thetennesseestar--2020-09-10--Virginia State Senator Bryce Reeves Sees House Dems Using Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals’ Playbo

Virginia State Senator Bryce Reeves Sees House Dems Using Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals’ Playbook

Live from Virginia Wednesday morning on The John Fredericks Show – weekdays on WNTW AM 820/ FM 92.7 – Richmond , WJFN FM 100.5 – Central Virginia , WMPH AM 1010 / FM 100.1 / FM 96.9 ( 7-9 PM ) Hampton Roads , WBRG AM 1050 / FM 105.1 – Lynchburg/Roanoke and Weekdays 6-10 am and 24/7 Stream – host Fredericks welcomed Virginia State Senator Bryce Reeves to the program .
During the show , Reeves explained the qualified immunity proposal facing the state of Virginia and its lawmakers stating that he is beginning to see police persons leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats have done a great job of dismantling law enforcement and that people must call their Senators to take action .
Fredericks : With us now live is Senator Bryce Reeves , Republican in the state Senate in Virginia .
Senator great to have you with us .
Thanks for joining us on short notice .
Reeves : No problem .
I love talking and getting on the show .
Fredericks : Well I ’ ve got a trip on Friday to Atlanta , Joseph is pitching there in a tournament , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve got to go to Fort Myers so we ’ ll have you then .
I will give you more than a day ’ s notice than I did this time .
So thank you for doing that .
But listen , I really want to get your take that qualified immunity passed the House yesterday .
I was shocked , because it got defeated two times .
I had Scott Surovell on the show driving into the special session , saying there was no way it was going to pass .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screen .
Nobody had a bill .
It passed the House .
Now it goes to the Senate .
You guys now need two Democrats to vote no or its law !
Reeves : No , you are right .
And we ’ ve been saying this all along .
In fact , we put a video up on our Facebook page talking about that , and this kind of radical agenda that the left is running .
And the folks that are in charge of the process , and what ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far left wing of the Democrat Party .
And so I think some of my colleagues in the Senate and on the other side of the aisle are a little worried .
In fact , I know they are worried .
I don ’ t know what they re going to do because you see this in-fighting on their side , if you look at Delegate Shuler and some others who have gone after each other .
There is some grandstanding that ’ s taking place in the delegate who booed Trump when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celebration there .
I don ’ t even know the guys last name .
I don ’ t know half those guys , they are so new .
He ’ s the one that purposefully supposedly said he did what he did , but he did break the rules .
The real issue here , though , is this is going to put law enforcement in jeopardy .
The way we look at it is that people don ’ t understand what qualified immunity is .
And John it ’ s a good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what it says its this .
If you are in law enforcement and you ’ ve gone through the academy , and you ’ ve been taught the basic course , which is over 500 hours of training , and growing now after this session because some of the things they are trying to accomplish and pile on .
Meanwhile taking away some of their monies .
If you do all of those things and abide by the law , and enforce the law in accordance with the rules and regulations by which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have as a law enforcement officer , and you don ’ t violate anybody ’ s civil rights , or don ’ t use too much force by enforcing the laws .
If you abide by all those rules , and then when someone says that they were aggrieved sues you , then the state is going to pick up the tab and they are going to back you .
In other words , you are going to have legal counsel and everything else .
Doesn ’ t mean you can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you ’ re immune from that civil suit because the state is going to be your attorney .
Now anywhere along that chain , you screw up , you find that something went wrong , or you violated someone ’ s civil rights , or you used excessive force like in Minneapolis , well not only will you be prosecuted criminally , but you can face civil liability .
And so cops are sued all the time .
It ’ s just that qualified immunity allows them the opportunity to have some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have , and you ’ ve already had it , it ’ s already happening , and you know this .
I ’ m a sworn deputy in Culpepper County .
I ’ m the last cop in the General Assembly .
What you are going to have is people leaving .
And trust me , they are getting the emails , because I ’ m getting them by the hundreds every day from law enforcement and law enforcement families , and everyone else .
They are going to check out .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ dismantle police , make our streets unsafe .
They are doing a great job at it .
They are doing a phenomenal job at making it easy for there to be civil unrest , more rioting , more looting , more pillaging , more burning , and all those sorts of things , because they are not supporting law enforcement .
Look , Leader Norment even said on the floor a couple of weeks ago that we can have that discussion , but is right now the time to have that discussion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-time lows ?
We are going to through some more fuel on the fire and kick them while they are already down .
That ’ s not leadership , John .
Reeves : That ’ s being a bully and going along with the mob mentality .
We need people that are going to stand up and stand shoulder to shoulder with those folks who go out every day .
Every day they get up , and get on , suit up , put on their body armor .
They don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make just did a heinous crime and can ’ t be stopped no matter what and takes one in the chest .
Reeves : I mean , give me a break .
What is going on ?
It ’ s the insane asylum .
Fredericks : Well , and the fact that the Democrats said they weren ’ t going to pass this , and you look at the House .
This was shocking to me .
We cover it every day at The Virginia Star .
We got somebody there .
First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of committee its dead .
Then it gets out of committee .
Then they don ’ t have the votes to pass it .
Three Democrats vote no .
Then it comes back again and they pass it , because the problem the Democrats have now , Senator Reeves , is that they are under such pressure by the progressive left and the social media if they don ’ t toe the line they get skewered .
Then they get afraid and then they get hammered .
Now its gong to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sign it .
I don ’ t care what he says , he ’ s going to sign it , because he ’ s under the same pressure from the mob on social media .
Basically , he wouldn ’ t even be there because they ’ ve allowed him to keep his job as governor .
So he ’ s going to do whatever they say .
He ’ s their tool .
You and I both know this .
The only way to stop this is to get two Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ otherwise , you ’ re going to have qualified immunity in Virginia is going to pass .
My question is do you have two votes ?
Reeves : Let me say this , there are some very reasonable , prudent , and responsible members of the Senate who don ’ t fold under pressure .
And I will tell you that because I have served with them and worked with them on the committee .
We may not always agree on policy .
Some of the folks on the other side are truly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them aren ’ t looking towards their next re-election , unlike a lot of the other House members who have only been there one or two terms looking to move up to being an attorney general or governor .
These folks are trying to be the next AOC , and unlike that in the Senate , you do have folks that have a spine .
I think they ’ ve read the book by Kennedy , Profiles in Courage .
It undoubtedly will probably go to the judicial committee .
I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that committee .
It could go somewhere else .
Here ’ s what is happening .
You are having the long knives being pulled out between the House and the Senate and the Democrats in each of those chambers .
And so it ’ s interesting to watch .
There is not a lot we can do other than to amplify and shine some light on that issue .
And then as people are listening on the call today , look , I don ’ t care what side of the aisle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to truth and justice .
You aren ’ t going to find anybody that ’ s going to condone some of these heinous acts that the police have done in these isolated incidences across the country .
But the truth is there are 40 million police contacts a year .
40 million police contacts .
And the percentage of these kinds of incidences happening is very very small .
And yet the media amplifies those , and they are a lot of the reasons these things are amplified .
Then you have these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups .
This is Saul Alinsky ’ s Rules for Radicals .
And that ’ s what ’ s happening to the Democrats in the House .
You see these tweets .
They are going after each other .
And if they can ’ t attack the issue then they attack them personally .
And that is right in Saul Alinsky ’ s Rules for Radicals .
This is the world in which we find ourselves now .
And it ’ s sad for me , as someone who does believe in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of things , that have worn the cloth and the badge and still does it today .
But I ’ m going to my last breath argue and fight for those who do this each and every day , because I understand that sacrifice .
Listen to the full interview here :


thetennesseestar--2020-09-10--New Unemployment Claims Fall Below 1 Million for Second Straight Week

About 884,000 U.S. workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week , the second consecutive week that new claims fell below the million mark and the third time in about a month .
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that the number of new claims filed in the week ending Sept. 5 was about the same as those who filed the week ending Aug. 29 – 884,000 .
The numbers from the week ending Aug. 29 were adjusted about by 3,000 from 881,000 .
Continuing claims , which count those who filed for benefits at least two weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13.4 million .
Unemployment claims skyrocketed in late March , after government restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 shuttered businesses deemed nonessential across the country .
From March through early August , new weekly claims were in the millions .
But in three of the last five weeks , the number fell below the million mark .
California , as it has throughout most of the pandemic , led the nation in new claims last week with 237,516 , or about 27 percent of the total .
Dan McCaleb is the executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ welcomes your comments .
Contact Dan at [ email protected ]

