thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Ohio School Bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag

Ohio School Bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag

An Ohio county commissioner asked a superintendent on Tuesday to step down for banning thin blue line flags from “ pre-game activities , ” according to letters obtained by a local NBC affiliate .
Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri criticized Superintendent Michael Hanlon Jr. ’ s announcement that thin blue line flags would be prohibited from school activities after members of the Chardon football team carried one onto the field before a Friday game , 3WKYC Studios reported .
“ Based on discussions that ensued over the weekend , it does not appear that this action was motivated by racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of our coaches who serves as a police officer , as well as for the first responders in our community who have developed a special relationship with our school and students , ” Hanlon said in a letter to the community .
“ Nevertheless , it is understandable how this could be interpreted as a racially-motivated action and , therefore , not acceptable in a school community , ” he added .
Thin blue line flags are associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement .
The school district ’ s policy does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Hanlon said in his letter .
A teacher in the district was also told to remove a Black Lives Matter backdrop from a virtual classroom , according to a statement Hanlon provided to the local outlet .
Spidalieri said in his letter to the superintendent that the football players who originally displayed the flag were courageous for doing so , 3WKYC Studios reported .
“ By honoring our first responders these young men expressed gratitude , care and love for our community and our county .
Your letter sickens me and so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me and expressed the same disgust with your inability to stand up and recognize their patriotism , ” Spidalieri said in his letter .
The Chardon Local School District Board of Education and Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Mary Rose Corkery
An Ohio county commissioner asked a superintendent on Tuesday to step down for banning thin blue line flags from “pre-game activities,” according to letters obtained by a local NBC affiliate.
Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri criticized Superintendent Michael Hanlon Jr.’s announcement that thin blue line flags would be prohibited from school activities after members of the Chardon football team carried one onto the field before a Friday game, 3WKYC Studios reported.
“Based on discussions that ensued over the weekend, it does not appear that this action was motivated by racism, rather a show of support for one of our coaches who serves as a police officer, as well as for the first responders in our community who have developed a special relationship with our school and students,” Hanlon said in a letter to the community.
“Nevertheless, it is understandable how this could be interpreted as a racially-motivated action and, therefore, not acceptable in a school community,” he added. Thin blue line flags are associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement.
The school district’s policy does not allow political speech by staff members, Hanlon said in his letter. A teacher in the district was also told to remove a Black Lives Matter backdrop from a virtual classroom, according to a statement Hanlon provided to the local outlet.
Spidalieri said in his letter to the superintendent that the football players who originally displayed the flag were courageous for doing so, 3WKYC Studios reported.
“By honoring our first responders these young men expressed gratitude, care and love for our community and our county. Your letter sickens me and so many others that have reached out to me and expressed the same disgust with your inability to stand up and recognize their patriotism,” Spidalieri said in his letter.
The Chardon Local School District Board of Education and Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
– – –
Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Three Major Unions Sue Michigan Over New Labor Laws

Three of the country ’ s largest unions sued the State of Michigan on Thursday over new union regulations , which they called “ anti-worker.
” The United Auto Workers ( UAW ) , American Federation of State , County and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME ) and Service Employees International Union ( SEIU ) sued the state over new laws , according to a joint statement .
In July , the four-person Michigan Civil Service Commission ( MCSC ) approved the law changes in a 3-1 vote mandating that union workers manually reauthorize their union membership every year .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against working families in Michigan and across the country , pushed by billionaire-backed anti-worker groups , ” the joint statement said .
Mandating employees annually reauthorize their union membership violates the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution , the unions said .
The Contracts Clause prevents states from passing laws “ impairing the obligation of contracts.
” The unions argued that the Contracts Clause was violated because the changes contradict the unions ’ existing collective bargaining agreements which the MCSC had already approved , according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Civil Service Commission is fighting to change rules and take away more of our rights at work during a pandemic is unbelievable , ” said Tammy Porter , president of a local AFSCME branch , according to the statement .
SEIU member Roland Whitelow said : “ Unions are about protecting working families and the American Dream so we can have a better future , and that ’ s what we ’ re fighting for in this case.
” Further , Michigan ’ s new regulations eliminate “ agency fees , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ paychecks and given to unions , if a worker doesn ’ t authorize the deduction , The Detroit News reported in July .
“ It infringes on the First Amendment right of association by making it significantly more difficult for employees to maintain their union membership in good standing , ” the lawsuit said .
Democratic Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer strongly objected to the changes when they were proposed in June , according to The Detroit News .
“ This action will make it harder for these front-line workers to negotiate together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a secure retirement , ” Whitmer said .
The non-partisan commission consists of two Republicans and two independents .
Jase Bolger , a commissioner of the MCSC and former Michigan House representative , said the U.S. Supreme Court ’ s 2018 decision in Janus vs. AFSCME justified the regulations , The Detroit News reported .
The court ruled that “ non-union government workers can not be required to pay union fees as a condition of working in public service , ” according to the Liberty Justice Center .
The UAW , AFSCME and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to Department of Labor filings .

by Thomas Catenacci
Three of the country’s largest unions sued the State of Michigan on Thursday over new union regulations, which they called “anti-worker.”
The United Auto Workers (UAW), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sued the state over new laws, according to a joint statement. In July, the four-person Michigan Civil Service Commission (MCSC) approved the law changes in a 3-1 vote mandating that union workers manually reauthorize their union membership every year.
“This is part of a long-running campaign against working families in Michigan and across the country, pushed by billionaire-backed anti-worker groups,” the joint statement said.
Mandating employees annually reauthorize their union membership violates the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the unions said. The Contracts Clause prevents states from passing laws “impairing the obligation of contracts.”
The unions argued that the Contracts Clause was violated because the changes contradict the unions’ existing collective bargaining agreements which the MCSC had already approved, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Michigan.
“The fact that the Civil Service Commission is fighting to change rules and take away more of our rights at work during a pandemic is unbelievable,” said Tammy Porter, president of a local AFSCME branch, according to the statement.
SEIU member Roland Whitelow said: “Unions are about protecting working families and the American Dream so we can have a better future, and that’s what we’re fighting for in this case.”
Further, Michigan’s new regulations eliminate “agency fees,” or fees taken from union members’ paychecks and given to unions, if a worker doesn’t authorize the deduction, The Detroit News reported in July.
“It infringes on the First Amendment right of association by making it significantly more difficult for employees to maintain their union membership in good standing,” the lawsuit said.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer strongly objected to the changes when they were proposed in June, according to The Detroit News.
“This action will make it harder for these front-line workers to negotiate together for strong wages, health care and a secure retirement,” Whitmer said.
The non-partisan commission consists of two Republicans and two independents.
Jase Bolger, a commissioner of the MCSC and former Michigan House representative, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus vs. AFSCME justified the regulations, The Detroit News reported. The court ruled that “non-union government workers cannot be required to pay union fees as a condition of working in public service,” according to the Liberty Justice Center.
The UAW, AFSCME and SEIU collectively represent 3.7 million workers nationwide, according to Department of Labor filings.
– – –
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Senators Alexander, Scott Key in Growing Push to Include School Choice in Federal Relief Bill

