thetennesseestar--2020-07-02--Carol Swain’s Prager University Video: Black Lives Matter Is a Marxist Movement

Dr. Carol M. Swain sat down with Prager University ’ s Will Witt to discuss Black Lives Matter , their philosophy , and goals .
Swain : I am a former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University .
Before that , I was a tenured professor at Princeton University .
I am a conservative .
I have a podcast .
I write articles and books .
I am educating the world .
The world is my classroom .
Welcome to my classroom .
Will Witt : I want to thank you so much for being here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ intro you talked about how you are a conservative and people will look at you and say a black conservative ?
I didn ’ t know those people existed .
How did you get to the point of where you are at now ?
Swain : I was born and raised in the country of rural Virginia .
A southerner .
And with that comes common sense .
Now common sense is in short supply these days .
I had common sense so even when I was a Democrat and I was not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world as everyone else did .
So I can always say that my perspective on the world was different .
I think that helped explain that I did have success in academia during the years that I was a Democrat .
But after I had a Christian conversion experience and I became more conservative then the world changed for me .
Witt : It ’ s kind of common-sense values .
I totally agree with that because I went through college and I thought I was a liberal and a more leftist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the common-sense values that I had actually lined up with conservatism .
And I find that a lot of people have those same kinds of values .
But right now in America especially at the universities and young people rioting and marching in the streets we are seeing a huge lack of common sense .
What do you think is the biggest problem facing these communities right now ?
Swain : One of the biggest problems is that young people who have been educated at our colleges , universities , and middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skills and that it ’ s so much indoctrination .
They are out there , bless their hearts , they are trying to change the world and they don ’ t even understand the world .
They are out there trying to fix things .
But they are clueless in a lot of ways .
Witt : One of the things that we are seeing right now is the amount of protesting going on for George Floyd ’ s death and black lives matter really bolstering itself up .
Do you think that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of good for African Americans in our country right now ?
Swain : OK .
In 2016 I gave a CNN interview .
I was debating an attorney in LA named Areva Martin and at that time the five police officers in Dallas had been slain .
And I pointed out because I ’ d gone to the Black Lives Matter website and they were Marxists .
It looks like the points came from the Communist Manifesto .
They were talking about overthrowing the state .
And at that time I said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our society and that it was a problem .
I caught a lot of grief for saying that .
Now the founders of Black Lives Matter have come out .
They ’ ve come out as Marxists .
And what I see is people not being able to discern between the statement , Black Lives Matter in the same way that all lives matter .
They can ’ t distinguish the slogan as a true statement and the organization as Marxist .
I believe that the organization itself is using black people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corporations , the schools , the churches that have gotten behind Black Lives Matter the organization , they think they are helping black people .
They think they are showing support for black people but actually its the opposite .
Witt : Why do you think that so many people support an organization like Black Lives Matter when you can go to their website .
You can see their views and ideas .
They said they want to literally have no police anymore in America .
Why do you think there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kinds of values .
Swain : They are not attracted to it necessarily .
Now some of the people that support Black Lives Matter are supporting it because they think if they put a poster in their window that their windows won ’ t get broken out .
So they think that they are paying protection money .
That never works .
I think anyone who really understands the organization , how could they support it ?
I believe that white people are cowardly especially at this moment in history and they feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support black people .
We don ’ t hate anybody .
I ’ m not racist .
I can prove it .
I give money to Black Lives Matter .
Witt : We were doing a video today in Venice beach about this police brutality and defunding the police .
We talked to a couple of black students and how we were trying to work together with them .
I don ’ t think you are racist .
I don ’ t think you are racist .
Then we talk to this white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people we are racist .
I said we just talked to some black kids and they didn ’ t think I was racist but you as a white person are coming in and telling me I ’ m racist .
Do you see a big disconnect with what white people are doing in this country versus what black people are actually getting offended by ?
Swain : It would be comical if it wasn ’ t sad .
And what I see is that the critical race theorists , and you know critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And critical race theory argues that racism is permanent .
You never get rid of it .
That whiteness is property .
So every white person and the poorest white person in Appalachia have this valuable property .
You tell that to JD Wallace ’ s relatives .
You tell that people that grew up in Appalachia have this valuable property .
I think that the white arguments about white privilege and white people have to divest themselves of their whiteness .
And so the lady that you encountered was some “ white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinks that by saying that to you that she has divested herself of her whiteness which she doesn ’ t realize that the way things are going with race and the way attacks are taking place , a lot of black on white attacks .
It seems to me that there are fewer white on black attacks but that may change .
She thinks that it will buy her protection .
It will not buy her protection .
But they are trying to get protection .
And they are trying to feel good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are affluent .
That ’ s not necessarily a privilege .
That means you had parents sometimes that made good decisions .
There are people that have black privilege .
I know plenty of blacks that grew up in affluent homes that never lived in ghettos .
They ’ ve always been surrounded by middle-class relatives .
That ’ s black privilege .
I know some whites that have never had anything .
Their mothers and fathers worked .
Their mothers worked at Waffle House .
It ’ s a lot of nonsense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that white people have learned is to be silent .
Witt : That ’ s definitely true .
What do you think is the solution for fixing what ’ s going on in this country with race tensions I really think higher than ever ?
How do you see we fix these kinds of things ?
Swain : Back in 2002 I published a book called the New White Nationalism in America It ’ s Challenge to Integration .
At the time I was a Democrat but I was concerned about hate crimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in history .
I commissioned interviews of leaders of white rights and white nationalist organizations .
Going from least extreme to most extreme .
What I saw that there were certain conditions and issues that I felt were creating devils rue for racial unrest .
I believe some of what is taking place today are the fruits of identity politics and multiculturalism .
Because multiculturalism argues that every group needs to identify and celebrate their unique history .
What was pointed out by some of the white nationalists is that every group except @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rights Act of 1964 and that the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution that white people were not being protected .
I felt that the way out for America was we needed to move away from identity politics towards the national American identity .
We are in this together .
We will stand and fall together .
Right now there are some legitimate issues that need to be addressed .
Even in the black community .
Black crime and the abortion rate .
The racial preferences that have in some cases placed people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So you have a lot of college students not going to class .
They are easily offended .
They want to re-segregate .
Some of those students are in colleges and universities where they do feel marginalized .
They are frustrated .
They can ’ t do the work .
And I think its easier to protest .
And to them its systemic racism .
I would say that systemic racism , I was born in 1954 .
That was the year of the Brown versus Board of Education case .
There were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism .
In 1964 we passed the Civil Rights Act that opened up accommodations and ended all kinds of discrimination in employment accommodations .
It opened up many opportunities for blacks .
1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed .
1968 the Fair Housing Act passed .
We had moved towards a colorblind society .
But immediately , and this came from white elites we got race-based affirmative action .
And at that same time , women were added too .
So we got affirmative action that included women from the very beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that were added to affirmative action .
And so it was never really exclusively about blacks .
But there were people that clearly benefited .
And the more middle class you were the more you benefited as a minority .
When I look at America I see for more than 60 years people have been aggressively trying to erase the past and present effects of discrimination .
Slavery and Jim Crow racism .
Acts of the federal government that were discriminatory .
People have worked and trillions of dollars have been spent yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than its ever been .
I think that the system works towards ethnic racial minorities and the things that we are focused on now that have to do with police brutality that blacks and people of color do have a lot of interactions with police .
Millions of interactions we hear about these cases where things go wrong .
But the black crime rate is problematic .
Blacks are thirteen percent of the population committing over 51 percent of the violent crimes .
A lot of it is black on black crime .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter focuses on whenever a white police officer kills a black person but not on the black on black crime or that women who are 13 percent of the population are getting 37 percent of the abortions .
And that ’ s being pushed by the Democratic party .
There is something very very broken .
There is something wrong .
There is plenty to be addressed .
Witt : Those same black kids that I was talking to at the beach and asked them these questions .
I asked the , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were killed by police last year ?
One of the kids said 1500 .
Witt : I said is police brutality the biggest issue facing the black community ?
And he said oh , of course .
What if I told you it was only nine unarmed black men that were killed by police ?
He was like , what ?
No way !
That can ’ t be true .
They are so misinformed .
Swain : Far many whites were killed .
A black person is likely to be killed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white police officers are less likely to fire .
And I ’ ve had a concern about people resisting arrest .
Because in a lot of the cases that I ’ m familiar with , not all but in many of those cases it involves someone resisting arrest .
That will never end up well for anyone who is resisting arrest .
And I think that we ’ re reaching a point like with this movement .
They want it so unless a person voluntarily says yes Mr. Policeman , I ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I ’ ll ride downtown that the police officer won ’ t be able to use any type of force to get anyone into the car .
Policing collapses at that point .
Witt : Yes .
Then they keep pushing those issues .