A 17-year-old student allegedly opened fire Friday at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, killing 10 people and wounding another 10, authorities said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said police found explosive devices, including a Molotov cocktail, at the suspected shooter’s home and a vehicle, as well as around the Santa Fe High School where the shooting took place.
Law enforcement officials said the suspect, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a junior at the school, was being held without bond on a capital murder charge.
Abbott said the suspect originally intended to commit suicide following the shooting but told law enforcement officials after he was arrested that he didn’t have the courage to go through with killing himself.
The governor said two guns were used in the attack — a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver. He said the suspect’s father legally owned both guns.It was not clear whether the father knew his son had taken the weapons.
Abbott said there were “one or two” other people of interest being interviewed about the shooting.
Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said, “Injured students and staff have been transported to local hospitals.” He also said an officer from the Santa Fe Independent School District was among those shot.
U.S. President Donald Trump described the shooting as an “absolutely horrific attack,” one of many that have “been going on too long in this country.” Trump told the victims and their families that “we’re with you in this tragic hour and we will be with you forever.” He vowed to get guns “out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others.”
An unidentified male student described fleeing the school during an interview with KHOU-TV in Houston. He said that after he heard three shots, “we all took off in the back, and I tried to get into the trees. I didn’t want to be in sight. I heard four more shots, and then we jumped the fence to somebody’s house.”
An unidentified female student said tearfully on cable channel CNN, “Nobody should have to go through this. Nobody should have to feel that pain.”
Facebook post
Pagourtzis had posted an image on Facebook of himself wearing a “Born to Kill” shirt, but the motive for Friday’s attack wasn’t known.
Abbott saidthat unlike previous school shootings, “there were not those types of warning signs” about the Santa Fe suspect. The governor saidthe early investigation had found no prior criminal history for Pagourtzis.
“The red-flag warnings were either nonexistent or very imperceptible,” Abbott said, though he acknowledged Pagourtzis’ posting of the photo on Facebook.
That same Facebook profile described Pagourtzis as planning to enter the U.S. Marine Corps next year, but the Marine Corps told The Associated Press it had reviewed its records and had found no one by that name as either a recruit or a person in their delayed entry pool.
Classmates described Pagourtzis as quiet and an avid video game player who routinely wore a black trench coat and black boots to class. He had played football on the school’s junior varsity squad and danced as part of a church group. Those who know him expressed shock he might be involved in the killings.
Calls for action
The latest incident came about three months after a shooter with a semiautomatic rifle killed 17 students and school staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It was the third-deadliest school shooting in American history.
The Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said urgent action was needed to prevent gun violence.
“Congress must show as much courage as they have, and act now to ensure that no other community or family must endure the unthinkable horror of gun violence. Our children deserve real leadership: a vote to prevent gun violence now.”
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said Congress must implement reforms that lawmakers recently passed “to make schools safer and keep deadly weapons away from those who should not have them.”
“Our hearts are filled with grief over this horrific loss of life,” he added.
Santa Fe is located in southeastern Texas between the cities of Houston and Galveston.
– – –
Some information for this report came from Associated Press.
VOA News


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee Law That Limits Some Mail-in Balloting Without ID

A federal judge has blocked a Tennessee law that bars first-time voters from casting November mail-in ballots unless they first show ID at an election office .
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson in Nashville ordered the preliminary injunction on Wednesday , as states across the country address the issue of voting-by-mail instead of at polling stations amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Richardson said he issued the injunction without concern about “ how his decisions could aid one side or the other on the political front.
” President Trump and other Republicans argue that states mailing unrequested ballots to every name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s voting system to widespread fraud .
However , Trump has made clear that he supports absentee balloting .
Democrats argue that efforts to put safeguards on mail-in balloting are an attempt to limit voter turnout , which helps Republican candidates .
Richardson wrote that the state argued for its law , which plaintiffs say affected an estimated 128,000 newly registered voters last election cycle , through “ a non-existent ” congressional requirement and congressional intent , according to the Associated Press .
A state court judge in June ordered that all eligible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the health crisis , and that ruling was carried out during the Aug. 6 primary .
However , the state kept enforcing the first-time voter requirement , which the state judge said the plaintiffs failed to bring up before her ruling .
The state Supreme Court then overturned the absentee expansion last month , restoring the excuse-based absentee voting system and citing the state ’ s promise — made for the first time in front of the high court — that people can vote by mail if they believe they or someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the coronavirus due to underlying health conditions , the wire service also reports .
Joseph Weber is a reporter at Just the News .
Photo “ Mail Voting ” by Tony Webster CC2.0

Richmond Police arrested 11 people during a protest outside the Richmond City Justice Center on Tuesday.
The group was gathered outside of the Justice Center to protest conditions in the Richmond jail after COVID-19 outbreak among 100 inmates and staff was reported.
Richmond police officers arrived outside of the Justice Center to help the Richmond Sheriff’s office deal with the group protesters who had moved from the public sidewalk onto Justice Center grounds during the demonstration, causing a security concern, according to the Richmond police description of the incident,
Just before 7 p.m., a man on a bicycle attempted to block a tow truck trying removing a vehicle that had been illegally parked in front of the Justice Center. When a Richmond police officer arrived at the scene, the man tried to flee on his bike and was then stopped by the officer. Other protesters witnessed this and attempted to stop the arrest, leading to those people being arrested as well, according to the police account.
A video of the incident was captured and published to the RVA Magazine Instagram account. That video is below.
A flyer on social media for the protest read: “Our comrades on the inside are facing retaliation from officers for simply requesting adequate medical attention. These conditions are inhumane. We stand in solidarity with those who have been kidnapped, convicted and caged.”
On Wednesday, Richmond police released the names and charges for the 11 protesters arrested.
Their names and charges are as follows:
Stephen Roach Obstruction of Justice Impeding the flow of traffic
Benjamine Skromine Obstruction of Justice Impeding the flow of traffic
Gabrielle Brost Hoffman Obstruction of Justice
Aditya Mohan Obstruction of Justice
Rachel Fidlow Obstruction of Justice
Andre Rosson Obstruction of Justice
Alex Oxford Obstruction of Justice with Force
Jonathan Miranda Disorderly Conduct
Susanna Keating Disorderly Conduct
Mollie Luck Disorderly Conduct
Carmen Day Disorderly Conduct
– – –
Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Follow Jacob on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Richmond City Justice Center Protest” by RVA Mag.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Commentary: What We Remember on 9/11

Commentary: What We Remember on 9/11

As 9/11 moves further into the past , I find I ’ m having a harder , not easier , time with these anniversaries .
I suppose that ’ s because it ’ s become more of an event than a remembrance .
The 9/11 Memorial itself has a gift shop where you can buy official merchandise of the terror attack that killed thousands of innocent people for the crime of showing up to work on time .
Seeing a tourist step past wearing a 9/11 Memorial ball cap never stops being repulsive .
But it ’ s not their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is apparently how we choose to remember .
Eighteen years ago , some 3,000 innocent and unsuspecting Americans died at the hands of Islamists in the name of a Holy War we didn ’ t know we were in .
Less than a month ago , I was being lectured through my television by adherents of that very same ideology , who are now members of the U.S. House of Representatives , about my country ’ s numerous crimes against Islam and our need to atone .
Nineteen years ago , 3,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealthiest and mightiest country in the history of humanity failed to protect its own citizens , and rather than apologize for decades of selling us out to foreign interests , and pandering to professional victims , and refusing to protect our border and vet those who cross it , our politicians chose to send us to two wars that still have not ended .
I spent the day in Manhattan on a barstool watching the news between a businessman from Columbia and a man covered so completely in gray soot and ash and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ age or his complexion or what he was wearing .
When I finally made it back to Brooklyn my friends and I gathered at our local bar to see who wasn ’ t going to show up .
The next morning it looked like it had snowed on our block from the ash that floated across the river .
Every year I am reminded of those I knew who didn ’ t show back up that day .
And I reminded that , while I was closer to this than most , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel the way I do now , every day of their lives .
There are people who lost far more than a sense of normalcy .
Far be it for me to tell anyone how to think or feel , but in my estimation , the best way to remember 9/11 is to remember it as a smoldering mass grave , not the two shining towers of light they will shine into the sky today .
Remember it for the children who never knew their parents , not for the patriotic songs the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ceremonies .
Remember it for the people who chose to leap to their death rather than burn and those pleading for help on their phones and those who rushed in to help them only to share the same fate , not for the talking heads who will talk about “ our resilience ” as if we are all in the this together .
Remember it for those who , less than two months ago , went up to the halls of the very same government who failed us on 9/11 and asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illness they contracted as a result of their heroism that day and the days after .
And remember how they were told by the same people who helped cause this tragedy that—while we have plenty of money for foreign aid to help the citizens of other countries , and plenty of money to feed and house and educate anyone who happens to saunter across our still-unprotected border—they ’ d have to sit and wait and perhaps beg before help would be given .
Matthew Keough is a construction manager and writer in New @ @ @


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Commentary: Environmentalists Destroyed California’s Forests