As Congress remains at an impasse regarding the next round of COVID-19 relief , a measure that would create a permanent tax credit scholarship for students to attend schools of their choice could be included in the relief package .
The School Choice Now Act , presented by U.S. Sens .
Lamar Alexander ( R-TN ) and Tim Scott ( R-SC ) has the support of President Donald Trump ’ s administration , and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has advocated strongly for the measure to be included in the next round of COVID-19 relief funding .
“ Thank you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for your tireless support of students and of President [ Trump ’ s ] plan to provide # SchoolChoiceNow to students across America , ” DeVos wrote in a tweet .
“ This bill must be part of any relief package to help all students return safely to school in the fall.
” In COVID-19 relief negotiations , the Trump administration has requested $ 105 billion toward school reopening efforts .
About 10 percent of that would go toward the school-choice initiative , RealClear Politics reported .
“ This is about the 5.7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Alexander said in a video with Scott explaining the legislation .
“ They ’ ll get their fair share of the money that the Senate and Congress will appropriate to help children go back safely to school .
It will go to states , who will then in turn give it to families , who will have more choices of schools.
” Alexander and Scott announced the School Choice Now Act earlier this summer , and the bill now has seven Senate co-sponsors .
Companion legislation in the House introduced by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aug. 25 already has 110 cosponsors .
“ It allows for kids to maintain their pre-pandemic education path , ” Scott said .
“ This gives power to parents – and we all know when parents have a choice , kids have a better chance of success.
” The bill would provide one-time emergency funding to scholarship-granting organizations in each state and allows states to create permanent tax credit scholarship programs .
A permanent , dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit would be created for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations .
Funds awarded to families through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used for nonpublic educational expenses , such as private school tuition and home schooling expenses , and parents would be free to choose the best educational choice for their child .
“ All parents , regardless of income or circumstance , should be able to decide which school best meets their child ’ s needs , whether that school is public or private , ” Alexander said .
“ The School Choice Now Act provides scholarships to students to have the opportunity to return to the private school they attended before the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opportunity to attend private school.
” Vivian Jones reports on Tennessee and South Carolina for The Center Square .
Her writing has appeared in the Detroit News , The Hill , and publications of The Heartland Institute .

by Vivian Jones
As Congress remains at an impasse regarding the next round of COVID-19 relief, a measure that would create a permanent tax credit scholarship for students to attend schools of their choice could be included in the relief package.
The School Choice Now Act, presented by U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) has the support of President Donald Trump’s administration, and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has advocated strongly for the measure to be included in the next round of COVID-19 relief funding.
“Thank you [Sens. Scott and Alexander] for your tireless support of students and of President [Trump’s] plan to provide #SchoolChoiceNow to students across America,” DeVos wrote in a tweet. “This bill must be part of any relief package to help all students return safely to school in the fall.”
In COVID-19 relief negotiations, the Trump administration has requested $105 billion toward school reopening efforts. About 10 percent of that would go toward the school-choice initiative, RealClear Politics reported.
“This is about the 5.7 million American children who attend private schools,” Alexander said in a video with Scott explaining the legislation. “They’ll get their fair share of the money that the Senate and Congress will appropriate to help children go back safely to school. It will go to states, who will then in turn give it to families, who will have more choices of schools.”
Alexander and Scott announced the School Choice Now Act earlier this summer, and the bill now has seven Senate co-sponsors. Companion legislation in the House introduced by Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) on Aug. 25 already has 110 cosponsors.
“It allows for kids to maintain their pre-pandemic education path,” Scott said. “This gives power to parents – and we all know when parents have a choice, kids have a better chance of success.”
The bill would provide one-time emergency funding to scholarship-granting organizations in each state and allows states to create permanent tax credit scholarship programs. A permanent, dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit would be created for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations.
Funds awarded to families through the tax credit scholarship program could be used for nonpublic educational expenses, such as private school tuition and home schooling expenses, and parents would be free to choose the best educational choice for their child.
“All parents, regardless of income or circumstance, should be able to decide which school best meets their child’s needs, whether that school is public or private,” Alexander said. “The School Choice Now Act provides scholarships to students to have the opportunity to return to the private school they attended before the pandemic – and gives other students a new opportunity to attend private school.”
– – –
Vivian Jones reports on Tennessee and South Carolina for The Center Square. Her writing has appeared in the Detroit News, The Hill, and publications of The Heartland Institute.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Ohio Earns Defense Manufacturing Designation

Ohio can receive a $ 5 million grant to improve manufacturing and train workers after the U.S. Department of Defense designated the state as a Defense Manufacturing Community , Gov .
Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov .
Jon Husted announced in a news release .
The designation is meant to support long-term community investments and enhance national security innovation , while expanding the capabilities of defense manufacturing , according to the release from the Ohio Development Services Agency .
The state , with help from the Department of Defense , must now apply for the grant.
” “ The agility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s manufacturing base offers a vital resource to the Department of Defense in its efforts to broaden and deepen the domestic defense supply chain , ” DeWine said .
“ The same model that realigned the entire Ohio manufacturing base to fight COVID-19 can be realigned to re-shore , innovate to solve defense department challenges and produce equipment at scale.
” Ohio expects to use the money to help businesses adopt new processes and technology in an effort to bolster the state as a defense supplier , according to the Development Services Agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for new , high-tech jobs and to bring more people to the manufacturing workforce .
“ Ohio will create the nation ’ s premier defense manufacturing community , ” Lydia Mihalik , director of the Development Services Agency , said .
“ Becoming an official Ohio Defense Manufacturing Community will accelerate and scale manufacturing initiatives and thereby strengthen the defense supply chain .
Ohio is committed to building an inclusive , skilled manufacturing workforce to support the project.
” J.D .
Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square .

