thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Republicans Have Heard from More Than 1,600 Minnesotans on Plans to Reopen Economy

Minnesota ’ s Senate Republican Caucus said it received more than 1,600 responses in just two days from small business owners across the state on their ideas for how to safely reopen the economy .
The Republican Caucus created a new online portal Wednesday for “ businesses and workers to share feedback on reopening Minnesota ’ s economy.
” “ It ’ s time to begin the lengthy process of reopening our economy and getting people back to work in a safe manner , ” said Sen. Eric Pratt ( R-Prior Lake ) ( pictured above ) , chair of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Gov .
Walz has directed his administration to determine which businesses and workers can return to work , provided they follow ‘ appropriate social distancing , hygiene , and public health best practices.
’ Senate Republicans are encouraging individuals and businesses from across Minnesota to go to our online portal and let us know their plans to safely resume operations , ” he added .
By Friday , the online portal had received more than 1,600 responses on how to open Minnesota back up for business .
Republicans said the top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opening “ all , ” “ any , ” and “ everything.
” “ They are some of the cleanest environments compared to what ’ s open .
These guys take pride in how clean and professional they do stuff in , ” a tattoo artist from Aitkin told Republicans .
A salon owner in Chaska said her company could resume business by allowing “ only one client per technician ” in the shop and distancing “ chairs a minimum of six feet apart.
” “ Gloves are disposed of after each client @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-employed , they are especially hard hit , ” she added .
A retail jeweler from Fergus Falls noted that all jewelry is under glass and “ any piece touched is ultrasonic cleaned and sterilized.
” “ We will distance families from each other and provide hand sanitizer and use caution for distributing any sacraments .
We also will disinfect between services .
We have plenty of space to gather in , ” added a pastor from Finlayson .
Republicans said over 100 of the 1,600 respondents expressed concerns about reopening the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gazelka ( R-Nisswa ) said he was encouraged by Gov .
Tim Walz ’ s decision to reopen some outdoor businesses , but said “ Minnesotans are ready to open many more industries.
” “ We need to trust our citizens , churches , non-profits , and business owners to operate in a safe manner following all of the CDC guidelines , ” he said .
“ The stay-at-home order is achieving its goal of preparing for a surge and now it ’ s time to save our economy and way of life.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) said in a statement that the main reason for the stay-at-home order “ was to allow hospitals time to prepare and purchase supplies.
” “ While we need to stay focused on the disease , we need to begin thinking about and discussing the road map back to normalcy , ” he said .
“ It is more than just jobs , more than economics , it ’ s about people ’ s lives and livelihoods.
” Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star .
Follow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ email protected ] .
Photo “ Sen .
Eric Pratt ” by Minnesota State Senate .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Minnesota Gov. Time Walz Reopens the Outdoors: Golfing, Boating, and Other Activities Allowed with P

Minnesota Gov. Time Walz Reopens the Outdoors: Golfing, Boating, and Other Activities Allowed with Precautions

Gov .
Tim Walz signed an executive order Friday , which will expand permissible outdoor activities under his stay-at-home order .
The original order is set to expire on May 3 .
It allowed outdoor exercise such as walking , running and fishing .
Beginning Saturday , April 18 , Minnesotans will be able to golf , boat and hike , provided they follow social distancing guidelines and stay close to home .
The rule is in effect from Saturday at 5:00 a.m. through May 3 .
“ It ’ s important for us to stay active and enjoy the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Walz said in a statement .
“ This measure will allow Minnesotans to take advantage of more opportunities to get outside , while still doing their part to keep their neighbors healthy.
” The order allows the following facilities to open or reopen : • Boating and off-highway vehicle services , including marina services , dock installation and lake services , boat and off-highway vehicle sales and repair , by appointment only The order only allows groups in one household to gather for outdoor activities and close contact sports such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recreational activities are still closed , including campgrounds , dispersed camping , outdoor recreational retail stores , equipment rentals , and guided fishing .
The order says : “ According to the [ Centers for Disease Control ] , physical activity fosters normal growth and development , improves overall health , reduces the risk of various chronic diseases , and makes people feel better , function better , and sleep better.
” Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square .
A graduate of Hillsdale College , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FEE.org .

Arizona State Rep. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) and 19 other legislators issued a statement following a video that went viral of three black students kicking two white students out of Arizona State University’s multicultural center. They demanded accountability and threatened to withhold funding from the university.
They announced, “It has come to light following the racially-motivated harassment of two students and their subsequent removal from one of the campus’ study facilities that ASU has allowed a culture of institutionalized racism and neo-segregation to take hold on its campus. The racially-charged removal of these students from the multicultural center begs the question of why Arizonans are being forced to spend tens, potentially hundreds, of millions of their hard-earned tax dollars on a building at a public university that some of our citizens are not allowed to use?”
Hoffman is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and concluded that he would “get to the bottom of this and take the appropriate action in the upcoming budget. Not one penny of taxpayer money should be appropriated to a public institution that in any way enables racism or neo-segregation. Period.”
ASU said it is investigating the incident. The angry students may have been “triggered” by a sticker on the laptop belonging to one of the white males, which said “Police Lives Matter,” and the slogan on the other white male’s shirt, which said “Did not vote for Biden.” They told the two young men, “You’re making this space uncomfortable” and “white is not a culture.” They said the Police Lives Matter sticker was racist.
One of the three told the students to leave, and another remarked, “This white man thinks he can take up our space, and this is why we need a multicultural space, because they think they can get away with this sh*t.” One of the two males packs up and leaves, and the other one stands up and looks like he might have been about to leave too.
A fundraiser was started for the harassed students on GoFundMe — one of the students mentioned in the video that he works 60 hours a week to support himself and his tuition, explaining that he’s not entitled — but GoFundMe removed it, refunding the money back to the donors. The company said it violated their “prohibited conduct policy,” which bans content that GoFundMe finds to be “in support of hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind.”
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--House Democrat Criticizes Ohio Economic Recovery Task Force for Focusing Solely on Reopening

A top Democrat on the Ohio House ’ s coronavirus economic recovery task force criticized its Republican chair for gathering “ one-sided testimony that only supported the idea of opening Ohio as soon as possible.
” In a statement released last week , Rep. Terrence Upchurch ( D-Cleveland ) , vice chair of the Ohio 2020 Economic Recovery Task Force , voiced frustration with the fact that the committee hasn ’ t heard from “ minorities or women.
” “ We were under the impression by the majority that this task-force would be a bipartisan , collaborative effort to map @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s response to the COVID-19 crisis in Ohio , ” he said .
“ However , it became almost immediately apparent from the agenda and the chosen speakers that this task force was actually designed to gather one-sided testimony that only supported the idea of opening Ohio as soon as possible .
This was never a democratic process.
” Upchurch said House Democrats have submitted a “ diverse list of speakers ” to be appear before the task force , but so far none have been added to the agenda .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as this – specifically diversity of thought , life experience , gender and race/ethnicity .
Ensuring all voices are heard is our job as lawmakers .
We encourage interested groups to come forward , including workers concerned about going back to work , and share their thoughts with the task force since the lack of diversity in our invited guests has been detrimental thus far to our success , ” he continued .
Rep. Paul Zeltwanger ( R-Mason ) , chair of the task force , pushed back on Upchurch ’ s claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 150 requests to testify .
“ We appointed Representative Upchurch vice chair of the task force expecting that he would bring minority businesses into the discussion , ” Zeltwanger said in a statement provided to The Cleveland Plain Dealer .
“ Apparently he hasn ’ t taken the initiative to reach out to minority-owned businesses to participate .
Why is that ?
” The two eventually reached an agreement after Friday ’ s task force meeting to hear from more Democrat-backed witnesses , but Upchurch further criticized Zeltwanger for not allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Zeltwanger told The Plain Dealer that he was “ very disappointed ” in the “ potshots ” taken by Upchurch .
“ We don ’ t have time for it , ” he added .
House Speaker Larry Householder ( R-Glenford ) announced the formation of the task force in late March after Ohio experienced a record-high number of unemployment claims .
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star .
Follow Anthony on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .
Photo “ State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Terrence Upchurch .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Spike in Background Checks Suggest Increase in Michigan Gun Sales, Following National Trends

As consumers rushed to buy toilet paper in response to the COVID-19 pandemic , data suggests Michiganders also rushed to buy guns .
That ’ s according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ( NICS ) .
The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) reported the number of firearm background checks completed this year in Michigan more than doubled from February to March from 47,557 to 107,492 .
March 2020 NICS in Michigan increased 210.8 percent over March 2019 , according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation ( NSSF ) .
Although the NICS tracks the number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold , the spike suggests people are buying more firearms .
Double Action Indoor Shooting Center & Gun Shop in Madison Heights ’ website says : “ Due to Extremely High Sales Volume – Online Ordering Has Been Temporarily Suspended .
Please Visit Our Physical Store .
Thank You !
” The same holds across the nation , NSSF says .
Over 2.2 million people might have purchased firearms last month , topping 20-year records for March .
March 2020 seized five of the top 10 days for the most background checks conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : more than 1.197 million background checks from March 16 through 22 .
That ’ s over 244,000 more background checks in one week than the second-highest week , which occurred in December 2012 when Washington legislators and President Barack Obama publicly discussed gun restrictions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings .
Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting ( SAAF ) estimated March 2020 U.S. firearm sales at 2.5 million units , an 85.3 percent increase from March 2019 .
“ As anticipated by general media and within-industry reports , firearm unit sales @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the covid-19 crisis , ” SAAF Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer said in a press release .
“ Much of the industry ’ s inventory will have been depleted , so that we anticipate that weapons and ammunition prices increased as well , ” Brauer continued .
“ The spurt in firearms sales in March 2020 was particularly notable for its handgun component : The ratio of handguns to long-guns sold now stands at a record 1.84 , the highest record since the introduction of the NICS checks in late 1998 , ” Brauer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square .
A graduate of Hillsdale College , his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Ohio’s Warren Police Department Asks for Informants to Identify Mourners in Vigil for Murder Victim

