Political Opinions, News Aggregation

Health Department Says Few Options Left But To Cut Safety-Net

Tennessee’s Health Department says it will have to stop funding safety-net clinics to deal with the state’s constricting budget. Health Commissioner Susan Cooper says such clinics provide uncompensated care to those who can’t afford it and lack insurance. During state budget hearings Monday, Governor Phil Bredesen asked if other cuts were possible instead.

Judge Strikes Down Tennessee Guns-in-Bars Law

Tennessee's new law allowing people with handgun permits to be armed in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol is unconstitutionally vague, a judge ruled on Friday. Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman said the law, enacted earlier this year over the veto of Gov. Phil Bredesen, is "fraught with ambiguity." She ruled after an hour of arguments in a lawsuit brought by a group of plaintiffs, many of them restaurant owners. More than 257,000 people have handgun carry permits in Tennessee. Tennessee previously banned handguns in all locations where alcohol was served. The new law made an exception for establishments that serve at...

Background checks flag 48 state troopers with serious criminal histories, including felonies!!!

This article is about 3 or 4 years old but it underscores the unbelievable level of corruption that has plagued this state law enforcement agency. Click on the link above for the full article in pdf. The Tennessee Highway Patrol has 48 officers with charges on their record ranging from suspended driver's license issues to felonies, according to a background check of the entire department ordered by Gov. Phil Bredesen yesterday. That's about one of every 18 officers on the force of 855.

Not all Dem governors for health reform (7 of 28 RATS recognize budget busting Deathcare™)

Not all Dem governors for health reformThursday, November 5, 2009 By Donald Lambro When the nation's 28 Democratic governors were asked to send a letter to congressional leaders last month expressing their support for health care reform, seven refused to sign the letter and even some who did complained that the pending reform plans could hit them with budget-busting expenses. The big concern among the holdouts is that the health care overhaul will leave them on the hook to pay for expansions in Medicaid programs for the poor while Washington reaps the political credit. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, one of...

Gov. Bredesen: Keeping GM In Tennessee Was 'Hopeless Quest'

(AP) FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said the state is preparing for an increase in unemployment claims once the General Motors Corp. assembly plant in Spring Hill closes its doors later this month. The governor told reporters Tuesday that the state did its best to try to persuade GM to keep the plant open but that "it was probably always a hopeless quest." The plant was one of three finalists to build a new small car for GM, but the company ultimately chose a plant in Michigan. Auto assembly at Spring Hill is scheduled to cease around Thanksgiving,...