thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--US Democrats Delay National Convention

US Democrats Delay National Convention

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Democratic Party postponed its national presidential nominating convention from July to August on Thursday because of the uncertainty created by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic .
The quadrennial event , where Democratic activists are likely to nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November national election , had been scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee , in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin , but now will start Aug. 17 .
The party , in announcing the delay , said that even then the size and shape of the event is uncertain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the advice of medical and emergency responders about the coronavirus closer to the time of the event to protect the thousands of people who normally would attend the convention .
Every four years , the Democratic and Republican national presidential nominating conventions are a showcase of American democracy in action , even though for years the eventual outcome of the parties ’ presidential contests have been known for weeks ahead of the actual conventions .
The conclaves have , however , served as rallies for the party faithful , with thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days of speeches denouncing their opponents .
Joe Solmonese , chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee , said , “ In our current climate of uncertainty , we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention.
” He said that because “ the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown , we will continue to monitor the situation.
” Tom Perez , the Democrats ’ national chair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health and safety of our convention attendees and the people of Milwaukee is our top priority .
And we will continue to be in contact with local , state , and federal health officials as we monitor this fluid situation.
” He said Democrats are “ ready to defeat Donald Trump , the American people are ready to elect a Democratic president , and I have absolute confidence that our team is ready to deliver a successful convention for our nominee.
” In keeping an eye on the state of the pandemic closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adjust the convention ’ s format , limit the crowd size and change the schedule .
With the new convention date for the Democrats , the two national parties will be staging back-to-back conventions in two successive weeks , which usually does not occur .
Republicans are slated to acclaim Trump ’ s nomination for a second four-year term in the White House at their convention in Charlotte , in the Atlantic coastal state of North Carolina , starting Aug. 24 .
Photo “ Joe Biden ” and “ Bernie Sanders ” by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Background Photo “ DNC Convention ” by Kelly Delay .
CC BY 2.0 .

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Democratic Party postponed its national presidential nominating convention from July to August on Thursday because of the uncertainty created by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
The quadrennial event, where Democratic activists are likely to nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November national election, had been scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee, in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, but now will start Aug. 17.
The party, in announcing the delay, said that even then the size and shape of the event is uncertain, with officials saying they will rely on the advice of medical and emergency responders about the coronavirus closer to the time of the event to protect the thousands of people who normally would attend the convention.
Every four years, the Democratic and Republican national presidential nominating conventions are a showcase of American democracy in action, even though for years the eventual outcome of the parties’ presidential contests have been known for weeks ahead of the actual conventions. The conclaves have, however, served as rallies for the party faithful, with thousands of flag-waving political activists ready to cheer four days of speeches denouncing their opponents.
Joe Solmonese, chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee, said, “In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention.”
He said that because “the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown, we will continue to monitor the situation.”
Tom Perez, the Democrats’ national chair, said, “Ultimately, the health and safety of our convention attendees and the people of Milwaukee is our top priority. And we will continue to be in contact with local, state, and federal health officials as we monitor this fluid situation.”
He said Democrats are “ready to defeat Donald Trump, the American people are ready to elect a Democratic president, and I have absolute confidence that our team is ready to deliver a successful convention for our nominee.”
In keeping an eye on the state of the pandemic closer to August, Democrats said they could adjust the convention’s format, limit the crowd size and change the schedule.
With the new convention date for the Democrats, the two national parties will be staging back-to-back conventions in two successive weeks, which usually does not occur.
Republicans are slated to acclaim Trump’s nomination for a second four-year term in the White House at their convention in Charlotte, in the Atlantic coastal state of North Carolina, starting Aug. 24.
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Photo “Joe Biden” and “Bernie Sanders” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “DNC Convention” by Kelly Delay. CC BY 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Mike Rowe on Rising College Tuition as Classes Move Online: ‘What Are We Paying For?’

Mike Rowe took a swipe at the rising cost of college tuition during an interview Tuesday with Fox News , asking , “ what are we paying for ?
” Calling what students are paying to attend college courses “ somewhere between egregious and obscene , ” the host of “ Dirty Jobs ” said that he predicts “ one of the silver linings ” from the coronavirus pandemic will be Americans ’ commitments “ truly to learning ” and that the crisis could “ completely redefine ” how people learn moving forward .
Rowe told viewers that just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .
“ The very same lecture you would pay an awful lot of money to sit through , ” Rowe pointed out .
He then took aim at colleges with billion-dollar endowments , such as Harvard , which is wealthier than more than half of the world ’ s countries .
He then pointed out that , despite having billions of dollars in the bank , colleges are so far refusing to issue students refunds after switching to online courses only .
“ When you look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at William and Mary and Brown and MIT and some of these schools with $ 40 billion endowments , who are not issuing refunds , by the way , for the canceled courses , you start to realize , what are we really paying for ?
” Rowe asked .
Virtually every college across the country has moved courses online for the remainder of the spring semester because of the coronavirus pandemic .
As Campus Reform has reported , most colleges have said they will issue some form of refund for students ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who paid for in-person instruction through May and for academic resources available to them on campus will not receive tuition refunds , even though colleges asked them or in some cases forced them to move home , which , for some students , is another state or even another country .
Jon Street is the Managing Editor of CampusReform.org .
Photo “ Mike Rowe ” by Campus Reform .

by Jon Street
Mike Rowe took a swipe at the rising cost of college tuition during an interview Tuesday with Fox News, asking, “what are we paying for?”
Calling what students are paying to attend college courses “somewhere between egregious and obscene,” the host of “Dirty Jobs” said that he predicts “one of the silver linings” from the coronavirus pandemic will be Americans’ commitments “truly to learning” and that the crisis could “completely redefine” how people learn moving forward.
Rowe told viewers that just the week before, he watched an online lecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“The very same lecture you would pay an awful lot of money to sit through,” Rowe pointed out.
He then took aim at colleges with billion-dollar endowments, such as Harvard, which is wealthier than more than half of the world’s countries. He then pointed out that, despite having billions of dollars in the bank, colleges are so far refusing to issue students refunds after switching to online courses only.
“When you look at Harvard, and when you look at William and Mary and Brown and MIT and some of these schools with $40 billion endowments, who are not issuing refunds, by the way, for the canceled courses, you start to realize, what are we really paying for?” Rowe asked.
Virtually every college across the country has moved courses online for the remainder of the spring semester because of the coronavirus pandemic. As Campus Reform has reported, most colleges have said they will issue some form of refund for students’ room and board costs, but students who paid for in-person instruction through May and for academic resources available to them on campus will not receive tuition refunds, even though colleges asked them or in some cases forced them to move home, which, for some students, is another state or even another country.
Watch the interview:
– – –
Jon Street is the Managing Editor of CampusReform.org.
Photo “Mike Rowe” by Campus Reform.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Commentary: We Are All Homeschoolers Now

What does education look like in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic ?
At the K-12 level , you ’ ve got problems .
At the collegiate level , you ’ ve got existential problems .
School is out for the year in most locales .
More innovative districts are retooling like crazy and trying to do online classes .
Parents are looking for cheap or free resources to do the job and keep their kids occupied during our enforced isolation .
In short , we are all homeschoolers now .
Expect that to be much more the case next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were forced to try it either a ) like it and decide to keep this knowledge train rolling or b ) don ’ t believe the schools are safe enough to send their kids back into and so suck it up .
This will create knock-on problems for public schools certainly , and also for private schools .
Kids go to school for six-plus hours a day , but a lot of that time is wasted .
In most cases , you could run through the lessons in about two hours .
Parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarantine is showing us that schooling is basically state- or parent-sponsored babysitting with some ABCs , 123s , dodgeball , and the prom thrown in .
This highly credentialed child care costs taxpayers a lot of money .
So long as things kept trucking along , most of us were not of the mood to too closely scrutinize these expenses .
But now that we ’ re out the money and have to take care of the kids , reassessment is going to happen .
Public education will survive , of course , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids will go and school bonds will become a harder sell .
Expensive private schools will also face scrutiny , as the now-poorer parents have seen that they can do this on their own if they so choose .
The sector of education that is in real trouble is higher education .
Costs have gone nothing but up as schools have used the money from student loans to do things like build more buildings , hire an assistant to the assistant to the assistant of the president — basically anything but put that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tuition has risen steadily , so has unbankruptable student loan debt .
It costs a lot of money to go to college these days , even at state schools .
When the good times were rolling , enough high school graduates and their parents were willing to chance it to keep academia fat and sassy .
That will change , and abruptly enough to give administrators whiplash .
Colleges and universities are keeping the money flowing in right now with online courses .
Students who would never have considered distance learning have gotten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide they prefer that to the in-person experience .
Schools will try to hold per-credit prices up , but it won ’ t work .
Economies of scale for in-demand online learning are significantly lower than classroom learning , and there are enough credentialed competitors in that space that this will finally bend the higher-ed cost curve down .
Well-endowed elite schools , such as Harvard , will do fine .
Most state schools will survive , though state legislatures may impose some needed discipline .
But many smaller schools in the middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into how they do business , simply will not make it .
Case in point : a bunch of students at NYU ’ s Tisch School of the Arts asked for a partial refund of their tuition , which comes to nearly $ 60,000 a year , on the grounds that they are not paying that kind of money to take online classes .
Instead , they got a video of Dean Allyson Green dancing to REM ’ s “ Losing My Religion.
” She ’ ll be losing their tuition soon enough @