Ohio’s Warren Police Department Asks for Informants to Identify Mourners in Vigil for Murder Victim So They May Be Punished

The mayor and police of Warren , Ohio , have decided it is illegal to hold vigils to mourn for murder victims , and they have been encouraging citizens to become informants to help them punish the participants .
Last week , the Warren Police Department posted pictures of mourners on its Facebook page and asking people to identify them .
Police say , about 100 people had gathered where 30-year-old Darryl Van Jackson was fatally shot April 6 , WFMJ said .
In addition to violating social distancing orders , police say a fistfight broke out in the area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second homicide in two days in Warren , the Tribune Today said .
Police are investigating the Sunday shooting death of Mark R. Yauger II .
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin has determined that mourners pose a danger to the public .
He made an April 13 Facebook post that said : This past Saturday I was truly saddened and concerned by the decision made to assemble a group of over 100 young people on Kenmore Ave. As a father , husband , son and brother , I understand the desire to pay respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a loved one .
With that said , we have worked tirelessly to try to protect our citizens and employees from the spread of this deadly virus .
This gathering put not only the participants in danger , but also put their mothers , fathers , brothers , sisters and grandparents at risk as well .
These actions caused our police officers and officers from several surrounding communities to be put at unnecessary risk .
This total lack of concern for the health and welfare of others will not go without consequence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ our Chief of Police and our Law Department .
All videos on social media , body cameras , car cameras will be reviewed , and individuals identified will have charges brought against them for violation of the Governor ’ s Stay at Home/Social distancing orders .
Charges will also be brought against those who organized the gathering .
As your Mayor , it is my duty to protect our city against the spread of this virus .
We understand the hardship that these orders have placed on all of us .
Many residents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their loved ones in weeks .
In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 , many of us have had to make some very difficult life changes , but we have done so because we truly believe that it is in the best interest of all of us .
To see the blatant disregard for the safety of others , was absolutely heart breaking .
In times of turbulence our city has always showed its strength .
This is why # Warrenstrong and # Warrenproud have always been more than just hashtags @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a city .
We have come too far in our efforts to relax now , or in this case flaunt our lack of consideration for the health of others for all to see .
So , to those who organized and participated in the gathering , although I ’ m disappointed , I ’ m hoping this can be a teachable moment .
I hope that you have reflected upon your decisions , and realize the real risk in which you placed law enforcement .
Also , you must realize the risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ families .
To the parents of these young people , we must take responsibility for our children .
This virus can lead to death .
We can and must do better for the well-being of our City as a whole .
I ’ m asking you to show and prove that # Warrenstrong and # Warrenproud are more than just hashtags .
Franklin said the punishment would be up to the courts , and that officials would especially target the organizers , according to Cleveland 19 News .
Jason M. Reynolds has more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalist at outlets of all sizes .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Senate Candidate Jason Lewis Launches ‘Reopen Minnesota for Business’ RV Tour

U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis announced last week that he will be embarking on a “ Reopen Minnesota for Business ” RV tour in protest of the economic shutdown imposed by the coronavirus pandemic .
Lewis ’ campaign said the tour began Friday with select stops in the Metro area .
The former congressman said he plans to meet with small business owners impacted by the coronavirus shutdown throughout the course of the tour .
“ Several weeks ago I was the first to call for Minnesota to gradually reopen while protecting the vulnerable and defeating the virus , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owners , ” Lewis said in a statement .
“ I am pleased to see more and more beginning to call for the economy to reopen , but the time is past due for tone deaf politicians like Sen. Tina Smith to take heed , and therefore I am embarking on a ‘ Re-Open Minnesota for Business ’ tour to help struggling small business owners tell their stories and be heard , ” he added .
Lewis was in attendance during Friday ’ s protest of Gov .
Walz outside the Governor ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to greet several of the demonstrators .
Later that day , he met with the owners of “ The Dance Complex ” in Maple Grove who said they “ don ’ t want a government handout , ” but just want the economy to reopen .
“ Right now there are 22 million Americans out of work , and just today Minnesota-based Best Buy announced they are furloughing 50,000 employees .
Enough is enough – Minnesotans desperately need further economic relief , ” Lewis continued , criticizing his campaign opponent Sen. Tina Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not a game .
Sen. Tina Smith twice voted to block economic relief to work in funding for her liberal pet projects like funding the Kennedy Center and the Green New Deal , and we can ’ t afford for her to play politics any further .
Lives and livelihoods are on the line , ” Lewis claimed .
Minnesota has seen 464,513 new applications for unemployment insurance since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic .
As The Minnesota Sun reported , Minnesota had 79,195 new applications in less than a week .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ do her job and provide a much-needed lifeline to ailing businesses by funding the Small Business Administration .
Then I call on her to stand with me in demanding Minnesota reopen for business when the stay-at-home order ends on May 4 , ” Lewis concluded .
“ If she is not willing to do so today , perhaps she will be willing to do so after hearing from the many struggling families and small business owners I will be meeting with in the coming weeks.
” Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Follow Anthony on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .
Image “ Jason Lewis RV Tour ” by Jason Lewis .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--Lawmakers Want to Change the Definition of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Legislation pending in the state legislature would change the definitions and reduce fees on hybrid and electric vehicles ( EV ) .
Currently , owners of plug-in EVs pay an annual $ 200 fee while owners of hybrid vehicles pay a yearly fee of $ 100 .
House Bill 546 , introduced last month , would cut the fees in half .
“ This legislation would not only reduce fees but alter the definitions for hybrid and electric vehicles to more accurately define and identify hybrid vehicles for the gas tax based fee , ” state Rep. Joe Miller , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Reducing these registration fees would have a minimal impact on revenue for infrastructure , while also improving the air quality in Ohio and incentivizing consumers and automobile manufacturers to embrace the new green technology , ” Miller added .
Miller is co-sponsoring the bill with state Rep. Casey Weinstein , D-Hudson .
Currently , passenger cars are subject to state fees totaling $ 36.50 , including a $ 20 registration fee and a $ 5 deputy registrar fee .
Local governments can levy up to an additional $ 30 in registration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been a hot-button one in the state .
According to Clean Fuels Ohio , 1,630 EVs were purchased in the state in 2016 , 2,091 were purchased in 2017 and 4,456 were purchased in 2018 .
Before the COVID-19 pandemic , Lordstown Motors said it planned to use a $ 200 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to update the former General Motors plant in Northeast Ohio .
Lordstown indicated it planned to hire upwards of 400 workers by the end of this year and begin production of electric-powered pickup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laid off any employees , but it has stopped hiring , The Detroit News reported .
Meanwhile , another measure , Senate Bill 257 , would create a sales tax credit of up to $ 500 to purchase an EV for personal use and a sales tax credit of up to $ 1,000 per vehicle for up to 10 EVs purchased for commercial use .
It remains to be seen how the COVID-19 outbreak will impact EV and hybrid sales .
“ We have seen about a 60 % decrease in usage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks due to the COVID situation , though this is temporary and we ’ re fortunate to be resilient to downturns like these as a subsidiary of Shell , ” Jeff Tolnar , chief revenue officer of Greenlots , which provides charging and energy management solutions , said in an email .
“ Long term , we expect EV charger usage to ramp back up , ” Tolnar added .
“ Also , this situation has highlighted the importance of fleets and delivery vehicles and we are working closely with fleet operators on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DeFeo is a contributor to The Center Square .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-20--#FreeTN Event Draws Hundreds to State Capitol in Nashville Over Stay-At-Home Order Extension

