Day: September 29, 2017

Tom Price Resigns as Secretary of HHS Under Pressure

Tennessee Star Staff

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price has resigned as Secretary of Health and Human Services and President Trump has accepted his resignation, according to CNN and multiple press reports. Price’s resignation comes “in the midst of a scandal over his use of private planes,” CNN reports: Price’s departure came as he’s being investigated by the department’s inspector general for using private jets for multiple government business trips, even to fly distances often as short as from Washington to Philadelphia. The scandal infuriated Trump, who viewed the controversy as a needless distraction from his agenda. Over the course of the week, Trump fumed to aides about Price’s flights, which he deemed “stupid,” according to multiple sources. Instead of moving past the storm, Price’s offer to reimburse the government for only a fraction of the flights’ costs enraged Trump further. Price and his aides have insisted that the trips he took by private charter jet had been approved through the usual legal and ethics offices at HHS. But the appearance of a millionaire Cabinet secretary flying routes easily navigated by far cheaper means proved an optics nightmare for an administration already accused of being out of touch with regular Americans.…

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Titans’ Delanie Walker to Fans: Stay Home

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee Titans’ tight end Delanie Walker may believe money grows on trees, for he apparently does not think ticket-buying fans pay his salary. The NFL player smack-talked his team’s fan base earlier this week when he said those who are upset about high-salaried players kneeling for the national anthem should stay home, Fox News Insider quoted from other media reports. Or perhaps the athlete thinks people pay to hear his political opinions rather than watching him compete in a sporting event. “OK. Bye,” the tight end was reported saying about Titans’ fans. Walker has a two-year, $13.3 million contract. Coach Mike Mularkey told the media that he thought it was a team-wide decision to remain in the locker room Sunday, Sept. 24. The Titans media office declined to comment to The Tennessee Star on Walker’s remarks and referred to their Sept. 24 statement: “As a team, we wanted to be unified in our actions today. The players jointly decided this was the best course of action. Our commitment to the military and our community is resolute and the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn’t be misconstrued as unpatriotic.” Jessie James Decker, the country singer and wife of…

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State Senator Mark Green To Speak Tuesday At First Tuesday Event

Wendy Wilson

State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) will speak Tuesday at Tim Skow’s First Tuesday event. A Republican activist, Skow in an email to First Tuesday fans mentioned the “political earthquake centered in Alabama,” where Roy Moore this week won the state’s GOP Senate primary runoff. Wondering what this might mean for Tennessee politics, Skow called Green “the man who will be in the eye of the storm.” Green had announced plans to run for governor, but then was nominated by President Trump to be Army secretary. He withdrew from consideration after leftists protested past statements he had made about LGBT activism and Islam. He decided against rejoining the governor’s race, leading to speculation about what other race he might join, if any. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) on Tuesday announced he will not seek re-election. His announcement came on the same day the anti-establishment Moore was cruising to victory in Alabama. Green’s name has come up as a possible candidate for Corker’s seat. So far, Andy Ogles, the former head of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee, is the only announced candidate for the Republican nomination. Green has also been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7) should she…

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Mae Beavers Calls on Randy Boyd to Return and Refuse Donations from Haslam Family

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Tennessee Star

Mae Beavers released the following statement today on the NFL protests, Randy Boyd, and the Haslam family’s support for the radical leftists pushing the un-American protests of the National Anthem. “Randy Boyd should immediately return any donations the Haslams have made to his campaign,” Beavers opened. “What’s more, Randy Boyd should refuse to accept any further financial support from the Haslam family,” Beavers said. Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns, have embraced the radical, un-American NFL protests against the National Anthem and the American Flag,” Beavers asserted. “The NFL remained silent when the Rams attacked law enforcement with their “hands up don’t shoot” demonstration, the NFL refused to allow the Dallas cowboys to honor fallen officers massacred by Black Lives Matter, and defying belief, the NFL even barred their players from honoring 9/11 victims,” Beavers said. “Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has not only refused to condemn the disrespectful actions of his players, he has encouraged them “The Haslams have been involved in a variety of business deals with Boyd over the years,” Beavers noted. “Governor Haslam appointed Randy to his position at ECD by  and the Haslam family has been one of Boyd’s largest contributors.” “Randy Boyd needs…

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Cleveland, Tennessee Businessman Pulls Ads From NFL Broadcasts

Wendy Wilson

A Cleveland, Tennessee, businessman is yanking his commercials from TV and radio broadcasts of NFL games for the rest of the season because of national anthem protests. Allan Jones is the founder of Check Into Cash and runs commercials for Check Into Cash, Buy Here Pay Here USA, and U.S. Money Shops. “Our companies will not condone in any form the unpatriotic behavior demonstrated by the NFL,” Jones said in a letter to his ad agency in Knoxville. Jones said on Facebook not to look for Hardwick Clothes ads anymore, either. Jones helped the longtime Cleveland business when it was fighting bankruptcy in 2014, reports WTVC NewsChannel 9. The Tennessee Titans were among players nationwide protesting this past Sunday after President Trump slammed the practice. The Titans did not even take the field during the playing of the national anthem. Football players have said they are protesting racism and inequality. WTVC also spoke with former Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix this week. Nix, who lives today in Chattanooga, said he thinks the protests are disrespectful. “I believe firmly in standing for the national anthem and being respectful to the flag in this country,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any excuse for…