by J.D. Davidson
Ohio can receive a $5 million grant to improve manufacturing and train workers after the U.S. Department of Defense designated the state as a Defense Manufacturing Community, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced in a news release.
The designation is meant to support long-term community investments and enhance national security innovation, while expanding the capabilities of defense manufacturing, according to the release from the Ohio Development Services Agency.
The state, with help from the Department of Defense, must now apply for the grant.”
“The agility, speed and resilience of Ohio’s manufacturing base offers a vital resource to the Department of Defense in its efforts to broaden and deepen the domestic defense supply chain,” DeWine said. “The same model that realigned the entire Ohio manufacturing base to fight COVID-19 can be realigned to re-shore, innovate to solve defense department challenges and produce equipment at scale.”
Ohio expects to use the money to help businesses adopt new processes and technology in an effort to bolster the state as a defense supplier, according to the Development Services Agency. The grant should help workers prepare for new, high-tech jobs and to bring more people to the manufacturing workforce.
“Ohio will create the nation’s premier defense manufacturing community,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Development Services Agency, said. “Becoming an official Ohio Defense Manufacturing Community will accelerate and scale manufacturing initiatives and thereby strengthen the defense supply chain. Ohio is committed to building an inclusive, skilled manufacturing workforce to support the project.”
– – –
J.D. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Trump Says He Will Stop Funding Schools That Teach New York Times’ 1619 Project

President Donald Trump said in a tweet Sunday that the Department of Education would stop funding California public schools if they teach the New York Times ’ 1619 Project .
“ Department of Education is looking at this .
If so , they will not be funded !
” Trump said in a tweet as a response to a post that claimed “ california has implemented the 1619 project into the public schools .
soon you wont recognize america [ sic ] .
” Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton proposed legislation in July to forbid federal funds from being used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elementary schools and secondary schools , and for other purposes , ” according to the text of his bill .
“ The New York Times ’ s 1619 Project is a racially divisive , revisionist account of history that denies the noble principles of freedom and equality on which our nation was founded .
Not a single cent of federal funding should go to indoctrinate young Americans with this left-wing garbage , ” Cotton said in a press release .
Nikole Hannah-Jones , the lead writer for the 1619 Project that aimed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founding around slavery , was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in commentary for the project in May .
The project has been incorporated in some public school curriculums in the U.S .
Critics say the project has “ misrepresentations and inaccuracies , ” according to the National Review .
The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation ’ s request for comment .

by Mary Rose Corkery
President Donald Trump said in a tweet Sunday that the Department of Education would stop funding California public schools if they teach the New York Times’ 1619 Project.
“Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded!” Trump said in a tweet as a response to a post that claimed “california has implemented the 1619 project into the public schools. soon you wont recognize america[sic].”
Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded! https://t.co/dHsw6Y6Y3M — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2020
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton proposed legislation in July to forbid federal funds from being used towards “the 1619 Project curriculum in elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other purposes,” according to the text of his bill.
“The New York Times’s 1619 Project is a racially divisive, revisionist account of history that denies the noble principles of freedom and equality on which our nation was founded. Not a single cent of federal funding should go to indoctrinate young Americans with this left-wing garbage,” Cotton said in a press release.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the lead writer for the 1619 Project that aimed to reframe the history of America’s founding around slavery, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in commentary for the project in May. The project has been incorporated in some public school curriculums in the U.S. Critics say the project has “misrepresentations and inaccuracies,” according to the National Review.
The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
– – –
Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--White Professor at George Washington University Admits to Pretending to Be Black

A professor at George Washington University is facing widespread backlash after admitting that , after years of pretending to be black , she is actually White , according to CNN .
The professor is Jessica Krug , who teaches African and Latin-American Studies , and has written numerous papers on Africa and Latin America , repeatedly citing her own alleged heritage from both continents .
However , Krug confessed to the racial lie in a blog post on the website Medium titled “ The Truth , and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies.
” After admitting that she was born @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suburban Kansas City , ” she denounced her race of birth and “ assumed identities within a blackness that I had no right to claim.
” She even lists the multiple different races that she falsely claimed to be , starting with “ North African blackness , then US-rooted blackness , then Caribbean-rooted Bronx blackness.
” In her confession , she flagellated herself for her actions , describing them as “ the very epitome of violence , of thievery , and appropriation , ” further describing herself as “ a culture leech.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocked at the truth , recalling how she frequently talked about her “ heritage , ” citing her own experiences as a black woman , and often speaking in Spanish during class .
George Washington University is currently investigating , according to a spokeswoman , but “ can not comment further on personnel matters.
” The incident is similar to other high-profile cases of White people pretending to be black in order to fit in with far-left “ racial justice ” activists .
Among the most prominent examples prior to Krug are Rachel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former NAACP chapter leader before her family ousted her as White , and Shaun King , a prominent leader in the Black Lives Matter movement whose biological parents are White .
Both Dolezal and King resorted to artificially darkening their own skins , as well as adopting “ stereotypically black ” hairdos .
Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California , Santa Barbara , where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school ’ s Young Americans for Freedom chapter .
He has interned for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Heritage Foundation , and the White House , and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes ( CA-22 ) .