NASHVILLE , Tennessee – An estimated 750 people participated in the # FreeTN event held at the State Capitol in Nashville Sunday in response to the extension of the statewide stay-at-home order .
While # FreeTN organizer Kim Edwards of Nashville and others were not happy with the governor ’ s initial stay-at-home order , the extension from April 14 to April 30 moved them to action .
A Nashville mom of three , who with her husband open their home for Airbnb rentals , Edwards told The Tennessee Star that the message of the stay-at-home order is that their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while the truth is “ Everyone is essential.
” April 19 , the day of the # FreeTN events , in 1775 marked the start of the Revolutionary War in the Battles of Lexington and Concord with what came to be known as “ the shot heard ‘ round the world.
” At the Nashville # FreeTN event , there were hundreds of people already lining Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. Boulevard before the 1 p.m. start time .
The atmosphere was party-like , with flags waving , sign holding and music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and light rain .
Along with the hundreds standing in front of the State Capitol , countless vehicles drove by , each carrying several people and displaying various methods of signage and honking their horns .
The Facebook events recommended that individuals use their own judgment such that those who were comfortable and wanted to stand outside in peaceful protest holding signs to do so or , alternatively , drive around the building with signs displayed for all to see .
Suggested signage took mainly a positive tone , and included “ Everybody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Essential , ” “ Stop Government Over , ” “ # FreeTN , ” “ # ReopenTN , ” “ # UnlockTN ” and “ Flattenthefear.
” Those driving sported license plates from Bedford , Cannon , Cheatham , Davidson , Dickson , Hamilton , Marshall , Maury , Montgomery , Robertson , Rutherford , Sumner , Williamson , and Wilson counties .
Courtesy of a sound system provided by veteran grassroots leader Ben Cunningham , brief opening comments by Kim Edwards were followed with a prayer by her husband Josh .
Cunningham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Lee Greenwood ’ s “ God Bless the USA , ” “ God Bless America , ” Toby Keith ’ s “ Courtesy of the Red , White and Blue ” and “ American Soldier , ” and , of course one of Tennessee ’ s state songs , “ Rocky Top.
” In between , the crowd joined together in various chants , often led by wedding DJ Josh Edwards and his drum , including “ Open up Tennessee , ” “ We are essential , ” “ Free Tennessee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haircut , ” calling attention to the kinds of small businesses that are currently shut down .
Owner of Nashville-based “ Off The Wagon ” tractor tours , Curtis Carney made brief comments , telling attendees that he decided to open up his business .
While he has received some negative feedback , Carney told the crowd , “ It was worth it.
” Carney ’ s story was responded to with chants of “ Open up.
” Judging by the crowd ’ s overwhelming reaction , a favorite moment was when a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God Bless the USA.
” While there were about three Tennessee Highway Patrol ( THP ) members standing on the Capitol steps , there were no reports of police interaction with the event attendees .
One event participant who spent their time driving and honking told The Star that as the crowd and the parade route got bitter and longer , THP began blocking some of the turn-around points and suddenly empty city busses jumped in line to break up the flow .
As 3 p.m. approached , Josh Edwards asked the crowd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a final chant of “ Freedom is essential.
” # FreeTN events were also held in other cities across the state , including Chattanooga , Cookeville , Jackson , Johnson City , Knoxville and Memphis .
Kim Edwards told The Star , with the short notice , she was pleased with the turnout in Nashville of “ the silent majority.
” A statewide event organized by Kim Edwards is scheduled for Monday , April 27 at 10 a.m. at the Tennessee State Capitol .
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee @ @


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Tennessee Revenues for March Exceeded Budget by $62.1 Million

Commissioner of Finance and Administration Butch Eley announced Monday that the Tennessee ’ s tax revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of March by $ 62.1 million , despite the anticipated impact of the coronavirus .
Eley was named to the new post by Governor Bill Lee on April 15 , while also serving as the Chief Operating Officer for the state .
Prior to joining Governor Lee ’ s administration , he was a founder and CEO of Infrastructure Corporation of America , an infrastructure asset maintenance management company and a partner at the Ingram Group .
Eley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Administration , when McWhorter was appointed by Governor Lee as Lead of the COVID-19 Unified Command Group .
The tax revenues for March at $ 1.2 billion was $ 71.3 million more than the state collected in March 2019 .
Anticipating the response to the news , Eley said , “ Tennessee tax revenues exceeded estimates for the month of March , which will likely surprise some , given the current economy.
” Eley explained , “ This monthly report clearly illustrates the inherent lag between reported tax receipts and that of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which many Tennesseans are facing today.
” Eley referred to the sales tax as an example , saying those tax collections for March represent February consumer activity , which was prior to the stay-at-home orders issued late in March .
Sales tax revenues were $ 5.9 million – or less than one percent – more than the estimated $ 707 million for March and $ 237.4 million more than the eight-month estimate .
Franchise and excise tax revenues accounted for more than half the surplus tax collections in March at $ 35.4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million , which is 17 percent ahead of the monthly estimate .
Year-to-date , franchise and excise tax collections are $ 237.4 million more than the budgeted estimates .
Other tax revenues that exceeded the budgeted estimates : Gas and motor fuel tax – $ 5 million more than the March budgeted estimate of $ 84.1 million and $ 39 million ahead for eight months Tobacco tax – $ 5.4 million more than the March budgeted estimate of $ 19.4 million and $ 4.5 million ahead for eight months Privilege tax – $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 21 million and $ 41.6 million ahead for eight months Business tax – $ 1.5 million more than the budgeted estimate of $ 15 million and $ 9.4 million ahead for eight months Hall income tax – $ 1.9 million more than the budgeted estimate of $ 5.3 million and $ 6.5 million ahead for eight months For the month of March , motor vehicle registration revenues were off by $ 1.3 million against the estimated $ 33 million , but remain ahead by $ 9.3 million for the year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight-month period are $ 605.7 million more than the budgeted estimates .
The excess revenues puts the General Fund ahead of the budget by $ 486.7 million and the four other funds combined ahead by $ 119 million .
In November 2019 , the State Funding Board adopted recurring growth ranges for all taxes of 3.1 to 3.6 percent for the current 2019-2020 fiscal year , which ends June 30 .
For the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year beginning July 1 , the Tennessee General Assembly passed a budget on March 19 that used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 153.8 million reduction through an administration amendment in an effort to recognize the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic .
Included in the General Assembly ’ s passage of the appropriations act , Public Chapter No .
651 , an additional $ 396.1 million in total revenue was recognized in the current fiscal year .
Eley forecast that the effect to the state ’ s revenues from the coronavirus pandemic will be forthcoming , “ The eventual impacts of COVID-19 on tax revenues are unavoidable and will begin to appear in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our tax receipts during this time and remain committed to balancing the state ’ s budget in a responsible manner during this extraordinary national economic downturn.
” Governor Bill Lee announced Monday that he will not be renewing the stay-at-home order that is set to expire on April 30 .
State revenue tables for March and fiscal year 2019-2020 year to date can be viewed here .
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star .

by Tom Joyce
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is leading a group of 21 attorneys general in an amicus brief regarding federal immigration law.
The attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold a federal statute to enforce federal immigration law in United States v. Hansen.
“In the middle of this man-made disaster at our southern border, we need every tool and law available,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a press release. “The last thing we need is anyone incentivizing migrants to come here illegally and further straining our social safety net. Border communities are being overwhelmed by the influx of people.”
A grand jury charged California resident Helaman Hansen with multiple crimes in 2017 for scamming hundreds of noncitizens out of more than $1 million by promising them a nonexistent path to citizenship.
According to the release, Hansen was charged under a federal statute for encouraging people to come to the United States illegally for “commercial advantage or private financial gain,” according to the release.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals then struck down the statute arguing that the words “encourage” and “induce,” in the law are too broad.
General Brnovich and the attorneys general argue in their amicus brief that the Ninth Circuit decision jeopardizes the constitutionality of criminal law in all 50 states. They worry that the decision may cause other state and federal courts to invalidate existing criminal laws.
The other attorneys general who signed the brief is from the states of: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.
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Tom Joyce is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Mark Brnovich” by Mark Brnovich. Background Photo “U.S. Supreme Court” by AscendedAnathema. CC BY-SA 3.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Commentary: The Political Elite Plays Its Last Card