Millions of acres of California forest have been blackened by wildfires this summer , leading to the usual angry denunciations from the usual quarters about climate change .
But in 1999 , the Associated Press reported that forestry experts had long agreed that “ clearing undergrowth would save trees , ” and that “ years of aggressive firefighting have allowed brush to flourish that would have been cleared away by wildfires.
” But very little was done .
And now fires of unprecedented size are raging across the Western United States .
“ Sen .
Feinstein blames Sierra Club for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provocative headline on a 2002 story in California ’ s Napa Valley Register .
Feinstein had brokered a congressional consensus on legislation to thin “ overstocked ” forests close to homes and communities , but could not overcome the environmental lobby ’ s disagreement over expediting the permit process to thin forests everywhere else .
Year after year , environmentalists litigated and lobbied to stop efforts to clear the forests through timber harvesting , underbrush removal , and controlled burns .
Meanwhile , natural fires were suppressed and the forests became more and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the same water , soil , and light a healthier forest would have used , rendering all of the trees and underbrush unhealthy .
It wasn ’ t just excess biomass that accumulated , but dried out and dead biomass .
What happened among California ’ s tall stands of Redwood and Ponderosa Pine also happened in its extensive chaparral .
Fire suppression along with too many environmentalist-inspired bureaucratic barriers to controlled burns and undergrowth removal turned the hillsides and canyons of Southern California into tinderboxes .
In 2009 , after huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to evacuate , Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich observed : “ The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns , and as a result we have this catastrophe today.
” In 2014 , Republican members of Congress tried again to reduce the bureaucracy associated with “ hazardous fuel projects ” that thin out overgrown forests .
True to form , the bill got nowhere thanks to environmental lobbyists who worried it would undermine the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) , the law that requires thorough impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lands .
In a blistering report published in the California Globe on how environmentalists have destroyed California ’ s forests , investigative journalist Katy Grimes interviewed Representative Tom McClintock , a Republican who represents communities in and around the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California .
McClintock has worked for years to reform NEPA and other barriers to responsible forest management .
“ The U.S. Forest Service used to be a profitable federal agency , ” McClintock told Grimes .
But these zealots have not protected the forests .
They have destroyed them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , including the experts , bother to point out how overgrown forests reduce the water supply .
But when watersheds are choked with dense underbrush competing for moisture , precipitation and runoff can not replenish groundwater aquifers or fill up reservoirs .
Instead , it ’ s immediately soaked up by the trees and brush .
Without clearing and controlled burns , the overgrown foliage dies anyway .
A new activist organization in California , the “ California Water for Food and People Movement , ” created a Facebook group for people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmentalist zealotry .
Comments and posts from long-time residents of the Sierra foothills , where fires have exploded in recent years , yield eyewitness testimony to how environmentalist restrictions on forest management have gone horribly wrong .
Examples : “ With the rainy season just ahead , the aftermath of the Creek Fire will challenge our water systems for years to come .
Erosion will send toxic debris and sediment cascading into streams , rivers , and reservoirs , reducing their capacity to carry and hold water .
Dirty air , dirty water @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on full display right now , brought to us by the environmental posers who will no doubt use this crisis to unleash a barrage of ‘ climate change did it ’ articles.
” “ Many thanks to Sierra Club and other environmental groups .
You shut down logging/brush removal and had a ‘ don ’ t touch ’ approach to our forests .
You shut down access roads and let them get overgrown , so now they can ’ t be used for fire suppression and emergency equipment .
You fought ranchers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floors clean .
You made fun of Trump when he said we need to rake the forest .
Trust me these forest rakes and logging would have prevented the devastating fires we see now.
” The economics of responsible forest management , given the immensity of America ’ s western forests , requires profitable timber harvesting to play a role .
But California has no commercial timber operations on state-owned land .
And since 1990 , when the environmentalist assault on California ’ s timber industry began in earnest , its timber industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Reviving California ’ s timber industry , so the collective rate of harvest equals the collective rate of growth , would go a long way towards solving the problem of catastrophic fires .
Instead , California ’ s environmentalists only redouble their nonsense arguments .
Expect these fires to justify even more “ climate change ” legislation that does nothing to clear the forests of overgrown tinder , and everything to clear the forests , and the chaparral , of people and towns .
Expect these fires to fuel a new round @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suburban densification , with increased rationing of energy and water .
Expect the “ climate emergency ” to accelerate in synergistic lockstep with the pandemic emergency and the anti-racism emergency .
Expect all three of these emergencies to become issues of public health , thereby eliminating inconvenient constitutional roadblocks to swift action .
Meanwhile , tragically , expect California ’ s politically powerful firefighters ’ union to do little or nothing to support the timber industry or rural inhabitants who don ’ t want to move into urban condos .
As Steve Greenhut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orange County Register : No wonder firefighters are overwhelmed during California ’ s wildfire season .
The state can ’ t afford to hire enough of them .
And when these firefighter unions could have been pushing for legislation to clear the forests back in 2019 , where instead did their leftist leadership direct their activist efforts ?
They marched in solidarity with the striking United Teachers of Los Angeles .
The teachers ’ unions have done to California ’ s public schools what environmentalists have done to California ’ s forests .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the early 21st century is ever written , the verdict will be unequivocal .
Forests that thrived in California for over 20 million years were allowed to become overgrown tinderboxes .
And then , with stupefying ferocity , within the span of a few decades , they burned to the ground .
Many of them never recovered .
This epic tragedy was the direct result of policies put in place by misguided environmentalist zealots , misinformed suckers who sent them money , and the litigators and lobbyists they hired , who laughed all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ring is a senior fellow of the Center for American Greatness and co-founder of the California Policy Center , which he co-founded in 2013 .


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--AG Barr Says There ‘Could Be’ More Charges in Durham Probe

Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday that more charges are possible in the investigation led by John Durham , the U.S. attorney investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe .
Barr was asked about the status of the probe during an interview with NBC News .
He declined to say whether Durham , the U.S. attorney for Connecticut , is nearing the end of the probe , which began in April 2018 .
“ Would you say — it ’ s unlikely that there ’ ll be further criminal charges ?
” NBC News reporter Pete Williams asked Barr .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ say that at all , no , ” Barr replied .
“ Yeah , there could be , ” said Barr .
Barr also declined to say whether the public will hear anything about a report from Durham prior to the election in November .
Barr tapped Durham to investigate several aspects of the U.S. government ’ s surveillance of the Trump campaign and Trump associates .
Durham has investigated findings from a Justice Department report that found the FBI abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as part of an effort to spy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty in the probe on Aug. 19 to altering a June 2017 email from a CIA analyst to downplay Page ’ s relationship with the spy agency .
Clinesmith admitted to adding the phrase “ not a ‘ source ’ ” to the CIA analyst ’ s email before passing it on to others at the FBI .
Page was a source for the CIA from 2008 through 2013 .
Barr has said that Durham is investigating whether Russian intelligence operatives fed disinformation to former British spy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to obtain surveillance warrants against Page .
Durham is also reportedly investigating an Intelligence Community Assessment that said the Russian government meddled in the 2016 election specifically to help Donald Trump .
Barr said in an interview on Aug. 13 that there will be “ significant ” developments in the Durham probe before election day .
He has also said that any developments in the investigation will not violate the so-called “ 60-day rule , ” an informal policy by which the Justice Department avoids prosecutions in politically-charged investigations within 60 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Carol Swain Promotes ‘Be The People’ National Law Enforcement Tribute October 17