by Jeremy Lott
What does education look like in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic?
At the K-12 level, you’ve got problems. At the collegiate level, you’ve got existential problems.
School is out for the year in most locales. More innovative districts are retooling like crazy and trying to do online classes. Parents are looking for cheap or free resources to do the job and keep their kids occupied during our enforced isolation.
In short, we are all homeschoolers now. Expect that to be much more the case next school year, as enough parents who were forced to try it either a) like it and decide to keep this knowledge train rolling or b) don’t believe the schools are safe enough to send their kids back into and so suck it up.
This will create knock-on problems for public schools certainly, and also for private schools.
Kids go to school for six-plus hours a day, but a lot of that time is wasted. In most cases, you could run through the lessons in about two hours. Parents are seeing that now.
The pandemic quarantine is showing us that schooling is basically state- or parent-sponsored babysitting with some ABCs, 123s, dodgeball, and the prom thrown in.
This highly credentialed child care costs taxpayers a lot of money. So long as things kept trucking along, most of us were not of the mood to too closely scrutinize these expenses. But now that we’re out the money and have to take care of the kids, reassessment is going to happen.
Public education will survive, of course, but in a reduced capacity. Fewer kids will go and school bonds will become a harder sell. Expensive private schools will also face scrutiny, as the now-poorer parents have seen that they can do this on their own if they so choose.
The sector of education that is in real trouble is higher education. Costs have gone nothing but up as schools have used the money from student loans to do things like build more buildings, hire an assistant to the assistant to the assistant of the president — basically anything but put that money back into the classrooms.
As tuition has risen steadily, so has unbankruptable student loan debt. It costs a lot of money to go to college these days, even at state schools. When the good times were rolling, enough high school graduates and their parents were willing to chance it to keep academia fat and sassy.
That will change, and abruptly enough to give administrators whiplash. Colleges and universities are keeping the money flowing in right now with online courses. Students who would never have considered distance learning have gotten a taste of it. Many will decide they prefer that to the in-person experience.
Schools will try to hold per-credit prices up, but it won’t work. Economies of scale for in-demand online learning are significantly lower than classroom learning, and there are enough credentialed competitors in that space that this will finally bend the higher-ed cost curve down.
Well-endowed elite schools, such as Harvard, will do fine. Most state schools will survive, though state legislatures may impose some needed discipline. But many smaller schools in the middle, which have regular tuition hikes baked into how they do business, simply will not make it.
Case in point: a bunch of students at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts asked for a partial refund of their tuition, which comes to nearly $60,000 a year, on the grounds that they are not paying that kind of money to take online classes. Instead, they got a video of Dean Allyson Green dancing to REM’s “Losing My Religion.” She’ll be losing their tuition soon enough.
– – –
Jeremy Lott accidentally graduated from college.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Carol Swain Discusses Her Recent Article Citing Coronavirus Numbers May be Inflated for Political an

Carol Swain Discusses Her Recent Article Citing Coronavirus Numbers May be Inflated for Political and Financial Incentives

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. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain .
During the second hour , Swain discussed her recent commentary piece at The Tennessee Star and expressed her concern now is that they are political and financial incentives to inflate the numbers .
She questioned the models used to track the coronavirus and explained how those models can be manipulated to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carol today is sitting at home and sheltering safely .
We are doing this over the phone .
Carol , how are you doing this morning ?
Carol are we there ?
Swain : My AirPod failed me for a second .
Leahy : That ’ s OK. We are all dealing with the new reality of the coronavirus social distancing restrictions .
Its much more fun having you here in the studio .
You make jokes .
You laugh .
You make me laugh .
Its fun having you in here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a little different ?
Swain : I keep my routine .
I get dressed for the day .
I pretend that I ’ m going to the studio to meet you .
You and I have had an interesting dialogue about the coronavirus over the past several weeks .
Yet we had a fascinating commentary on the coronavirus and politics .
Leahy : Let me get to the conclusion and you can fill us in at how you arrived at this .
I ’ m going to read from your piece at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m concerned about the politicization and the efforts of the left to wreck the economy .
Years from now the American people will look back at this period with regret and media manipulation and gamesmanship that placed us in a reactive mode .
What is different about this disease is the non-stop media coverage .
We have not had this with previous pandemics .
What we are watching and living through includes raw politics and the desire of Democrats to win the November elections by any means necessary.
” As Chicago ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You never let a serious crisis go to waste.
” So , Carol , that is your conclusion .
Tell us how you arrived at that conclusion .
Swain : I have been thinking about the statistics surrounding the coronavirus .
The number of deaths relative to the population of the world .
The population of the USA .
And looking at other pandemics it was never handled that way .
And so that was part of what I had been focusing on over the last few weeks .
And then the problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ background is a political science and I know how easy it is for scientists to manipulate numbers either deliberately or the models are inaccurate because of the assumption .
A lot of times the assumptions in every case whatever you put in the model determines the results you get .
Leahy : Yeah .
Tell us about when you look at these models .
Do you have any particular model in mind ?
The one that is most often cited now in the past week is this Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
That ’ s the one that says 93,000 million deaths expected by the coronavirus by August 4 .
Is that the one you look at the most ?
Or are you just talking about in general ?
Swain : Well first of all people need to read the article because I document what I ’ m talking about .
The models we base our positions on predicted that millions of people dying .
And those numbers were generated by looking at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive for the coronavirus .
And that ’ s problematic because if you were doing a random sample of testing of the whole population the results would be dramatically different than when you focus just on sick people .
And normally social researchers would not have something like that .
They would have a random sample of the population .
So from the very beginning , the numbers were exaggerated just because you were only looking at sick people .
Leahy : Good point , however , let me just say this if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of midnight this morning 5,100 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19 .
That ’ s a fact that ’ s been widely reported by 50 State Departments of Health around the country and the District of Columbia .
To me , it does not stretch credulity to look at this IHME model which predicts 93,000 deaths by August 4 .
If you look at how these things spread , it seems to me that that aggregate number would be consistent with 93,000 deaths by August 4 .
What do you think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all I think people need to read my article but my concerns now are that normally for cardiovascular disease , 647,000 died last year of that disease .
The CDC ranks the various causes of death .
My concern now is that they are political and financial incentives to inflate the numbers .
I believe as evidence of people who were dying anyway of cancer and various diseases that they ’ re labeling those as coronavirus diseases .
And so I ’ m denying that the disease isn ’ t serious .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take all the precautions .
But we take precautions for the same reason that we take precautions to avoid the flu .
None of us want to have heart disease or cancer or any number of other diseases .
And so any way you look at it in the past those kinds of numbers in a country of 327 million people .
We would not be making the kinds of decisions we ’ ve made based on those numbers .
And even if you look at New York City they have 8.6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of deaths in New York I believe last night was like 1,100 ?
Leahy : I think it ’ s up significantly from that .
I think it ’ s over 2,000 actually in the state .
Leahy : You might be right about New York City itself .
Yeah , I got you .
Swain : 19.5 million people in the whole state .
Swain : And so out of that let ’ s say 3,000 had died and that ’ s a lot of people .
They make up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States .
And I have people asking me on Twitter saying why do I think New York has so many deaths ?
And I could give a spiritual answer to that as well as many other people .
And my first article the one we talked about last week talked about how a year ago , pretty much at this time we were above in this nation about New York ’ s governor signing the least restrictive abortion law in the land that allowed the abortion until the moment of birth .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not know .
Or I had forgotten .
In 2015 the Empire State Building in New York lit up and projected the image of Kali the Hindu Goddess of death .
They celebrated Kali the Hindu Goddess of death in 2015 .
As a Christian the fact that that city honored the Hindu goddess of death to me .
They have celebrated death .
Leahy : There will be a divergence of opinion here .
I would not attribute the problem in New York City to a spiritual problem as you suggest .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it there are two reasons that stand out .
First , they ignored social distancing warnings early on and they invited everybody to come down in Chinatown in February .
A half a million people celebrating the Lunar New Year .
Secondly , they have the highest population density in the United States I think like 67,000 per square mile .
And I think that maybe one of the big reasons for that .
Swain : That ’ s a secular response .
I ’ m giving you a spiritual response and even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel that they are in charge .
That they have no consequences for what they do .
Listen to the second hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .

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. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain.
During the second hour, Swain discussed her recent commentary piece at The Tennessee Star and expressed her concern now is that they are political and financial incentives to inflate the numbers. She questioned the models used to track the coronavirus and explained how those models can be manipulated to produce desired numbers.
Leahy: But Carol today is sitting at home and sheltering safely. We are doing this over the phone. Carol, how are you doing this morning? Carol are we there?
Swain: My AirPod failed me for a second.
Leahy: That’s OK. We are all dealing with the new reality of the coronavirus social distancing restrictions. Its much more fun having you here in the studio. You make jokes. You laugh. You make me laugh. Its fun having you in here. Over the phone, it’s a little different?
Swain: I keep my routine. I get dressed for the day. I pretend that I’m going to the studio to meet you. You and I have had an interesting dialogue about the coronavirus over the past several weeks. Yet we had a fascinating commentary on the coronavirus and politics.
Leahy: Let me get to the conclusion and you can fill us in at how you arrived at this. I’m going to read from your piece at the tennesseestar.com. You wrote, “I’m concerned about the politicization and the efforts of the left to wreck the economy. Years from now the American people will look back at this period with regret and media manipulation and gamesmanship that placed us in a reactive mode.
What is different about this disease is the non-stop media coverage. We have not had this with previous pandemics. What we are watching and living through includes raw politics and the desire of Democrats to win the November elections by any means necessary.”
As Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” So, Carol, that is your conclusion. Tell us how you arrived at that conclusion.
Swain: I have been thinking about the statistics surrounding the coronavirus. The number of deaths relative to the population of the world. The population of the USA. And looking at other pandemics it was never handled that way. And so that was part of what I had been focusing on over the last few weeks. And then the problems with statistical modelings.
Leahy: Oh yes.
Swain: My background is a political science and I know how easy it is for scientists to manipulate numbers either deliberately or the models are inaccurate because of the assumption. A lot of times the assumptions in every case whatever you put in the model determines the results you get.
Leahy: Yeah. Tell us about when you look at these models. Do you have any particular model in mind? The one that is most often cited now in the past week is this Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model coming out of the University of Washington and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. That’s the one that says 93,000 million deaths expected by the coronavirus by August 4. Is that the one you look at the most? Or are you just talking about in general?
Swain: Well first of all people need to read the article because I document what I’m talking about. The models we base our positions on predicted that millions of people dying. And those numbers were generated by looking at the people who came in sick and tested positive for the coronavirus.
And that’s problematic because if you were doing a random sample of testing of the whole population the results would be dramatically different than when you focus just on sick people. And normally social researchers would not have something like that. They would have a random sample of the population. So from the very beginning, the numbers were exaggerated just because you were only looking at sick people.
Leahy: Good point, however, let me just say this if we are today there are now as of midnight this morning 5,100 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19. That’s a fact that’s been widely reported by 50 State Departments of Health around the country and the District of Columbia.
To me, it does not stretch credulity to look at this IHME model which predicts 93,000 deaths by August 4. If you look at how these things spread, it seems to me that that aggregate number would be consistent with 93,000 deaths by August 4. What do you think of that?
Swain: First of all I think people need to read my article but my concerns now are that normally for cardiovascular disease, 647,000 died last year of that disease. The CDC ranks the various causes of death. My concern now is that they are political and financial incentives to inflate the numbers.
I believe as evidence of people who were dying anyway of cancer and various diseases that they’re labeling those as coronavirus diseases. And so I’m denying that the disease isn’t serious. It’s highly contagious. We need to take all the precautions. But we take precautions for the same reason that we take precautions to avoid the flu. None of us want to have heart disease or cancer or any number of other diseases.
And so any way you look at it in the past those kinds of numbers in a country of 327 million people. We would not be making the kinds of decisions we’ve made based on those numbers. And even if you look at New York City they have 8.6 million people in that city and the number of deaths in New York I believe last night was like 1,100?
Leahy: I think it’s up significantly from that. I think it’s over 2,000 actually in the state.
Swain: New York State.
Leahy: You might be right about New York City itself. Yeah, I got you.
Swain: 19.5 million people in the whole state.
Leahy: Right.
Swain: And so out of that let’s say 3,000 had died and that’s a lot of people. They make up the bulk of the deaths in the United States. And I have people asking me on Twitter saying why do I think New York has so many deaths?
And I could give a spiritual answer to that as well as many other people. And my first article the one we talked about last week talked about how a year ago, pretty much at this time we were above in this nation about New York’s governor signing the least restrictive abortion law in the land that allowed the abortion until the moment of birth.
And today I learned something that I did not know. Or I had forgotten. In 2015 the Empire State Building in New York lit up and projected the image of Kali the Hindu Goddess of death. They celebrated Kali the Hindu Goddess of death in 2015. As a Christian the fact that that city honored the Hindu goddess of death to me. They have celebrated death.
Leahy: There will be a divergence of opinion here. I would not attribute the problem in New York City to a spiritual problem as you suggest. I would say if you look at it there are two reasons that stand out. First, they ignored social distancing warnings early on and they invited everybody to come down in Chinatown in February. A half a million people celebrating the Lunar New Year. Secondly, they have the highest population density in the United States I think like 67,000 per square mile. And I think that maybe one of the big reasons for that.
Swain: That’s a secular response. I’m giving you a spiritual response and even that is a reflection of how they feel that they are in charge. That they have no consequences for what they do.
Listen to the second hour here:

– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--FCC’s Ajit Pai Gives Wireless Internet a Major Overhaul as Americans Work Remotely Amid Coronavirus

FCC’s Ajit Pai Gives Wireless Internet a Major Overhaul as Americans Work Remotely Amid Coronavirus Fears

Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai announced Wednesday a plan to dramatically increase the United States ’ wireless internet speeds to help pave the road to the kind of technology Americans can rely on to better cope with another coronavirus outbreak .
Pai proposed a plan to make 1,200 MHz of spectrum available for unlicensed use across the country as Americans become reliant on remote connectivity to slow the spread of COVID-19 , which originated in China before traveling to the United States .
Such a move could allow the so-called Internet of Things to pick up speed , connecting all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve consistently said that @ FCC ’ s decision on 6 GHz band would be driven not by politics or press releases , but by physics .
My plan reflects that : it ’ s calibrated to protect incumbent users from harmful interference & allow # WiFi6 to thrive .
Appreciate our engineers ’ hard work !
” Pai said in a tweet Wednesday , referring to making the spectrum available on the 6 GHz band .
Pai also explained the move in a detailed blog post Wednesday on Medium , telling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GHz unlicensed devices will become a part of consumers ’ everyday lives.
” If the FCC passes his proposal , Pai suggested , then it will play a role in the “ Internet of Things , connecting appliances , machines , meters , wearables , and other consumer electronics , as well as industrial sensors for manufacturing.
” The agency will vote April 23 on the proposal , which opens the 6GHz band for complete unlicensed Wi-Fi use .
6GHz has more than twice as much bandwidth as the traditional 5GHz .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of devices to come to market in the second half of this year , ” Vijay Nagarajan , vice president of marketing for Broadcom ’ s Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division , told CNET on Wednesday .
“ You ’ ll see a whole slew of devices , both on the infrastructure side and on the client side , and much more in a much more accelerated manner in 2021.
” Pai ’ s suggestion came nearly three years after critics claimed the FCC ’ s decision to effectively kill net neutrality , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regulations on the Internet .
Supporters of the rule believe it forbids large Internet Service Providers ( ISPs ) from blocking content that slows down networks .

by Chris White
Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai announced Wednesday a plan to dramatically increase the United States’ wireless internet speeds to help pave the road to the kind of technology Americans can rely on to better cope with another coronavirus outbreak.
Pai proposed a plan to make 1,200 MHz of spectrum available for unlicensed use across the country as Americans become reliant on remote connectivity to slow the spread of COVID-19, which originated in China before traveling to the United States. Such a move could allow the so-called Internet of Things to pick up speed, connecting all devices to wireless internet.
“I’ve consistently said that @FCC’s decision on 6 GHz band would be driven not by politics or press releases, but by physics. My plan reflects that: it’s calibrated to protect incumbent users from harmful interference & allow #WiFi6 to thrive. Appreciate our engineers’ hard work!” Pai said in a tweet Wednesday, referring to making the spectrum available on the 6 GHz band.
I've consistently said that @FCC's decision on 6 GHz band would be driven not by politics or press releases, but by physics. My plan reflects that: it's calibrated to protect incumbent users from harmful interference & allow #WiFi6 to thrive. Appreciate our engineers' hard work! — Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) April 1, 2020
Pai also explained the move in a detailed blog post Wednesday on Medium, telling readers that he expects that “6 GHz unlicensed devices will become a part of consumers’ everyday lives.”
If the FCC passes his proposal, Pai suggested, then it will play a role in the “Internet of Things, connecting appliances, machines, meters, wearables, and other consumer electronics, as well as industrial sensors for manufacturing.” The agency will vote April 23 on the proposal, which opens the 6GHz band for complete unlicensed Wi-Fi use. 6GHz has more than twice as much bandwidth as the traditional 5GHz.
Industry analysts are championing the move.
“We’re expecting the first set of devices to come to market in the second half of this year,” Vijay Nagarajan, vice president of marketing for Broadcom’s Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, told CNET on Wednesday. “You’ll see a whole slew of devices, both on the infrastructure side and on the client side, and much more in a much more accelerated manner in 2021.”
Pai’s suggestion came nearly three years after critics claimed the FCC’s decision to effectively kill net neutrality, an Obama-era rule that dramatically beefed up regulations on the Internet. Supporters of the rule believe it forbids large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking content that slows down networks.
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Chris White is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Metro Nashville Departments Request Increases of 861 New Positions and $144 Million for Fiscal Year