I don ’ t know if you saw this but in San Bernardino , they labeled racism as a public health issue .
Swain : Racism is a public health issue but it doesn ’ t run in the way they think it is .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing black people .
They are killing black youth .
When they tell black youth that police officers are going to shoot them and they can resist the authority and they need to be suspicious of authority .
They are ruining people ’ s lives .
And that disrespect of authority starts in the classroom .
So you have public schools taken over .
Nothing can be done because they are practicing restorative justice .
And the restorative justice keeps criminals in the classroom .
Teachers leave and kids that are afraid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .
Witt : That ’ s the exact same thing not only with police but with the interaction between white people and black people .
I went to a high school and middle school that was very diverse .
There were black kids , white kids , Mexican kids .
I never had a problem with racism .
But people are coming in now telling them , “ Oh , America is so racist.
” What is that telling these young black students ?
They are telling them that white people have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people should be scared for white people .
They are putting racism there where it wasn ’ t before .
Swain : I know .
And most people that I know like blacks and whites we work together .
We go on vacations and go to church together , there is no race problem .
There is only a race problem when the media creates a race problem .
I think about myself .
I grew up in poverty .
High school dropout .
Married at 16 .
I went to a community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college degrees .
I did not have anyone telling me that I was a victim .
Because I was black , poor , female that I couldn ’ t do the things that I was able to ultimately do .
I believed in America .
I believed that if I worked that I could achieve the American dream .
Which I did .
Now when I got to graduate school that ’ s when I learned the theories of oppression .
I learned that I was black , poor , a woman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t do the things that I had already done .
Had I heard that at a different stage in my life , I ’ m not even sure I would have tried .
Witt : Yes .
It seems to me that conservatism and those common-sense values that we talked about in the beginning are things that you are innately born with .
Then leftism has to be taught to you usually at a university .
Swain : And it ’ s so sad too because the teachers are teaching that BS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show ?
Witt : You can say whatever you want .
Swain : The people that are teaching the BS are clueless .
They don ’ t know what they are talking about .
And a lot of times it is young white people with guilt because they had two parents .
Oh , that ’ s the most horrible thing to have two parents , right ?
So they look at people and they feel sorry for them but they are really racist because they believe because a person is black or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are not able .
That they are less able to do things .
And to me , that ’ s very crippling .
For people what you believe your attitude is far more important than your race .
Your gender .
Or anything like that .
Or your social status .
Your poverty .
Your attitude and what you believe about the world .
I would say that for anyone of any race or socio-economic standing .
So you could be born and raised in the most affluent family white and still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what you believe .
Witt : I keep going back to these interviews I did today but again with that same white woman that we talked to saying your racist and I ’ m racist and there are ll these systematic things against black people .
Swain : How does she know ?
Witt : How does it make them feel ?
All of these hurdles that only white people can overcome .
Swain : And that only white people can save them .
I was just in D.C. and the Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There were signs everywhere but there were a lot of white people .
And if I were a Black Lives Matter activist if you can imagine that , I would be upset .
I would be seething at the fact that white folks , young white folks took over my movement .
Witt : I mean the audacity , I don ’ t know if you saw this one woman she ’ s a white woman talking about racism and she ’ s yelling at black police officers .
Witt : We should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Well , they would take her money for sure .
Witt : Yes .
I ’ m sure they would .
Going back we were talking about your upbringing and things like that .
the history of the Democratic party and we get emails and messages at PragerU all the time or to wake up to the truth .
I just want to say thank you for that .
For the people that haven ’ t seen that video , what is the main message , and what really is the history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was the party of slavery .
It was the party of the KKK .
The Jim Crow racism .
It was the party that maintained the lynching .
And when the Civil rights Act of 1964 passed more Republicans than Democrats voted for it .
So it has been the party of segregation .
And it only made the apparent switch when blacks got the right to vote .
So they brought some into the system .
They have really maintained a system .
Think about their embrace of Margaret Sanger and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clinics are in black neighborhoods and they don ’ t have the interests of black people .
Witt : People always say and the number one argument on that video is always that the party switched and that Republicans are the real racists .
Swain : They have to believe that .
I can tell you I was born and raised in Virginia and Virginia is the state that had massive resistance to integration .
In fact , even though I was born in 1954 and started school in 1960 , it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prince Edward County in Virginia closed down their school system rather than integrate .
The Byrd machines – that was a political machine – they fought integration .
And in 1969 the state elected its first Republican governor Linwood Holton and the first thing that Linwood Holton did after he was inaugurated was take his small children by the hand and walk them to public school in Richmond which was prominently black and enrolled his two children .
He was the one that started appointing blacks in Virginia .
And so in Virginia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he ’ s the guy that appeared in blackface .
There are pictures of him in blackface but the Democratic party has not changed a whole lot .
And I ’ m a Virginian , I love my state but at the same time my state has not been very good when it comes to race .
And for the most part , they ’ ve elected Democrats .
Witt : In stark contrast to that though you talk about the Republican party as well as being basically the anti-slavery party started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video that I really want people to watch and that does not have as many views as my PragerU videos on the Republican party and the Democratic Party and the big switch .
It ’ s the one about the three-fifths clause .
I don ’ t know if you were taught this in school but you hear well-educated people saying that at the time the constitution was ratified that blacks were considered three fifths a person .
Three fifths a man .
That is not true .
Witt : I have .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew better , right ?
Swain : I ’ m urging everyone to watch that video because that ’ s not what the debate was about .
It was not about if black were three fifths human .
The south wanted to count all 6,000 blacks because they would get more seats in Congress .
So it was really the anti-slavery that wanted the three-fifths clause .
They wanted it because they did not want the south to get all those extra representatives in Congress .
Had they gotten those representatives slavery would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the opposite of what the people believe .
Witt : When you look back and the things that I ’ ve learned now versus was I was taught in school .
I was forced to read the Howard Zinn novels .
Peoples ’ History of America .
Swain : And people are still pushing that .
And the most dangerous thing out there now is the 1619 Project by Nicole Hammer Jones .
She works for The New York Times .
And she ’ s really a big reparations advocate .
Going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are worse than ever for black people .
Nothing has changed .
All this systemic racism .
Again , I was born into systemic racism .
I knew about systemic racism .
What we have now is not systemic racism against people of color .
I think it ’ s more racism against white people at this moment .
Particularly white men and white boys .
I think there is a lot of shaming .
And the woman that you encountered , this is someone who is ashamed of her race .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she must have been down on her names begging for forgiveness .
But to me , it ’ s a disturbing sight to see white people begging black people for forgiveness for something their ancestors may or may not have done depending on when they arrived in the US .
Witt : It ’ s like using you as a prop to make myself feel better .
Witt : Exactly .
Exactly .
Going back to me reading the Howard Zinn novels and just and you as a professor at university for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you think that young people right now are taught to hate America and what this country is founded on ?
Swain : They are .
You can not sustain a nation that is not proud of their country .
And I can tell you growing up in the 1960s I loved America .
I believed I lived in the greatest country in the world .
I believed in the American dream .
I love the fact that I was a Virginian .
I came from the state that produced five presidents .
All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I got it through my civic education .
And I believe I ’ m a better person because I believe those things .
What disappoints me today about America is that we have a Constitution .
We have the Declaration of Independence .
We have so many resources and we have strayed away from the things that have made us a great nation .
And I believe that America is destined to fall unless we change course .
When I think about nations that rise and fall I think that we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk of falling to Russia or China or North Korea .
Or one of those nations .
And it is because we are destroying ourselves from within .
It is no foreign enemy that ’ s out there with a gun .
We are destroying ourselves by using all the hype around the coronavirus and the hype around racism that we stir up through the media and take everything and racialize it .
And the people that are doing this , a lot of them are Marxists and they want communism .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s very disturbing what ’ s taking place right before our eyes .
Not everyone can see it .
And I ’ m glad that you are a young person and you can see it .
The people that watch your show , they can see it .
There are young people that are “ woke.
” We need everyone .
All hands on deck .
Witt : What would you say to close this off and to give advice to young black people in America .
What would you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t trust what you ’ ve been told over the decades .
What you are being told in school in most cases .
I think that they need to dig in deep and get their own information .
And not just parrot what other people say .
This is for white people too , I find that a lot of young people will come to college and they ’ ve solved all of the big issues of the day .
They can spout off the politically correct answer to every issue .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memorized and been indoctrinated with even in middle school .
That ’ s not the truth .
They are being manipulated .
They should not want to be educated where they only get one side .
They should want to allow other people to speak .
They should not be shutting down free speech .
And I say to conservative youth as well as liberal youth , get both sides .
Get more sides .
Sometimes there are three sides .
More than two sides .
Make sure you are not just listening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not being educated .
You are not being challenged .
You will never find the truth that way .