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist , Dr. Carol Swain , to the studio .
During the third hour , Swain discussed the job of police officers and how they have been misrepresented in the news in relation to Black arrests .
In response to this , she is spearheading the Be The People Project event to celebrate police officers around the country on October 17th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ register at BeThePeopleNonprofit.com .
Leahy : The rioters seem to think that the law does not apply to them .
And the police officers are constantly finding resistance to arrest .
Fights and physical danger , it ’ s a very dangerous job to be in law enforcement today .
Swain : I would say that it didn ’ t just start with the riots .
We can go back to Ferguson , Missouri , and Michael Brown .
Leahy : 2012 or 2013 .
Somewhere around that ?
Swain : I believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ message and the narrative came out that he had his hands up .
That slogan hands up don ’ t shoot .
Swain : A claim .
Then we learned later from eyewitnesses and lots of evidence that was documented , that that particular scenario never occurred .
Leahy : Yes .
It was made up .
Swain : It was totally made up .
But it sparked protests .
Swain : Yes , it did .
And I think that black youth and black people have gotten the message for some time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or that they should resist authority .
Or whenever they are stopped by police , that it ’ s inappropriate .
Leahy : Well , this must be because Donald Trump is president .
Oh , wait , Ferguson .
Who was president back then ?
Swain : It so far predates Donald Trump .
Swain : It so far predates Donald Trump .
And if you go back to when Barack Obama was elected , do you remember the incident with Henry Louis Gates at Harvard ?
Swain : He was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his home , and he was trying to get inside his home , and someone called the police .
And he became belligerent and very arrogant with the police .
Leahy : He locked himself out of the house , and he is black and a Harvard professor .
A couple of white police guys came by , and he ’ s trying to break into this house .
The neighbor said somebody is trying to break in the house .
And basically they said you can ’ t do that .
Did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : They did .
But it was because of his behavior .
Leahy : What did he do ?
I ’ m trying to recall what he did .
Swain : I don ’ t remember .
But he acted in a very unprofessional and undignified manner .
And Barack Obama , who didn ’ t have all the details , immediately came to his defense and implied that the police officers were wrong .
Leahy : Which was incorrect .
They absolutely followed the procedure there .
Swain : Wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beer Summit ?
Leahy : So first the President of the United States , you know the great racial healer , Barack Obama .
He holds a press conference and is asked about that , and he called the police wrong and unprofessional .
And stupid .
Or something like that .
Swain : He said they behaved stupidly .
Leahy : Yes .
He said they behaved stupidly .
So the professor is the one who was kind of behaving stupidly .
That ’ s why he got arrested for the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even looking at the facts President Obama said the police behaved stupidly .
When the facts came out , it became clear that it was Professor Gates who was not acting inappropriately .
And the president had to back down .
In order to smooth things over with the police , he invited the police officers and Gates to the White House for the Beer Summit .
Swain : That sounds pretty right to me .
And that incident did not help .
It happened in 2009 .
Swain : The year after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And you know , everybody said , well we ’ ve elected the first black president .
No more racial problems in America .
Not !
Gotten worse I think since then .
Swain : Here ’ s exactly what he said .
I don ’ t know , not having been there and not seeing all the facts what role race played in that .
But I think it ’ s fair to say , number one , any of us would be pretty angry .
Number two , that the Cambridge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when there was already proof that they were in their own home .
And number three , that I think we know separate and apart from this incident , is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately .
Leahy : So he had to backtrack from that Beer Summit .
We just have this long problem of basically not giving the police , who are out there on the front lines trying to maintain order .
And often the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are complaining about the behavior of the police , when the police are just doing their job .
Swain : Unfortunately , a lot of the high profile cases involving blacks that had unfortunate encounters with the police , involve people that had criminal backgrounds .
Or they were resisting arrests .
There are far fewer cases where there were unarmed suspects or unarmed people that were shot by the police for just no reason at all .
That ’ s very rare .
Leahy : It ’ s the resisting arrest that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is .
And that goes back to a problem I think that we have in the black community where people resist authority .
It could be the authority of the school teacher .
The authority of a pastor in a church , whatever authority they have .
Or the authority of a police officer .
And when I ’ m stopped by the police , I always assume I did something .
If I ’ m going down the street , and I see the police officer turn around , he doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just pull myself over to the side .
( Chuckles ) Leahy : Yeah .
I think it ’ s just like a standard operating procedure if the police stop you , stop and you comply .
That ’ s the smart thing to do .
And if you don ’ t comply , bad things can happen .
It just doesn ’ t make any sense .
You are going to do something about this , Carol .
If you go to Be the People Nonprofit , you can see that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17 .
A national tribute to law enforcement .
Tell us about that .
Swain : We feel that our law enforcement officers need to be recognized for the job that they do .
And the overwhelming majority of them are good men and women who risk their lives daily on our behalf .
And I have spoken with numerous officers in Nashville and across the country .
And when they tell their stories , most of them are people that are called to law enforcement in the way that one of us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular role .
So these are people that have stories .
They are people out there trying to make life safe for us and for other people .
Leahy : And they are not getting paid very much .
It ’ s basically middle class .
Swain : No they are not getting paid much .
And I have been told that if they actually have to use their gun , it pretty much ruins their life .
Even if they are in the right .
There is so much headache that comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And we now have a situation where I believe that law enforcement officers are backed into a corner .
And they take an enormous amount of abuse with people throwing urine and feces on them .
And they are expected to stand there and not react .
And so they are in a situation where they are being abused by the public .
And we need to get control of this .
And it ’ s totally unacceptable to have people that are destroying property .
Committing acts of violence .
And doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the law enforcement officers have their hands tied behind them .
Leahy : BeThePeopleNonprofit.com and register for the national tribute for law enforcement on October 17 .
James Smallwood , President of the National Fraternal Order of the Police , Kenneth Harms , a retired police officer from Miami , and Bob Woodsen is the keynote speaker from the Woodsen Center .
A great American .
He ’ s head of the 1776 United Consortium .
Listen to the third hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .
Photo “ Police Car ” by Scott Davidson CC2.0


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Positive COVID-19 Cases Drop in No-Lockdown Sweden, Marking the Lowest Rate Since the Pandemic Began

Sweden ’ s positive coronavirus cases dropped after the country carried out a record number of COVID-19 tests recently , Reuters reported Tuesday , citing Swedish health officials .
The country saw only 1,300 positive cases out of 120,000 tests last week , representing a 1.2 % positive rate , Sweden ’ s health agency said Tuesday , according to the Reuters report .
The low number of cases is the lowest Sweden has seen since the pandemic , which originated in China , first emerged in Europe , the report noted .
“ The purpose of our approach is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to follow recommendations and guidelines that exist , ” Swedish Health Agency Director-General Johan Carlson said at a news conference , according to Reuters .
Sweden has downplayed the need for severe lockdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus , which has reportedly killed more than 898,000 people worldwide , according to data from John Hopkins University .
More than 5,800 people have died in Sweden from the virus , a number lower than Italy and Spain but high among neighboring Nordic countries , data show .
Spain and France are contending with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers are dropping , Reuters noted .
Sweden has encouraged citizens to wear masks , keep a distance from one another and practice proper hygiene rather than instituting strict lockdowns , which have resulted in a severe economic downturn and mass unemployment elsewhere .
“ We probably have a lower risk of spread here compared to other countries , ” Jonas Ludvigsson , a professor of epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet , told Reuters .
“ I think we benefit a lot from that now , ” he added , referring to what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of immunity .
Some health experts and media commentators have criticized Sweden ’ s approach .
“ It seems some numbers need to be repeated .
Sweden has 5,837 dead in COVID-19 .
A proportion five times higher than Denmark , ” an editorial in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter noted .
Sweden did not focus enough on the country ’ s nursing homes , where more than half of the country ’ s deaths have transpired , according to Sweden ’ s former chief epidemiologist , Annike Linde .
“ There was no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I now understand , ” Linde told Swedish Radio , according to a June Guardian report about comments from a chief epidemiologist , Anders Tegnell .
Tegnell said in June , “ I do not understand how they can stand and say the level of preparedness was good , when in fact it was lousy.
” Nearly half of all coronavirus-related deaths in Europe have occurred in nursing homes , according to The Washington Post , citing World Health Organization data in April .
More than 68,600 residents and staff at nursing homes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have died from the coronavirus , out of more than 163,000 overall deaths , AP reported Monday , citing a running tally of data the outlet has collected so far .
The New York Times published a report in June indicating that more than 43 % of deaths nationwide were in nursing homes .
Chris White is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation .
Photo “ Sweden ” by Daniel Norin CC1.0


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--GOP’s Slimmed-Down Virus Bill Scuttled by Senate Democrats

WASHINGTON , D.C. ( AP ) — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday , saying the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs as the pandemic continues its assault on the country .
The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver .
The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures has given way to election-season political combat and name-calling .
The 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster and seems likely to end hopes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The $ 500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by GOP leaders this summer , but was too big for most conservatives .
Instead , the GOP bill was stripped back to focus on school aid , jobless benefits and help for small businesses .
That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats , who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people .
The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit for tat as the congressional session limps to its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown .
The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session , with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump .
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. , predicted that Thursday ’ s GOP defeat would prompt Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , back to the negotiating table , as an earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 trillion rescue bill more generous .
“ But ( Thursday ’ s ) bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated , so filled with poison pills , so partisanly designed , ” Schumer said .
McConnell crafted the measure to permit his GOP colleagues to go on record in favor of popular provisions such as another round of “ paycheck protection ” help for smaller businesses , help for schools to reopen and supplemental jobless benefits .
He again blasted Democrats on Thursday , saying they are still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to scuttle provisions with widespread backing to deny Trump a victory .
“ Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing , ” McConnell said .
There ’ s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart .
Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately .
The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election , which will decide not only the presidency , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus cases appear to be at a plateau , there is still widespread economic hardship and social unease in homes , schools and businesses affected by closures .
Experts warn that infections are expected to spike again if Americans fail to abide by public health guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing , especially amid colder weather and flu season .
McConnell said Democrats have not backed off what he said were unreasonable demands .
He accused Democrats of acting as though it is to their political advantage to deny Republicans and Trump a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Election Day .
Schumer said Republicans are “ so out of touch.
” He predicted Republicans and the White House “ may yet be forced to come back to the table because COVID is the major issue that ’ s facing the American people.
” The stalemate has left McConnell and Republicans to say that they support a short-term spending measure , called a continuing resolution , or CR , that would avert a government shutdown at month ’ s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus relief .
The Republican measure in Thursday ’ s test vote would : —enact a shield against lawsuits for businesses and others moving ahead to reopen .
—write off $ 10 billion in earlier debt at the U.S .
Postal Service .
— set aside $ 31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine , $ 16 billion for virus testing and $ 15 billion to help child care providers reopen .
— devote $ 258 billion for a second round of paycheck protection subsidies .
It did not contain a new round of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s name , and the new $ 300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas , on Dec. 27 .
The GOP bill also lacked money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported .
Democrats say the GOP bill is far too small and leaves out important priorities , including hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments , more generous jobless benefits , and help for renters and homeowners , along with other provisions in the House Democrats ’ $ 3.5 trillion relief bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Lisa Mascaro are reporters for The Associated Press .
About the Headline Photo : Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. , left , with Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, speaks during a news conference , Wednesday , Sept. 9 , 2020 , on Capitol Hill in Washington .
( AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin )


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--John Fredericks Commentary: Fauci Debunks Woodward Hit on Trump