by Eric Lendrum
A professor at George Washington University is facing widespread backlash after admitting that, after years of pretending to be black, she is actually White, according to CNN.
The professor is Jessica Krug, who teaches African and Latin-American Studies, and has written numerous papers on Africa and Latin America, repeatedly citing her own alleged heritage from both continents. However, Krug confessed to the racial lie in a blog post on the website Medium titled “The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies.”
After admitting that she was born as “a White Jewish child in suburban Kansas City,” she denounced her race of birth and “assumed identities within a blackness that I had no right to claim.” She even lists the multiple different races that she falsely claimed to be, starting with “North African blackness, then US-rooted blackness, then Caribbean-rooted Bronx blackness.”
In her confession, she flagellated herself for her actions, describing them as “the very epitome of violence, of thievery, and appropriation,” further describing herself as “a culture leech.”
Students who had taken her classes were shocked at the truth, recalling how she frequently talked about her “heritage,” citing her own experiences as a black woman, and often speaking in Spanish during class. George Washington University is currently investigating, according to a spokeswoman, but “cannot comment further on personnel matters.”
The incident is similar to other high-profile cases of White people pretending to be black in order to fit in with far-left “racial justice” activists. Among the most prominent examples prior to Krug are Rachel Dolezal, also a professor and a former NAACP chapter leader before her family ousted her as White, and Shaun King, a prominent leader in the Black Lives Matter movement whose biological parents are White. Both Dolezal and King resorted to artificially darkening their own skins, as well as adopting “stereotypically black” hairdos.
– – –
Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has interned for Young America’s Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House, and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22).


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Commentary: When Wish Replaces Thought

Commentary: When Wish Replaces Thought

Don ’ t you just love Paul Krugman ?
One of loudest of the many anti-Trump hysterics employed by the New York Times , the former economist has been a reliable source of comedy at least since election night 2016 .
Once the worst was certain and the world learned that Donald Trump had indeed been elected president of the United States , Krugman pondered the markets , which had plunged overnight .
“ When might we expect them to recover ?
” he asked .
“ A first-pass answer is never .
.
.
So we are very probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no end in sight.
” What a card !
I think we all deserve a Nobel Prize in economics .
If Krugman can snag one , why not Stanley down at the bar ?
He says a lot of stupid things , too .
Krugman never disappoints .
On Thursday , September 3 , he published an opinion piece in the Times called “ Trump and the Attack of the Invisible Anarchists.
” The burden of the piece was twofold .
On the one hand , having picked up that week ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he parroted the new talking point about the riots ripping ( Democratic ) cites apart .
Earlier this summer , the gospel was that there were no riots , only justly aggrieved citizens exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the heinous , cold-blooded murder of the violent career criminal and fentanyl abuser George Floyd .
( Oops , that was from the teacher ’ s version of the manual : scrap “ violent career criminal and fentanyl abuser.
” ) At some point , that narrative was canceled .
The new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but insists that they are all Donald Trump ’ s fault because .
.
.
Excuse me , we ’ re having trouble with reception .
Forget that last bit : scratch “ because ” and just listen to the great Nobel laureate explain what ’ s really going on .
Enjoy a sleight of hand show ?
How ’ s this ?
The “ anarchists ” that Donald Trump and other knuckle-dragging neanderthals are trying to scare mama with don ’ t really exist , not really .
Look again , those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , St. Louis , Seattle , Chicago , Oakland , Washington , D.C. , Kenosha , New York : they ’ re invisible .
Paul Krugman can ’ t see them .
He walked across Central Park to his doctor and encountered no mayhem , none .
“ It was a beautiful day , ” he noted , “ and the city looked cheerful .
.
.
Central Park was full of joggers and cyclists.
” An aspiring if wayward disciple of Bishop Berkeley , Krugman seems to have adopted a variety of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percipi .
If Krugman doesn ’ t perceive something , it doesn ’ t exist .
Poor Paul .
He knows that people are alternately frightened and contemptuous of the media ’ s preposterous efforts to downplay the violence erupting in cities across the country , all those “ fiery but mostly peaceful , ” “ intensifying into violence , ” “ not generally speaking unruly ” jamborees that seem intended to calm the public ’ s nerves but actually heightened the sense of alarm .
So Krugman tries to have it both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the evil orange man and his minions .
“ [ T ] he property damage , ” quoth Krugman , “ has been minor compared with urban riots of the past , ” “ Portland is not ‘ ablaze all the time ‘ ” ( not quite all of the time ) .
I think all of that was meant to soften us up , lull us into a state of dull acquiescence .
Ready ?
Close your eyes , grab hold of Paul Krugman ’ s outstretched hand , and prepare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ la , la , ommmmm : “ Much of the violence , ” he says , “ is coming not from the left but from right-wing extremists.
” Ah , our old friends , the “ right-wing extremists ” !
I ’ ve missed them these last few months , haven ’ t you ?
You know them .
They ’ re like that fellow walking down the street in Portland wearing a Trump hat last week .
He was wearing a Trump hat .
So , naturally , a “ 100 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the head in “ self-defense.
” The media did not exactly condone that act .
It was more akin to what happened following the assassination of President Kennedy .
Question : Who killed John F. Kennedy ?
Answer : Lee Harvey Oswald , a Castro-loving communist .
Almost instantly , however , a new narrative gelled and enveloped that stark but unpalatable truth .
The man who pulled the trigger might have been a commie , but really , deep down , Kennedy was killed by ( as James Reston put it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( If you want to know how that leap works – he is killed by a communist , but “ extremists from the Right ” get the blame – read James Piereson ’ s Camelot and the Cultural Revolution : How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism . )
Once you can accept that leap of faith , the next part is easy .
“ [ T ] here isn ’ t a wave of anarchy and violence , ” Krugman wrote , really , “ other than that unleashed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure you ’ ve seen the president or his minions at those Black Lives Matter and Antifa planning sessions , deciding which courthouses to target , what police stations to incinerate , what blocks of which cities to smash up , loot , and burn .
It ’ s Donald Trump who has “ unleashed ” all the violence , all the mayhem , all the arson and murder , the far-Left Marxist foot soldiers of Antifa and BLM are just his puppets .
Breathtaking , isn ’ t it , not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no less incredible than the obiter dicta about economics that Krugman lets drop as he makes his way through the political landscape .
It is axiomatic with Krugman that Trump is a disaster for the country , not least for our economy .
So , writing on Thursday , he predicted that while “ Friday ’ s employment report is likely to show an economy still adding jobs ” it would be “ nothing like the ‘ super V ’ recovery Trump is still claiming.
” Unemployment is “ still very high , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( my word ) recovery that began in late April has “ leveled off.
” Alas , Friday brought the news that we ’ d added 1.7 million jobs , against an expected 1.3 million , and that unemployment – still artificially high because the Democrats won ’ t let many Americans go back to work – edged down to 8.4 percent .
In June , a canny pal noted that if the market held steady at around 25,000 and unemployment got down to 9 percent by Election Day , Trump would likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months out and the market is well north of 28,000 ( it went well above 29,000 last week ) and unemployment is falling .
No , here is the indigestible truth for the Democrats .
Donald Trump has had the most successful first term of any president in memory , maybe ever .
His policies brought unemployment down to the lowest rate in decades , Among black and other minority populations , it was the lowest ever – ever .
Wages , especially wages at the lower end , were rising , prescription @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was flooding back to the United States , a direct result of Trump ’ s America First trade policies .
He came to office promising to lose two regulations for every new one enacted , but has managed to lose nearly 20 regulations for every new one .
His exploitation of America ’ s energy resources have not only made the country energy independent , they have made us a net exporter of energy .
Trump has made extraordinary progress on other fronts as well , from his hundreds of judicial appointments to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 90 percent .
On the cultural front , he has defanged the tyranny of Title IX despotism in colleges and universities and , just a day or two ago , he issued an executive order instructing the Office of Management and Budget to “ identify and eliminate any trace of ‘ critical race theory ’ in the federal government.
” It would be difficult to overstate the significance of this order .
Critical race theory is the pseudo-academic version of identity politics , lending a suitable polysyllabic veneer of obfuscation to the brutish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Lives Matter , and kindred sites of festering discontent .
But what about the Chinese flu , the dreaded coronavirus , the plague that has otherwise normal people covering their faces and cowering in place ?
Well , what about it ?
Krugman adverts to it only in passing .
“ A few months ago the Trump campaign clearly hoped that it could put the coronavirus behind it .
But the virus declined to cooperate.
” Oh , gee , “ the virus declined to cooperate.
” But you know what ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more frankly , it acted exactly as one would expect a virus to act .
Who is the politician whose decisions about dealing with the new flu led to the most deaths ?
Andrew Cuomo , somehow still the governor of New York .
What politician saved the most lives by his preemptive action and mobilization of federal resources ?
President Donald J. Trump .
You might not like it .
Paul Krugman abominates it .
But there you have it .
That ’ s the way things are Labor Day weekend 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of The New Criterion and the president and publisher of Encounter Books .
He is the author and editor of many books , including The Fortunes of Permanence : Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia ( St. Augustine ’ s Press ) , The Rape of the Masters ( Encounter ) , Lives of the Mind : The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse ( Ivan R. Dee ) , and Art ’ s Prospect : The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity ( Ivan R. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” by Paul Krugman and photo “ Minnesota Rioters ” by Laurie Shaull CC2.0 .