Dr. Carol M. Swain sat down with Prager University’s Will Witt to discuss Black Lives Matter, their philosophy, and goals.
TRANSCRIPT
Swain: I am a former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. Before that, I was a tenured professor at Princeton University. I am a conservative. I have a podcast. I write articles and books. I am educating the world. The world is my classroom. Welcome to my classroom.
Will Witt: I want to thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. in your intro you talked about how you are a conservative and people will look at you and say a black conservative? I didn’t know those people existed. How did you get to the point of where you are at now?
Swain: I was born and raised in the country of rural Virginia. A southerner. And with that comes common sense. Now common sense is in short supply these days. I had common sense so even when I was a Democrat and I was not a conservative I was not necessarily seeing the world as everyone else did.
So I can always say that my perspective on the world was different. I think that helped explain that I did have success in academia during the years that I was a Democrat. But after I had a Christian conversion experience and I became more conservative then the world changed for me.
Witt: It’s kind of common-sense values. I totally agree with that because I went through college and I thought I was a liberal and a more leftist type of person. Then I realized that the common-sense values that I had actually lined up with conservatism. And I find that a lot of people have those same kinds of values.
But right now in America especially at the universities and young people rioting and marching in the streets we are seeing a huge lack of common sense. What do you think is the biggest problem facing these communities right now?
Swain: One of the biggest problems is that young people who have been educated at our colleges, universities, and middle schools are not being taught critical thinking skills and that it’s so much indoctrination. They are out there, bless their hearts, they are trying to change the world and they don’t even understand the world. They are out there trying to fix things. But they are clueless in a lot of ways.
Witt: One of the things that we are seeing right now is the amount of protesting going on for George Floyd’s death and black lives matter really bolstering itself up. Do you think that Black Lives Matter is doing a lot of good for African Americans in our country right now?
Swain: OK. In 2016 I gave a CNN interview. I was debating an attorney in LA named Areva Martin and at that time the five police officers in Dallas had been slain. And I pointed out because I’d gone to the Black Lives Matter website and they were Marxists. It looks like the points came from the Communist Manifesto. They were talking about overthrowing the state.
And at that time I said that Black Lives Matter was a destructive force in our society and that it was a problem. I caught a lot of grief for saying that. Now the founders of Black Lives Matter have come out. They’ve come out as Marxists. And what I see is people not being able to discern between the statement, Black Lives Matter in the same way that all lives matter.
They can’t distinguish the slogan as a true statement and the organization as Marxist. I believe that the organization itself is using black people to advance a Marxist agenda. And the corporations, the schools, the churches that have gotten behind Black Lives Matter the organization, they think they are helping black people. They think they are showing support for black people but actually its the opposite.
Witt: Why do you think that so many people support an organization like Black Lives Matter when you can go to their website. You can see their views and ideas. They said they want to literally have no police anymore in America. Why do you think there are so many people so attracted to those kinds of values.
Swain: They are not attracted to it necessarily. Now some of the people that support Black Lives Matter are supporting it because they think if they put a poster in their window that their windows won’t get broken out. So they think that they are paying protection money. That never works. I think anyone who really understands the organization, how could they support it?
I believe that white people are cowardly especially at this moment in history and they feel like they want to show that they support black people. We don’t hate anybody. I’m not racist. I can prove it. I give money to Black Lives Matter.
Witt: We were doing a video today in Venice beach about this police brutality and defunding the police. We talked to a couple of black students and how we were trying to work together with them. I don’t think you are racist. I don’t think you are racist.
Then we talk to this white woman and she says that as white people we are racist. I said we just talked to some black kids and they didn’t think I was racist but you as a white person are coming in and telling me I’m racist. Do you see a big disconnect with what white people are doing in this country versus what black people are actually getting offended by?
Swain: It would be comical if it wasn’t sad. And what I see is that the critical race theorists, and you know critical theory is a part of Marxism. And critical race theory argues that racism is permanent. You never get rid of it. That whiteness is property.
So every white person and the poorest white person in Appalachia have this valuable property. You tell that to JD Wallace’s relatives. You tell that people that grew up in Appalachia have this valuable property. I think that the white arguments about white privilege and white people have to divest themselves of their whiteness.
And so the lady that you encountered was some “white person trying to be woke” she thinks that by saying that to you that she has divested herself of her whiteness which she doesn’t realize that the way things are going with race and the way attacks are taking place, a lot of black on white attacks.
It seems to me that there are fewer white on black attacks but that may change. She thinks that it will buy her protection. It will not buy her protection. But they are trying to get protection. And they are trying to feel good about themselves. And some of them are affluent. That’s not necessarily a privilege.
That means you had parents sometimes that made good decisions. There are people that have black privilege. I know plenty of blacks that grew up in affluent homes that never lived in ghettos. They’ve always been surrounded by middle-class relatives. That’s black privilege. I know some whites that have never had anything. Their mothers and fathers worked. Their mothers worked at Waffle House. It’s a lot of nonsense. But I think that one thing that white people have learned is to be silent.
Witt: That’s definitely true. What do you think is the solution for fixing what’s going on in this country with race tensions I really think higher than ever? How do you see we fix these kinds of things?
Swain: Back in 2002 I published a book called the New White Nationalism in America It’s Challenge to Integration. At the time I was a Democrat but I was concerned about hate crimes that were taking place at that point in history. I commissioned interviews of leaders of white rights and white nationalist organizations.
Going from least extreme to most extreme. What I saw that there were certain conditions and issues that I felt were creating devils rue for racial unrest. I believe some of what is taking place today are the fruits of identity politics and multiculturalism.
Because multiculturalism argues that every group needs to identify and celebrate their unique history. What was pointed out by some of the white nationalists is that every group except whites? They felt that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution that white people were not being protected.
I felt that the way out for America was we needed to move away from identity politics towards the national American identity. We are in this together. We will stand and fall together. Right now there are some legitimate issues that need to be addressed. Even in the black community. Black crime and the abortion rate.
The racial preferences that have in some cases placed people where they shouldn’t be. So you have a lot of college students not going to class. They are easily offended. They want to re-segregate. Some of those students are in colleges and universities where they do feel marginalized. They are frustrated. They can’t do the work. And I think its easier to protest.
And to them its systemic racism. I would say that systemic racism, I was born in 1954. That was the year of the Brown versus Board of Education case. There were segregated schools then. That was systemic racism. In 1964 we passed the Civil Rights Act that opened up accommodations and ended all kinds of discrimination in employment accommodations.
It opened up many opportunities for blacks. 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed. 1968 the Fair Housing Act passed. We had moved towards a colorblind society. But immediately, and this came from white elites we got race-based affirmative action. And at that same time, women were added too. So we got affirmative action that included women from the very beginning.
By 1971 there were five groups that were added to affirmative action. And so it was never really exclusively about blacks. But there were people that clearly benefited. And the more middle class you were the more you benefited as a minority.
When I look at America I see for more than 60 years people have been aggressively trying to erase the past and present effects of discrimination. Slavery and Jim Crow racism. Acts of the federal government that were discriminatory. People have worked and trillions of dollars have been spent yet we hear that racism is the worst than its ever been.
I think that the system works towards ethnic racial minorities and the things that we are focused on now that have to do with police brutality that blacks and people of color do have a lot of interactions with police. Millions of interactions we hear about these cases where things go wrong. But the black crime rate is problematic.
Blacks are thirteen percent of the population committing over 51 percent of the violent crimes. A lot of it is black on black crime. It’s problematic that Black Lives Matter focuses on whenever a white police officer kills a black person but not on the black on black crime or that women who are 13 percent of the population are getting 37 percent of the abortions. And that’s being pushed by the Democratic party. There is something very very broken. There is something wrong. There is plenty to be addressed.
Witt: Those same black kids that I was talking to at the beach and asked them these questions. I asked the, how many unarmed black men do you think were killed by police last year? One of the kids said 1500.
Swain: Gracious.
Witt: I said is police brutality the biggest issue facing the black community? And he said oh, of course. What if I told you it was only nine unarmed black men that were killed by police? He was like, what? No way! That can’t be true. They are so misinformed.
Swain: Far many whites were killed. A black person is likely to be killed by a black police officer. That the white police officers are less likely to fire. And I’ve had a concern about people resisting arrest. Because in a lot of the cases that I’m familiar with, not all but in many of those cases it involves someone resisting arrest.
That will never end up well for anyone who is resisting arrest. And I think that we’re reaching a point like with this movement. They want it so unless a person voluntarily says yes Mr. Policeman, I’ll get in the back of your car and I’ll ride downtown that the police officer won’t be able to use any type of force to get anyone into the car. Policing collapses at that point.
Witt: Yes. Then they keep pushing those issues. I don’t know if you saw this but in San Bernardino, they labeled racism as a public health issue.