Lexington , Virginia — Here we go again .
Another tell-all book trashing President Trump .
What else is new ?
The newest snooze-rag comes from longtime lefty WAPO-Bezos lackey Bob Woodward , of Watergate deep-throat fame .
In what the mainstream legacy fake news media gushed over , Woodward says the President characterized the coronavirus as “ deadly ” and “ dangerous ” — while telling Americans it was nothing to be concerned about .
Woodward writes that President Trump told him the Covid-19 virus was “ more deadly than even your strenuous flus , ” and that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is deadly stuff , ” Trump told Woodward on February 7 according to his book , “ Rage.
” Naturally , the Biden-Woke-Marxist-Mobs coalition seized on this nugget and immediately rolled out the tired old “ Orange-Man Bad ” mantra .
Let ’ s start with CCP apologist Rep. Ted Lieu ( D-Calif ) , who accused Trump of “ reckless homicide.
” Of course , Lieu conveniently declined to mention that his Party ’ s presidential nominee , Joe Biden , harshly criticized the President ’ s decision to suspend U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it “ Xenophobic.
” How many more deaths would Biden have caused if those China flights continued to roll in ?
A few hundred thousand , or a million ?
Will the fake news ask that question ?
Next up : Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D-Minn ) whose father died of the novel coronavirus .
Taking a quick break from blasting Israel with her brand of anti-Semitic dribble , Omar said Trump , “ went out of his way not to ” save lives .
Naturally , the Biden-Woke-Marxist-Mobs coalition spent the day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cable television and telling us how Trump lied to the American people .
All was going well until…Dr .
Anthony Fauci got on Fox News and debunked the whole thing .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert defended the president after Woodward ’ s recordings alleged that Trump wanted to downplay the severity of the pandemic .
Appearing on Fox News ’ John Roberts , Fauci denied that he ever heard the president “ distort ” the threat of the coronavirus and reiterated that Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and in alignment with discussions he ’ d had with medical experts and his WH advisory team .
When asked point-blank by Roberts if he ever felt Trump was downplaying the potential lethal aspects of the coronavirus , Fauci said : “ no.
” “ I didn ’ t get any sense that he was distorting anything , ” Fauci said .
“ In my discussions with him , they were always straightforward about the concerns that we had .
We related that to him .
When he would go out , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sort of things.
” How does this play with Democrat operatives who wear masks that say , “ Trust Fauci ?
” Fauci went on to tell Fox News : “ I didn ’ t see any discrepancies with what he told us and what we told him and what he came out publicly and said.
” Dr. Fauci added that the quotes in the Woodward book attributed to him “ are false.
” How does this play with Democrat operatives who wear masks that say , “ Trust Fauci ?
” Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump has always taken a calm , measured approach to inform the public about the threat of the coronavirus .
Unlike Joe Biden , Trump ’ s actions prove that he has been taking this threat seriously since day one .
While Democrats and the media were wasting taxpayer money on their impeachment hoax , President Trump took early and decisive actions : • On January 31 , President Trump declared the coronavirus a public health emergency and suspended entry into the U.S. to help stop the spread .
• President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House Coronavirus Task Force , headed by Vice President Pence , released guidelines for all Americans to follow .
• On March 13 , President Trump declared a national emergency that granted access to $ 42 billion to fight the coronavirus .
• For the first time , President Trump declared that a major disaster existed within all 50 states at once .
Biden and his advisors have misled the public on the coronavirus : • January 27 – Biden ’ s handlers published an op-ed from Biden in USA Today .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the op-ed “ did not say… that it was a pandemic , only that it was a possibility.
” Additionally , “ The article itself was more of an attack on President Trump … then a detailed plan for action against a possible pandemic.
” • January 30 – Biden Public Health Advisory Committee member Dr. Zeke Emanuel says , “ Everyone in America should take a very big breath , slow down , and stop panicking and being hysterical .
We are having a little too much histrionics on this… And people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best thing we have is the seasonality .
It ’ s going to go down as spring comes up.
” Don ’ t worry , the fake news bunch will have another false outrage again tomorrow – and twice on Sunday John Fredericks is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Virginia Star .
He is also a Trump 2020 delegate and the chairman of the Trump Virginia Delegation .


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Commentary: The Revolution Undone by Revelationaries