by Roger Kimball
Don’t you just love Paul Krugman? One of loudest of the many anti-Trump hysterics employed by the New York Times, the former economist has been a reliable source of comedy at least since election night 2016. Once the worst was certain and the world learned that Donald Trump had indeed been elected president of the United States, Krugman pondered the markets, which had plunged overnight. “When might we expect them to recover?” he asked. “A first-pass answer is never . . . So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.”
What a card! I think we all deserve a Nobel Prize in economics. If Krugman can snag one, why not Stanley down at the bar? He says a lot of stupid things, too.
Krugman never disappoints. On Thursday, September 3, he published an opinion piece in the Times called “Trump and the Attack of the Invisible Anarchists.” The burden of the piece was twofold. On the one hand, having picked up that week’s propaganda memo from Democratic National Committee headquarters, he parroted the new talking point about the riots ripping (Democratic) cites apart.
Earlier this summer, the gospel was that there were no riots, only justly aggrieved citizens exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the heinous, cold-blooded murder of the violent career criminal and fentanyl abuser George Floyd. (Oops, that was from the teacher’s version of the manual: scrap “violent career criminal and fentanyl abuser.”)
At some point, that narrative was canceled. The new narrative admits that there are riots, but insists that they are all Donald Trump’s fault because . . .
Excuse me, we’re having trouble with reception. Forget that last bit: scratch “because” and just listen to the great Nobel laureate explain what’s really going on.
Enjoy a sleight of hand show? How’s this? The “anarchists” that Donald Trump and other knuckle-dragging neanderthals are trying to scare mama with don’t really exist, not really. Look again, those people rampaging on the streets of Portland, St. Louis, Seattle, Chicago, Oakland, Washington, D.C., Kenosha, New York: they’re invisible. Paul Krugman can’t see them. He walked across Central Park to his doctor and encountered no mayhem, none. “It was a beautiful day,” he noted, “and the city looked cheerful . . . Central Park was full of joggers and cyclists.” An aspiring if wayward disciple of Bishop Berkeley, Krugman seems to have adopted a variety of the central Berkelean principle of esse est percipi. If Krugman doesn’t perceive something, it doesn’t exist.
Poor Paul. He knows that people are alternately frightened and contemptuous of the media’s preposterous efforts to downplay the violence erupting in cities across the country, all those “fiery but mostly peaceful,” “intensifying into violence,” “not generally speaking unruly” jamborees that seem intended to calm the public’s nerves but actually heightened the sense of alarm.
So Krugman tries to have it both ways. The violence is monstrously overstated by the evil orange man and his minions. “[T]he property damage,” quoth Krugman, “has been minor compared with urban riots of the past,” “Portland is not ‘ablaze all the time‘” (not quite all of the time).
I think all of that was meant to soften us up, lull us into a state of dull acquiescence. Ready? Close your eyes, grab hold of Paul Krugman’s outstretched hand, and prepare for the big leap: la, la, la, ommmmm: “Much of the violence,” he says, “is coming not from the left but from right-wing extremists.”
Ah, our old friends, the “right-wing extremists”! I’ve missed them these last few months, haven’t you? You know them. They’re like that fellow walking down the street in Portland wearing a Trump hat last week. He was wearing a Trump hat. So, naturally, a “100 percent Antifa” member had to shoot him in the head in “self-defense.”
The media did not exactly condone that act. It was more akin to what happened following the assassination of President Kennedy. Question: Who killed John F. Kennedy? Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald, a Castro-loving communist. Almost instantly, however, a new narrative gelled and enveloped that stark but unpalatable truth. The man who pulled the trigger might have been a commie, but really, deep down, Kennedy was killed by (as James Reston put it) “extremists from the Right.” (If you want to know how that leap works – he is killed by a communist, but “extremists from the Right” get the blame – read James Piereson’s Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism.)
Once you can accept that leap of faith, the next part is easy. “[T]here isn’t a wave of anarchy and violence,” Krugman wrote, really, “other than that unleashed by Trump himself.”
I’m sure you’ve seen the president or his minions at those Black Lives Matter and Antifa planning sessions, deciding which courthouses to target, what police stations to incinerate, what blocks of which cities to smash up, loot, and burn. It’s Donald Trump who has “unleashed” all the violence, all the mayhem, all the arson and murder, the far-Left Marxist foot soldiers of Antifa and BLM are just his puppets.
Breathtaking, isn’t it, not to say contemptibly incredible? But it is no less incredible than the obiter dicta about economics that Krugman lets drop as he makes his way through the political landscape. It is axiomatic with Krugman that Trump is a disaster for the country, not least for our economy. So, writing on Thursday, he predicted that while “Friday’s employment report is likely to show an economy still adding jobs” it would be “nothing like the ‘super V’ recovery Trump is still claiming.” Unemployment is “still very high,” he moaned, and the astonishing (my word) recovery that began in late April has “leveled off.”
Alas, Friday brought the news that we’d added 1.7 million jobs, against an expected 1.3 million, and that unemployment – still artificially high because the Democrats won’t let many Americans go back to work – edged down to 8.4 percent. In June, a canny pal noted that if the market held steady at around 25,000 and unemployment got down to 9 percent by Election Day, Trump would likely be reelected. Here we are two months out and the market is well north of 28,000 (it went well above 29,000 last week) and unemployment is falling.
No, here is the indigestible truth for the Democrats. Donald Trump has had the most successful first term of any president in memory, maybe ever.
His policies brought unemployment down to the lowest rate in decades, Among black and other minority populations, it was the lowest ever – ever. Wages, especially wages at the lower end, were rising, prescription drug prices were falling, and manufacturing was flooding back to the United States, a direct result of Trump’s America First trade policies. He came to office promising to lose two regulations for every new one enacted, but has managed to lose nearly 20 regulations for every new one. His exploitation of America’s energy resources have not only made the country energy independent, they have made us a net exporter of energy.
Trump has made extraordinary progress on other fronts as well, from his hundreds of judicial appointments to reducing the flow of illegal immigration by 90 percent. On the cultural front, he has defanged the tyranny of Title IX despotism in colleges and universities and, just a day or two ago, he issued an executive order instructing the Office of Management and Budget to “identify and eliminate any trace of ‘critical race theory’ in the federal government.”
It would be difficult to overstate the significance of this order. Critical race theory is the pseudo-academic version of identity politics, lending a suitable polysyllabic veneer of obfuscation to the brutish Marxoid and America-hating ideologies of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and kindred sites of festering discontent.
But what about the Chinese flu, the dreaded coronavirus, the plague that has otherwise normal people covering their faces and cowering in place? Well, what about it? Krugman adverts to it only in passing. “A few months ago the Trump campaign clearly hoped that it could put the coronavirus behind it. But the virus declined to cooperate.”
Oh, gee, “the virus declined to cooperate.” But you know what? It did cooperate – or to speak more frankly, it acted exactly as one would expect a virus to act.
Who is the politician whose decisions about dealing with the new flu led to the most deaths? Andrew Cuomo, somehow still the governor of New York. What politician saved the most lives by his preemptive action and mobilization of federal resources? President Donald J. Trump. You might not like it. Paul Krugman abominates it. But there you have it. That’s the way things are Labor Day weekend 2020.
– – –
Roger Kimball is editor and publisher of The New Criterion and the president and publisher of Encounter Books. He is the author and editor of many books, including The Fortunes of Permanence: Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia (St. Augustine’s Press), The Rape of the Masters (Encounter), Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse (Ivan R. Dee), and Art’s Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Ivan R. Dee).
Photo “Paul Krugman” by Paul Krugman and photo “Minnesota Rioters” by Laurie Shaull CC2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Minnesota DFL House Leaders Will Host Fundraiser with Candidate Who Threatened to Burn Down Hugo