Swain: Racism is a public health issue but it doesn’t run in the way they think it is. It’s the white liberal racism that’s killing black people. They are killing black youth. When they tell black youth that police officers are going to shoot them and they can resist the authority and they need to be suspicious of authority. They are ruining people’s lives.
And that disrespect of authority starts in the classroom. So you have public schools taken over. Nothing can be done because they are practicing restorative justice. And the restorative justice keeps criminals in the classroom. Teachers leave and kids that are afraid of the criminals, they drop out of school.
Witt: That’s the exact same thing not only with police but with the interaction between white people and black people. I went to a high school and middle school that was very diverse. There were black kids, white kids, Mexican kids. I never had a problem with racism. But people are coming in now telling them, “Oh, America is so racist.” What is that telling these young black students? They are telling them that white people have a problem with them and that black people should be scared for white people. They are putting racism there where it wasn’t before.
Swain: I know. And most people that I know like blacks and whites we work together. We go on vacations and go to church together, there is no race problem. There is only a race problem when the media creates a race problem. I think about myself. I grew up in poverty.
High school dropout. Married at 16. I went to a community college then went on to get other college degrees. I did not have anyone telling me that I was a victim. Because I was black, poor, female that I couldn’t do the things that I was able to ultimately do. I believed in America. I believed that if I worked that I could achieve the American dream.
Which I did. Now when I got to graduate school that’s when I learned the theories of oppression. I learned that I was black, poor, a woman, and a mother and that I couldn’t do the things that I had already done. Had I heard that at a different stage in my life, I’m not even sure I would have tried.
Witt: Yes. It seems to me that conservatism and those common-sense values that we talked about in the beginning are things that you are innately born with. Then leftism has to be taught to you usually at a university.
Swain: And it’s so sad too because the teachers are teaching that BS. Can I say BS on this show?
Witt: You can say whatever you want.
Swain: The people that are teaching the BS are clueless. They don’t know what they are talking about. And a lot of times it is young white people with guilt because they had two parents. Oh, that’s the most horrible thing to have two parents, right?
So they look at people and they feel sorry for them but they are really racist because they believe because a person is black or they are living in the ghetto that they are not able. That they are less able to do things. And to me, that’s very crippling.
For people what you believe your attitude is far more important than your race. Your gender. Or anything like that. Or your social status. Your poverty. Your attitude and what you believe about the world. I would say that for anyone of any race or socio-economic standing. So you could be born and raised in the most affluent family white and still be disadvantaged because you are crippled by what you believe.
Witt: I keep going back to these interviews I did today but again with that same white woman that we talked to saying your racist and I’m racist and there are ll these systematic things against black people.
Swain: How does she know?
Witt: How does it make them feel? All of these hurdles that only white people can overcome.
Swain: And that only white people can save them. I was just in D.C. and the Black Lives Matter they had their graffiti everywhere. There were signs everywhere but there were a lot of white people. And if I were a Black Lives Matter activist if you can imagine that, I would be upset. I would be seething at the fact that white folks, young white folks took over my movement.
Witt: I mean the audacity, I don’t know if you saw this one woman she’s a white woman talking about racism and she’s yelling at black police officers.
Swain: She identifies as black I guess.
Witt: We should have her join the NAACP.
Swain: Well, they would take her money for sure.
Witt: Yes. I’m sure they would. Going back we were talking about your upbringing and things like that. the history of the Democratic party and we get emails and messages at PragerU all the time or to wake up to the truth. I just want to say thank you for that. For the people that haven’t seen that video, what is the main message, and what really is the history of the Democratic party?
Swain: it was the party of slavery. It was the party of the KKK. The Jim Crow racism. It was the party that maintained the lynching. And when the Civil rights Act of 1964 passed more Republicans than Democrats voted for it. So it has been the party of segregation. And it only made the apparent switch when blacks got the right to vote.
So they brought some into the system. They have really maintained a system. Think about their embrace of Margaret Sanger and abortion where 80 percent of the abortion clinics are in black neighborhoods and they don’t have the interests of black people.
Witt: People always say and the number one argument on that video is always that the party switched and that Republicans are the real racists.
Swain: They have to believe that. I can tell you I was born and raised in Virginia and Virginia is the state that had massive resistance to integration. In fact, even though I was born in 1954 and started school in 1960, it was 1968 till we integrated into Virginia. Prince Edward County in Virginia closed down their school system rather than integrate.
The Byrd machines – that was a political machine – they fought integration. And in 1969 the state elected its first Republican governor Linwood Holton and the first thing that Linwood Holton did after he was inaugurated was take his small children by the hand and walk them to public school in Richmond which was prominently black and enrolled his two children. He was the one that started appointing blacks in Virginia.
And so in Virginia, they have a governor now Northam, he’s the guy that appeared in blackface. There are pictures of him in blackface but the Democratic party has not changed a whole lot. And I’m a Virginian, I love my state but at the same time my state has not been very good when it comes to race. And for the most part, they’ve elected Democrats.
Witt: In stark contrast to that though you talk about the Republican party as well as being basically the anti-slavery party started.
Swain: Yes. But the video that I really want people to watch and that does not have as many views as my PragerU videos on the Republican party and the Democratic Party and the big switch. It’s the one about the three-fifths clause. I don’t know if you were taught this in school but you hear well-educated people saying that at the time the constitution was ratified that blacks were considered three fifths a person. Three fifths a man. That is not true.
Witt: I have. Yes. Yes.
Swain: You knew better, right?
Witt: Well I didn’t then. (Swain chuckles)
Swain: I’m urging everyone to watch that video because that’s not what the debate was about. It was not about if black were three fifths human. The south wanted to count all 6,000 blacks because they would get more seats in Congress.
So it was really the anti-slavery that wanted the three-fifths clause. They wanted it because they did not want the south to get all those extra representatives in Congress. Had they gotten those representatives slavery would have lasted longer. So it’s the opposite of what the people believe.
Witt: When you look back and the things that I’ve learned now versus was I was taught in school. I was forced to read the Howard Zinn novels. Peoples’ History of America.
Swain: And people are still pushing that. And the most dangerous thing out there now is the 1619 Project by Nicole Hammer Jones. She works for The New York Times. And she’s really a big reparations advocate. Going back to reparations and saying that things are worse than ever for black people.
Nothing has changed. All this systemic racism. Again, I was born into systemic racism. I knew about systemic racism. What we have now is not systemic racism against people of color. I think it’s more racism against white people at this moment. Particularly white men and white boys. I think there is a lot of shaming.
And the woman that you encountered, this is someone who is ashamed of her race. I don’t know how many times she must have been down on her names begging for forgiveness. But to me, it’s a disturbing sight to see white people begging black people for forgiveness for something their ancestors may or may not have done depending on when they arrived in the US.
Witt: It’s like using you as a prop to make myself feel better.
Swain: It’s virtue signaling.
Witt: Exactly. Exactly. Going back to me reading the Howard Zinn novels and just and you as a professor at university for a long time. Different universities, do you think that young people right now are taught to hate America and what this country is founded on?
Swain: They are. You cannot sustain a nation that is not proud of their country. And I can tell you growing up in the 1960s I loved America. I believed I lived in the greatest country in the world. I believed in the American dream. I love the fact that I was a Virginian. I came from the state that produced five presidents.
All of those things were important to me and I got it through my civic education. And I believe I’m a better person because I believe those things. What disappoints me today about America is that we have a Constitution. We have the Declaration of Independence.
We have so many resources and we have strayed away from the things that have made us a great nation. And I believe that America is destined to fall unless we change course. When I think about nations that rise and fall I think that we are pursuing a path that we are at risk of falling to Russia or China or North Korea.
Or one of those nations. And it is because we are destroying ourselves from within. It is no foreign enemy that’s out there with a gun. We are destroying ourselves by using all the hype around the coronavirus and the hype around racism that we stir up through the media and take everything and racialize it.
And the people that are doing this, a lot of them are Marxists and they want communism. They are working for China. To me, it’s very disturbing what’s taking place right before our eyes. Not everyone can see it. And I’m glad that you are a young person and you can see it. The people that watch your show, they can see it. There are young people that are “woke.” We need everyone. All hands on deck.
Witt: What would you say to close this off and to give advice to young black people in America. What would you tell them?
Swain: Don’t trust what you’ve been told over the decades. What you are being told in school in most cases. I think that they need to dig in deep and get their own information. And not just parrot what other people say. This is for white people too, I find that a lot of young people will come to college and they’ve solved all of the big issues of the day.
They can spout off the politically correct answer to every issue. It’s stuff that they’ve memorized and been indoctrinated with even in middle school. That’s not the truth. They are being manipulated. They should not want to be educated where they only get one side. They should want to allow other people to speak. They should not be shutting down free speech.
And I say to conservative youth as well as liberal youth, get both sides. Get more sides. Sometimes there are three sides. More than two sides. Make sure you are not just listening to one set of voices. You are not being educated. You are not being challenged. You will never find the truth that way.
– – –