In Rules for Radicals ( the subject of Hillary Clinton ’ s thesis , a major influence on Barack Obama , and a subject of interest for proponents of the Tea Party ) , notorious leftist Saul Alinsky pointed out the inefficacy of the left-wing terrorism of the 1960s and 70s .
What did the Weather Underground or the M19CO accomplish other than make the public desperate for law and order , appreciative of the Republic and their liberal democracy , and antipathetic to the New Left ’ s murderous causes ?
Alinsky , a keen observer—who had for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s mob dealings in Chicago—saw that post-office bombings and cop-killings weren ’ t driving Americans anywhere closer to embracing the revolution he and his acolytes craved .
Having spent over thirty years bringing together workers coalitions , organizing minority action groups , scaling-up grassroots activism , and raising money for leftist causes , Alinsky had observed enough to make a few prescriptions for fellow travellers .
Before his death in 1972 , he wrote Rules for Radicals ( nicely bookending his career ; his bestseller Reveille for Radicals was published in 1946 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delineated steps radicals could take to effect serious change .
“ There are no rules for revolution , ” Alinsky wrote in the prologue to Rules , “ but there are rules for radicals who want to change their world.
” Over the course of his ‘ organizing ’ career ( 1939-1971 ) , Alinsky encountered innumerable radicals keen on changing the world , and saw many if not most of them fail , at least where starting a meaningful revolution was concerned .
They too often relied on silly or alienating rhetoric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or violence .
Although other leftists such as Herbert Marcuse ( father of the American New Left ) similarly recognized the ineffectuality of principally-violent socialist strategies , Alinsky saw clearly the route to results and scaled his local-level organizing strategies up along with his late-in-life ambitions .
There is no better summary of the socialist strategies Alinsky knew to be either failures or prospects than provided by Dr. Stephen R.C .
Hicks in Explaining Postmodernism ( below ) .
Hicks tracked the evolution of socialist strategies from Marx to the Neo-Rousseauians in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Road to Serfdom and Kuehnelt-Leddihn ’ s Leftism Revisited .
He discussed the mental gymnastics required of socialists after free-market economists won the theory debate ( which had prompted a concession from Robert Heilbroner ) and after dissident writers like Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Nien Cheng detailed the atrocities statist regimes committed in the name of socialism , supported by the damning figures released by Kruschev during the USSR ’ s so-called thaw ( which nullified any further appeal to some sort of ideological moral high ground ) .
The mental gymnastics were and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standard and epistemology strategy-pivots : ➡ Wait for the masses to revolt = Failure ➡➡ From wealth is good to wealth is bad ➡➡ From need to equality Changing epistemology was incidental to the approach Alinsky instead concentrated on .
He was chiefly focused with changing the ethical standard and utilizing his organizing principles to get activists into positions where they could then make the new standard the rule .
“ Do one of three things .
One , go find a wailing wall and feel sorry for yourselves .
Two , go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swing people to the right .
Three , learn a lesson .
Go home , organize , build power and at the next convention , you be the delegates.
” A contemporary of Alinsky ’ s , Herbert Marcuse—though an advocate for leftist guerilla tactics and terrorism around the globe—similarly recognized the importance of true-believers rising through the ranks of established political institutions in order to seize power with which to counter and crush rightist political opponents .
He thought it prudent to work “ against the established institutions while working in them.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ championed a number of the aforementioned strategies mentioned in Hick ’ s list above for which the results are not yet in .
He would be pleased to know that there are presently promising signs [ for radicals ] .
Postmodernism has transmogrified the English language , poisoned the academies , supplanted empiricist and rationalist epistemologies with a [ Heideggerian ] phenomenology , and thoroughly maligned the Western canon .
Multicultural socialism has kicked identitarianism and identity politics into full gear , weakening and dividing American society to be later conquered .
Enviromarxism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ western industry .
These successes , though desirable to Marcuse ( and no doubt to his terroristic protégés , Angela Davis included ) , were in part a result of a strict observance to Alinsky ’ s rules by his disciples and those “ New Left-type politicos ” Hillary Clinton mentioned in a letter she wrote to Alinsky .
Like inverted Jesuits enculturating , Alinskyites went into all of the most crucial social and political institutions throughout the nation .
Unlike Marcuse ’ s protégé Angela Davis—who made no secret of her penchant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gulag and blamed victims of the KGB ; who defended leftist terrorism , and is openly a Lenin-Peace-Prize-winning communist—and others like her , Alinskyites concealed their envy , totalitarianism , and murderous rage behind well-constructed or diversionary facades .
In the liberal institutions they infiltrated , they walked the walk , talked the talk , and now hold the reins .
As you could imagine , this approach takes a great deal of time .
Forget weeks and months .
We ’ re talking decades and lifetimes , and we are now a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are leftists who ’ ve dedicated their lives to the destruction of the American Republic as it now stands ( as a ‘ capitalist democracy ’ ) , and then there are the leftists maiming Portland police officers , burning down federal buildings , stabbing black conservatives , and terrorizing suburbanites .
While the same basic pathology drives both , the former are far more calculating and effective than the latter , and the latter may serve to jeopardize the life ’ s work of the former .
While it may be seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far , futility is only guaranteed where street violence and terrorism is concerned ( though you ’ re liable to get a plum teaching position at the University of California ) .
Alinsky made a careful distinction between short-sighted revelationaries [ sic ] and long-game revolutionaries .
The former , like Antifa and BLM today , want [ ed ] immediate results .
They ’ re ego-centric , impatient , and impetuous .
They find meaning and identity in the collective , yet paradoxically , destabilize by making the process of revelation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , take positions of power , and bit by bit , brick by brick , destroy , reform , and or prepare the system for revolution .
In varying degrees , Barack Obama , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Rashida Tlaib , Bernie Sanders , and Ilhan Omar are revolutionaries .
They appear not entirely focused on short-term political gains ( financial gains along the way are another matter altogether ) .
They have pushed for the “ reform ” needed for revolution ( e.g .
abolition of the Electoral College ; the diminution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revisionism ; government curtailment of rights ; iconoclasm ; silencing / de-platforming of critics ; etc . )
, though are—as Alinsky recommended they be— “ political relativist [ s ] .
” A radical , after all , “ does not have a fixed truth—truth to him is relative and changing ; everything to him is relative and changing.
” A political relativist like Sanders could , for instance , push peaceful populist messaging and socialized healthcare , but then on dime rally behind an insurance-lobby-owned corporatist warmonger .
While these relativists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , short-term wins won by their street-fighting comrades—such as tearing down a Junipero Serra statue , burning down a church , attacking police officers with improvised explosive devices , lynching a Trump supporter , or committing other acts of violence and iconoclasm—they know that to boil a frog alive , you have to turn the heat up slowly .
Otherwise , it will jump to safety .
On this point , Alinsky made it abundantly clear : “ It is most important for those of us who want revolutionary change to understand that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t like to step abruptly out of the security of familiar experience ; they need a bridge to cross from their own experience to a new way .
A revolutionary organizer must shake up the prevailing patterns of their lives—agitate , create disenchantment and discontent with the current values , to produce , if not a passion for change , at least a passive , affirmative , non-challenging climate.
” You might now understand why the Alinskyites have yet to either endorse or condemn Antifa or BLM terrorism .
Unless they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frogs into water brought to boil by revelationaries and long-game strategy , the revolutionaries have to bide their time while continuing to slowly turn up the heat .
If it was intentional and not merely a side-effect of bad leadership , then Obama did what Bin Laden could not and what the Financial Crisis 2007-08 could only in part : he exhausted Americans .
He created disenchantment and discontent with the current values .
He didn ’ t use his office or his personal experience to bridge the racial divide ( widened after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exacerbate it .
Those already tired of America ’ s foreign policy , particularly where regime-change wars were concerned , figured the case for change utterly hopeless after their Hope and Change messiah started a couple new wars while in office .
As for trust in the government , after having the extent of the American surveillance state exposed by Julian Assange and Edward Snowden , he doubled down and expanded it .
He made another Alinskyite ( more of a fair-weather radical ) Secretary of State , and left her in charge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria and abandoning Ambassador Stevens to a cruel fate in Libya .
Barack Obama gutted Main Street and bailed out Wall Street .
His crony capitalism accelerated unprecedented corporate consolidation and class stratification .
He made American liberties appear brittle , particularly by his government ’ s grievous treatment of persons like Cliven Bundy ; its torture of whistleblowers ; its gassing of Standing Rock protesters ; its caging of illegal aliens ; its weaponization of the IRS against the Tea Party ; and its perpetual threat of gun confiscation .
Despite his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lobby , still appreciative for the initiative on marriage he took later in his presidency ) , Obama did nothing apparent for the left in the short run , but he certainly turned up the heat and left the stove on .
Perhaps following Alinsky ’ s prescription in The Professional Radical , Obama sought the “ wrong reasons to get right things done.
” The American Prospect published Peter Dreier ’ s half-hearted defense of Hillary Clinton in July of 2016 , which rebuffed claims that she was a satanic Alinskyite ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nature of the power she worships in these pages ) .
In the piece , Dreier suggested that both Obama and Clinton had entered politics despite their affinity for , influence by , or relationship with Alinsky .
Clinton apparently claimed she and Alinsky had a difference of opinion ; that Alinsky “ believed you could only change the system from the outside.
” Clinton had certainly read Rules for Radicals when she made that claim .
She knew that Alinsky explicitly made the case for achieving revolution inside mainstream institutions of power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old radical ’ s mind may be a testament to her fidelity to his original message and call for concealment .
Then there ’ s the 44th American president who was an organizer with the Alinskyite Developing Communities Project during the 1980s .
According to Dreier , “ like Hillary , [ Obama ] lacked the appetite for confrontation and believed he could make more large-scale impact by getting a law degree and entering mainstream politics.
” This is the more honest of the two statements , granted it recognizes Obama sought power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind worth having if you mean to execute major change .
When Chris Hedges said in 2010 that Obama was the “ poster child for the death of the liberal class ” —that he had shut out the possibility for “ incremental or piecemeal reform within the formal mechanisms of power ” —he wasn ’ t wrong , but strangely he also wasn ’ t celebratory .
In revelationary terms , Obama was a tragedy for the left .
He dashed the dreams of the Occupy movement and made clear neither hope nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms may cast him in a different light , however .
He did gift the Dems a tipping point .
Since Hedges wouldn ’ t conflate liberalism with leftism , it may also be that he discounted the prospect of what might be left over or fill the vacuum in those dead spaces ; that the frogs were left boiling for Clinton to make good with… Everywhere liberal institutions are being destroyed with purpose , including the presidency .
Alinskyites ( along with some less-subtle Marcusian New Leftists and postmodern radicals ) infiltrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , public education , the universities , Hollywood , publishing houses , as well as religious groups .
Their death , for Alinskyites , is part of their reformation .
When these institutions are dead inside , and the moral foundations of the social order begin to collapse , you ’ ll find the right shi ( 势 , a concept discussed in another set of rules and stratagems—Sun-Tzu ’ s The Art of War—that refers to an actionable moment where you have energy and momentum or at the very least a psychological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more accepting of change .
Populism will seem all the more tantalizing to the public—either as a remedy ( for those they alienate ) or as a next-step ( for the indoctrinated keen to exercise the tyranny of the mob ) .
Though they anticipated and facilitated the growth of grassroots movements on the left , the long-game revolutionaries clearly did not consider the impact of the revelationaries ’ premature and rapid heating of the pot over these past few years .
Not only did they alert some frogs—despite having successfully boiled a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destructionist “ reform ” , they helped activate another accelerant : a populist movement on the right ( which is roughly centered around an economically-nationalist , common-good conservativism ) .
The comfortable revolutionaries were not prepared for the eventuality that this would become the more energetic and stable of the two primary varieties of American populism ( echoed in Britain , Hungary , Poland , Italy , and Brazil ) .
They certainly didn ’ t factor in the possibility that Trump would not only take the helm , but weather the storm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dying liberal establishment , amid thunderclaps of leftist vitriol , and against gusts from a panicked bought-corporate-media , with shi on his side .
Where strategy is concerned , the main reason leftists ( particularly Alinsky radicals ) despise or ought to despise Trump—who has broken with the establishment tradition of starting a new Near East war once in office ; whose actions brought black and Hispanic unemployment down to record lows ; who has begun the Herculean task of onshoring manufacturing jobs , reducing the administrative state and regulations , and reifying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is making citizenship mean something again—is because he is addressing the needs of the dying American middle-class and the forgotten people past administrations have whipped up for votes then abandoned .
These ostensibly hopeless , disenchanted Americans ( a.k.a .
‘ deplorables ’ ) were supposed to be the constituents of the radicals ’ revolutionary army .
( Back in 2016 , Obama was prepared to hand off a gift-wrapped revolutionary moment to Clinton , but fumbled the pass , meaning lifetime of leftist work was spoiled by the People… ) Even now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the brink , idleness at an all-time high ( owing to the pandemic ) , and community life sporadically shut-down ( prompting a desire for social connection / belonging ) , the masses—caught in a state of flux—should be ripe for radicalization .
Yet , the riots and the protests have been populous , not popular .
If the revolutionaries were waiting for a catalytic revelation , they ’ re certainly not acting like it or at the very least acting like this ain ’ t the one .
Perhaps the established @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road again .
Maybe , they ’ re comfortable , and the status quo guarantees that comfort continues .
( Alinsky ’ s intention in writing Rules for Radicals was to champion a counter to Machiavelli ’ s rules for princes ; that if The Prince detailed how elites could hold onto power , his book would delineate how the “ Have-nots ” could take that power away .
Curiously , many of the supposed proponents of the have-nots became princes . )
It is not uncustomary to see true believers elected into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lifestyle and the money , then abandon those who lifted them up or their raison d ’ être .
How committed to reform and revolution is AOC after seeing that a life spent selling out the country—a country she hates in its present form—could make her $ 100M like Nancy Pelosi ?
How likely is Ilhan Omar to concentrate her energies on paving the road to serfdom when she can make off like a bandit and funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into her husband ’ s firm ?
Or maybe , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , though most certainly hurting—10.2 % unemployment ; over 65,000 overdoses and 50,000 suicides a year—are majoritively hopeful and distrustful of the left ’ s “ grandiose rationalization of petty resentments.
” It is entirely possible that the reason behind the Alinskyites ’ pregnant pause is the recent polling data .
A recent Rasmussen poll found that 49 % of Americans ( including one-third of Democrats , 45 % of blacks , and 51 % of Hispanics and Asians ) consider Antifa a terrorist group .
49 % of Americans believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks are not a legitimate reaction .
Over 50 % of Likely US Voters say the police should crack down on the protests to bring them to an end .
According to an ABC News / Washington Post poll , 55 % oppose reducing police funding .
Where the leftist guerillas ’ iconoclasm is concerned , according to a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll , 58 % of Americans oppose the removal of Confederate statues .
Where religious and historical statues are concerned , a sliver minority of Americans tolerate destruction .
More broadly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ height of the CCP virus epidemic amidst record unemployment found that the majority of Americans remained opposed to socialism .
The Alinskyites are witnessing a new generation of revelationaries fail .
For fear that the shi isn ’ t right—that it ’ s not yet time for revolution—they haven ’ t taken any meaningful steps to intercede on the behalf of the leftist militants .
That said , while not supportive , the Alinskyites in the Democrat Party are not condemnatory .
They refuse to denounce Antifa and are directly collaborating with BLM @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , however , a major risk to the revolutionaries ’ long-game .
It is entirely possible that Antifa and BLM will soon cross a line ( the kind invisible until passed , and then blindingly clear ) and incur the wrath of a super-majority of the American people , and in so doing kill for prospective recruits the allure of socialism .
The slaying of Aaron “ Jay ” Danielson in Portland on August 29th seemed to encroach on such a line , though it can easily and may soon be overstepped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would provide a just answer to the questions Hicks posed concerning contemporary leftist strategies , in the meantime—up until the moment the sleeping giant wakes—a lot of innocent people may get hurt or worse .
The Alinskyites may get by silently and by deflecting accountability for helping to create the environment responsible ( i.e .
turning up the heat ) , but it also may not matter .
Misalignment , poor timing , and impotence may have forever stalled their murderous fantasy .
Alinskyites either feel that they haven ’ t executed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , are hypocrites , or are cowards waiting for a sure-thing .
Either way , the longer the leftist terrorism continues unabated and uncriticized by the Dems , the harder it will be down the road for established radicals to make a case for their continued empowerment .
Conversely , the longer they keep dormant their revolution , the less stock their leftist base will put in them ( hence the recent formation by the Jimmy Dore / Chris Hedge-styled progressives of the People ’ s Party ) .
Two things are , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Trump is able to reinvigorate the economy and restore some faith in America ’ s cornerstone institutions , it won ’ t be a matter off kicking the revolutionary can down the road but off of it ; and 2 ) it won ’ t matter how many cooked frogs the academies ladle out—if and when the time comes , the American people won ’ t stand for a leftist revolution , but they ’ ll certainly put it down .
Joe MacKinnon is an author of six books , including his @ @ @ @ @ @