Metro Nashville Departments Request Increases of 861 New Positions and $144 Million for Fiscal Year 2021

Metro Nashville departments have submitted requests for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 budget totaling 861 new full-time equivalent ( FTE ) positions and increases funding by staggering $ 144 million .
It is important to note that these increases do not include Metro Nashville Public Schools , but just the 47 departments that fall under Metro ’ s general government .
The “ budget modification requests ” is one of the first steps of the annual budget process for the upcoming fiscal year , which runs July 1 , 2020 through June 30 , 2021 .
During his annual State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted virtually , Mayor John Cooper announced that he plans to “ sharply increase ” the city ’ s property tax rate , as The Tennessee Star reported .
The budget increase from the fiscal year 2019 to 2020 was $ 101 million or 4.5 percent .
If the department requests were fulfilled for the next fiscal year , it would represent a $ 144 million increase or 6.2 percent over the current fiscal year budget .
As noted on Nashville ’ s Citizens ’ Guide to the Metro Budget webpage , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as submitted by the departments , and they will likely change as the mayor ’ s office and finance director review and consider what the departments have proposed .
Departments prepare their budget after receiving general instructions from the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) .
The Director of Finance provides the annual budget message to the departments , and they are urged to remain focused on the goals and priorities that set the course for the mayor ’ s budget plan .
“ The goals are to produce a budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintains low property taxes , and focuses on Nashville ’ s future , ” according to Metro information on budget preparation .
The departments submit their requests to the Office of Management and Budget which consolidates information into a single budget format .
A 50-page document titled FY 2021 Budget Modification Requests by Department that includes the increases in personnel and funding has been summarized below and totaled for the number of FTE ’ s and dollars .
The largest increases are for the Police and Fire Departments at $ 24.6 and $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to positions not fully funded in previous years .
A significant portion of the increase to the Water and Sewer Department is related to a change in the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes ( PILOT ) payments approved this year by the Metro Council which accounts for $ 10 million of the $ 19.5 million total increase .
In the District Attorney ’ s office , a request for 250 additional staff is for the processing of body-worn camera video footage , at a cost of $ 18.7 million of the $ 19.4 million .
Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FTE ’ s to manage the body-worn cameras at a cost of $ 3.1 million and the public defender has also requested 7 FTE ’ s for the body-worn cameras at a cost of $ 692,000 .
The Metro Parks Department , with a list nearly as long as that of the police department , is looking for 117 new positions , a $ 6.2 million increase .
According to Metro ’ s Open Data Portal , the 117 positions additional positions represent a 17 percent increase over the current 685 in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from once a month to every other week , the Public Works Department needs 14 new people and $ 1.1 million , in addition to a person “ to further progress ” on traffic signal design needs at $ 141,500 , two people for more effectively manage the increased volume of new sidewalk projects and repairs at $ 223,500 , eight people for every-other-week mowing and other right-of-way maintenance for $ 501,900 plus six more people for winter snow and summer mowing operations at $ 494,600 .
Another $ 96,500 would fund additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lanes , which is currently handled by an outside contractor .
Metro Transit Authority ( MTA ) is looking for a $ 3.7 million or 7.6 percent increase over last year ’ s budget .
Under general services are several increases for fleet operations , including a $ 922,100 purge of obsolete parts inventory .
A special project manager at $ 164,900 will “ research and implement best practices.
” In addition to 31 new positions , the Libraries are seeking $ 4 million to purchase books , databases and materials .
Cooper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two more positions from the current 29 for an Emergency Preparedness Director and Workplace Safety Director for a total of $ 289,000 .
To meet the timeline requirements for the budget process , Cooper will present a recommended budget to Metro Council at the April 28 meeting .
The council will have until June 30 to pass a balanced budget or the mayor ’ s recommended budget and associated tax hike will take effect by default .
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star .
Photo “ Nashville City Hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.0 .

Metro Nashville departments have submitted requests for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 budget totaling 861 new full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and increases funding by staggering $144 million.
It is important to note that these increases do not include Metro Nashville Public Schools, but just the 47 departments that fall under Metro’s general government.
The “budget modification requests” is one of the first steps of the annual budget process for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
During his annual State of Metro Address Tuesday, which he conducted virtually, Mayor John Cooper announced that he plans to “sharply increase” the city’s property tax rate, as The Tennessee Star reported.
The budget increase from the fiscal year 2019 to 2020 was $101 million or 4.5 percent.
If the department requests were fulfilled for the next fiscal year, it would represent a $144 million increase or 6.2 percent over the current fiscal year budget.
As noted on Nashville’s Citizens’ Guide to the Metro Budget webpage, the reports show initial request and first drafts as submitted by the departments, and they will likely change as the mayor’s office and finance director review and consider what the departments have proposed.
Departments prepare their budget after receiving general instructions from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The Director of Finance provides the annual budget message to the departments, and they are urged to remain focused on the goals and priorities that set the course for the mayor’s budget plan.
“The goals are to produce a budget that is balanced using conservative assumptions, maintains low property taxes, and focuses on Nashville’s future,” according to Metro information on budget preparation.
The departments submit their requests to the Office of Management and Budget which consolidates information into a single budget format.
A 50-page document titled FY 2021 Budget Modification Requests by Department that includes the increases in personnel and funding has been summarized below and totaled for the number of FTE’s and dollars.
The largest increases are for the Police and Fire Departments at $24.6 and $22.4 million, respectively, due largely to positions not fully funded in previous years.
A significant portion of the increase to the Water and Sewer Department is related to a change in the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) payments approved this year by the Metro Council which accounts for $10 million of the $19.5 million total increase.
In the District Attorney’s office, a request for 250 additional staff is for the processing of body-worn camera video footage, at a cost of $18.7 million of the $19.4 million.
Meanwhile, the Metro Police Department has requested 8 FTE’s to manage the body-worn cameras at a cost of $3.1 million and the public defender has also requested 7 FTE’s for the body-worn cameras at a cost of $692,000.
The Metro Parks Department, with a list nearly as long as that of the police department, is looking for 117 new positions, a $6.2 million increase. According to Metro’s Open Data Portal, the 117 positions additional positions represent a 17 percent increase over the current 685 in the arks department.
To increase curbside recycling from once a month to every other week, the Public Works Department needs 14 new people and $1.1 million, in addition to a person “to further progress” on traffic signal design needs at $141,500, two people for more effectively manage the increased volume of new sidewalk projects and repairs at $223,500, eight people for every-other-week mowing and other right-of-way maintenance for $501,900 plus six more people for winter snow and summer mowing operations at $494,600.
Another $96,500 would fund additional operators and equipment to sweep protected bike lanes, which is currently handled by an outside contractor.
Metro Transit Authority (MTA) is looking for a $3.7 million or 7.6 percent increase over last year’s budget.
Under general services are several increases for fleet operations, including a $922,100 purge of obsolete parts inventory.
A special project manager at $164,900 will “research and implement best practices.”
In addition to 31 new positions, the Libraries are seeking $4 million to purchase books, databases and materials.
Cooper’s office is seeking to grow two more positions from the current 29 for an Emergency Preparedness Director and Workplace Safety Director for a total of $289,000.
To meet the timeline requirements for the budget process, Cooper will present a recommended budget to Metro Council at the April 28 meeting. The council will have until June 30 to pass a balanced budget or the mayor’s recommended budget and associated tax hike will take effect by default.
– – –
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star.
Photo “Nashville City Hall” by Nicolas Henderson. CC BY 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Nashville Nurses Pray Over Patients on Hospital Roof During Their Break: ‘Go to the Helipad and Pray

Nashville Nurses Pray Over Patients on Hospital Roof During Their Break: ‘Go to the Helipad and Pray’