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Beacon Center of Tennessee Calls for Referendum on Funding New Soccer Stadium

Wendy Wilson

The Beacon Center of Tennessee is calling for a public referendum to allow taxpayers to vote on whether tax dollars should be used to build a new Major League Soccer stadium in Nashville. Mayor Megan Barry has worked out a preliminary private-public deal to use tax dollars to help fund a stadium if Major League Soccer chooses Nashville for an expansion team. The Beacon Center is a nonpartisan Nashville-based think tank that promotes the free market. The center is against Metro Nashville using tax dollars to fund the stadium but believes residents should make the decision, spokesman Mark Cunningham said in a news release Thursday. He said: Research shows that using taxpayer money to fund a professional sports stadium is a terrible investment for taxpayers and is a prime example of government overreach. Nashville taxpayers should not be forced by politicians to fund millionaire franchise owners and developers. Time after time, stadiums, and specifically MLS stadiums, have proven to be big losers for taxpayers. We are tired of hearing politicians spout the same evidence-free lines on taxpayer-funded stadiums, that this is what the people of Nashville want. If Nashville politicians really believe that funding this stadium with tax dollars is…

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Ryan Anderson of Heritage Foundation Gives Lecture on Religious Liberty at Union University

Wendy Wilson

Religious liberty is a fundamental human right, one that even Americans who aren’t religious should value, Ryan Anderson of The Heritage Foundation said at Union University earlier this month. Anderson spoke at the Southern Baptist school in Jackson, Tennessee, Sept. 12 as part of an annual Constitution Day lecture series, according to a school news release. Constitution Day is celebrated Sept. 17 and honors the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. Religious freedom is guaranteed in the First Amendment. “All of us have a human right to be able to seek out the truth about God on our own, come to conclusions about the truth about God on our own, and then live our lives in conforming with that truth as we understand it,” said Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Anderson said there are limits to the right of religious freedom if it is used to harm others or infringes on their rights. It gets complicated in issues such as same-sex marriage and gender identity. What’s important is to remember that people can disagree without being bigots and that government coercion isn’t the answer, Anderson said. “There is anti-gay bigotry in the United…

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Commentary: Will Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell Pass President Trump’s Tax Plan?

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by CHQ Staff   President Trump has released the framework for his tax reform and reduction plan to positive reaction from conservatives. Our friends at the Club for Growth issued a statement saying, “Fundamental tax reform comes around only once in a generation, and this is our chance.  The outline is both aggressive and very pro-growth with its rate reductions.  Club for Growth congratulates the members of the Big Six for their hard work and will continue to support the pro-growth efforts of the Trump administration and Congress as they seek to make tax reform a reality.  To this end, the Club will also work with Congress to pass a budget in order to get reconciliation tax instructions.” The House Freedom Caucus, the steadfast conservative warriors who have held establishment Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s feet to the fire on many issues were also positive about the President’s Plan: President Trump has delivered a forward-looking tax reform framework that will let hard working Americans keep more of their money, simplify our system, end carve outs for special interests, and will help make our businesses competitive abroad. The Freedom Caucus looks forward to sending a final bill based on this…

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President Trump Lifts Puerto Rico Shipping Restrictions

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President Donald Trump lifted US shipping restrictions on storm-battered Puerto Rico for 10 days Thursday, temporarily removing a legal obstacle blamed for slowing the disaster relief response to Hurricane Maria, the White House said. A 1920 law that restricts shipments between American ports to US-owned and operated cargo ships has been preventing foreign-flagged ships from delivering…

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Haslam Considering Senate Run

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennesse Star

On Thursday Gov. Bill Haslam said he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate. Earlier in the week, Haslam’s good friend and his brother’s college roommate, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), shocked the political world when he said he would not be running for a third term in 2018. The ever cautious Haslam couched his comments about a potential run in his comments to the local Tennessee press, as WBIR reported: “It merits spending some time thinking about it and praying about it,” Haslam told reporters. The governor said he’s talked to Corker about the idea in recent days, adding that he had fully expected the U.S. senator to run for a third term. “I’ve heard from a lot of folks on the national political scene and a lot of people around Tennessee,” Haslam said. “But at the end of the day it’s more of a personal decision about what you want to do with your life. And it’s a question about can I be helpful in this role?” Haslam did not give a timetable as to when he will reach a decision, noting he won’t draw the process out for a month. Haslam added that Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)…

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