Every day , the battle lines are drawn more clearly for what promises to be a memorable election .
The Democrats infamously lumbered the president with an investigation into his relations with Russia that they knew to be unfounded .
Then they attempted a completely spurious impeachment proceeding ( with no believable evidence that he had committed the alleged offenses which , in any case , were not impeachable ) .
And now , in response to a fortuitous virus pandemic , they purport to require President Trump to commit political suicide by shutting down the economy for so long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn him out on election day .
It is another phantasmagorical expedition of a desperate political elite playing its last card , but it is an engrossing spectacle .
The Democrats ’ war plan is emerging .
It is the last stand of a party that has fought the most tenacious tooth-and-nail extension of a tight election in American political history .
It seemed darkest after the Russian investigation and impeachment had floundered to their pitiful ends , and their chosen candidate stumbled badly while they were in danger of nominating a raving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg could only buy five delegates in American Samoa in a five-month , $ 937 million campaign extravaganza .
Yet , somehow , the Democratic Party elders resurrected their lost leader , former Vice President Joe Biden , and carried him to the finish line in an impressive display of professional organization and party discipline .
Then the coronavirus epidemic miraculously appeared , just when all hope seemed lost .
They lunged to seize their last , best , chance .
They accused the president of responding to the virus frivolously , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the play by shutting down direct flights from China on January 31 .
Then Democrats and their abettors in the press accused Trump of ignoring science , which was quickly aggregated up to an accusation of being an anti-science know-nothing .
He dodged that one by setting up a task force , officially led by the vice president , and packed with unquestionable experts in the relevant fields of public health administration and infectious diseases .
There was a general consensus for a drastic shutdown to break the momentum of the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Democrats and their media partisans whipped up a state of panic and conjured a virtual Old Testament plague that mortally threatened everyone .
The media and public hysteria were such that the president had to put himself at the head of the scientists , allow the wild statistical modeling that forecast horrifying numbers of fatalities to grip the nation , shut the country down , and then as the virus responded to the draconian measures taken to slow it , take the credit for containing the illness .
The Democrats then demanded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depression that would destroy the president ’ s greatest reelection argument : prosperity , which his policies had generated .
The rationale was that the president had failed to intuit that the medieval medical testing system he had inherited from the “ OBiden-bama ” Administration ( Biden ’ s formulation ) , should have been dragged into readiness for this crisis before there was any sign of it , and before it was acknowledged that the coronavirus could be transmitted between people .
The official and media Democrats preemptively denounced any suggestion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been completely extirpated as inhuman disdain for the sanctity of life .
Trump ’ s daily press briefings were turned by his media enemies into undignified efforts to taunt , trap , and debate with the president .
He was effectively accused ( by the party of 10th-month abortions and easy-access euthanasia ) of monetizing life and putting filthy lucre ahead of people .
But the United States has 700 people unemployed by the response to the coronavirus for every fatality that it has caused , 18 million newly unemployed as of Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is almost 80 and the unemployed are people in their prime , many with young families .
Trump and his treasury secretary , Steven Mnuchin , stole the Democrats ’ thunder with a $ 6 trillion financial assistance and liquidity package , carrying benefits that will outlast the public health crisis , while beating back most of the absurd measures the Democrats tried to insert to enthrone organized labor and promulgate their Green Terror .
The Democrats have moved to the left to try to hang on to all of Senator Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama declared that the times and the country and he have all changed ( i.e .
lurched to the left ) .
They have also claimed that the African-Americans are suffering unduly , because of the “ systemic racism , ” that afflicts the country .
Most Americans know we are not a racist country and are tired of the Democratic lashings of guilt .
The Democrats have also launched their offensive to get mail-in ballots , which essentially is a way to circumvent the crackdown on voting by noncitizens who entered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quantities of questionably authentic Democratic ballots where needed .
It has become a broad-front war , after four years of unceasing political struggle unlike anything in the country ’ s history .
It is a choice between traditional activist American government slightly right of center , in the Nixon-Reagan tradition , but with redoubled muscularity , and the angry , nasty Left , running against a president who is easy to attack and to defame , but who has a perceptive grasp of where the silent , patriotic , God-fearing American majority resides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tactics – unctuous pleas for more testing , anything to prolong the shutdown .
But their tactical weakness is that now that the virus is starting to recede , and the country is much more worried by the specter of economic disaster , the people know which party wants to get them back to work and which party does not ; and which party is more identified with the campaign to induce false panic .
The Democrats ’ argument about Trump not doing enough to advance testing is arcane and easily topped by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdown of direct flights from China , which the president ’ s senior scientists , led by Dr. Anthony Fauci , acknowledge saved thousands of lives .
The president has assembled an immense number of prominent people to associate themselves with some sort of economic relaunch plan ; and has announced that specific implementation will be left to the states , thus partially collegializing his decision and devolving part of the responsibility for implementation .
He will make it the patriotic duty of everyone to restore prosperity , as it has been to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoping for a flare-up of the disease and advocating policies certain to prolong economic misery .
They have been outmaneuvered , though that is not obvious because of the indignity of the president ’ s bear-baiting sessions with his media enemies .
Trump not only has the high ground and the burning cause of regaining prosperity , but he will also win the single combat war .
The Democrats try to hide Joe Biden , and the lockdown has helped .
But eventually , he will have to face Trump , and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or formidable a chief .
Trump has many infelicities and is an exhausting president , but he is quite effective and has been very successful , including in managing the greatest crisis the country has faced since the end of the Vietnam War .
Beyond that , whether this could be articulated by them or not , about half the country thinks the Democrats now are led and applauded by a media echo chamber of atheist elitists who want gays to dictate popular culture , regard abortion and childbirth as equivalent events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wind and sun , eliminate defense spending and have a real dialogue with the world instead , mock and oppress all the churches except Islam ( whose excesses assist in the forward march of paganism ) , and elevate barrio poseurs as guardians of a new intellectualism .
It won ’ t fly .
The indestructible soul of America is not having it .
The Bushes were unwitting enablers , the Clintons were corruptible opportunists , Obama was a fraud elevated because of the need to break the glass ceiling of color for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden is just a muddled amalgam of 40 years at the public trough , an arthritic wheelhorse in a machine that has broken down .
Conrad Black has been one of Canada ’ s most prominent financiers for 40 years , and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world as owner of the British telegraph newspapers , the Fairfax newspapers in Australia , the Jerusalem Post , Chicago Sun-Times and scores of smaller newspapers in the U.S. , and most of the daily newspapers in Canada .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Another Day, Another Rally Telling Governor Bill Lee to Reopen Tennessee

NASHVILLE , Tennessee – For the second time in as many days , Tennesseans rallied at the State Capitol in Nashville on Monday to tell Governor Bill Lee to reopen the state .
About 100 people gathered on the sidewalks in front of and across the street from the Capitol Building , on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Nashville , while others drove by honking horns .
Murfreesboro-based DJ Steve Hasty provided music with his elaborate sound system and , acting as emcee for the event , stated repeatedly that it was a rally to reopen Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prayer that asked for reopening , Hasty initiated the chant , “ Hey Governor Lee , reopen Tennessee.
” Governor Lee was encouraged to lead the country in the effort to reopen and show that it can be done in a safe way .
Curtis Carney , owner of Nashville ’ s Off The Wagon tractor tours , who also spoke at the # FreeTN event , told rally-goers he made the decision Saturday to reopen his business .
He said the longer the shutdown keeps going , the more people go hungry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it needs to be done now .
A home health nurse named Misty said hospitals are sitting empty and healthcare workers are being furloughed .
She called it “ gut wrenching , ” to see how many people are not receiving care , but said it wasn ’ t because of the coronavirus .
A man , who later told The Tennessee Star his name is John Colon , recited from memory “ A Visitor from the Past.
” The moving and patriotic poem describes a dream and what a Revolutionary War @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom and liberty , all the ways our rights have been relinquished , gives encouragement to take a stand in defending the Constitution and ends with the dreamer asking what your answer would if the visitor called out from the grave , “ Is this still the land of the free and home of the brave ?
?
?
” Event co-organizer , Chase Williams , a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer , said “ I don ’ t want a handout and I don ’ t want a stimulus check .
I want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-organizer , Chase Matheson , whose voice was still hoarse from Sunday ’ s event , wanted to see the restoration of individual liberties .
“ We are all adults ” and “ we can take care of ourselves , ” said Matheson .
“ When government decides they know better than we do , it ’ s time to shut it down.
” Calling the coronavirus pandemic a “ scamdemic , ” Matheson called on Governor Lee to do five things : 1 .
Immediately lift the safer at home orders in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to close restaurants , bars , barbers and other non-essential businesses .
2 .
Immediately and publicly denounce the governors of states like Michigan , New Jersey , California and our neighbor to the north , Kentucky , who have gone further with the unconstitutional orders than anyone could have imagined .
3 .
Admit publicly that we were misled with bad models and acknowledge that while the virus is deadly in a small percentage of cases , government ’ s role should be focused on providing factual information so citizens and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
4 .
Encourage and lead by example that no new taxes will arise to pay for the economic catastrophe that he and government started and find a way to pay for it without further burdening citizens .
Like a good butcher , they just need to trim the fat .
5 .
Reaffirm the bill of rights through legislation and in coordination with other government officials to correct a discouraging precedent .
Later Monday afternoon , Governor Bill Lee advised during his daily COVID-19 briefing , that he would not be renewing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expire on April 30 and that businesses would begin reopening next week .
“ A Visitor From the Past ” poem by Thelen Paulk , as published by Freedom Fighters Foundation , can be read here : I had a dream the other night , I didn ’ t understand .
A figure walking through the mist , with flintlock in his hand .
His clothes were torn and dirty , as he stood there by my bed .
He took off his three-cornered hat , and speaking low , he said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secure our liberty .
We wrote the Constitution , as a shield from tyranny .
For future generations , this legacy we gave .
In this , the land of the free and the home of the brave .
“ The freedom we secured for you , we hoped you ’ d always keep .
But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were asleep .
Your freedom gone , your courage lost , you ’ re no more than a slave .
In this , the land of the free and home of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to travel , and permits to own a gun , Permits to start a business , or to build a place for one .
On land that you believe you own , you pay a yearly rent .
Although you have no voice in choosing , how the money ’ s spent .
“ Your children must attend a school that doesn ’ t educate .
Your Christian values can ’ t be taught , according to the state .
You read about the current news , in a regulated press .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to please the I.R.S .
“ Your money is no longer made of Silver or of Gold .
You trade your wealth for paper , so your life can be controlled .
You pay for crimes that make our Nation , turn from God in shame .
You ’ ve taken Satan ’ s number , as you ’ ve traded in your name .
“ You ’ ve given government control , to those who do you harm , So they can padlock churches , and steal the family farm , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , put men of God in jail , Harass your fellow countrymen , while corrupted courts prevail .
“ Your public servants don ’ t uphold the solemn oath they ’ ve sworn .
Your daughters visit doctors , so their children won ’ t be born .
Your leaders ship artillery , and guns to foreign shores , And send your sons to slaughter , fighting other people ’ s wars .
“ Can you regain the freedom for which we fought and died ?
Or don ’ t you have the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with pride ?
Are there no more values for which you ’ ll fight to save ?
Or do you wish your children , to live in fear and be a slave ?
“ People of the Republic , arise and take a stand !
Defend the Constitution , the Supreme Law of the Land !
Preserve our Great Republic , and GOD-Given Right !
And pray to GOD , to keep the torch of Freedom burning bright !
” As I awoke he vanished , in the mist from whence he came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not Free , we have ourselves to blame .
For even now as tyrants , trample each GOD-Given Right , We only watch and tremble , too afraid to stand and fight .
If he stood by your bedside , in a dream , while you ’ re asleep , And wonders what remains of our Rights he fought to keep , What would be your answer , if he called out from the grave : “ IS THIS STILL THE LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE ?
?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporter at The Tennessee Star .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Marsha Blackburn Introduces Stop COVID Act to Hold China Accountable for the Coronavirus