A group of Nashville nurses went to the roof of the hospital during their break to pray for hospital staff and patients suffering from coronavirus .
Nurses Angela Gleaves , Sarah Franklin Kremer , Beth Hofflin Tiesler and McKenzie Gibson went to the roof of Vanderbilt University Medical Center to pray over the patients and staff in their hospital .
Photographs show the nurses praying with hands folded on the rooftop of the building before posing for selfies with one another .
“ When you have a few extra minutes at work you take the time to go to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a Facebook post .
“ We prayed over the staff in our unit as well as all of the hospital employees.
” She added : “ We also prayed over the patients and their families during this trying time.
” “ We also prayed for all of our colleagues around the world taking care of patients , ” Gleaves said .
“ It felt good to do this with some of my amazing co-workers .
We could feel God ’ s presence in the wind .
Know that you are all covered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Gibson also posted photos of the incident with the caption , “ To pray is to turn over kingdoms .
To kneel in humility and uncertainty of the times toward the certainty of Love and Peace is an act of holy war against anxiety and fear .
To silence the voices of doom before the presence of God and stand in prayer for our colleagues fighting in every minute , here and all over the world.
” Gleaves , who has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ we just wanted to share ( the pictures ) to let everyone know that we were praying not only for our hospital , but all the patients and the families.
” “ It ’ s just a really hard time for families as well as patients right now because a lot of hospitals aren ’ t allowing visitors , ” she added .
Gleaves formerly served as a flight nurse and helped transport patients during airplane and helicopter transports and arranged with the flight communicator that the nurses could go up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pray , she told TODAY .
“ It was a great moment .
There was a little bit of wind , and I felt like it was God pushing us to care for these patients and do what we ’ re trained to do.
” Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation .
Photo “ Prayer of the Helipad ” by Angela Gleaves .

by Mary Margaret Olohan
A group of Nashville nurses went to the roof of the hospital during their break to pray for hospital staff and patients suffering from coronavirus.
Nurses Angela Gleaves, Sarah Franklin Kremer, Beth Hofflin Tiesler and McKenzie Gibson went to the roof of Vanderbilt University Medical Center to pray over the patients and staff in their hospital. Photographs show the nurses praying with hands folded on the rooftop of the building before posing for selfies with one another.
“When you have a few extra minutes at work you take the time to go to the Helipad and pray,” Gleaves wrote in a Facebook post. “We prayed over the staff in our unit as well as all of the hospital employees.”
She added: “We also prayed over the patients and their families during this trying time.”
“We also prayed for all of our colleagues around the world taking care of patients,” Gleaves said. “It felt good to do this with some of my amazing co-workers. We could feel God’s presence in the wind. Know that you are all covered in prayer ♥????”
Gibson also posted photos of the incident with the caption, “To pray is to turn over kingdoms. To kneel in humility and uncertainty of the times toward the certainty of Love and Peace is an act of holy war against anxiety and fear. To silence the voices of doom before the presence of God and stand in prayer for our colleagues fighting in every minute, here and all over the world.”
Gleaves, who has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation, told TODAY that “we just wanted to share (the pictures) to let everyone know that we were praying not only for our hospital, but all the patients and the families.”
“It’s just a really hard time for families as well as patients right now because a lot of hospitals aren’t allowing visitors,” she added.
Gleaves formerly served as a flight nurse and helped transport patients during airplane and helicopter transports and arranged with the flight communicator that the nurses could go up to the helipad for about 10 minutes to pray, she told TODAY.
“It was a great moment. There was a little bit of wind, and I felt like it was God pushing us to care for these patients and do what we’re trained to do.”
– – –
Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Prayer of the Helipad” by Angela Gleaves.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Tennessee Unemployment Claims Skyrocket 3,397 Percent from Two Weeks Ago

Unemployment claims in Tennessee and nationwide continue to skyrocket because of the Chinese COVID-19 shutdown of businesses .
The number of new unemployment claims filed in Tennessee for the week ending March 28 is 94,492 .
That ’ s up 141.7 percent from the previous week ’ s number of 39,096 , and a whopping increase of 3,397 percent from the total of 2,702 filings two weeks ago .
Those numbers come from the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development , and are available here .
Regional numbers are provided .
Northern Middle Tennessee , including Nashville and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , led the other regions with 32,246 claims filed last week .
The middle portion of East Tennessee , centered around Knox County , was second with 20,025 claims filed last week .
The U.S. Department of Labor said in a statement : The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims .
Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus .
States continued to identify increases related to the services industries broadly , again led by accommodation and food services .
However , state comments indicated a wider impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cite the health care and social assistance , and manufacturing industries , while an increasing number of states identified the retail and wholesale trade and construction industries .
In the week ending March 28 , the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,648,000 , an increase of 3,341,000 from the previous week ’ s revised level .
This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series .
The previous week ’ s level was revised up by 24,000 from 3,283,000 to 3,307,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an increase of 1,607,750 from the previous week ’ s revised average .
The previous week ’ s average was revised up by 6,000 from 998,250 to 1,004,250 .
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending March 21 , an increase of 0.9 percentage point from the previous week ’ s unrevised rate .
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 21 was 3,029,000 , an increase of 1,245,000 from the previous week ’ s revised level .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since July 6 , 2013 when it was 3,079,000 .
U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said in a statement : “ Similar to last week ’ s unemployment claims numbers , today ’ s report reflects the sacrifices American workers are making for their families , neighbors , and country in order to ‘ slow the spread.
’ The Administration continues to act quickly to address this impact on American workers .
That includes a rule the Labor Department adopted yesterday to implement the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work with the States to make available the enhanced unemployment benefits provided in the CARES Act , which the President signed last week .
That legislation also contains significant incentives for businesses to retain workers and continue paying them , which will put businesses and workers in a better position to resume work and re-boot the economy once the virus is contained.
” Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years ’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes .
Photo “ Unemployment Insurance Claims Office ” by Burt Lum .
@ @ @ @

Unemployment claims in Tennessee and nationwide continue to skyrocket because of the Chinese COVID-19 shutdown of businesses.
The number of new unemployment claims filed in Tennessee for the week ending March 28 is 94,492. That’s up 141.7 percent from the previous week’s number of 39,096, and a whopping increase of 3,397 percent from the total of 2,702 filings two weeks ago.
Those numbers come from the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, and are available here.
THIS JUST IN: The number of new unemployment claims filed in Tennessee for the week ending March 28 is 94,492. The previous week's number was 39,096. The week before that, 2,702.
Find regional numbers here: https://t.co/dGD8ZPyrQX#COVID-19 #Unemployment #Tennessee pic.twitter.com/rjmg9FDLOA — TN Dept of Labor & Workforce (@Jobs4_TN) April 2, 2020
Regional numbers are provided. Northern Middle Tennessee, including Nashville and the densely populated counties of Montgomery and Rutherford, led the other regions with 32,246 claims filed last week. The middle portion of East Tennessee, centered around Knox County, was second with 20,025 claims filed last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said in a statement:
The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims. Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus. States continued to identify increases related to the services industries broadly, again led by accommodation and food services. However, state comments indicated a wider impact across industries. Many states continued to cite the health care and social assistance, and manufacturing industries, while an increasing number of states identified the retail and wholesale trade and construction industries. In the week ending March 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,648,000, an increase of 3,341,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous week’s level was revised up by 24,000 from 3,283,000 to 3,307,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,612,000, an increase of 1,607,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 6,000 from 998,250 to 1,004,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending March 21, an increase of 0.9 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 21 was 3,029,000, an increase of 1,245,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the highest level for insured unemployment since July 6, 2013 when it was 3,079,000.
U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said in a statement:
“Similar to last week’s unemployment claims numbers, today’s report reflects the sacrifices American workers are making for their families, neighbors, and country in order to ‘slow the spread.’ The Administration continues to act quickly to address this impact on American workers. That includes a rule the Labor Department adopted yesterday to implement the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and the Department’s work with the States to make available the enhanced unemployment benefits provided in the CARES Act, which the President signed last week. That legislation also contains significant incentives for businesses to retain workers and continue paying them, which will put businesses and workers in a better position to resume work and re-boot the economy once the virus is contained.”
– – –
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Unemployment Insurance Claims Office” by Burt Lum. CC BY 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--CORONAVIRUS: TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty says, ‘There’s a Real Timing Factor in All of This. Ta

CORONAVIRUS: TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty says, ‘There’s a Real Timing Factor in All of This. Taking a One Size Fits All Approach Will Not Work for the United States’