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--FAKE NEWS: Left Wing Blog Falsely Reports GOP State Rep. Has COVID-19

State Rep. Robin Smith ( R-Hixson ) told staff at The Tennessee Holler Thursday that she did not have COVID-19 , but she said staff members went online a short time later and published she had the virus anyway .
The Holler based this information off of unnamed yet “ reliable sources.
” Smith said Thursday that The Holler publishing false information about her — and knowing they published false information — displeased her greatly .
Smith also said she might take legal action against the left-wing publication .
This all started Thursday morning when The Holler emailed Smith to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ I responded back , and I had the presence of mind to include [ in the email ] my personal attorney , the attorney of the Tennessee House as well as the speaker ’ s attorney .
My response was ‘ I do not have any illness , symptoms , or known exposures .
I do not have COVID .
Your comments below and any in print via word of mouth and otherwise will be considered slander and libel , ' ” Smith told The Tennessee Star .
Smith said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had the virus .
The publication also mentioned that she did not wear a protective mask at the end of this year ’ s legislative session .
The Holler then asked who else was near Smith and when she first knew she had COVID-19 .
The Star did not see The Holler ’ s post .
But around 10:30 a.m. Central Time Thursday The Holler staff posted the following on their Facebook page : “ Robin Smith Denies the rumor that she had COVID .
We are deleting the previous post.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did to her was an act of desperation .
“ It shows you how despicable the political left and the radicals have gotten in recent days .
If they are not successful in having conservatives conform to whatever the topics are of the day , to comply by whatever their demands are at the moment and their whims , then you are set for persecution .
Any tool , whether it is screaming racism , whether it ’ s assigning you with the letter C for COVID if you tested positive , well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to the radical left , ” Smith said .
“ I have talked to my attorney .
They said the timeline is very clear and about the fact that this particular publication knew going in that they were intent on publishing a rumor .
Who knows where that originated ?
But it ’ s not my job to find out the source .
I have talked to my attorney , and he is exploring some options because , even though the content was pulled down and deleted , it was very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it serves to harm the public.
” Smith said Thursday that she has not felt ill since last year and has had no reason to test for COVID-19 .
Nor has she interacted with anyone who tested positive for the virus .
“ This is the kind of junk they want to allege is their freedom of speech and , sure , it is protected , but my attorney has found citations , some standing , to address that you can ’ t knowingly publish rumors , particularly when they have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that people saw The Holler ’ s post and asked her about it before the publication removed it .
“ If it is actionable then there will be action.
” Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

State Rep. Robin Smith (R-Hixson) told staff at The Tennessee Holler Thursday that she did not have COVID-19, but she said staff members went online a short time later and published she had the virus anyway.
The Holler based this information off of unnamed yet “reliable sources.”
Smith said Thursday that The Holler publishing false information about her — and knowing they published false information — displeased her greatly. Smith also said she might take legal action against the left-wing publication.
This all started Thursday morning when The Holler emailed Smith to ask her about these rumors, she said.
“I responded back, and I had the presence of mind to include [in the email] my personal attorney, the attorney of the Tennessee House as well as the speaker’s attorney. My response was ‘I do not have any illness, symptoms, or known exposures. I do not have COVID. Your comments below and any in print via word of mouth and otherwise will be considered slander and libel,'” Smith told The Tennessee Star.
Smith said that within moments The Holler posted that she had the virus. The publication also mentioned that she did not wear a protective mask at the end of this year’s legislative session. The Holler then asked who else was near Smith and when she first knew she had COVID-19.
The Star did not see The Holler’s post. But around 10:30 a.m. Central Time Thursday The Holler staff posted the following on their Facebook page:
“Robin Smith Denies the rumor that she had COVID. We are deleting the previous post.”
Smith said Thursday that what The Holler did to her was an act of desperation.
“It shows you how despicable the political left and the radicals have gotten in recent days. If they are not successful in having conservatives conform to whatever the topics are of the day, to comply by whatever their demands are at the moment and their whims, then you are set for persecution. Any tool, whether it is screaming racism, whether it’s assigning you with the letter C for COVID if you tested positive, well, then you are the new outcast, according to the radical left,” Smith said.
“I have talked to my attorney. They said the timeline is very clear and about the fact that this particular publication knew going in that they were intent on publishing a rumor. Who knows where that originated? But it’s not my job to find out the source. I have talked to my attorney, and he is exploring some options because, even though the content was pulled down and deleted, it was very malicious and, in this particular case, it serves to harm the public.”
Smith said Thursday that she has not felt ill since last year and has had no reason to test for COVID-19. Nor has she interacted with anyone who tested positive for the virus.
“This is the kind of junk they want to allege is their freedom of speech and, sure, it is protected, but my attorney has found citations, some standing, to address that you can’t knowingly publish rumors, particularly when they have been otherwise denied, Smith said.
Smith said that people saw The Holler’s post and asked her about it before the publication removed it.
“My attorney is exploring options,” Smith said.
“If it is actionable then there will be action.”
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--Commentary: The Myth of Righteous Vandalism

The fevered frenzy against public monuments has caused varied reactions .
Among scholars , the main symptom is seemingly contagious dispassion .
When a New York Times columnist spoke with art historian Erin Thompson , for example , their interview closed with Thompson recommending the use of chains for those interested in inverting large objects .
She appears to have an affinity for neither art nor history .
Thompson may have caught the bug from archaeologist Sarah Parcak , who recently — and apparently satirically — briefed mobs struggling to dislodge obelisks .
“ It is sometimes complained , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such acts erase history.
” According to him , that is a popular grievance against the destruction of statues that historians and scholars almost universally dismiss .
To inoculate the rest of us , let ’ s try to inhale and expose ourselves to the astonishing notion that these scholars seem to endorse : that statues are useless and that we derive historical knowledge only from archives , documents , and “ objects preserved in libraries or museums.
” Only if this is true — if statues can bear no intellectual or artistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But if there is any value inherent in objects that a community once used publicly and symbolically , we should reconsider .
First , the physical evidence of Confederate monuments is what has generated much of the indignation towards them .
This evidence directly contributes to historical knowledge .
Second , even if all Americans today deem artifacts from a certain era to be worthless , we shouldn ’ t decide on behalf of future generations .
Third , landmarks are inseparable from citizens ’ intergenerational identities .
Finally , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of statues ( academic consensus sounds like an oxymoron ) , despite what Cavert claims .
Dissenters shouldn ’ t allow a few of their colleagues to speak on their behalf , because this indifference could be transmitted to the broader public and could become endemic .
Confederate monuments ’ location , imagery , inscriptions , dates , and materials of construction , cost , and commission show what the communities who built them valued and what reasons they had for doing so .
In the past decade , Timothy Sedore , Thomas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Butler have catalogued and produced works reliant on this evidence .
Protesters ( and observers ) today glean Jim Crow–era historical insight while destroying its sources , and they are the last ones who will ever be able to do so directly .
The primary evidence they offer — complementary to archival and secondary sources — of which there can never be enough , is gone .
Art historians would never argue that Myron ’ s Discobolus is useless , even though plenty of documents illustrate it and the cultural tradition it represents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
It would be myopic of a historian to decide that there is enough evidence to reimagine any bygone time , because that will not always be the case .
We do not own historical artifacts ; we owe them to our successors so that they , too , can subject them to etiological and aesthetic scrutiny as we can .
We endlessly refine academic study by using new evidence or revisiting the old with new methods .
To destroy these monuments is to rob future generations of that opportunity .
The community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment , share the moral or political sentiments of those who built its public monuments .
But destroying them erodes our knowledge of those reasons and sentiments , of our predecessors who espoused them , and of how far we have come .
A political community is material as much as social .
After 1974 , when Turkish occupying forces in northern Cyprus renamed streets and towns , their motivation was replacing what came before .
When most calculated , such acts attempt to expunge a community with which the actors aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calculated , they channel vicarious retribution against an inexcusable past .
Now , the destruction of landmarks alienates community members who have natural , apolitical , personal , or familial associations with the material backdrop of their lives .
Such acts make sense for culturally dissimilar invaders , but not for co-citizens who eventually intend to resume a shared life .
Historians , before all , should be well aware of all this .
One hesitates to assume collective indifference among scholars .
I have a suspicion : most historians have chosen to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t .
Without learned opposition , the attitudes of the few — ascribed to the entire discipline — will proliferate .
And in what position will the cognoscenti be when the protesters of tomorrow naturally aim at new targets ?
George Washington ’ s legacy is already embattled ; one hears violent murmurs about Mount Rushmore .
Perhaps the authors of the Declaration of Independence or the United States Bill of Rights will follow .
Even the statue of an immigrant abolitionist and Union colonel has been irreparably damaged .
And why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ art — portraits , literature , and intellectual and academic works in public libraries — be exempt from retrospective opprobrium ?
Woe to us when we inevitably realize — having leveled our cultural landscape — that our particular moral sensibilities were self-evident to no generation but ours .
Vahaken Mouradian is a Cypriot-Armenian immigrant to the United States , working at a social-impact nonprofit in Washington , D.C .
He holds a Bachelor ’ s degree in Politics , Philosophy , and Economics , and a Master ’ s degree in International Security @

