. Representatives from the city of Franklin, the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, Gresham Smith and Partners, and Solomon Builders were scheduled to attend, along with Ramsey family members and more than 600 Ramsey Solutions employees. The new headquarters will be on 47 acres in the Berry Farms development in Franklin. The more than 223,000-square-foot building will include a coffee shop, bookstore and studio for “The Dave Ramsey Show,” in addition to office space for more than 1,000 people. The company estimates the new headquarters will open in August 2019. Ramsey Solutions closed on the property in 2015. The company is currently located in multiple locations in Cool Springs, occupying a total of more than 150,000 square feet. Ramsey Solutions, formerly known as the Lampo Group, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Ramsey is known for common sense financial advice delivered through books, radio shows, live events, classes, coaching and digital products. Over the years, the Tennessee native, who was born…
Read the full story
…For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV) I suppose it’s ironic that I – a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of a fitness and health company – someone who makes his living by providing instruction, am writing an article warning of the dangers of giving or receiving too much information. And yet, it’s an article that needs to be written. We are beings who ultimately function best through our own internal guidance system. Yet we sometimes need the assistance of other people, to help guide us back to our natural path, and to help move us through life’s complicated maze. The problem occurs when their guidance fails to move us back to our path, but instead guides us onto their path. This is a huge problem in our world, and is spread across nearly every field of human endeavor. It is common in the world of religion and spiritual pursuit. It is also huge in the world of medicine, health and fitness. Authorities and gurus abound, each with their own take on reality, and what it takes to “succeed.” When someone asks me to help them transform their health and fitness, they typically either…
Read the full story
On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Education released the results of the latest round of student testing, which showed that “Tennessee high school students improved across all subject areas – English, math, science, and U.S. history – on the 2016-17 TNReady end-of-course exams.” “This growth is encouraging, and it shows our students are capable of reaching the high bar we’ve set with our expectations in Tennessee,” Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said: It’s also promising to see not only overall improvement, but some bright spots in the performance of historically underserved student groups. The results from TNReady shine a light on what’s working and help us to identify where we need to better support students and teachers – so every student in Tennessee reaches his or her fullest potential. “Assessment will never be popular. However, we share the optimism today of Commissioner McQueen that ‘our students are capable of reaching the high bar we’ve set with our expectations in Tennessee.’ It demonstrates the tremendous efforts our schools and our educators have been making. We have aligned to higher standards and can see that it is now paying off. It has been a tremendous ambitious academic journey for our state,” JC Bowman,…
Read the full story
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us then who can be against us?” ~ Romans 8:31 After nearly a half-century – and one complaint – a plaque displaying a single verse of scripture (quoted above) at the Knoxville Police Department employee entrance will be removed, Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief David Rausch announced at a press conference Monday. As a consolation, Rogero said in a statement the piece will be moved to a new “Hall of Inspiration” at KPD’s headquarters in the Safety Building, “along with other inspirational writings from a variety of faiths and philosophers.” In her prepared remarks, Mayor Rogero said, “We are not aware of any complaints or issues raised in recent history by KPD staff or members of the public. It has become part of KPD tradition, providing strength and comfort to our officers as they perform their daily – and often dangerous – duties.” “I know that people both inside and outside City government are upset with this ending of a tradition,” she added. “As a person of faith, I understand and respect the passion that people feel for this issue. ” The move is in a response to a letter…
Read the full story
On Monday, the Democrats were really excited about their new slogan, “A Better Deal: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Wages.” Widely ridiculed for being idiotic, here’s a slogan they could have chosen, which is much more honest about the current liberal agenda: “A Bully’s Deal: If You Ever Think For Yourself and Don’t Conform, We’ll Ruin…
Read the full story
Republican Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell endorsed gubernatorial candidate and former state head of economic development (ECD) Randy Boyd Wednesday. Shelby County is Tennessee’s largest with a population of over 900,000. The connection between Luttrell and Boyd goes back not just to their small-town rural roots in West Tennessee, but to economic and community development projects like the joint state and local infrastructure investment project for the area surrounding St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Luttrell switched his support to Boyd from state Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville), when Norris accepted the nomination from President Donald Trump to a federal judgeship, according to The Commercial Appeal. Boyd, after leaving his state ECD position in January, was the first to announce his intention to run for governor to replace term-limited Bill Haslam, but since then Franklin businessman Bill Lee, state Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) have entered the race and the expectation is that U.S. Congresswoman Diane Black (TN-06) will be announcing shortly. Luttrell was one of 12 candidates to run in the 2016 Republican primary for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District, a seat held at that time by Stephen Fincher, but lost to David Kustoff with 27.4…
Read the full story
It will take more time to reverse U.S. trade policies because President Donald Trump represents such a dramatic break from his predecessors, a key White House adviser said Wednesday. Peter Navarro, director of trade and industrial policy at the White House, said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” said it should be no surprise that former Presidents…