Senators Marsha Blackburn ( R-TN ) and Martha McSally ( R-AZ ) will introduce the Stop China-Originated Viral Infectious Diseases ( COVID ) Act to ensure the Chinese Communist Party faces consequences for its role in spreading the coronavirus .
This , according to a press release the two women put out Monday .
The two women said the Stop COVID Act will empower Americans to sue China in U.S. court and seek compensation for the harm the virus has caused to the economy and human life , the press release went on to say .
“ China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus , ” Blackburn said .
“ The costs are devastating : trillions of dollars in economic damage , more than 22 million American jobs lost , and over 150,000 deaths worldwide and counting .
Business owners and families who have lost loved ones deserve justice .
Under this legislation , Americans will have the opportunity to take China to court in the U.S. and demand accountability for their lies and deceit.
” McSally , meanwhile , said the Chinese government has inflicted pain across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow Americans to file lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party for its role in perpetuating the global spread of the coronavirus will give the U.S. a piece of justice , ” McSally said .
U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden ( R-TX-05 ) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives , according to the press release .
“ Right now , the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is a shield for the Chinese Communist Party to hide behind .
We need to change that , ” Gooden said .
“ The leadership of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our effort to do just that.
” The Stop COVID Act will make China legally and financially liable for unleashing the COVID-19 infection on our country .
Americans will have the legal tools to sue China in the U.S. federal court system for creating and worsening this worldwide pandemic .
The legislation builds on existing law in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and eliminates sovereign immunity for states that spread biological agents .
As the coronavirus death toll and financial losses mount , China should be forced to pay the costs of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the press release said .
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Failed Presidential Candidate Julian Castro Says Federal Relief Packages Should Include Illegal Alie

Failed Presidential Candidate Julian Castro Says Federal Relief Packages Should Include Illegal Aliens

Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said that those living unlawfully in the United States should be included in coronavirus relief packages doled out by the government .
Castro gave an interview to the Daily Kos divulging his thoughts on the recent coronavirus pandemic and how the United States should handle the crisis .
Much like his time on the presidential campaign trail , Castro staked out progressive positions on the intersection of illegal immigration and role of American government .
“ They should be included in these relief packages .
They should be able to access public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during this crisis — and beyond , ” Castro said , speaking about illegal aliens and mixed-status families .
He continued : “ I mean , during the campaign , several of us argued that it makes sense for this country to ensure that every person , no matter who you are , gets good health care , gets good housing opportunities , gets good educational opportunities .
It will make us stronger as a country.
” In response to the economic toll sparked by the coronavirus pandemic , President Donald Trump signed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making $ 2.2 trillion in stimulus funds available for families and businesses hurting under lockdown orders .
The relief package not only provides up to $ 10 million in forgivable loans for each small business , but also $ 1,200 to most Americans who make $ 75,000 or less a year .
Fifty House Democrats sponsored a bill that , if signed into law , would allow illegal aliens to obtain the funds allocated from the CARES Act .
Democratic cities across the country — and also California — have created their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the recent economic downturn .
“ I ’ m confident that more Americans have seen the value of that idea during this crisis , ” Castro continued in his interview .
The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. immigration court system would be reformed in 2021 , presumably under a Democratic administration , he added .
He also repeated his desire to see Immigration and Customs Enforcement be broken up .
While on the campaign trail , Castro quickly established himself as the most progressive candidate when it came to immigration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only for decriminalization of illegal entry into the country , but also for the decriminalization of illegal re-entry — which is a felony under federal law .
Castro had also pledged to issue an executive order to undo the Trump administration ’ s “ Remain in Mexico ” program , despite it being cited by immigration authorities as instrumental in stemming the 2019 border crisis .
He also supports removing the words “ illegal ” and “ alien ” from the U.S. legal code , saying the terms are offensive .
After dropping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Castro endorsed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — who also bowed out of the race .
Castro had been publicly critical of the immigration positions and record of Joe Biden , who stands as the party ’ s presumptive nominee .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--State Representatives Martin Daniel and Bruce Griffey Urged Governor Bill Lee to Reopen Tennessee

At least two State Representatives , Martin Daniel ( R-Knoxville ) and Bruce Griffey ( R-Paris ) wrote formal letters to Governor Bill Lee , urging him to reopen Tennessee immediately .
Representative Daniel , who will have served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives , announced last month that he will not seek reelection in 2020 .
Representative Griffey is currently serving his first term .
The Representatives wrote their letters based on the input of their constituents and in response to last week ’ s extension of Governor Lee ’ s stay-at-home order through April 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are reflective of the personal styles of their authors , both had common themes .
Both Representatives were responding to feedback from their constituents .
Representative Daniel told Governor Lee , “ My West Knoxville constituents are suffering tremendously economically and are requesting a change going forward.
” Representative Griffey cited his poll of 9,000 people , which resulted in 55 percent favoring the lifting of restrictions imposed by Executive Order No .
27 .
Both Representatives addressed the financial impact to small business owners , in particular , both in the immediate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daniel and Griffey pointed to the low number of COVID-19 cases in the districts they represent .
That is an interesting point , given that Representative Daniel ’ s home county of Knox is the fourth largest in the state with an estimated 2020 population of 465,289 , while Representative Griffey ’ s three counties of Henry , Benton and Stewart combined total about one-eighth of that at just around 62,000 , according to World Population Review .
Representative Daniel cites that Knox County has approximately 30 active cases of COVID-19 and four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Representative Griffey ’ s home county of Henry , he cites that there are two hospitalized COVID-19 patients , with only one being on a ventilator .
Benton County has had four total cases and Stewart County six total cases , according to the Tennessee Department of Health .
Also mentioned were the models and projections on which the stay-at-home orders were issued .
While Representative Daniel said they have been “ substantially reviewed downward , ” Representative Griffey was more hard-hitting .
“ Alleged ‘ expert ’ epidemiologists have engaged in speculative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place , varying from predictions of as many as 2.5 million anticipated deaths to predictions as low as tens of thousands nationally .
No model has appeared to be accurate , ” wrote Representative Griffey .
Representative Griffey further reviewed the estimated COVID-19 death rate , hospitalizations and infection rate including the impact of population density on those topics .
Representative Daniel pointed to the various legal questions surrounding the governor ’ s orders , such as the application and supremacy of the Bill of Rights found in the U.S. Constitution and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He also questioned whether a governor has the authority to issue such orders pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 58-2-107 ( e ) and “ whether the legislature even has authority to grant such powers to a governor.
” “ As a constitutional , conservative Republican , ” Representative Griffey told Governor Lee , “ I believe in and ran on a platform of advocating for reduced regulations and small , limited government that works for , serves and answers to its citizens , not restricts or infringes upon their rights or overrides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult position Governor Lee is in , “ We understand that any decisions you make will be challenged by some and bring forth a new set of issues to face.
” He went on to commit to stay in the fight and with the governor and said “ We are praying daily for you , and all of our leaders to have wisdom and discernment.
” Representative Daniel told The Tennessee Star that the supporters he shared his letter with were appreciate of the effort .
As of Monday , Representative Daniel had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which was dated Wednesday , April 16 .
On Monday , Governor Lee announced during his daily COVID-19 briefing that his order for Tennesseans to remain at home , which is set to expire on April 30 , will not be renewed and a phased reopening will begin the week of April 27 .
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--All New Hampshire Residents Will Be Able to Vote Absentee in Upcoming Elections