by Vahaken Mouradian
The fevered frenzy against public monuments has caused varied reactions. Among scholars, the main symptom is seemingly contagious dispassion. When a New York Times columnist spoke with art historian Erin Thompson, for example, their interview closed with Thompson recommending the use of chains for those interested in inverting large objects. She appears to have an affinity for neither art nor history. Thompson may have caught the bug from archaeologist Sarah Parcak, who recently — and apparently satirically — briefed mobs struggling to dislodge obelisks. “It is sometimes complained,” drawls historian William Cavert, “that such acts erase history.” According to him, that is a popular grievance against the destruction of statues that historians and scholars almost universally dismiss.
To inoculate the rest of us, let’s try to inhale and expose ourselves to the astonishing notion that these scholars seem to endorse: that statues are useless and that we derive historical knowledge only from archives, documents, and “objects preserved in libraries or museums.” Only if this is true — if statues can bear no intellectual or artistic value — would our indifference be justified. But if there is any value inherent in objects that a community once used publicly and symbolically, we should reconsider.
First, the physical evidence of Confederate monuments is what has generated much of the indignation towards them. This evidence directly contributes to historical knowledge.
Second, even if all Americans today deem artifacts from a certain era to be worthless, we shouldn’t decide on behalf of future generations.
Third, landmarks are inseparable from citizens’ intergenerational identities.
Finally, it is improbable that historians agree on the worthlessness of statues (academic consensus sounds like an oxymoron), despite what Cavert claims. Dissenters shouldn’t allow a few of their colleagues to speak on their behalf, because this indifference could be transmitted to the broader public and could become endemic.
Confederate monuments’ location, imagery, inscriptions, dates, and materials of construction, cost, and commission show what the communities who built them valued and what reasons they had for doing so. In the past decade, Timothy Sedore, Thomas J. Brown, and Douglas J. Butler have catalogued and produced works reliant on this evidence. Protesters (and observers) today glean Jim Crow–era historical insight while destroying its sources, and they are the last ones who will ever be able to do so directly. The primary evidence they offer — complementary to archival and secondary sources — of which there can never be enough, is gone. Art historians would never argue that Myron’s Discobolus is useless, even though plenty of documents illustrate it and the cultural tradition it represents. Why are Confederate statues uniquely worthless?
It would be myopic of a historian to decide that there is enough evidence to reimagine any bygone time, because that will not always be the case. We do not own historical artifacts; we owe them to our successors so that they, too, can subject them to etiological and aesthetic scrutiny as we can. We endlessly refine academic study by using new evidence or revisiting the old with new methods. To destroy these monuments is to rob future generations of that opportunity. The community does not, at any and every moment, share the moral or political sentiments of those who built its public monuments. But destroying them erodes our knowledge of those reasons and sentiments, of our predecessors who espoused them, and of how far we have come.
A political community is material as much as social. After 1974, when Turkish occupying forces in northern Cyprus renamed streets and towns, their motivation was replacing what came before. When most calculated, such acts attempt to expunge a community with which the actors aren’t planning to cohabit. When least calculated, they channel vicarious retribution against an inexcusable past. Now, the destruction of landmarks alienates community members who have natural, apolitical, personal, or familial associations with the material backdrop of their lives. Such acts make sense for culturally dissimilar invaders, but not for co-citizens who eventually intend to resume a shared life.
Historians, before all, should be well aware of all this. One hesitates to assume collective indifference among scholars. I have a suspicion: most historians have chosen to abstain from this controversy. They shouldn’t. Without learned opposition, the attitudes of the few — ascribed to the entire discipline — will proliferate. And in what position will the cognoscenti be when the protesters of tomorrow naturally aim at new targets? George Washington’s legacy is already embattled; one hears violent murmurs about Mount Rushmore. Perhaps the authors of the Declaration of Independence or the United States Bill of Rights will follow. Even the statue of an immigrant abolitionist and Union colonel has been irreparably damaged. And why would less conspicuous but no less symbolic art — portraits, literature, and intellectual and academic works in public libraries — be exempt from retrospective opprobrium?
Woe to us when we inevitably realize — having leveled our cultural landscape — that our particular moral sensibilities were self-evident to no generation but ours.
– – –
Vahaken Mouradian is a Cypriot-Armenian immigrant to the United States, working at a social-impact nonprofit in Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and a Master’s degree in International Security.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--Host Leahy and Tennessee State Senator Jack Johnson Discuss Gov. Lee’s State of Emergency Extension