Read the full story
The conservative Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) praised President Trump on Wednesday for saying that transgenders would not be allowed in the military, a reversal of a policy set in motion by former President Obama, who lifted a previous ban. David Fowler, president of FACT, said in a statement that “the military is not suited for social experimentation.” Obama had set a deadline of July 1 for fully implementing his policy, but Trump’s defense secretary had announced a six-month delay in enlisting transgender people. However, those already enlisted were allowed to transition and soldiers had started to undergo sensitivity training on welcoming soldiers of the opposite biological sex in barracks, bathrooms and showers. In a series of tweets Wednesday, Trump said that after consulting with generals and military experts, he decided that the U.S. government “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military” so that the armed forces will not “be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” Fowler’s full statement said: President Trump has kept a campaign promise to make military preparedness the focus of our military, and I commend him for doing…
Read the full story
House Speaker Beth Harwell will speak at Republican activist Tim Skow’s First Tuesday event Aug. 1 as she gets her campaign for Tennessee governor under way. Harwell (R-Nashville) officially announced her candidacy July 15. At the event, Harwell will outline her vision for Tennessee and take questions. Topics are likely to include sanctuary cities, transportation funding, and prison costs and reforms. Harwell has already made sanctuary cities one of her areas of focus. She has started a petition to uphold the statewide ban on sanctuary cities. Last month, Metro Council came close to adopting a sanctuary city policy to make Nashville more open to illegal immigrants, but two related bills were withdrawn before a third and final vote on one of them because of public opposition and legal concerns about the proposed legislation violating state and federal laws. “I led the fight with other conservatives to put an end to it,” Harwell says in the online petition. “We succeeded, but this issue is too important to sit back and relax.” The 1st Tuesday forum is providing a chance for people to get to know the Republican gubernatorial candidates. Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd was the guest at the June meeting and Williamson…
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Republican senators in Washington, D.C., were divided Wednesday on repealing significant portions of Obamacare. Sen. Bob Corker voted for a health care bill amendment to repeal the Affordable Care Act, while Sen. Lamar Alexander voted against it. Put forward by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the amendment would have given lawmakers two years to develop a replacement plan. The Senate will now debate measures that won’t alter Obamacare as much as the amendment defeated Wednesday. Radio talk show host Phil Valentine speculated on his show Wednesday that Corker, considered a moderate by some conservatives, voted for repeal because he is up for election next year and knew the vote would play well with Tennessee voters. Corker has not said whether he will seek a third term. In a statement released before Wednesday’s vote, Corker said: As I have said before, I believe the best path forward is for Congress to repeal Obamacare after a reasonable transition period. This amendment would take us back to a level playing field where, by a date certain, all sides have incentive to work together to develop a health care replacement that would generate broad support and stand the test of time. I urge my…
Read the full story
Federal immigration agents are stepping up enforcement in Shelby County and facing a backlash from activists. The push by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is part of an effort to target individuals who have been issued final orders of removal. However, a statement released by ICE notes that no one who enters the country illegally is immune from immigration enforcement. Thomas Byrd, an ICE spokesman in New Orleans, issued the following statement: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently conducting a surge operation focused on the identification and arrest of family units, adults who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied alien children (UAC), and UACs who are at least 16 years old and have criminal histories and/or suspected gang ties. All of the targeted individuals have been issued a final order of removal by a federal immigration judge, and have no appeals or motions to re-open their case before the nation’s immigration courts. Attempting to unlawfully enter the United States as a family unit or UAC does not protect individuals from being subject to the immigration laws of this country. As DHS Secretary Kelly and Acting ICE Director Homan have stated repeatedly, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of…
Read the full story
Governor Bill Haslam was the featured guest at the July 20 “A Midsummer’s Night Gala” fund raising event “for the Re-election of Anthony Holt, County Executive,” a fervent supporter of the governor’s gas-tax increasing IMPROVE Act and host of a Sumner County town hall on the topic February 22. Holt was an early promoter of what would eventually become the controversial IMPROVE Act, when he brought to the county Legislative Committee “A Resolution of Support for Enhanced, Sustainable Funding for Transportation Needs for the State of Tennessee and for Local Communities” back in April 2016. Holt reported to the Legislative Committee that the resolution had been developed by the MPO – Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization – of which Holt is a member. According to its website, the MPO was established through federal legislation and “facilitates strategic planning for the region’s multi-modal transportation system.” At the time, the state had more than a half-billion dollar budget surplus, yet the transportation resolution urged the Tennessee General Assembly to provide funding other than the over-collected taxes that would account for inflation and allow cities and counties the option to tax for transportation needs, including transit options. The IMPROVE Act increased the…
Read the full story
VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 27, Thursday Luke 12:2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them
Read the full story