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Joe Biden Claims 6,000 Military Members Dead From COVID, but the Real Number Is Seven

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that more than 6,000 military members have died from coronavirus , Department @ @ @ @ @ statistics show the real number is just seven deaths .
While speaking in Michigan on @ @ @ @ @ both the number of COVID infections in the military , as well as the number @ @ @ @ @ Military COVID infected : 118,984 , ” Biden said while reading out a list of @ @ @ @ @ deaths : 6,114.
” Both of those numbers are wrong .
DOD statistics show that @ @ @ @ @ infections in the military is just over 40,000 , with just seven deaths .
It @ @ @ @ @ Biden got the erroneous numbers .
His campaign didn ’ t immediately return the Daily @ @ @ @ @ request for comment on the errors .
Peter Hasson is a reporter for the Daily @ @ @ @ @ “ Joe Biden ” by Gage Skidmore .
CC BY-SA 2.0 .


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Memphis Announces Results from First Month of Federal Crime Fighting Initiative Operation Legend

Local and federal law enforcement officers in Memphis have arrested 302 people as a part of Operation Legend , according to U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant .
“ Between August 6 and September 8 , 2020 , federal and local law enforcement agencies in the Operation Legend Task Force have worked cooperatively to arrest 106 people on new state and federal charges , ” Dunavant said in a press release .
“ Ninety of those arrests were for state charges and 16 of the arrests were for federal violations .
In addition to the 106 arrests , several seizures were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6.3 kilograms of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of heroin “ The seizure of the firearms is significant since the available information demonstrates that firearms are used in a high percentage of murders and aggravated assaults committed in Memphis , ” the press release said .
In the first month of Operation Legend in Memphis , authorities charged a total of 16 defendants with new federal crimes : • Nine defendants have been charged with federal firearms violations • Four defendants have been charged with violating federal drug laws • Three defendants have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bank robbery , carjacking , and the robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce U.S. Attorney General William Barr , in a separate press release , said that , nationwide , Operation Legend has resulted in more than 2,000 arrests , including defendants who were charged in state and local courts .
“ Of those arrests , approximately 592 defendants have been charged with federal crimes , ” Barr said .
“ In addition , the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) has seized 587 firearms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and more than five kilos of methamphetamine ; the Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) has seized almost 70 kilos of methamphetamine , more than 16 kilos of heroin , more than 7 kilos of fentanyl , more than 12 kilos of cocaine , 268 firearms , and approximately $ 5.19 million in drug proceeds ; the FBI has recovered 241 weapons ; and , the U.S .
Marshals Service has recovered 169 firearms and made 1,810 arrests , including 163 for homicide and 120 for sexual assault.
” As reported last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , federal law enforcement agencies work with local and state law enforcement officials to fight violent crime .
Federal officials launched Operation Legend in Kansas City , Missouri in July .
They soon expanded the operation to Chicago , Albuquerque , Cleveland , Detroit , Milwaukee , St. Louis , Memphis , and Indianapolis .
Department of Justice officials sent 16 federal investigators to Memphis on temporary assignment for 90 days .
This , followed by 24 permanent agent assignments from the FBI , DEA , ATF , and Homeland Security Investigations ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--United States Has Revoked Over 1,000 Visas for ‘Security Risks’ from China

Since June , over 1,000 Chinese nationals located in the United States have had their visas revoked after being labeled national security risks , as reported by CNN .
The State Department released a statement on Wednesday addressing the matter , revealing that the initiative had specifically targeted “ graduate students and research scholars ” at various American universities who had been determined to be “ high-risk , ” and were thus removed from the country .
The initiative was implemented following President Donald Trump ’ s Presidential Proclamation 10043 , issued in late May , declaring that China “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign to acquire sensitive United States technologies and intellectual property , ” with the aim of bolstering “ the modernization and capability of its military.
” The operation was carried out by both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security .
Acting Secretary of DHS Chad Wolf also released a statement on Wednesday , declaring that “ China has leveraged every aspect of its country…demonstrating a rejection of western liberal democracy and continually renewing its commitment to remake the world order in its own authoritarian image.
” The increased diplomatic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numerous retaliatory efforts against China ever since the Chinese government botched the efforts to contain the coronavirus , which has since spread all across the world and killed hundreds of thousands .
Although the worst of the pandemic seems to have passed , and the rate of infections and deaths have continued to decrease dramatically , China is still facing widespread criticism for its part in the spread of the virus .
The Chinese government has also been accused of taking advantage of the global panic to continue its prior acts of aggression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property , and aggressive expansion of its military .
Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California , Santa Barbara , where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school ’ s Young Americans for Freedom chapter .
He has interned for Young America ’ s Foundation , the Heritage Foundation , and the White House , and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes ( CA-22 ) .
Photo “ Air China ” by InSapphoWeTrust CC2.0


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--California Fire That Killed Three Threatens Thousands of Homes