Election officials recently determined all New Hampshire residents are eligible to cast absentee ballots for municipal , primary , and general elections to keep themselves and poll workers safe from COVID-19 .
“ New Hampshire is working to make sure a voter will not have to choose between their personal safety and exercising their right to vote , ” David Scanlan , deputy secretary of state , told The Center Square .
Under the law , voters can cast absentee ballots due to a disability .
“ This includes a voter who is quarantined , including self-quarantine , for any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of State Bill Gardner and Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said in a memo .
“ Compliance with general medical advice issued to the public by health officials is sufficient , individualized advice from the voter ’ s personal physician is not required.
” Even if the severity of the virus declines in the months ahead , any voter would still be able to cast an absentee ballot .
“ It is reasonable to anticipate that voters may feel apprehension about voting in person in the September 2020 Primary and November 2020 General Elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thus , any voter who is unable to vote in person in the September 8 , 2020 Primary Election or the November 3 , 2020 General Election because of illness from COVID-19 or who fears that voting in person may expose himself/herself or others to COVID-19 will be deemed to come within the definition of ‘ disability ’ for purposes of obtaining an absentee ballot.
” As of Monday morning , there have been 1,392 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in New Hampshire and 41 deaths from COVID-19 .
The memo did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yen , assistant attorney general , recently told NHPR that eligible voters don ’ t need to register in person and can use the absentee voter registration process .
“ We are currently working through all of the issues posed by the Covid-19 virus on several different levels , ” Scanlan told the Center Square .
“ We will continue to issue guidance statements moving forward and fully expect to have a workable plan well in advance of the fall elections that provides for poll worker training and voter education.
” Joe Chen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--FBI Informant Stefan Halpert Bragged About Connections to Russian Spies to Papadopoulos Spies in Sec

FBI Informant Stefan Halpert Bragged About Connections to Russian Spies to Papadopoulos Spies in Secret Recordings

It wasn ’ t long into his conversation with George Papadopoulos at a prestigious social club in London weeks before the 2016 election that FBI confidential informant Stefan Halper mentioned his links to several retired Russian spies .
“ I have a lot of friends in Russia , ” Halper told Papadopoulos during their conversation , which occurred over drinks , and which the FBI recorded .
“ My point is that , ” Halper said , “ the Russians can be very helpful to us at this time and we ’ ve got some great information coming out.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rattled off the names of the Russians , Vyacheslav Trubnikov , Leonid Shebarshin , and Yuri Traughtoff , according to a transcript of the secretly recorded conversation released on Thursday .
Halper was not bluffing about his friendship with at least one of the ex-Russian spies .
He has collaborated with Trubnikov , the former head of Russia ’ s foreign intelligence service , the SVR .
Halper hosted Trubnikov at two intelligence seminars at Cambridge in 2012 and 2015 , and interviewed the former Kremlin insider for a 2015 study on China-Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Office of Net Assessment ( ONA ) .
Halper ’ s goal in bringing up his Kremlin links was to get Papadopoulos to reveal whether he or the Trump campaign were working with the Russian government or involved the WikiLeaks release of Democrats ’ emails , according to the Justice Department inspector general ’ s ( IG ) report on the FBI ’ s Trump-Russia probe .
“ You know this stuff out of WikiLeaks is really superb , ” Halper said .
In a virtually unprecedented move , Senate Judiciary Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transcript on Thursday as part of a GOP-led effort to publish documents related to the FBI ’ s Crossfire Hurricane investigation .
Two other Republican senators have released declassified information over the past week that shows that the FBI had evidence that the infamous Steele dossier was based on Russian disinformation .
The FBI had opened a counterintelligence investigation on Papadopoulos and several other Trump campaign aides on July 31 , 2016 , shortly after WikiLeaks released emails stolen from the DNC .
As part of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation , the FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ veteran of three Republican administrations who had been a confidential human source ( CHS ) for the bureau since 2008 .
The FBI used another CHS to surveil Papadopoulos before the campaign .
The Daily Caller News Foundation published a transcript last week of that spy effort , in which a friend of Papadopoulos tried to pry information out of him during a four-hour lunch and casino visit just before Halloween 2016 .
The Justice Department IG ’ s report said that Halper agreed “ without any hesitation ” to help the FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it on Aug. 11 , 2016 .
Halper ’ s FBI handler told the IG that investigators decided to lure Papadopoulos from the U.S. to the U.K. in hopes he might be relaxed to discuss any nefarious activity involving the Trump campaign .
They also sought to recreate the conditions of another encounter that Papadopoulos had in London several months earlier , the IG report said .
The young Trump aide , to whom the FBI gave the nickname “ Crossfire Typhoon , ” allegedly told Australian diplomat Alexander Downer over drinks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would help the Trump campaign .
The Australian government shared that tip with the FBI in late July 2016 , just after WikiLeaks released the DNC emails .
After the FBI brought Halper into the Crossfire Hurricane investigation , the 70-something-year-old operative met with and secretly recorded Carter Page , another Trump foreign policy adviser , on Aug. 20 , 2016 , according to the IG report .
He met Sam Clovis , a Trump campaign official , on Aug. 30 , 2016 , but did not record that conversation .
Halper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2016 , to offer to fly the Trump aide , whom he had never met , to London to discuss writing a paper on energy issues for $ 3,000 .
Papadopoulos has said he agreed to the offer and met Halper in London , along with a woman the professor claimed was his assistant , Azra Turk .
Halper and Papadopoulos met twice on Sept. 15 , 2016 , once for brunch and a second time for pre-dinner drinks .
The IG report says that in the first meeting they discussed details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to write .
The FBI team decided to set up a second meeting so that Halper could ask Papadopoulos “ direct questions about whether the Trump campaign benefitted from , or anyone in the Trump campaign had knowledge of , Russian assistance or the Wikileaks release of information that was damaging to the Clinton campaign , ” according to the IG report .
Papadopoulos shot down Halper ’ s questions about WikiLeaks and Russian help for the Trump campaign , the transcript shows .
“ No one knows what he ’ s going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange .
He said that Assange might release information about Trump as a “ ploy to basically dismantle ” and “ undercut ” the Republican .
Papadopoulos also said that the Trump campaign would not engage in “ this type of activity because at the end of the day it ’ s…illegal.
” The transcript jumbles the names of the ex-Russian spies Halper mentioned , but enough context is provided in the transcript that two of them can be identified from open source records .
“ One of them is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , do you know Truvnikoff ?
Truvnikoff was the director of the KGB and the FSB , ” said Halper , referring to Vyacheslav Trubnikov , the former head of Russia ’ s SVR .
Halper told Papadopoulos that he hosted Trubnikov at an event to discuss Russia ’ s intelligence operations .
“ So I brought him to [ redacted ] to talk to us about how-how their intelligence service works , ” Halper said .
“ He was very forthcoming .
I mean he ’ s retired now and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much a , um , sort of an international participant in nuclear disarmament.
” “ He ’ s a private citizen but he ’ s , ah , really plugged in , ” Halper said .
Halper hosted the spy in 2012 and 2015 at the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar , which he convened alongside Sir Richard Dearlove , the former chief of MI6 .
The DCNF has previously reported that Halper interviewed Trubnikov for a 2015 study he conducted for the Pentagon ’ s Office of Net Assessment ( ONA ) .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he inked $ 1.1 million in contracts with ONA for four studies on geopolitical events in Russia , China , and India .
His offer to Papadopoulos closely matched his pitch to scholars for those studies , in which Halper paid scholars a small honorarium for analysis of geopolitical issues .
Halper told Papadopoulos that he had “ developed a friendship with a really senior KGB general.
” The transcript spells the general ’ s name as “ Shebasheen , ” but other information provided by Halper suggests he was referring to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for two days in the early 1990s .
He also said he knew a KGB officer identified in the transcript as “ Yuri Traughtoff.
” The transcript notes that the spelling of the name may not have been accurate , and the DCNF was unable to determine who Halper was talking about .
Halper ’ s attorney did not respond to a request for comment about the transcripts .
Halper became an FBI informant in 2008 , and had a brief falling out with the bureau in 2011 .
The IG report said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidential human source in 2011 because of “ aggressiveness toward handling agents ” that arose out of a dispute over his compensation as a CHS .
Halper also was sidelined because of “ questionable allegiance to the [ intelligence ] targets ” with whom he maintained contact , the IG report said .
The report does not identify the intelligence targets , or suggest that they are the Russians that Halper mentioned to Papadopoulos .
Trubnikov has been name-dropped in other conversations related to the Trump probe .
Steele , the former British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Department official during an Oct. 11 , 2016 meeting that Trubnikov was a source of some sort for the dossier .
Steele relied on a single source to collect information from a network of contacts inside and outside of Russia .
Many of the sub-sources are believed to have unwittingly provided information to Steele ’ s intermediary .
The IG report blasted the FBI for failing to disclose the potentially exculpatory information that both Page and Papadopoulos shared with Halper .
The FBI failed to tell the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Halper that the Trump campaign was working with Russia .
Carter Page had told Halper that he had never met Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort , but the FBI failed to share that information with the FISC .
It was a key claim in Christopher Steele ’ s dossier , which the FBI cited extensively in applications to obtain surveillance authority from the FISC to spy on Page .
Halper ’ s FBI handler , Stephen Somma , is identified as one of the main villains in the IG report .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ primarily responsible ” for some of the “ most significant ” errors in the Crossfire Hurricane probe .
Somma failed to disclose the exculpatory information related to Page and Papadopoulos , as well as information from interviews with Steele ’ s main source , who disputed many of the allegations from the dossier .
Somma was also aware by mid-August 2016 that Page was an “ operational contact ” for the CIA , but he did not disclose it in applications to the FISC .
Somma insisted to the IG that an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks before the start of Crossfire Hurricane was a coincidence .
Halper first met Page on July 10 , 2016 at a Cambridge event centered around the presidential campaign .
The FBI transcript indicates that Halper arranged dinner for Papadopoulos and Arza Turk , the woman he falsely claimed was his assistant .
The New York Times has reported that Turk was actually a government investigator operating under a pseudonym .
The transcript shows Halper and Papadopoulos exchanged farewells , with Halper saying he would like to help the Trump campaign as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crossfire Hurricane continued to rage for months after the London meeting , though Halper himself was spent for the night .
“ I ’ m three sheets to the wind , ” he said into his hidden microphone .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Facebook Takes Down Anti-Quarantine Protest Posts That ‘Defy’ Social Distancing Guidelines

