Day: December 17, 2018

Woman Charged with TennCare Fraud for Sixth Time

Chris Butler

Authorities in Tennessee this week arrested and charged a Florida woman with TennCare fraud — for the sixth time. That woman, Desiree McIntyre, 29, of Ocala, Fla. faces three counts of TennCare fraud in Sullivan County by doctor shopping, according to the state’s Office of Inspector General. That particular offense involves using TennCare to visit multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain prescription drugs. Despite saying she was from Florida, state officials said McIntyre lived in Tennessee at the time of the alleged incidents. Her previous arrests occurred outside of Sullivan County. “McIntyre was indicted in Cocke and Davidson Counties in October and November 2017, when she was accused of doctor shopping for Hydrocodone, Oxycodone and Hydromorphone, which is another strong pain medication sometimes sold as the brand drug Dilaudid,” said officials with Tennessee’s Department of Finance and Administration, in a press release. “McIntyre’s first three arrests occurred in May, July and August of 2012, in Cocke, Sevier and Hamblen Counties, resulting from simultaneous investigations. Those charges involved doctor shopping for Hydrocodone and Oxycodone, using TennCare as payment.” McIntyre, state officials went on to say, pled guilty in her first three arrests. Authorities ordered her to serve…

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Senator Lamar Alexander Will Not Seek Re-Election in 2020

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Lamar Alexander

Senator Lamar Alexander announced Monday he would not run for a fourth term in 2020. “I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020,” he wrote on Facebook. He added: The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as Governor and Senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege. I have gotten up every day thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remaining two years of my term.   Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill pointed out, “Lamar just gave political consultants and media buyers an early Christmas gift as he just kick-started the 2020 campaign for his open Senate seat.” He continued: It is surprising that he has made this announcement so early rather than waiting another year. Every indication was that he was planning to run for reelection based upon his recent increase in public appearances, commissioning and releasing a poll by his longterm…

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Commentary: Seriously, Just Order The Pentagon To Build The Wall

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by Brandon Weichert   The estimated price tag on President Trump’s “big, beautiful” southern border wall is $25 billion—a paltry sum compared with the ways government otherwise fritters away taxpayers’ dollars. Yet a government shutdown looms—and Democrats can’t have that. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) paid a visit to the White House on Tuesday to make a deal with the president to pass a continuing budget resolution that would keep the government running through March. Trump said he would be more than happy to deal—as long as Congress gives him his wall. Democrats can’t have that, either. Pelosi, who will almost certainly be the new speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes in January, told reporters on Thursday that Trump won’t get his wall and vowed to keep the government “closed forever” if that’s what it takes. For his part, Trump has insisted that if negotiations with Congress fail, he will simply direct the Pentagon to build the wall. It’s strange that the president already hasn’t ordered the Pentagon to build the wall. After all, border security is a basic and vital function of the military. The military, however, has been reluctant to engage in this…

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Santa Claus Spotted in Downtown Franklin on a Motorcycle

Tennessee Star Staff

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — The Tennessee Star caught a glimpse of Santa Claus on a motorcycle in downtown Franklin Sunday afternoon. Accompanied by a green clad assistant riding behind, Santa drove his motorcycle down Main Street, stopping along the way to hand out candy canes to excited children shopping with their parents. Both Santa and his elf assistant patiently accommodated the many requests for photographs that came from children, parents, and adult passers by alike. “We do this every year because we want to,” Mr. Claus told The Star, before he roared away, spreading good cheer to all who watched and waved as he faded out of sight. Sources tell The Star that Mr. Claus and his elf assistant are long-time residents of Williamson County who have conducted their motorcycle candy cane missions for many years during the Christmas season.    