OROVILLE , California ( AP ) — A Northern California wildfire threatened thousands of homes Thursday after winds whipped it into a monster that incinerated houses in a small mountain community and killed at least three people .
Several other people have been critically burned and hundreds , if not thousands , of homes and other buildings are believed to have been damaged or destroyed by the fire in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada , authorities said .
About 20,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings in Plumas , Yuba and Butte counties .
Another California fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homes near the community of Happy Camp and one person was confirmed dead , the Siskiyou County Sheriff ’ s Office said in a statement .
About 400 more homes were threatened .
Numerous destructive wildfires were also burning in Oregon and Washington state .
Between Tuesday and Wednesday , the North Complex fire near the small Northern California city of Oroville — which had been burning for weeks in forestland and was 50 % contained — exploded to six times its size as winds gusting to 45 mph ( 72 kph ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terrain and parched foothills .
The winds subsided Wednesday but the fire was only 24 % contained and officials said the fire was still very dangerous .
“ Time and time again we have seen how dangerous wildfires can be .
… So I ask that you please , please please be prepared , maintain situational awareness and heed the warnings , ” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea pleaded .
Honea announced the three deaths but declined to provide details .
California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Draper told the Bay Area News Group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ car and apparently had been trying to escape the flames .
Many homes were incinerated in the Butte County hamlet of Berry Creek , with a population of 525 people .
Dozens of evacuees gathered early Thursday at a fairgrounds in the small city of Gridley , trembling in morning cold .
Among them was Douglas Johnsrude , 41 , who packed up his eight dogs and fled his home in the community of Feather Falls on Tuesday as fire approached .
Johnsrude assumed his house trailer burned , which would be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home in a fire .
He inherited his mother ’ s house after her death , but it was destroyed in a 2017 fire .
“ The reason I haven ’ t rebuilt up there is because I knew it was going to happen again .
And guess what ?
It happened again , ” he said .
“ Seeing the smoke and the flames and everything else , it ’ s unreal .
It ’ s like an apocalypse or something.
” Butte County spokeswoman Amy Travis described the evacuation center as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to line up hotel rooms for families displaced by the fire amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
As of Wednesday night , 90 families had been placed in rooms and another 140 were on a waiting list .
“ COVID has changed the way we do sheltering , ” she said .
“ We don ’ t have a lot of hotel rooms here in Butte County , and a lot of them are definitely busy with people that have already made their own hotel arrangements for evacuations.
” John Sykes , a 50-year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Tuesday with his car and some clothes but watched the town burn from about a mile ( 1.6 kilometers ) away .
“ The school is gone , the fire department ’ s gone , the bar ’ s gone , the laundromat ’ s gone , the general store ’ s gone , ” he told the Sacramento Bee , adding , “ I ’ ll never go back.
” “ I don ’ t want to see it , ” he said .
“ That ’ s why I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see California again.
” Four burn victims were taken to UC Davis Medical Center in critical condition , the Bee reported .
The fire also threatened Paradise , the Northern California town devastated two years ago by the deadliest blaze in state history that prompted a deadly traffic jam as panicked residents tried to escape .
Eighty-five people lost their lives and nearly 19,000 buildings were destroyed in that fire .
On Wednesday , the sky turned from black to cherry red and ash carried on strong winds rained down in a scene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 , 2018 , former Mayor Steve “ Woody ” Culleton said .
“ It was extremely frightening and ugly , ” Culleton said .
“ Everybody has PTSD and what not , so it triggered everybody and caused terror and panic.
” Even in the midst of its dry , hot , windy fire season , California has experienced wildfires advancing with unprecedented speed and ferocity .
Since the middle of August , fires in California have killed 12 people , destroyed more than 3,600 buildings , burned old growth redwoods , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near the coast , in wine country north of San Francisco and along the Sierra Nevada .
Thick smoke choked much of the state and cast an eerie orange hue across the sky on Wednesday .
In some areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and to the east in the Sacramento Valley , the smoke blocked out so much sunlight that it dropped the temperature by 20 to 30 degrees over the previous day , according to the National Weather Service .
More than two dozen major fires were burning around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest ever recorded in recent California history .
The U.S. Forest Service , which had taken the unprecedented measure of closing eight national forests in Southern California earlier in the week , ordered all 18 of its forests in the state closed Wednesday for public safety .
In Southern California , fires burned in Los Angeles , San Bernardino and San Diego counties .
People in foothill communities east of Los Angeles were warned to be ready to flee , but the region ’ s notorious Santa Ana winds were weaker than predicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wind activity appears to be dying down , ” Gov .
Gavin Newsom said .
“ The rest of the week looks a little more favorable.
” Terence Chea and Brian Melley are reporters for The Associated Press .
Melley reported from Los Angeles .
AP writers Adam Beam in Gridley , John Antczak in Los Angeles and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report .
About the Headline Photo : Flames lick above vehicles on Highway 162 as the Bear Fire burns in Oroville , Calif. , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The blaze , part of the lightning-sparked North Complex , expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region .
( AP Photo/Noah Berger )


thetennesseestar--2020-09-11--Carol Swain Explains Critical Race Theory and Debunks Hard Work and Individualism as Being Racist

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist , Dr. Carol Swain , to the studio .
During the third hour , Swain explained the meaning of critical race theory and was perplexed by how diversity training has entered the corporate workplace .
She questioned how it is that hard work and individualism could be considered racist when that is what had brought her up from poverty on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I wanted to bring up to you a recent development on critical race theory .
This is something you have really analyzed thoroughly .
You ’ ve written a great deal about this .
Critical race theory I think you would generally debunk .
Swain : I can tell you that my last few years at Vanderbilt , I taught a class that really looked at the impact of communism on American political thought .
As part of that course , we dug deeply into critical theory , and some of the discussions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wonder about my students , because they are seeing exactly this manifest which , at that time , had not gotten to the point it is today .
We are living it now , what we discussed in that class .
And that class always had a waiting list .
It was very important .
But we also knew that what was taking place in that classroom would be threatening to the political left , because I was exposing their agenda .
Leahy : So last week President Trump barred propaganda training sessions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll read this from CNN .
“ President Trump on Friday night banned federal agencies from conducting racial sensitivity training related to white privilege and ‘ critical race theory ’ that is divisive anti-American propaganda.
” How about that ?
Swain : Yes .
And let me explain what critical race theory is .
It comes out of Marxism .
And it divides the world into oppressors and the oppressed , or the victims .
Minorities are the victims .
White people are the oppressors .
It argues that all White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a property interest in their whiteness .
That they should divest themselves of their whiteness .
And they divest themselves by becoming anti-racist .
And you become anti-racist by actively engaging in the society in fighting racism wherever it appears .
The problem is the left continually redefines what is considered racist .
And the whole exercise of this diversity , equity and inclusion training focuses on making white people aware of their privileges that are undeserved – that is tied to the sins of their fathers and themselves .
Swain : It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s not enough to say that you are not a racist .
You have to actively do something that proves that you aren ’ t .
The problem in America , and the problem for churches , is that it ’ s like a whole new gospel , because it requires every white person to confess with their mouths that they are racists .
Because they were born with white skin color , they are required to become woke .
And when they become woke , then they have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right on this issue .
And we know that for Christians that racism is a sin , just like there are other things that we do that are sins .
And that all a person has to do is to confess that sin .
And we believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our past and present sins .
And so it ’ s not a thing that you have to continually apologize for .
And we also believe , I mean the whole thing is ridiculous .
But here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is unconstitutional , I believe , it ’ s a violation of the equal protection clause to single out one particular race for shaming or for discrimination .
And it ’ s also a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits racial discrimination .
And what takes place in those sessions , and in many orientation exercises , is a shaming of white people that would be inappropriate if it was being done to any other group .
Leahy : So here ’ s the story that ’ s relevant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president ’ s order to stop the critical race theory training – Sandia National Laboratories .
I ’ m going to read this story from the Daily Lobo , which is a left-wing student publication at the University of Mexico .
But it has some information on it .
“ Sandia National Laboratories employee Casey Peterson sent out a lab-wide email on August 25 that contained a self-made YouTube video titled , Pushing Back on the Narrative of Modern Systemic Racism and White Privilege.
” ( Laughs ) This is how the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a racist video .
Right ?
Oh my gosh .
Peterson basically said that the ‘ anti-racism training ’ was inappropriate .
Yeah , I think it is .
The president agrees with that .
All of the white executives at Sandia Labs , as part of the Department of Energy , were required to basically undergo this critical race theory training that basically says all white people are bad .
Swain : Well , they have forced sensitivity training .
And for one thing , it doesn ’ t work .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It creates more resentment .
And I have come out publicly in favor of unity training based around principles .
Shared principles that can change the culture of an institution in a positive direction while respecting the human dignity of every individual in the workplace of the school .
Leahy : So this is Reason Magazine , which is a libertarian outlet .
“ National Nuclear Lab ’ s employees sent to seminar that claimed ‘ rugged individualism ’ and hard work are ‘ white male culture . '
” Swain : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : National Nuclear Labs sent to the seminar for quote rugged individualism and hard work .
Swain : You mean what helped me overcome my poverty ?
Leahy : Let me continue .
Yes .
The seminar for Sandia Labs executives also involved writing apology letters to marginalized people .
The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington , D.C. found itself in a small scandal last month , after visitors to its website discovered an infographic listing hard work and rational thought as traits of white culture .
Their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not just the museum but Sandia National Labs , a federal contractor responsible for building nuclear weapons , sent its executives to mandatory diversity training with the white men ’ s caucus on eliminating racism , sexism , and homophobia in organizations .
Swain : I want to make a connection .
Do you remember when black kids we learned that if they studied hard they were shamed for acting white ?
Who would have thought that that would have found its way into the workplace ?
Swain : That would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come and say that if individuals believed in hard work and individualism , that they were acting white .
It ’ s almost like the political left is trying to destroy minorities by any means possible .
And the defund the police movement , and the pushing of abortions and the destruction of education , all of these things are destructive .
The re-segregation they are pushing , that is for the betterment of America .
We all need to push back against it .
If your corporation or your school , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lipscomb , and all these places that have hired these diversity equity trainers and officers you need to get rid of these people .
And you need to go back to first things and principals of the American way .
That ’ s not the American way .
Leahy : I have sensed that you could really provide some help to those institutions , Carol .
( Swain chuckles ) Swain : They need help .
Listen to the full third hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .
Photo “ End Racism ” by John Englart CC2.0