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson to the studio .
At the end of the third hour , Leahy and Johnson answered calls from concerned parents about Governor Lee ’ s state of emergency extension that will last until August 29 and touched upon the potentiality of spreading COVID-19 through elementary and high school students .
Leahy : We are joined in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johnson .
Jack the phones are lighting up .
People want to talk to the Senate Majority Leader .
Leahy : Terry in Nashville wants to talk about the governor ’ s recent order extending the emergency order until the end of August .
Good morning Terry .
Caller Terry : Good morning .
The order was put out to August 29 .
That ’ s two months away .
And one of the things that I don ’ t understand , one thing I ’ m disturbed about is you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Or you send an email and you get back an obligatory response , like thank you for your letting .
So you really can ’ t respond to this .
One of the things that I ’ m disturbed about is that I have high school children that play high school football .
And they said we can play college football and pro-football but we can ’ t play high school football .
One of the things that is really good for race relations in athletics .
That ’ s what develops relationships @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for years for all types of kids .
I want to know why our state representatives and state senators don ’ t do more and allow Governor Lee what he wants to .
I thank you for your time and look forward to your answer .
Leahy : Thanks for your call .
Senator Johnson .
Leahy : The governor has extended to the end of August and Terry in Nashville thinks its a bad idea because he wants his sons to be able to play football .
Johnson : Sure .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And Terry thanks for the call and the question .
Let me say as well I have two teenage boys that are in high school and one is a football player and one is a lacrosse player and they are chomping at the bit to get back to their sports and play .
And Mom and Dad are too .
It ’ s an important part of growing up .
It ’ s an important part of the school process .
And we want them doing that .
So the governor did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not necessarily mean that businesses are shut down or any of that type of thing going on .
It ’ s difficult with us and it ’ s going to sound like we are passing the buck but I don ’ t mean to .
We are a part-time legislature and we have adjourned as I discussed earlier sine die .
So we have to allow the governor to make some decisions about this .
I will tell you he is getting a lot of feedback from people all over the state like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that .
Leahy : The reason why the governor can do this is because the legislature passed a law giving him certain emergency powers I think back in the 1970s .
Johnson : Yes .
Its been on the books for a long time .
Leahy : Now he is invoking that law .
Now I ’ ve argued that he has overreached .
This is me arguing not you .
He ’ s overreached in the application of that law and that the evidence to support some of his actions are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s not yet been challenged in court .
Clearly he ’ s not going as overboard as the mayor of Nashville and the mayor of Memphis are .
Johnson : Look at some of these governors like in Michigan .
Johnson : Listen , we are all kind of flying blind here .
This is an unusual circumstance .
And we ’ ve never been down this road before .
And the governor understands and he wants to do the right thing .
He ’ s getting a lot of feedback @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the general public .
And he welcomes that .
And we know and he knows that we ’ re going to have to do a post mortem on this whole thing .
And now is not the time probably .
Let ’ s get through this and get COVID behind us as soon as possible .
And probably come January when we reconvene in the general assembly I think we are all going to sit down and have a conversation about what did we do right and what did we do wrong .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lee is making the best decisions that he can with the information he has .
Certainly not all those decisions are going to be right .
But we ’ ll do a thorough post mortem .
Leahy : It would seem to me if you look at the science here , first there have been several stories in Bloomberg and others reporting that among elementary school children that it ’ s not spread by elementary school children .
The Academy of Pediatrics , the American Academy of Pediatrics said open up schools now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With regards to spreading COVID-19 among secondary school high school students , I don ’ t think there is a lot of evidence to support that would happen .
And I would suggest to the governor this is just me talking , not you .
But I think this would be the line of thinking that Terry would recommend .
Why extend it to August 29 .
Why not extend it to the end of July and then make a game-time decision , literally , that would allow football to come back if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sure .
And I ’ m stepping off into some areas that I don ’ t know as thoroughly as I probably should .
Part of the reason for that emergency declaration is to do things like liability protection for healthcare workers which is very important .
Johnson : And so there are other reasons for the emergency declaration .
Leahy : Caller Jeff in Brentwood wants to weigh in on football and the governor ’ s decision .
Caller Jeff : Thank you for taking my call .
I ’ m pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ football and I like a lot of parents its fund to watch and enjoy the camaraderie , it ’ s just like all these kids that missed out on baseball and soccer , that ’ s ridiculous .
The bottom line here is and you can correct me if I ’ m wrong , there is probably not going to be a vaccine for this H1N1 I mean COVID-19 .
We ’ re going to have to deal with it .
I ’ m just struggling with wearing the mask .
We can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and all that stuff .
This is just getting ridiculous .
Leahy : Do you think the governor should end the state of emergency as it relates to allowing high school students to play football ?
Jeff : I think the whole thing is ridiculous .
Yes , absolutely .
He needs to stop it .
They need to start telling us who this COVID-19 effects .
Leahy : Yes .
Good point .
Jeff , thanks so much for your call .
Listen to the full third hour here : Tune in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .
Photo “ Jack Johnson ” by Jack Johnson .

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson to the studio.
At the end of the third hour, Leahy and Johnson answered calls from concerned parents about Governor Lee’s state of emergency extension that will last until August 29 and touched upon the potentiality of spreading COVID-19 through elementary and high school students.
Leahy: We are joined in the studio by our good friend Jack Johnson. Jack the phones are lighting up. People want to talk to the Senate Majority Leader.
Johnson: Oh great! Great!
Leahy: Terry in Nashville wants to talk about the governor’s recent order extending the emergency order until the end of August. Good morning Terry.
Caller Terry: Good morning. The order was put out to August 29. That’s two months away. And one of the things that I don’t understand, one thing I’m disturbed about is you don’t even get a comment line. Or you send an email and you get back an obligatory response, like thank you for your letting. So you really can’t respond to this.
One of the things that I’m disturbed about is that I have high school children that play high school football. And they said we can play college football and pro-football but we can’t play high school football. One of the things that is really good for race relations in athletics.
That’s what develops relationships right there. I’ve coached for years for all types of kids. I want to know why our state representatives and state senators don’t do more and allow Governor Lee what he wants to. I thank you for your time and look forward to your answer.
Leahy: Thanks for your call. Senator Johnson.
Johnson: Yes.
Leahy: The governor has extended to the end of August and Terry in Nashville thinks its a bad idea because he wants his sons to be able to play football.
Johnson: Sure. There are a couple of things going on. And Terry thanks for the call and the question. Let me say as well I have two teenage boys that are in high school and one is a football player and one is a lacrosse player and they are chomping at the bit to get back to their sports and play.
And Mom and Dad are too. It’s an important part of growing up. It’s an important part of the school process. And we want them doing that. So the governor did extend the emergency declaration but that does not necessarily mean that businesses are shut down or any of that type of thing going on.
It’s difficult with us and it’s going to sound like we are passing the buck but I don’t mean to. We are a part-time legislature and we have adjourned as I discussed earlier sine die. So we have to allow the governor to make some decisions about this. I will tell you he is getting a lot of feedback from people all over the state like Terry and he’s paying attention to that.
Leahy: The reason why the governor can do this is because the legislature passed a law giving him certain emergency powers I think back in the 1970s.
Johnson: Yes. Its been on the books for a long time.
Leahy: Now he is invoking that law. Now I’ve argued that he has overreached. This is me arguing not you. He’s overreached in the application of that law and that the evidence to support some of his actions are not supported by the law. But that’s not yet been challenged in court. Clearly he’s not going as overboard as the mayor of Nashville and the mayor of Memphis are.
Johnson: Or, other governors.
Leahy: Or other governors.
Johnson: Look at some of these governors like in Michigan.
Leahy: A very good point.
Johnson: Listen, we are all kind of flying blind here. This is an unusual circumstance. And we’ve never been down this road before. And the governor understands and he wants to do the right thing. He’s getting a lot of feedback and input from the general assembly and the general public. And he welcomes that. And we know and he knows that we’re going to have to do a post mortem on this whole thing.
And now is not the time probably. Let’s get through this and get COVID behind us as soon as possible. And probably come January when we reconvene in the general assembly I think we are all going to sit down and have a conversation about what did we do right and what did we do wrong. But I can tell you that Governor Lee is making the best decisions that he can with the information he has. Certainly not all those decisions are going to be right. But we’ll do a thorough post mortem.
Leahy: It would seem to me if you look at the science here, first there have been several stories in Bloomberg and others reporting that among elementary school children that it’s not spread by elementary school children. The Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics said open up schools now. That’s their recommendation.
With regards to spreading COVID-19 among secondary school high school students, I don’t think there is a lot of evidence to support that would happen. And I would suggest to the governor this is just me talking, not you. But I think this would be the line of thinking that Terry would recommend. Why extend it to August 29. Why not extend it to the end of July and then make a game-time decision, literally, that would allow football to come back if the evidence is there?
Johnson: Sure. And I’m stepping off into some areas that I don’t know as thoroughly as I probably should. Part of the reason for that emergency declaration is to do things like liability protection for healthcare workers which is very important.
Leahy: Exactly.
Johnson: And so there are other reasons for the emergency declaration.
Leahy: Caller Jeff in Brentwood wants to weigh in on football and the governor’s decision.
Caller Jeff: Thank you for taking my call. I’m pretty passionate about this, my son plays football and I like a lot of parents its fund to watch and enjoy the camaraderie, it’s just like all these kids that missed out on baseball and soccer, that’s ridiculous.
The bottom line here is and you can correct me if I’m wrong, there is probably not going to be a vaccine for this H1N1 I mean COVID-19. We’re going to have to deal with it. I’m just struggling with wearing the mask. We can social distance and we can use Purell and all that stuff. This is just getting ridiculous.
Leahy: Do you think the governor should end the state of emergency as it relates to allowing high school students to play football?
Jeff: I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Yes, absolutely. He needs to stop it. They need to start telling us who this COVID-19 effects.
Leahy: Yes. Good point. Jeff, thanks so much for your call.
Listen to the full third hour here:

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


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--Swain Joins the Ingraham Angle to discuss Black Lives Matters and How Democrats Are All About Destro

Swain Joins the Ingraham Angle to discuss Black Lives Matters and How Democrats Are All About Destroying Our Way of Life