The DFL House Caucus plans to host an official fundraising event this week with John Thompson , Alpha News has learned .
Thompson was at the center of a viral video captured by Alpha News last month in which he screamed profanities at a group of young girls and threatened to burn down a neighborhood .
At one point he told a man holding a blue lives matter sign to “ take that sign ” and “ stick it in your ass.
” “ We coming for everything that you motherf***ers took from us , ” he added .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down for 20 [ vulgarity ] dollars .
You think we give a f– about burning Hugo down ?
” Thompson is scheduled to participate in a Tuesday event with House Speaker Melissa Hortman , Majority Leader Ryan Winkler , and Majority Whip Liz Olson .
The virtual “ Meet the New Majority ” event will feature 12 DFL candidates , including Thompson , who are running in solidly blue districts .
In a second video captured in August , Thompson was seen beating an effigy of a female reporter while standing outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
Tim Walz issued a generic statement condemning “ threatening behavior and rhetoric , ” but his office didn ’ t respond to questions about whether he stands by his endorsement of Thompson .
Authorities in Washington County called Thompson ’ s behavior “ grossly inappropriate , ” but not in violation of any felony statute .
Alpha News recently discovered that Thompson was previously charged with domestic assault and making terroristic threats , but never convicted .
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News .
He previously worked as an editor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and reported for The Daily Caller .