Facebook is not allowing anti-quarantine protesters to use the site to organize demonstrations in states that have enacted strict social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic .
The social media giant has already removed promotions for anti-quarantine events in California , New Jersey , and Nebraska in cooperation with those state governments .
“ Unless government prohibits the event during this time , we allow it to be organized on Facebook .
For this same reason , events that defy government ’ s guidance on social distancing aren ’ t allowed on Facebook , ” a company spokesperson told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests have popped up all over the nation in recent days in opposition to draconian social distancing measures that are destroying small businesses and leading to massive unemployment .
Facebook has become a place where organizers promote these protests .
The platform was reportedly also working with state governments in New York , Wisconsin , Ohio , and Pennsylvania to determine whether planned anti-quarantine protests in each of those states break local social distancing measures .
Thousands of protesters in Pennsylvania demonstrated against the governor ’ s stay-at-home order on the on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One America News Network ’ s Emerald Robinson pushed back against Facebook ’ s censorship of the protests on Twitter .
“ Folks , this is how America slides into a Chinese-style tech dictatorship , ” she wrote .
“ Social media platforms now collude openly with state governments to suppress free speech they don ’ t like.
” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on “ Good Morning America ” Monday that the platform considers promotions of anti-quarantine protests to be “ harmful misinformation ” and will “ take that down.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s important that people can debate policies , so there ’ s a line on this , ” Zuckerberg told ABC News ’ George Stephanopoulos .
“ But more than normal political discourse , I think a lot of the stuff that people are saying that is false around a health emergency like this can be classified as harmful misinformation.
” However , it is not settled science that extreme social distancing measures actually prevent the virus from spreading .
According to a prominent Israeli mathematician who has studied coronavirus statistics worldwide , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the result of “ mass hysteria.
” Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel is the head of the Security Studies program in Tel Aviv University and the chairman of the National Council for Research and Development .
During a debate on Israel ’ s Channel 12 last week , he argued that his research shows that “ there ’ s a set pattern ” in the growth and decline of new cases in countries around the world and “ the numbers speak for themselves.
” According to Ben-Israel ’ s analysis , “ the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and declines to almost zero after 70 days — no matter where it strikes , and no matter what measures governments impose to try to thwart it.
” Prof. Gabi Barbash , a hospital director and the former Health Ministry director general , insisted in a bitter TV exchange that Ben-Israel is mistaken , and that the death tolls would have been far higher if Israel and other countries had not taken the steps they did .
But Ben-Israel said the figures — notably from countries , such as Singapore , Taiwan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such radical measures to shutter their economies — proved his point .
( He also released a paper to this effect , with graphs showing the trajectories . )
When Barbash cited New York as ostensible proof that Ben-Israel was mistaken , Ben-Israel noted the latest indications from New York were precisely in line with his statistics that indicate daily new cases figures peaking and starting to fall after about 40 days .
Asked to explain the phenomenon , Ben-Israel , who also heads Israel ’ s Space Agency , later said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are all kinds of speculations .
Maybe it ’ s related to climate , or the virus has a life-span of its own.
” In Sweden , where schools , gyms , cafes , bars and restaurants were left open throughout the spread of the pandemic , infection rates and fatalities have reportedly stabilized .
Rather than shut their economy down , the Swedish government urged citizens to act responsibly and follow simple social distancing guidelines .
Because the spread of virus appears to follow a particular pattern no matter what measures are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been sufficient .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Bill Lee Won’t Say if COVID-19 Restaurant Closings Are Unconstitutional

Governor Bill Lee said Monday that the state shutdown of restaurants to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic was necessary , even if members of the Memphis Restaurant Association reportedly described it as unconstitutional .
A member of the media pressed Lee at a press conference Monday as to whether the shutdown could pass constitutional muster .
Lee did not seem to answer , at least not directly .
“ What is most important is that these shutdowns occurred in order to save people ’ s lives .
Tennesseans have done what Tennesseans needed to do .
That was to put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures to do just what was necessary to stop the spread of a deadly virus .
They have done that , ” Lee said at Monday ’ s press conference .
“ We certainly can not entirely stop it , but we can slow it to a point that we can manage that spread and have the capacity in our health care system to take care of it and allow Tennesseans to operate and run their businesses at the same time .
That is the goal , and I am grateful that Tennesseans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get us to the place where we are .
We are encouraged to move forward.
” Members of the Memphis Restaurant Association , according to the reporter , want Lee to allow them to open at 50 percent capacity on May 1 and at 100 percent capacity a month later .
Will Lee agree to such a thing ?
“ We are working with the Restaurant Association right now to develop those measures that are important for a restaurant to open safely .
You talked specifically about Memphis and that Shelby County will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They may be the same as ours .
They may be a different timing than ours , ” Lee said .
Lee went on to say that what happens in Shelby County may differ from what happens in other counties .
“ We ’ re working with the restaurant association , those who represent the workers to make sure we put in place the measures and the guidance and the guidelines for restaurants to open safely for their workers and for their customers , ” Lee said .
“ When we do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time when those businesses can open safely.
” As The Tennessee Star reported last month , Lee issued an executive action ordering the closure of bars , restaurants , and other places of public accommodation in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
Drive-through , pickup , carry-out , and delivery services are still allowed under Lee ’ s order .
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Trump Administration Extends Travel Ban on Mexican Border for Another Month

The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) announced that the ban on all non-essential travel along the Mexican and Canadian borders will be extended for an additional 30 days .
The governments of Mexico , Canada and the United States mutually agreed to keep their borders closed off to non-essential traffic for another month as they continue to fight the spread of coronavirus , acting DHS secretary Chad Wolf said Monday .
The announcement came just two days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the U.S.-Canada border ban would be extended .
“ In close collaboration , the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed to extend restrictions on non-essential travel across their shared borders for 30 additional days , ” Wolf said in a prepared statement .
He continued : “ As President Trump stated last week , border control , travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread and allowing the phased opening of the country.
” Wolf , upon orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , first declared a ban on many forms of travel along the country ’ s northern and southern borders March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediate turnaround of illegal entrants into the country .
Since that time , positive cases for COVID-19 have only increased in all three countries .
As of Monday morning , Mexico has reported 8,261 cases , Canada has reported 34,777 cases , and the United States had the highest with 753,317 cases , according to The New York Times ’ global tracking map .
Trudeau had already announced an extension over the weekend concerning the northern border .
“ The agreement is the same terms .
It ’ s just extended for another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Saturday .
“ It will ensure we continue to get essential goods and services back and forth across the border.
” While leisure cross-border travel is forbidden during the lockdown , all three governments agreed that economic trade and other “ essential ” travel can still go on .
Some examples of essential movement include travel for medical and educational purposes , emergency response operations , public health services , and anyone engaged in “ lawful cross-border trade , ” according to the administration .
Customs and Border Protection said $ 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the three countries every day .
The travel ban was expected to expire this week , but as the coronavirus pandemic rages on throughout the globe , the North American leaders deemed it best to keep the restrictions in place .