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Education Department Wiping Clean $150 Million In Student Loans After Obama-Era Rule

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by Neetu Chandak   The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it will forgive $150 million in federal student loans. Nearly 15,000 former students whose schools shut down prior to graduation between Nov. 1, 2013 and Dec. 4 will now have their loans cancelled, the Education Department announcement said. Borrowers will find out about the loan forgiveness over email Friday, CNBC reported. “For them, it’s going to be a very nice Christmas present,” former Education Department official Clare McCann said, according to CNBC. The rule, initiated by former President Barack Obama’s administration, is called the Borrower Defense to Repayment. The rule helps students defrauded by for-profit colleges to have their loans cancelled after three years, CNN reported. “About half of those borrowers received loans for attendance at Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (Corinthian) schools that closed on April 27, 2015,” the announcement said. Corinthian was a for-profit chain. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), a national accreditor for nonpublic colleges, was shut down in 2016. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reinstated the college watchdog on Nov. 21 after the Obama administration claimed ACICS had poor oversight and shut it down. About $80 million will be erased for students who attended Corinthian schools, the announcement said. Students can apply for the loan forgiveness anytime, but generally…

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North Carolina’s ‘Legislative Commission of the Fair Treatment of Student-Athletes’ Set to Review Athletic Program Practices

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by Shannon Watkins   Many colleges are setting up their student-athletes for failure. Whether one looks to the long-term neurological health risks that young athletes are subject to, or the myriad cases of academic dishonesty within athletics departments, it appears that the personal and academic well-being of student-athletes is often compromised for the sake of “the game.” Fortunately, the North Carolina legislature is taking a close look at how to improve colleges’ treatment of student-athletes. Over the summer, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill that established a Legislative Commission on the Fair Treatment of Student-Athletes. The commission is chaired by lieutenant governor Dan Forest and will have six meetings before it recommends legislation. Two meetings have already been held. During the first meeting on October 3, the commission discussed how athletes’ medical needs are—or aren’t—covered after a sports-related injury. The commission’s second meeting on November 8 dealt with whether academics and athletics are compatible—a highly contested issue of late, especially after the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s infamous athletics-academic scandal that became a six-year saga. For its part, the Martin Center has had several long-standing recommendations for college athletics reform that could strengthen the commission’s recommendations. Stop Issuing Academic Waivers First, the Martin…

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Metro Nashville Police Officers Begin Test Run of Expensive Body Cameras

Jason M. Reynolds

Metro Nashville plans to roll out body cameras on all officers in 2019, adding another costly layer of regulation to law enforcement. A few officers began testing body cams last week, Nashville Public Radio said. The city and community advocates have pushed for this oversight since at least 2016. The need to follow detailed city procurement procedures with specific timelines in the request for proposal is one reason the process is taking time. The program involves multiple rounds of solicitations, according to the city’s RFP. The plan is to provide cameras to place on 1,500 officers as well as on 870 car dashboards. Video would be stored either on-site or on the cloud. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NashvilleRFP.pdf”] Mayor David Briley earmarked $15 million for the program, but the final cost is not clear, NewsChannel 5 said. The District Attorney’s office has asked for 49 more workers just to handle film footage for court. A total of 21 officers are using the body and dash cams on a 90-day test run, WSMV said. This comes more than a year after the Metro Nashville Police Department first tried testing body cams. A Nashville Fraternal Order of Police representative said that officers will welcome the…

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Commentary: What The Fake History Of Guns Can Teach Us

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by Chris Calton   In 2000, Emory University history professor Michael Bellesiles published the book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture. The central argument of the book was that the culture of American gun ownership does not date back to the colonial era and, instead, emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century when technological advances made firearms more affordable. Among the academic left, the book was wildly popular. Scholars gave glowing reviews of the book, and Columbia University awarded Billesiles one of the most coveted prizes in the history profession: The Bancroft. Enhancing his newfound academic fame were the enemies he made, namely the National Rifle Association. Charlton Heston, to the glee of anti-gun academics, vocally criticized the book. Bellesile reveled in the attention, telling Heston that he should earn his PhD before criticizing anybody who has one. Leftist scholars were thrilled to have an academic book that appeared to thoroughly demolish the notion, so cherished by American gun owners, that the country was founded on a culture of widespread gun ownership. They even admitted as much, with the publisher saying that it was “ecstatic” about publishing it “because the book knocked the gun lobby.”[1] But even amidst…