Dr. Carol M. Swain appeared on Fox News Channel ’ s The Ingraham Angle with guest host Raymond Arroyo on Wednesday to discuss Black Lives Matter as a Marxist movement .
Arroyo : We welcome to the show now , former Vanderbilt professor and advisory board member of Black Voices for Trump .
Carol thank you for being here .
What is the ultimate goal of these reoccurring street movements ?
These occupations of cities ?
What ’ s the agenda here ?
Swain : It ’ s not about police brutality or racism .
I would say that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to destroy the United States as we know it .
And its roots are in Marxism .
And anyone that studies Marxism knows where that goes .
That it goes to communism .
And that ’ s where we are headed .
So the activists that you see out there today , they have an agenda .
They are well organized .
The uprisings are not spontaneous .
The grievances of black people and others that are oppressed are being used to advance an agenda .
And if they succeed in destroying America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happy with the nation that remains .
Arroyo : Carol , The New York Times is tweeting today about their latest piece and they write Mt .
Rushmore was built on land that belonged to the Lakota Tribe and sculpted by a man with strong bonds with the KKK .
They go on to say that the two presidents depicted there were slave owners .
Is Mt .
Rushmore the next monument set for destruction ?
And is that part of the agenda here to destroy these cultural and historical monuments ?
Swain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America ’ s and western civilization and everything that is traditional .
So there is no monument in America that is safe at this time .
And so the thing that is most distressing is that our leaders in the Republican Party and in the Democratic Party , there must be some sane still in that party , they are not standing up .
And this is not ending well .
Arroyo : Yes .
I think many would agree Carol .
The president tweeted this reaction to New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter on Fifth Avenue in New York .
Now he said , the president did that it was an insult to cops and a symbol of hate .
And this drew this reaction from Black Lives Matter co-founder Melina Abdullah .
Arroyo : Carol , your reaction to that .
Swain : Well first of all Black Lives Matter the slogan , the true statement has nothing to do with the Marxist organization that is part of the global movement to destroy America .
And so that ’ s what I say to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think that Black Lives Matter there are a lot of organizations and companies they are endorsing their movement for protection because they feel if they don ’ t their windows will be broken out .
Their buildings will be burnt down .
The police won ’ t be there to protect anyone .
And so people are going along with them .
And again , it will not end well because the more they get , the more they want .
And no one is pushing back .
And that is very distressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And I see that connected with all the hysteria the Democrats are pushing with the coronavirus and making us all wear a mask .
It ’ s all about destroying our way of life in America .
And people need to wake up .
Wake up !

Dr. Carol M. Swain appeared on Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle with guest host Raymond Arroyo on Wednesday to discuss Black Lives Matter as a Marxist movement.
Arroyo: We welcome to the show now, former Vanderbilt professor and advisory board member of Black Voices for Trump. Carol thank you for being here. What is the ultimate goal of these reoccurring street movements? These occupations of cities? What’s the agenda here?
Swain: It’s not about police brutality or racism. I would say that it’s part of a global movement to destroy the United States as we know it. And its roots are in Marxism. And anyone that studies Marxism knows where that goes. That it goes to communism. And that’s where we are headed.
So the activists that you see out there today, they have an agenda. They are well organized. The uprisings are not spontaneous. The grievances of black people and others that are oppressed are being used to advance an agenda. And if they succeed in destroying America I guarantee you no one will be happy with the nation that remains.
Arroyo: Carol, The New York Times is tweeting today about their latest piece and they write Mt. Rushmore was built on land that belonged to the Lakota Tribe and sculpted by a man with strong bonds with the KKK. They go on to say that the two presidents depicted there were slave owners. Is Mt. Rushmore the next monument set for destruction? And is that part of the agenda here to destroy these cultural and historical monuments?
Swain: It’s all about destroying America’s and western civilization and everything that is traditional. So there is no monument in America that is safe at this time. And so the thing that is most distressing is that our leaders in the Republican Party and in the Democratic Party, there must be some sane still in that party, they are not standing up. And this is not ending well.
Arroyo: Yes. I think many would agree Carol. The president tweeted this reaction to New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio who is promising to paint Black Lives Matter on Fifth Avenue in New York. Now he said, the president did that it was an insult to cops and a symbol of hate. And this drew this reaction from Black Lives Matter co-founder Melina Abdullah.
(Melina Abdullah clip plays)
I think it’s the height of hypocrisy for Donald Trump to call anything a symbol of hate. He is the embodiment of hate. For him to say that affirming the value of black life is somehow hate again reminds us of who he is.
Arroyo: Carol, your reaction to that.
Swain: Well first of all Black Lives Matter the slogan, the true statement has nothing to do with the Marxist organization that is part of the global movement to destroy America. And so that’s what I say to that part of it. And I think that Black Lives Matter there are a lot of organizations and companies they are endorsing their movement for protection because they feel if they don’t their windows will be broken out.
Their buildings will be burnt down. The police won’t be there to protect anyone. And so people are going along with them. And again, it will not end well because the more they get, the more they want. And no one is pushing back. And that is very distressing that people are not pushing back. And I see that connected with all the hysteria the Democrats are pushing with the coronavirus and making us all wear a mask. It’s all about destroying our way of life in America. And people need to wake up. Wake up!


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--New Claims Fall, but Minnesota Unemployment Rises bove 356,000

Bruce Walker is a regional editor at The Center Square .
He previously worked as editor at the Mackinac Center @ @ @ @ @ MichiganScience magazine and The Heartland Institute ’ s InfoTech & Telecom News .

Bruce Walker is a regional editor at The Center Square. He previously worked as editor at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s MichiganScience magazine and The Heartland Institute’s InfoTech & Telecom News.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-03--Tennessee Supreme Court Cancels July Bar Exams Over COVID-19 Concerns

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced on Thursday it was canceling the July 28-29 administration of the Uniform Bar Examination .
The court ’ s order is available here .
Although stringent public health and safety protocols were planned for the administration of the July 2020 examination , the potential benefits of administering the examination do not justify the risk of assembling groups of people in limited space for a multi-day examination , when another examination will be administered in Tennessee in two months .
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday also cancelled its July bar exams , Law.com reported .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health reported 46,890 confirmed cases , a one-day increase of 1,575 .
On Wednesday , the Tennessee Supreme Court said the state had the largest single-day increase in new cases .
In the past week , all three locations for the July exam , Knoxville , Memphis and Nashville , reported their highest single-day increases .
The court also expressed concern that some of the biggest gains came from people between the ages of 22 to 35 , and pointed out that these ages comprise the majority of those who take the exam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Board of Law Examiners are acutely aware of the toll the ongoing pandemic is taking on bar examination applicants and are committed to administering the Uniform Bar Examination in 2020 , while making every effort to minimize the risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus .
Lawyer applicants who have not already been rescheduled to February 2021 should plan to take the exam from Sept. 30-Oct. 1 .
“ Applicants to the Tennessee bar are afforded broad permissions to practice pending admission and can begin working immediately upon graduation , drafting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appearing in court .
Applicants can continue to practice even if subsequent examinations are affected by the national healthcare crisis , ” said Bill Harbison , President of the Board of Law Examiners .
“ We understand that this has been a difficult time for recent law school graduates and the Board is committed to making the Uniform Bar Examination available to all July 2020 applicants before the end of the year , absent any new “ safer at home ” orders or other significant changes.
” Jason M. Reynolds has more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at outlets of all sizes .
Photo “ Tennessee State Supreme Court Justices ” by Tennessee Courts .

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced on Thursday it was canceling the July 28-29 administration of the Uniform Bar Examination.
The court’s order is available here.
Although stringent public health and safety protocols were planned for the administration of the July 2020 examination, the potential benefits of administering the examination do not justify the risk of assembling groups of people in limited space for a multi-day examination, when another examination will be administered in Tennessee in two months.
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday also cancelled its July bar exams, Law.com reported.
On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported 46,890 confirmed cases, a one-day increase of 1,575.
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Supreme Court said the state had the largest single-day increase in new cases. In the past week, all three locations for the July exam, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville, reported their highest single-day increases. The court also expressed concern that some of the biggest gains came from people between the ages of 22 to 35, and pointed out that these ages comprise the majority of those who take the exam.
The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Board of Law Examiners are acutely aware of the toll the ongoing pandemic is taking on bar examination applicants and are committed to administering the Uniform Bar Examination in 2020, while making every effort to minimize the risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Lawyer applicants who have not already been rescheduled to February 2021 should plan to take the exam from Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
“Applicants to the Tennessee bar are afforded broad permissions to practice pending admission and can begin working immediately upon graduation, drafting documents, meeting with clients, and appearing in court. Applicants can continue to practice even if subsequent examinations are affected by the national healthcare crisis,” said Bill Harbison, President of the Board of Law Examiners. “We understand that this has been a difficult time for recent law school graduates and the Board is committed to making the Uniform Bar Examination available to all July 2020 applicants before the end of the year, absent any new “safer at home” orders or other significant changes.”
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Tennessee State Supreme Court Justices” by Tennessee Courts.