Cheatham County is the first Emergency Medical Service provider in Tennessee to provide its staff with body cameras, but there are privacy concerns as members of the public could potentially view what these cameras record. This, according to CheathamCountyExchange.com, which reported these videos can remain confidential as long as the footage shows only a patient. “However, if there is video not showing a patient — for example, showing a conflict between medics and family members of an out-of-view patient — there are legal questions as to whether the public has a right to see it. The 30-plus medics in the Emergency Medical Service began wearing the cameras earlier this year. The policy began under an initiative by Mayor Kerry McCarver and also includes dashboard cameras in the agency’s eight ambulances,” according to the website. “The purpose of capturing video is to provide a means of settling any disputes between medics and patients. EMS leaders say they’ve gone to great lengths to ensure the department doesn’t violate patients’ rights under the 1996 federal law on medical privacy, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. All video files are password-protected and only EMS leaders know the password. Body-cam video…
Read the full storyMonth: January 2020
Mark Green Says Only Federalism Can Save the United States
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) said in a new FOX News column this week that federalism is the only thing that can save America. Under such a system, Green wrote, if U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) wants universal rent control then she can have it in her home state — but if Tennessee doesn’t want it then it shouldn’t have it. Green asked readers to imagine “two concentric circles representing the major tenets and beliefs of the two political parties in America.” “There used to be considerable overlap between the two circles, allowing Congress to govern in the overlap. But with each year that passes, these circles grow further and further apart as the philosophies between the parties become more divided, and the ability to reach consensus and solve the problems facing our country becomes more difficult,” Green wrote. “Today, the differences are so stark that there is almost no overlap between the two circles. As a result of this ever-growing polarization, here’s how we are governing: Might makes right. The majority wins, and the majority makes the rules. This is the extreme our Founders tried to prevent — the consolidation of power, the centralization of decision-making into the hands of an elite few, in a word, tyranny.”…
Read the full storyCommentary: Five Predictions for Foreign Policy in 2020
In the world of foreign policy, no one knows the future. Certainly not me. But trends can be spotted, and their trajectories predicted.
Read the full storyOne America News Network’s Neil McCabe Predicts Next Steps in the Never Ending Impeachment
Live from Washington, D.C. on Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed weekly guest One America News Network’s Neil McCabe to the show to give an update on the never-ending “impeachment zombie apocalypse.”
Read the full story2019 Was a Banner Year for the Pro-Life Movement
Pro-life lawmakers and advocates passed a tidal wave of pro-life legislation in 2019, the same year in which President Donald Trump cut down taxpayer funding for family planning clinics across the nation.
Read the full storyButtigieg Maintains Iowa Lead, Sanders Jumps to Second
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg continues to lead the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls in Iowa, according to the latest polling, but the rest of the top tier has reshuffled a bit.
Read the full storyStates Across the Boards Plan to Increase Spending in Fiscal 2020
State lawmakers nationwide are spending more money, but they are also replenishing rainy day funds in preparation for the next economic downturn, a new report determined.
Read the full storyTrump Announces Where and When He’ll Sign the First Phase of China Trade Deal
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he’ll sign the first phase of a long-awaited trade deal with China in January at the White House.
Read the full storyLawmakers’ and Media’s Impeachment Obsession Is Allowing Big Tech to Build a Surveillance State
Lawmakers are too busy wrestling with matters related to President Donald Trump’s impeachment to address issues related to the government’s deployment of facial recognition technology.
Read the full storyNessel Touts Restructuring of Michigan AG’s Office to Include ‘Environmental Prosecution’
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently touted her efforts to “restructure” the agency during her first year in office.
Read the full storyDFL Lawmaker Cleared of Wrongdoing in Accepting University of Minnesota Position
A report released Monday “completely exonerates” Minnesota Rep. Jamie Long (DFL-Minneapolis) from allegations of illicit lobbying activity, according to House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park).
Read the full storyOhio Doctor Accused of Murdering 25 People Sues His Former Employer For Defamation
Accused murderer Dr. William Husel, who is alleged to have killed 25 people by fatal drug overdose, has sued his former employer for defamation. However, in a lawsuit filed last week, Husel denies the charge, claiming he followed Mount Carmel West’s end-of-life protocols, and that the hospital breached his contract and defamed him. “It would not be an exaggeration to state that Dr. Husel has suffered perhaps the most egregious case of defamation in Ohio’s recent history,” the lawsuit says according to the Associated Press. Husel claims the patients he is accused of murdering died from their illnesses and not fentanyl. The former doctor is seeking $50,000 in damages. He is suing Mount Carmel Health System (MCHS) and its parent organization, Trinity Health Corp. Mount Carmel released a statement to ABC 6 after Husel and his lawyers filed their lawsuit. “Allegations such as these are unfounded. We completed an extensive review of patient care provided by Dr. William Husel and stand by our decisions. Mount Carmel’s focus continues to be on caring for our patients.” After being fired in January by Mount Carmel, the State Medical Board of Ohio suspended Husel’s license to practice, according to the AP. A…
Read the full storyFive-Cent Plastic Bag Fee Takes Effect in Minneapolis at Start of the New Year
A new five-cent plastic bag fee goes into effect in Minneapolis at the start of the new year after it was passed into law by the Minneapolis City Council in November.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Tricky Ethics of Google’s Project Nightingale
The nation’s second-largest health system, Ascension, has agreed to allow the software behemoth Google access to tens of millions of patient records. The partnership, called Project Nightingale, aims to improve how information is used for patient care. Specifically, Ascension and Google are trying to build tools, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, “to make health records more useful, more accessible and more searchable” for doctors.
Read the full storyKnoxville’s New Socialist City Council Member Omits ‘So Help Me God’ When Taking Oath
The new Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed city council member in Knoxville recently took the oath of office — but she chose to disregard the part of the oath that mentions God.
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