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Sources: Zinke Deputy David Bernhardt Likely to be Named as Acting Secretary of the Interior

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by Michael Bastach   President Donald Trump will likely name David Bernhardt, the current number-two official at the Department of the Interior, as acting secretary until a full-time replacement can be found. One source close to the Trump administration said Bernhardt would be a likely pick, and Politico reported in October that Zinke appeared “to be laying the groundwork to hand the reins to Bernhardt.” Bloomberg reported Saturday that Bernhardt was Zinke’s “likely successor,” poised to take over as acting head of the Interior Department. Trump announced Zinke’s resignation Saturday morning, and said he would announce his pick to replace the former Navy SEAL in the coming week. Trump also thanked Zinke for his service. Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years. Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation……. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018 Zinke faced multiple investigations, mounting legal costs and pressure to resign from House Democrats. Zinke claimed allegations brought against him were politically-motivated, but they seemed too much to overcome. Bernhardt is a convenient choice for the president having…

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Report Shows School Districts Weaponize Child Protection Services Against Uncooperative Parents

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by Kerry McDonald   Schooling is adept at rooting out individuality and enforcing compliance. In his book, Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky writes: “In fact, the whole educational and professional training system is a very elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and who think for themselves, and who don’t know how to be submissive, and so on—because they’re dysfunctional to the institutions.” This filtering process begins very early in a child’s schooling as conformity is rewarded and divergence is punished. Public Schooling Breeds Obedience Most of us played this game as schoolchildren. We know the rules. The kids who raise their hands, color in the lines, and obey succeed; the kids who challenge the rules struggle. The problem now is that the rules are extending beyond the classroom. Parents are increasingly required to obey, to conform to a school’s demands even if they believe such orders may not be appropriate for their child. In my advocacy work with homeschooling families across the country, I frequently hear stories from parents who decided to homeschool their kids because schools were pressuring them to comply with various special education plans, push medications onto their children, or submit to other restrictive procedures…

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Envoy Says Trump Willing to ‘Stand Up and Push’ for Global Religious Freedom

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by Rachel del Guidice   President Donald Trump is committed to pushing for greater tolerance of different faiths by governments around the world and dismantling an “iron curtain of religious persecution,” his envoy for religious freedom said in an interview with The Daily Signal. “Most people in the world move by what their faith tells them,” Sam Brownback, the former Kansas governor who is Trump’s international ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, said in the interview. “Much of the world—we’re looking at numbers now—nearly 80 percent live in a religiously restrictive atmosphere, so they don’t have freedom of religion,” he said. But in the United States, Brownback said, “religious freedom is a foundational right, it’s a God-given right,” and “governments don’t have the right to interfere with it.” [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] “So we’re going to push on it,” he said. “And the reason it’s so important is it impacts so many people, and so few countries are willing to really stand up and push for it.” Trump nominated the Kansas Republican for the job in July 2017, while he was in his second term…

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Sen. Lamar Alexander Says ‘Unlikely’ Supreme Court Would Rule Obamacare Unconstitutional Despite District Court Decision Ending It

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said he believes that the Supreme Court will not find Obamacare to be unconstitutional – but even if it did, the federal government can swoop in and provide protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. Tennessee’s senior senator made the remark Saturday following the historic court ruling effectively declaring Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), dead. Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas on Friday night ruled the ACA unconstitutional based on the individual mandate that requires people to have insurance and how that affects a new tax law that sets the penalty for no coverage to $0. Alexander issued a statement on Twitter that said: “If the U.S. Supreme Court eventually were to agree that Obamacare is unconstitutional — which seems unlikely, however poorly the law was written — I am confident that any new federal law replacing it will continue to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions who buy health insurance.” My statement on the ruling in Texas v. Azar. pic.twitter.com/NrFtFRK9tH — Sen. Lamar Alexander (@SenAlexander) December 15, 2018 The Supreme Court in 2012 said the ACA was constitutional in a 5-4 vote in a case titled NFIB v.…

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