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Mark Green Wants Tennessee’s Small Colleges to Qualify for Coronavirus Loans

On Monday , U.S. Rep. Green ( R-TN-07 ) told the feds that coronavirus relief programs should follow past federal precedents and not exclude Tennessee ’ s small colleges , which are currently disqualified because of student workers .
Those federal programs , Green said , include the Economic Injury Disaster Loans ( EIDLs ) and Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) .
Green said in a press release that he sent his request to the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration as it pertains to EIDLs and PPP .
“ EIDLs , the Mid-Size Business Loan Program , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that can help our schools make it through this tough time .
Unfortunately , because these programs are for employers with 500 or fewer employees , many small colleges will fall through the cracks due to their student workers being counted under the eligibility requirements for these loans , ” Green said in the press release .
“ America ’ s small colleges and universities need relief just like everyone else .
If student workers are counted as employees under these relief programs , it ’ s our colleges and the communities they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In a letter to federal officials , attached to the press release , Green said COVID-19 has closed higher education institutions , imposed hardship , and put teachers and students “ under an extreme amount of stress.
” “ Budgets are under strain and endowments are struggling , with many small colleges hurt the most .
The federal government ’ s response will have a huge impact on how our higher institutions fare throughout this crisis , ” Green said .
“ The Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are for employers with 500 or fewer employees , however , there is precedent among multiple federal agencies that student workers are not counted as employees .
This includes the Department of Labor ’ s Wage and Hour Division under the Fair Labor Standards Act , IRS regulations for Student FICA and the Federal Unemployment tax exceptions , and the Department of Education ’ s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
” Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected @


thetennesseestar--2020-04-21--Commentary: Progressive Woke Orthodoxy Obscures the Truth About the Virus

Americans are acquainted with predictable but ultimately failed progressive efforts to suppress free expression by preemptive invective and politically correct finger-pointing .
To believe that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ’ s accusers revealed too many contradictions , too many lacunae , too many episodes of timely amnesia , and too many unsubstantiated accusations in their testimonies was chauvinistically to attack/smear/silence all women ’ s voices – at least until the same sort of memory-repressed accusations focused on handsy Joe Biden .
To express skepticism that current global temperatures are uniformly rising almost entirely due to human carbon emissions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catastrophic dangers that may end civilization as we know it , and that this emergency can only be addressed by the radical restructuring of global economies is to be rendered a denialist , a crank , a fool .
But these parameters of censorship have a logic and predictability , given their race/class/gender/environmental orthodoxy .
What explains the current taboo on topics regarding the coronavirus ?
It is now a truism that almost every influential model that has been advanced about the spread of the coronavirus was flawed .
They almost all erred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But to suggest that in public is deemed heresy .
Even when the Imperial College scarifying “ 2.2 million ” dead in the United States was withdrawn , or when Gavin Newsom ’ s “ 25.5 million infected ” by early May in California seemed hysterical , or today ’ s prognostications from the University of Washington modified older models that politicians used to set policy , there was more ridicule leveled at the original skeptics than at the promulgators of such myths – despite the fact that some disastrous public policies resulted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely die soon from the virus .
The same strange reaction met most who suggested that the virus might have reached the United States earlier than late January , or that it might already have infected far more than once thought , or that it was likely to be less lethal than assumed from the commonly used calculus to determine its toxicity .
Similarly taboo was questioning the notion that everyone who died with COVID-19 died because of it , even when the dying and the deceased were not tested for the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death seemed too often reinvented or changed weekly .
We were not to question the weird formula of assessing a virus ’ s morbidity by dividing the number of deaths only by the actual number of those who had at any time had tested positive for an active infection .
Yet nearly the entire scientific community had agreed that the real number of those infected by the virus could be 10 times or more than the misleadingly precise number of positive tests .
Nonetheless , daily referenced fatality rates were drawn from such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such a procedure were used in flu cases – of requiring only positive flu virus tests to ascertain the denominator – then the lethality to case rate of influenza might well appear as 10 percent and send the country into shock .
When some frontline physicians , or a rough sampling of patients , or preliminary studies suggested that in some pre-ventilator cases hydroxychloroquine seemed efficacious in treating the virus , even the use of a medicine prompted a weaponized debate .
Supposed pre-Enlightenment rubes were now to be corrected by the defenders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there were all sorts of newer antivirals being used off-label around the world to treat patients in extremis , but none earned quite the opprobrium of the antimalarials , despite the latter ’ s tolerable side-effects having been chronicled for decades in a way not true of more expensive , new designer antiviral medicines .
From the outset , the world noted the close proximity of a P4-level virology lab in the hills near Wuhan .
Its staff was known to have studied coronaviruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 .
Most in the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Chinese government had habitually covered up the origins and transmission of that virus .
So naturally , speculation immediately focused on the role of the nearby lab , even as the Chinese blanketed the global media with the official explanations of a natural viral birth amid the wet markets of Wuhan .
We were variously told that pangolins , bats , and snakes were the petri dish culprits for the global epidemic .
They may be , but then , again , the recombinant viruses from them might have escaped not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a scientist ’ s vial .
Chinese government propagandists blasted any doubt of their narrative as illiberal .
Its methodology was often embraced as useful by the American media .
If one discussed the possibility of some role of the lab in global catastrophe , the question was almost deliberately obfuscated and recalibrated as a “ conspiracy theory ” accusation ( the Chinese were adept in using such a loaded American expression ) that the lab had made a bioweapon or that a natural virus had been let loose intentionally .
But few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Usually , they instead questioned the safety practices of the lab – a concern echoed by U.S. embassy officials in China – and wanted assurances from China about its abilities to prevent accidental releases of a coronavirus under study .
Instead , they were stonewalled .
Stories spread of data destroyed .
Researchers disappeared .
Official dates surrounding the origins and transmission of the virus were altered constantly .
Yet the more China in Orwellian fashion tried to modulate its own prior communications about the lab , the more American media also joined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the more it became clear that China was terrified of any scrutiny directed toward the top-secret facility .
After all , on January 23 , in fear of the growing contagion , China forbade travel in and out of Wuhan , but not to European and American airports that , for a while , kept such routes open .
When they finally closed , Americans were blasted by the Chinese ( and Joe Biden ) as racists for doing what Beijing had done earlier .
Only the U.S. media would accept that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own citizens , at a time of contagion , to travel abroad to the U.S. in a manner they could not fly freely at home – but yet the Americans were dubbed bigoted for allowing them to continue to do so as well for a critical week .
In contrast , far less vituperation met a series of contradictory , constantly changing , and often downright illogical declarations emanating from the best and brightest at the World Health Organization , the CDC , the FDA , NIH , and from the Surgeon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told that the virus was not transmissible from human to human .
Travel bans were expressions of illiberal panic not reflections of ancient scientific quarantine protocols .
The FDA ’ s monopoly over test kits was supposedly the best and most rapid way to ensure that millions got into the hands of doctors and hospitals .
Orthodoxy told us that masks for the general public were at first selfish , then useless , then of some value , then essential .
Infectiousness came largely from touching facial orifices with fingers contaminated by surface @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to breathe the contagion in as it spread from coughing , sneezing , or mere talking ?
And were the viruses hitchhiking on droplets or aerosolized mists ?
What were we to make of ventilators ?
Was their availability tantamount to a litmus test of America ’ s ability to defeat the epidemic ?
Or was it that most patients on them usually never got off but delayed rather than avoided death ?
The list of these “ All animals are equal , but some animals are more equal than others ” constant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patience .
A forgiving public shrugged that science is never absolute but on a constant learning curve and the domain of the most moral and learned among us – thus deserving a tolerance of error not extended to natural skeptics of other topics .
So , what explained the paradox of near paranoia to some inquiries but magnanimous tolerance of other absurdities ?
Usually , one of three explanations suffice – or sometimes all three together .
First , to the degree an issue involved Donald Trump , the media and political consensus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experimental use of hydroxychloroquine ; therefore , the drug must be seen as analogous to early uses of mercury or arsenic .
If the Chinese lab was at fault , then Trump was deemed less culpable .
So the lab was not at fault .
Second , we were to worship at the altar of Lord Pessimism .
The more the numerators of death increased at a rate not matched by the denominators of positives , the higher the virus ’ s lethality appeared , and the more the public would be willing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The problem with the Stanford researchers and other antibody researchers was that if they were correct , then quarantines might be loosened a bit and normality might return sooner .
And so they were not correct .
As I have written earlier , the psychology of the pessimist is always win-win : when wrong , his terrifying models are still efficacious in scaring the public into doing the right thing ( and thus are often deliberately exaggerated ) .
When right , “ he bravely warned us of Armageddon.
” The poor optimist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if right in doubting the end of days , only the response to the pessimist made his own hopeful reservations prescient .
If wrong about a return of the Black Plague , then he is a veritable murderer , in a way that the flawed pessimist ’ s modeling is never held culpable for destructive shutdowns and lockdowns .
Third and finally , the subtext to the entire array of virus issues soon became the November 2020 election .
The exalted left-wing hopes in Robert Mueller and impeachment were crushed on the eve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon seen as the magic X-ray machine that finally might penetrate Trump ’ s lead shield and reveal to the clueless voter the diseased organs of incompetence , pathology , and narcissism beneath .
A wearied Joe Biden , exhausted from the campaign , was supposed to recuperate at home .
Refreshed , he was to be courted in photo-ops by would-be diversity vice presidents .
Biden would issue daily folksy fireside chat takedowns of Trump ’ s buffoonery , as only ol ’ Joe from Scranton could .
But the more Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared exhausted and enfeebled – and the more his impromptu and teleprompted lapses terrified the Democratic establishment that they had not chosen a soaring eagle to talon Trump , but an albatross now hanging around their collective neck .
As a result , a virus became the opposition candidate of sorts .
The scarier COVID-19 became , the more the need to shut down the nation , the more likely the economy would tank , the more it became certain that Trump would face a lose-lose decision in late April , as his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a latter-day Herbert Hoover who wrecked a booming economy or some sort of odious Wall Street financier who put profit over lives .
Either way , the New York Times will soon have pictures of the dead , with captions insisting the infected died due to Trump ’ s premature return to normal , or committed suicide given his needlessly long lockdown that wiped out small businesses .
Lost in all this conundrum were legitimate questions of the virus ’ s genesis , spread , and innate nature , China ’ s responsibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for thousands of deaths , the chronic confusion of bureaucracies – and any sense that the coronavirus was a deadly collective enemy rather than a partisan wedge .