Former Ambassador to Japan and TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty joined 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. – Thursday morning on the newsmakers line .
During the second hour , Hagerty talked about his recent visit to the White House where he was called in to assist with connecting to Japanse CEOs in order to learn and devise ways of bringing back the American economy .
Near the end of the segment , Hagerty and Leahy agreed that China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a heath campaign aided by the Director of the World Health Organization .
Leahy : We are joined now by former Ambassador to Japan and candidate for the Republican nomination for Senate here in Tennessee .
Bill Hagerty .
Good morning Bill .
Hagerty : Good morning Mike .
It ’ s great to be back with you .
Leahy : I understand you were at the White House yesterday .
Tell us about that visit .
Hagerty : I tell you it was very very quiet at the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I believe I was the only visitor .
Kellyanne told me they have barred almost everybody because of the concerns of the coronavirus .
They took a forehead temperature as they do every staff coming in in the morning .
It ’ s a quiet place .
Everybody is observing social distancing .
But everyone is focused on coronavirus .
I stopped in to see my good friend Chris Ledell and he ’ s responsible for managing all of the workstreams that the White House is pursuing with various policy options .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ options right now .
It is 100 % focused on the health concerns of the coronavirus and then bringing our economy around .
My visit there yesterday was first to explain how the economic impact is being felt here .
How we are having a disproportionate impact on larger cities versus more and more rural counties .
So there ’ s a real timing factor in all of this .
Taking a one size fits all approach will not work for the United States .
It certainly wouldn ’ t work in our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we address strategic sectors and as we come out of this , how are we going to bring our economy back roaring strong ?
And particularly how we are we going to get strategic industries back and re-shored in the United States .
And they wanted my expertise because I served as Commerce Secretary here in Tennessee .
Secretary of Economic and Community Development at a time when things weren ’ t good in Tennessee and we made our state number one in the nation on my watch .
And when I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s investment in the United States and made Japan the number one as an investor in America during the president ’ s three-year tenure so far .
We were there talking specifically about how we identity specific industries and how we get them back onshore .
And how we get our economy turning again .
We went through the specifics of the package that had been laid out .
I think we need to let that package settle in a bit .
They are already talking about particularly the Democrats are talking about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let ’ s see how this first package goes through and if we are able to turn the health side of this sooner than later , that may be enough .
What I certainly don ’ t want to have happen is to have Nancy Pelosi use yet another crisis to push more of her Green New Deal and socialist agenda through .
I ’ ll tell you this too , my family and I are praying every day for President Trump .
I hope your listeners will all help us too .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world .
Leahy : How long were you in the White House ?
One hour ?
Two hours ?
Hagerty : I was there for about three and a half hours ?
Leahy : Did you have an opportunity to speak directly to the President ?
He was pretty busy .
Hagerty : No , I was with the staff yesterday .
Leahy : Got it .
What do they do with your recommendations ?
Hagerty : The teams that they are putting together right now are really focused on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So my inputs are really from a practical perspective .
What they need from me is some help because of my business background .
Some help thinking about practically speaking how to identify those industries that need to move back from a strategic standpoint .
And what types of programs do we need to make that possible ?
So that ’ s what they are looking for .
Then my voice on how it ’ s being felt across the country .
They realize that they are in a bubble there in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Tennessee .
Hagerty : I think we represent the best of America here in Tennessee .
And we are feeling it the way other states are as well .
It ’ s a very different story if you talk to a mayor four or five counties away from Davidson County who may have zero or one or two cases versus the situation happening right in the center of Nashville or Memphis .
Leahy : Exactly .
You were the ambassador to Japan for a couple of years .
And I note with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right now out of a population of what 100 million ?
Hagerty : The population is larger than that .
126 million .
Leahy : And there are 57 deaths .
In contrast here we have 327 million Americans .
215,000 cases , 5,000 deaths .
What do you think we can learn from Japan on this ?
Hagerty : You know this is exactly the question Jared Kushner asked me yesterday .
What can be learned from Japan ?
I ’ m putting in place a network of businesspeople in Japan who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are a month ahead of us and bring their economy back up are there lessons that we can learn .
And the point Jared made was that Bill you have more of the CEOs in Japan on your cell phone than any other American .
And that ’ s true .
I began that process last night by reaching out and trying to understand how they are beginning to navigate the process of bringing their economy back up .
I ’ ll say it is still not clear to me if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus yet .
But as they do , I think that ’ s something we are looking to learn from and to take advantage of .
What their experience will be as they prepare to bring their economy back fully on stream .
Leahy : You know I saw a report literally early this morning that said perhaps that they were seeing a little bit of a spike up in Japan .
I guess that ’ s what you ’ re referencing right ?
Hagerty : Yeah .
There were a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Its nighttime there .
But last night a number of new cases were reported so they had that concern that this could spike in various regions .
This is something we want to watch carefully to see if it happens in the United States .
But they are in the process right now of making plans to bring their economy up .
They didn ’ t respond the same way we did .
Leahy : How are they different on this than we are ?
Hagerty : One , they are limited by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buy Fiat ’ s if they shut the companies down .
They can make a request .
Japanese are to comply with government requests there .
The government shutdown has not been as great as it has here .
The other question I ’ m asking is about has the extent of testing been the same as it has here ?
I want to make sure we are comparing apples to apples when we have these conversations .
I know the charts you are talking about Mike .
Japan is at a fundamentally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make certain we ’ re talking apples to apples .
But if that ’ s the case they are going to be ahead of us turning on this .
And I think there is a lot we can learn from their experience .
We may be able to help them but I think they can definitely help us .
Leahy : How many Japanese CEOs have you spoken with in the last 24 hours ?
Hagerty : In the past 24 hours I ’ ve only spoken with three .
But over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with dozens of them .
Leahy : In the three you ’ ve spoken to in the last 24 hours , what sense do you get from them ?
Hagerty : Optimism .
I ’ m sensing optimism .
Japan , they used to call it Japan , Inc. Mike .
It ’ s a very business-oriented economy which is why I may have done so well there because of my strong business experience .
And I had a lot of business friends there when I lived in Japan many years ago with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ optimistic about getting their business turned back on .
But they still have real supply chain issues .
The same that we are going to be dealing with as well .
To the extent , they are relying on China .
There are serious dislocations there .
Other countries that have been affected by the virus are impacting their supply chains too .
So that ’ s what they are focused on too .
Bringing back their supply chains as well as getting their domestic market going .
I say this , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .
The Deputy Prime Minister of Japan today said the Director of WHO should be called the China Health Organization .
They ’ ve been apologizing for China so much .
We all know where this virus came from .
It ’ s from China .
It ’ s from Wuhan China .
And if the Chinese had not tried to hide this and cover it up , in the beginning , we ’ d be at a far different place and far better place .
They ’ ve had a devastating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people but now they ’ ve had a devastating impact all across the world .
On our human population and on our economies .
And the Japanese see it the same way we see it as well .
Leahy : Increasingly we are seeing reports that they are dramatically understating the number of cases and deaths they ’ ve had and the number of deaths .
Apparently , the intelligence community provided a report on that effect to the president and he handled it quite diplomatically in his task force report yesterday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I don ’ t believe a single one of them .
I think they are lying .
That ’ s my opinion .
Hagerty : I ’ d say all the Japanese CEOs would agree with you .
They blame the Chinese Communist Regime just the way I do .
That regime is more interested in retaining its own power than it is in protecting its own people .
They ’ ve been running a publicity campaign and not a public health campaign .
They created tremendous damage .
With the CEOs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and he said that they had some type of proof that there was a tremendous number of urns that had been purchased just from one location to dispense with the incineration of the bodies .
Far more than the Chinese report .
Leahy : We ’ ve seen reports of exactly that same thing in other news outlets .
You are fluent in Japanese but you ’ ve been away from there for a while .
When you talk to these Japanse CEOs do you talk in Japanese or English ?
Hagerty : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the international CEOs have good English ability or they have an interpreter in the room .
I can speak with them in Japanse but their English is generally better than mine .
Leahy : Well , there you go .
Hagerty : It ’ s like a joke in Japanese .
( Laughter ) That ’ s the test .
That ’ s the test , Mike .
Listen to the third hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Listen online at iHeart Radio .

Former Ambassador to Japan and TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty joined 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. – Thursday morning on the newsmakers line.
During the second hour, Hagerty talked about his recent visit to the White House where he was called in to assist with connecting to Japanse CEOs in order to learn and devise ways of bringing back the American economy. Near the end of the segment, Hagerty and Leahy agreed that China has been lying citing a publicity campaign more than a heath campaign aided by the Director of the World Health Organization.
Leahy: We are joined now by former Ambassador to Japan and candidate for the Republican nomination for Senate here in Tennessee. Bill Hagerty. Good morning Bill.
Hagerty: Good morning Mike. It’s great to be back with you.
Leahy: I understand you were at the White House yesterday. Tell us about that visit.
Hagerty: I tell you it was very very quiet at the White House. The whole time I was there I believe I was the only visitor. Kellyanne told me they have barred almost everybody because of the concerns of the coronavirus. They took a forehead temperature as they do every staff coming in in the morning. It’s a quiet place. Everybody is observing social distancing.
But everyone is focused on coronavirus. I stopped in to see my good friend Chris Ledell and he’s responsible for managing all of the workstreams that the White House is pursuing with various policy options. His board is white with all those policy options right now. It is 100% focused on the health concerns of the coronavirus and then bringing our economy around.
My visit there yesterday was first to explain how the economic impact is being felt here. How we are having a disproportionate impact on larger cities versus more and more rural counties. So there’s a real timing factor in all of this. Taking a one size fits all approach will not work for the United States. It certainly wouldn’t work in our state.
We talked specifically about how we address strategic sectors and as we come out of this, how are we going to bring our economy back roaring strong? And particularly how we are we going to get strategic industries back and re-shored in the United States.
And they wanted my expertise because I served as Commerce Secretary here in Tennessee. Secretary of Economic and Community Development at a time when things weren’t good in Tennessee and we made our state number one in the nation on my watch.
And when I was in Japan, we increased Japan’s investment in the United States and made Japan the number one as an investor in America during the president’s three-year tenure so far. We were there talking specifically about how we identity specific industries and how we get them back onshore. And how we get our economy turning again. We went through the specifics of the package that had been laid out. I think we need to let that package settle in a bit.
They are already talking about particularly the Democrats are talking about a fourth package. My view is let’s see how this first package goes through and if we are able to turn the health side of this sooner than later, that may be enough.
What I certainly don’t want to have happen is to have Nancy Pelosi use yet another crisis to push more of her Green New Deal and socialist agenda through. I’ll tell you this too, my family and I are praying every day for President Trump. I hope your listeners will all help us too. His leadership has made all the difference in the world.
Leahy: How long were you in the White House? One hour? Two hours?
Hagerty: I was there for about three and a half hours?
Leahy: Did you have an opportunity to speak directly to the President? He was pretty busy.
Hagerty: No, I was with the staff yesterday.
Leahy: Got it. What do they do with your recommendations?
Hagerty: The teams that they are putting together right now are really focused on the economy and how we move things forward. So my inputs are really from a practical perspective. What they need from me is some help because of my business background.
Some help thinking about practically speaking how to identify those industries that need to move back from a strategic standpoint. And what types of programs do we need to make that possible? So that’s what they are looking for. Then my voice on how it’s being felt across the country. They realize that they are in a bubble there in Washington. Things are very different here in Tennessee.
Leahy: Quite different.
Hagerty: I think we represent the best of America here in Tennessee. And we are feeling it the way other states are as well. It’s a very different story if you talk to a mayor four or five counties away from Davidson County who may have zero or one or two cases versus the situation happening right in the center of Nashville or Memphis.
Leahy: Exactly. You were the ambassador to Japan for a couple of years. And I note with interest that Japan has only 2,884 cases right now out of a population of what 100 million?
Hagerty: The population is larger than that. 126 million.
Leahy: And there are 57 deaths. In contrast here we have 327 million Americans. 215,000 cases, 5,000 deaths. What do you think we can learn from Japan on this?
Hagerty: You know this is exactly the question Jared Kushner asked me yesterday. What can be learned from Japan? I’m putting in place a network of businesspeople in Japan who are going to help us. If they are a month ahead of us and bring their economy back up are there lessons that we can learn. And the point Jared made was that Bill you have more of the CEOs in Japan on your cell phone than any other American. And that’s true.
I began that process last night by reaching out and trying to understand how they are beginning to navigate the process of bringing their economy back up. I’ll say it is still not clear to me if they’ve completely turned the corner on the coronavirus yet. But as they do, I think that’s something we are looking to learn from and to take advantage of. What their experience will be as they prepare to bring their economy back fully on stream.
Leahy: You know I saw a report literally early this morning that said perhaps that they were seeing a little bit of a spike up in Japan. I guess that’s what you’re referencing right?
Hagerty: Yeah. There were a number of new cases that were reported. Its nighttime there. But last night a number of new cases were reported so they had that concern that this could spike in various regions. This is something we want to watch carefully to see if it happens in the United States. But they are in the process right now of making plans to bring their economy up. They didn’t respond the same way we did.
Leahy: How are they different on this than we are?
Hagerty: One, they are limited by the Constitution. They can’t buy Fiat’s if they shut the companies down. They can make a request. Japanese are to comply with government requests there. The government shutdown has not been as great as it has here. The other question I’m asking is about has the extent of testing been the same as it has here? I want to make sure we are comparing apples to apples when we have these conversations.
I know the charts you are talking about Mike. Japan is at a fundamentally lower level. Let’s just make certain we’re talking apples to apples. But if that’s the case they are going to be ahead of us turning on this. And I think there is a lot we can learn from their experience. We may be able to help them but I think they can definitely help us.
Leahy: How many Japanese CEOs have you spoken with in the last 24 hours?
Hagerty: In the past 24 hours I’ve only spoken with three. But over the past several months I’ve spoken with dozens of them.
Leahy: In the three you’ve spoken to in the last 24 hours, what sense do you get from them?
Hagerty: Optimism. I’m sensing optimism. Japan, they used to call it Japan, Inc. Mike. It’s a very business-oriented economy which is why I may have done so well there because of my strong business experience. And I had a lot of business friends there when I lived in Japan many years ago with Boston Consulting Group.
So they are optimistic about getting their business turned back on. But they still have real supply chain issues. The same that we are going to be dealing with as well. To the extent, they are relying on China. There are serious dislocations there. Other countries that have been affected by the virus are impacting their supply chains too. So that’s what they are focused on too.
Bringing back their supply chains as well as getting their domestic market going. I say this, they also share the same perspectives that we do. The Deputy Prime Minister of Japan today said the Director of WHO should be called the China Health Organization. They’ve been apologizing for China so much. We all know where this virus came from. It’s from China. It’s from Wuhan China.
And if the Chinese had not tried to hide this and cover it up, in the beginning, we’d be at a far different place and far better place. They’ve had a devastating impact, not only on their own people but now they’ve had a devastating impact all across the world. On our human population and on our economies. And the Japanese see it the same way we see it as well.
Leahy: Increasingly we are seeing reports that they are dramatically understating the number of cases and deaths they’ve had and the number of deaths. Apparently, the intelligence community provided a report on that effect to the president and he handled it quite diplomatically in his task force report yesterday. I look at the numbers from China. I don’t believe a single one of them. I think they are lying. That’s my opinion.
Hagerty: I’d say all the Japanese CEOs would agree with you. They blame the Chinese Communist Regime just the way I do. That regime is more interested in retaining its own power than it is in protecting its own people. They’ve been running a publicity campaign and not a public health campaign. They created tremendous damage.
With the CEOs, I talked to one last night and he said that they had some type of proof that there was a tremendous number of urns that had been purchased just from one location to dispense with the incineration of the bodies. Far more than the Chinese report.
Leahy: We’ve seen reports of exactly that same thing in other news outlets. You are fluent in Japanese but you’ve been away from there for a while. When you talk to these Japanse CEOs do you talk in Japanese or English?
Hagerty: Mostly in English, because most of the international CEOs have good English ability or they have an interpreter in the room. I can speak with them in Japanse but their English is generally better than mine.
Leahy: Well, there you go.
Hagerty: It’s like a joke in Japanese. (Laughter) That’s the test. That’s the test, Mike.
Listen to the third hour here:

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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Jihadist Pleads Guilty to Plotting to Blow Up White House with Anti-Tank Weapon

A Georgia man who told an undercover FBI agent that he planned to wage “ jihad ” by attacking the White House with explosives pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of attempting to destroy a building owned by the United States .
Hasher Jallal Taheb , 23 , had also planned to target the Washington Monument , the Lincoln Memorial and a synagogue prior to his arrest in January 2019 , according to the Department of Justice .
“ Taheb planned to conduct a terrorist attack on the White House as part of what he claimed was his obligation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said Wednesday .
“ And that was just one of the iconic American landmarks he wanted to target.
” Taheb and the government agreed that he should receive a 15-year prison sentence , the Department of Justice said .
The would-be jihadist told an undercover FBI agent in October 2018 that he would lead a “ martyrdom operation ” at the White House , according to an FBI affidavit .
Two months later , in December , Taheb requested the undercover agent to obtain an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon , which he said he would use to blow a hole in the White House so they could “ go in and take down as many ( people ) as they possibly could , ” The New York Times reported .
Taheb also told the undercover agents he wanted to create a video that featured burning American and Israeli flags , along with clips of “ oppressed Muslims , ” according to the affidavit .
Taheb was arrested after he took possession of the weapons from FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parking lot in January 2019 .
The FBI was first alerted to Taheb ’ s radicalism in March 2018 by a tip from the community , according to the Department of Justice .
“ Taheb hatched a dangerous plan that would have resulted in unimaginable injury , ” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung J. Pak said Wednesday .
“ We are grateful to community members who noticed his dangerous evolution and alerted law enforcement .
”

by Andrew Kerr
A Georgia man who told an undercover FBI agent that he planned to wage “jihad” by attacking the White House with explosives pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of attempting to destroy a building owned by the United States.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 23, had also planned to target the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and a synagogue prior to his arrest in January 2019, according to the Department of Justice.
“Taheb planned to conduct a terrorist attack on the White House as part of what he claimed was his obligation to engage in jihad,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said Wednesday. “And that was just one of the iconic American landmarks he wanted to target.”
Taheb and the government agreed that he should receive a 15-year prison sentence, the Department of Justice said.
The would-be jihadist told an undercover FBI agent in October 2018 that he would lead a “martyrdom operation” at the White House, according to an FBI affidavit.
Two months later, in December, Taheb requested the undercover agent to obtain an arsenal of explosive devices and semiautomatic weapons, including a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon, which he said he would use to blow a hole in the White House so they could “go in and take down as many (people) as they possibly could,” The New York Times reported.
Taheb also told the undercover agents he wanted to create a video that featured burning American and Israeli flags, along with clips of “oppressed Muslims,” according to the affidavit.
Taheb was arrested after he took possession of the weapons from FBI agents at a Buford, Georgia, parking lot in January 2019.
The FBI was first alerted to Taheb’s radicalism in March 2018 by a tip from the community, according to the Department of Justice.
“Taheb hatched a dangerous plan that would have resulted in unimaginable injury,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung J. Pak said Wednesday. “We are grateful to community members who noticed his dangerous evolution and alerted law enforcement.”
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Andrew Kerr is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Nearly 95,000 Tennessee Residents File for Unemployment Claims, New Numbers Show

The number of Tennesseans who filed unemployment claims has doubled in just one week , according to numbers the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development ( TDLWD ) revealed Thursday .
Exactly 94,492 Tennesseans filed unemployment claims as of March 28 , according to TDLWD numbers .
One week prior , on March 21 , TDLWD officials reported that 39,096 Tennesseans filed for unemployment .
On March 14 , before COVID-19 disrupted American life in a big way , exactly 2,702 Tennesseans filed for unemployment , the TDLWD said .
Northern Middle Tennessee had the highest number of unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 32,246 .
East Tennessee had 20,025 claims .
Greater Memphis residents , meanwhile , filed 12,548 claims .
Other TDLWD numbers show the following number of claims , going by Local Workforce Development Area : As The Tennessee Star reported last week , TDLWD officials said they are processing these claims as quickly as possible to determine eligibility and distribute benefit payments .
TDLWD has added additional resources to help process the influx of new claims , including training 200 Department employees to shift their job tasks to unemployment .
TDLWD spokesman Chris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekly unemployment benefit in Tennessee is $ 275 before the deduction of federal taxes .
Claimants receive this benefit through a debit card or direct deposit to a bank account , Cannon added .
As The Star also reported last week , U.S. Rep. Mark Green , ( R-TN-07 ) said during a coronavirus Tele-Town Hall that he expects what he called “ a hockey puck type recession.
” The $ 2 trillion federal stimulus bill Congress passed , Green went on to say , should “ fuel massive growth.
” “ You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this quarter and then a massive increase , ” Green said .
Green said the bill helps the self-employed and independent contractors and treats them the same as businesses .
The Small Business Administration , Green went on to say , would help those people cover their expenses .
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ] Photo “ Long Lines ” by Gabriel White .
CC BY-SA 2.0 .

The number of Tennesseans who filed unemployment claims has doubled in just one week, according to numbers the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) revealed Thursday.
Exactly 94,492 Tennesseans filed unemployment claims as of March 28, according to TDLWD numbers.
One week prior, on March 21, TDLWD officials reported that 39,096 Tennesseans filed for unemployment.
On March 14, before COVID-19 disrupted American life in a big way, exactly 2,702 Tennesseans filed for unemployment, the TDLWD said.
Northern Middle Tennessee had the highest number of unemployment claims as of March 28, totaling 32,246. East Tennessee had 20,025 claims. Greater Memphis residents, meanwhile, filed 12,548 claims.
Other TDLWD numbers show the following number of claims, going by Local Workforce Development Area:
• Southeast Tennessee: 9,309 unemployment claims
• Southern Middle Tennessee: 8,147 unemployment claims
• Northeast Tennessee: 4,749 unemployment claims
• Upper Cumberland Tennessee: 3,295 unemployment claims
• Southwest Tennessee: 2,571 unemployment claims
• Northwest Tennessee: 2,299 unemployment claims
• Middle Tennessee Mobile American Job Center: 336 unemployment claims
• East Tennessee Mobile American Job Center: 41 unemployment claims
• West Tennessee Mobile American Job Center: 30 unemployment claims
As The Tennessee Star reported last week, TDLWD officials said they are processing these claims as quickly as possible to determine eligibility and distribute benefit payments.
TDLWD has added additional resources to help process the influx of new claims, including training 200 Department employees to shift their job tasks to unemployment.
TDLWD spokesman Chris Cannon said last week that the maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Tennessee is $275 before the deduction of federal taxes. Claimants receive this benefit through a debit card or direct deposit to a bank account, Cannon added.
As The Star also reported last week, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, (R-TN-07) said during a coronavirus Tele-Town Hall that he expects what he called “a hockey puck type recession.”
The $2 trillion federal stimulus bill Congress passed, Green went on to say, should “fuel massive growth.”
“You will see a massive dip in GDP in this quarter and then a massive increase,” Green said.
Green said the bill helps the self-employed and independent contractors and treats them the same as businesses. The Small Business Administration, Green went on to say, would help those people cover their expenses.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Long Lines” by Gabriel White. CC BY-SA 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-03--Minnesota Secretary of State Says Statewide Vote by Mail Possible for 2020 Election

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office is exploring a number of “ pandemic election options , ” including conducting the entire presidential election by mail-in ballots .
“ The current public health crisis has been a serious test for all Minnesotans .
It has also been a test for our democracy .
I ’ ve heard from many Minnesotans who wonder how , or even if , we will vote in this high-stakes election year , ” Simon said in a statement released last week .
Simon , a Democrat who was re-elected for a second term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important for Minnesotans to prepare for a “ different kind of election than we ’ re used to.
” “ There are many options available , and which one we use will depend on what our world looks like on Election Day , ” he continued .
One of the options his office is exploring is conducting the election via statewide mail-in ballots .
Under this option , each registered voter is mailed a ballot to be completed at home and returned by mail , his office said .
A second option calls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involve a reduction in the number of polling places , limiting polling places to centralized locations , and moving polling places out of vulnerable areas .
“ Whatever option we use , we ’ ll do this thoughtfully and carefully .
No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote .
There are a number of costs , variables , and trade-offs to consider , and planning at all levels of government will be crucial .
I am actively having conversations with counties , cities , and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Simon concluded .
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she wants to see up to $ 4 billion in funding in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to help states cover the cost of voting by mail .
“ Vote by mail is so important to our democracy so that people have access to voting and not be deterred , especially at this time , by the admonition to stay home , ” she said .
Sens .
Amy Klobuchar ( D-MN ) and Ron Wyden ( D-OR ) recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act of 2020 , which would “ guarantee every voter a secure mail-in paper ballot and help states cover the cost of printing , self-sealing envelopes , ballot tracking and postage.
” “ Without federal action , Americans might have to choose between casting a ballot and protecting their health , ” the senators said in a Washington Post op-ed discussing their bill .
“ The best way to ensure that this virus doesn ’ t keep people from the ballot box is to bring the ballot box to them .
We must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by mail .
And we must expand early voting so that voters who are not able to vote by mail are not exposed to the elevated infection risks of long lines and crowded polling locations.
” Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star .
Follow Anthony on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office is exploring a number of “pandemic election options,” including conducting the entire presidential election by mail-in ballots.
“The current public health crisis has been a serious test for all Minnesotans. It has also been a test for our democracy. I’ve heard from many Minnesotans who wonder how, or even if, we will vote in this high-stakes election year,” Simon said in a statement released last week.
Simon, a Democrat who was re-elected for a second term in 2018, said it’s important for Minnesotans to prepare for a “different kind of election than we’re used to.”
“There are many options available, and which one we use will depend on what our world looks like on Election Day,” he continued.
One of the options his office is exploring is conducting the election via statewide mail-in ballots. Under this option, each registered voter is mailed a ballot to be completed at home and returned by mail, his office said.
A second option calls for expanded absentee voting, which would involve a reduction in the number of polling places, limiting polling places to centralized locations, and moving polling places out of vulnerable areas.
“Whatever option we use, we’ll do this thoughtfully and carefully. No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. There are a number of costs, variables, and trade-offs to consider, and planning at all levels of government will be crucial. I am actively having conversations with counties, cities, and other partners to explore how we might proceed,” Simon concluded.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she wants to see up to $4 billion in funding in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to help states cover the cost of voting by mail.
“Vote by mail is so important to our democracy so that people have access to voting and not be deterred, especially at this time, by the admonition to stay home,” she said.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently introduced the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020, which would “guarantee every voter a secure mail-in paper ballot and help states cover the cost of printing, self-sealing envelopes, ballot tracking and postage.”
“Without federal action, Americans might have to choose between casting a ballot and protecting their health,” the senators said in a Washington Post op-ed discussing their bill. “The best way to ensure that this virus doesn’t keep people from the ballot box is to bring the ballot box to them. We must allow every American the ability to vote by mail. And we must expand early voting so that voters who are not able to vote by mail are not exposed to the elevated infection risks of long lines and crowded polling locations.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].