by Anthony Gockowski
The DFL House Caucus plans to host an official fundraising event this week with John Thompson, Alpha News has learned.
Thompson was at the center of a viral video captured by Alpha News last month in which he screamed profanities at a group of young girls and threatened to burn down a neighborhood. At one point he told a man holding a blue lives matter sign to “take that sign” and “stick it in your ass.”
John Thompson, who recently won his Primary for 67A in St. Paul, goes off and screams at neighborhood children, residents, and neighbors of Police Union Leader Bob Kroll. "F*CK, Hugo Minnesota!" BLM protesters gathered today outside Kroll's home. pic.twitter.com/1vTaiTQsML — Alpha News MN (@AlphaNewsMN) August 15, 2020
“We coming for everything that you motherf***ers took from us,” he added. “This whole [vulgarity] state burned down for 20 [vulgarity] dollars. You think we give a f– about burning Hugo down?”
Thompson is scheduled to participate in a Tuesday event with House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, and Majority Whip Liz Olson. The virtual “Meet the New Majority” event will feature 12 DFL candidates, including Thompson, who are running in solidly blue districts.
In a second video captured in August, Thompson was seen beating an effigy of a female reporter while standing outside her home.
Following the incident, Gov. Tim Walz issued a generic statement condemning “threatening behavior and rhetoric,” but his office didn’t respond to questions about whether he stands by his endorsement of Thompson.
Authorities in Washington County called Thompson’s behavior “grossly inappropriate,” but not in violation of any felony statute.
Alpha News recently discovered that Thompson was previously charged with domestic assault and making terroristic threats, but never convicted.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Ohio to Test Wastewater for COVID-19

Ohio to Test Wastewater for COVID-19

In an effort to get ahead of COVID-19 , Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine announced the state would begin testing wastewater at a network of water treatment plants across the state .
Information from the new Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov .
DeWine said in a news release the network was developed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 through the study of wastewater samples .
He added the presence of coronavirus can be found in the waste of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people and can be detected in wastewater as many as three to seven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in case counts or hospitalizations in a community .
The Ohio Department of Health noted that current research shows the virus fragments collected at treatment facilities are not infectious , and water released from the plan is treated to remove viruses and bacteria .
In August , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies , began the National Wastewater Surveillance System .
According to a CDC news release , sewage monitoring can be a leading indicator of changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depending on testing frequency .
Ohio ’ s network includes 28 treatment facilities throughout the state .
The plan is a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Health , several government agencies , The Ohio State University , University of Toledo , Kent State University and the University of Akron .
J.D .
Davidson is the Regional Editor at The Center Square .
Photo “ Water Treatment Plant ” by Glen Pope CC4.0

by J.D. Davidson
In an effort to get ahead of COVID-19, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state would begin testing wastewater at a network of water treatment plants across the state.
Information from the new Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
DeWine said in a news release the network was developed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 through the study of wastewater samples. He added the presence of coronavirus can be found in the waste of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people and can be detected in wastewater as many as three to seven days before those infections lead to increases in case counts or hospitalizations in a community.
The Ohio Department of Health noted that current research shows the virus fragments collected at treatment facilities are not infectious, and water released from the plan is treated to remove viruses and bacteria.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies, began the National Wastewater Surveillance System.
According to a CDC news release, sewage monitoring can be a leading indicator of changes in COVID-19 burdens in a community, depending on testing frequency.
Ohio’s network includes 28 treatment facilities throughout the state. The plan is a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Health, several government agencies, The Ohio State University, University of Toledo, Kent State University and the University of Akron.
– – –
J.D. Davidson is the Regional Editor at The Center Square.
Photo “Water Treatment Plant” by Glen Pope CC4.0


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--After Loudoun Turns Two Libraries into Daycares, Library Board Chair Denis Cotter Resigns

Four days after announcements that two of Loudoun ’ s libraries would be converted to child care centers , Denis Cotter , chair of the library ’ s Board of Trustees ( BOT ) , announced his resignation from the board .
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors ( BOS ) only notified Cotter and other library leadership after the decision to convert the libraries had been made .
The Rust and Ashburn libraries have been transitioned to curbside pickup operations to allow them to be part of a network of over 20 sites that would provide socially-distanced capacity for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Republican Party of Virginia ’ s 10th district , said Cotter resigned because the BOT was not consulted .
“ They ’ re supposed to be an advisory board , and they set the budgets , ” Higgins told The Virginia Star .
“ I can ’ t explain it .
I would have thought that [ the BOS ] would advise [ the BOT ] that they were considering it , allow them to weigh in on it , and then make a decision after that .
One would think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — two heads are better than one.
” Higgins used to serve on the BOS , but resigned last year .
He said it was unusual that the BOS did not consult the library in advance .
“ What ’ s entirely unclear is how can we provide daycare for kids , yet not send our kids back to school under COVID ?
Does COVID not affect daycare scenarios ?
It ’ s completely illogical , ” Loudoun County mom Stacey Carey told The Virginia Star .
Higgins said , “ It does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t it ?
If it ’ s not safe to have them in schools because they might spread the virus , what happens when they ’ re in the library in basically the same type of atmosphere and setup , why is that any different ?
I guess it depends , apparently , on whose kids are being taken care of.
” “ They closed the two busiest libraries , as I understand it , to provide daycare for teachers who aren ’ t working .
I don ’ t get it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing that ’ s just crazy … why wouldn ’ t you use some of the schools that are closed and provide the facilities there that exist and not disrupt the operational library ?
” Higgins warned that closing the schools will be harmful to families .
“ [ It ’ s the ] schools that report child abuse , and [ if ] kids aren ’ t in school , how does anybody know what ’ s going on if the kids are having problems ?
” “ Child abuse , spousal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are dysfunctional , people that are abusing drugs or alcohol , all kinds of things , because their whole life has been upset , ” Higgins said .
Higgins is skeptical of claims that the program will be entirely funded by the CARES act , a federal package of money aimed at reducing economic harm from COVID-19 .
“ I don ’ t think that could be completely realistic , no , ” Higgins said .
“ I don ’ t know how that ’ s going to pay for the facilities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facilities , some of the collateral damage .
I would be suspicious that it ’ s going to be completely covered.
” “ There ’ s virtually no evidence of children passing it on to older adults , so why is everybody held hostage for a handful of people that seems to me could be kept safe without closing the schools up , ” Higgins said .
“ Roughly 18-20 percent of teachers are in the zone that would be considered high-risk , and the rest of them are not , so why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something else rather than close the schools , ” Higgins added “ Everybody seems to be puzzled , ” Higgins said .
“ This is like the second shot .
We ’ re not going to have our kids in school at all and ‘ Oh by the way , ’ we ’ re not going to be able to use the libraries.
” Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .

Four days after announcements that two of Loudoun’s libraries would be converted to child care centers, Denis Cotter, chair of the library’s Board of Trustees (BOT), announced his resignation from the board. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (BOS) only notified Cotter and other library leadership after the decision to convert the libraries had been made.
The Rust and Ashburn libraries have been transitioned to curbside pickup operations to allow them to be part of a network of over 20 sites that would provide socially-distanced capacity for 1,000-1,200 children.
Geary Higgins, chair for the Republican Party of Virginia’s 10th district, said Cotter resigned because the BOT was not consulted. “They’re supposed to be an advisory board, and they set the budgets,” Higgins told The Virginia Star.
“I can’t explain it. I would have thought that [the BOS] would advise [the BOT] that they were considering it, allow them to weigh in on it, and then make a decision after that. One would think that they might have offered some counsel — two heads are better than one.” Higgins used to serve on the BOS, but resigned last year. He said it was unusual that the BOS did not consult the library in advance.
“What’s entirely unclear is how can we provide daycare for kids, yet not send our kids back to school under COVID? Does COVID not affect daycare scenarios? It’s completely illogical,” Loudoun County mom Stacey Carey told The Virginia Star.
Higgins said, “It does seem a little counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? If it’s not safe to have them in schools because they might spread the virus, what happens when they’re in the library in basically the same type of atmosphere and setup, why is that any different? I guess it depends, apparently, on whose kids are being taken care of.”
“They closed the two busiest libraries, as I understand it, to provide daycare for teachers who aren’t working. I don’t get it,” Higgins said.
“The other thing that’s just crazy … why wouldn’t you use some of the schools that are closed and provide the facilities there that exist and not disrupt the operational library?”
Higgins warned that closing the schools will be harmful to families. “[It’s the] schools that report child abuse, and [if] kids aren’t in school, how does anybody know what’s going on if the kids are having problems?”
“Child abuse, spousal abuse, you read about homes that are dysfunctional, people that are abusing drugs or alcohol, all kinds of things, because their whole life has been upset,” Higgins said.
Higgins is skeptical of claims that the program will be entirely funded by the CARES act, a federal package of money aimed at reducing economic harm from COVID-19. “I don’t think that could be completely realistic, no,” Higgins said. “I don’t know how that’s going to pay for the facilities, for the loss of use of the facilities, some of the collateral damage. I would be suspicious that it’s going to be completely covered.”
“There’s virtually no evidence of children passing it on to older adults, so why is everybody held hostage for a handful of people that seems to me could be kept safe without closing the schools up,” Higgins said.
“Roughly 18-20 percent of teachers are in the zone that would be considered high-risk, and the rest of them are not, so why not put those teachers to work doing something else rather than close the schools,” Higgins added
“Everybody seems to be puzzled,” Higgins said. “This is like the second shot. We’re not going to have our kids in school at all and ‘Oh by the way,’ we’re not going to be able to use the libraries.”
– – –
Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--UVA Announces No Fans at Fall Sporting Events, Only Coaches and Families of Athletes

The University of Virginia ( UVA ) athletics department announced Friday that no fans will be allowed at fall sporting events until further notice , including football .
The current state guidelines for sports venues under the Forward Virginia plan put in place by the Commonwealth allow for less than 50 percent occupancy of the facility or 1,000 people .
“ We are excited that our student-athletes have the opportunity to return to competition soon , but unfortunately , we will have to do so without fans to start the season as we follow the state and local agency guidelines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ athletic venues , ” said Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams in the release .
UVA also said that should the state adjust attendance numbers allowed at sports venues , the university athletics department will make an announcement on the new capacity guidelines or other protocols to attend competitions .
Having no fans or students in attendance will undoubtedly change the environment and atmosphere of home games , but UVA teams will not be playing in completely empty stadiums .
Families of student-athletes will be allowed to attend games as well as each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release does not specify how families will be seated or if season ticket holders will be offered a refund or other compensation .
“ I honestly haven ’ t heard about the fan regulation when it comes to UVA football games , but either way , our team will be ready to answer the call , ” said Charles Mack , a team graduate assistant , in an interview with the The Virginia Star .
“ [ Games will ] probably resemble more like a practice where players have to bring their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The Cavaliers averaged 47,811 fans per game last season and brought in crowds of more than 52,000 people in three home games , according to The Daily Progress .
“ These are unprecedented times and we are thankful for the patience and continued support of everyone , ” Williams said in the release .
“ I encourage everyone to follow our teams on the ACC Network and our other television partners , the Virginia Sports Radio Network , VirginiaSports.com and our team ’ s social media accounts.
” The capacity guidelines apply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scott Stadium ( football ) , Klöckner Stadium ( men ’ s and women ’ s soccer ) , Turf Field ( field hockey ) , Memorial Gymnasium ( volleyball ) and Panorama Farms ( cross country ) .
UVA athletics also announced Friday the finalized version of the 2020 football schedule .
Virginia will begin the season on Saturday , September 19th facing rivals Virginia Tech in Blacksburg .
The Cavaliers will host NC State ( Oct. 10 ) , North Carolina ( Oct. 31 ) , Louisville ( Nov. 7 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abilene Christian ( Nov. 21 ) and Boston College ( Dec. 5 ) .
Besides week one at Virginia Tech , the football team will travel to Clemson ( Oct. 3 ) , Wake Forest ( Oct. 17 ) , Miami ( Oct. 24 ) and Florida State ( Nov. 28 ) .
Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network .
Follow Jacob on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .
Photo “ UVA Football ” by Yanping Soong CC2.0 .

The University of Virginia (UVA) athletics department announced Friday that no fans will be allowed at fall sporting events until further notice, including football.
The current state guidelines for sports venues under the Forward Virginia plan put in place by the Commonwealth allow for less than 50 percent occupancy of the facility or 1,000 people.
“We are excited that our student-athletes have the opportunity to return to competition soon, but unfortunately, we will have to do so without fans to start the season as we follow the state and local agency guidelines regarding the operation and capacity of our athletic venues,” said Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams in the release.
UVA also said that should the state adjust attendance numbers allowed at sports venues, the university athletics department will make an announcement on the new capacity guidelines or other protocols to attend competitions.
Having no fans or students in attendance will undoubtedly change the environment and atmosphere of home games, but UVA teams will not be playing in completely empty stadiums.
Families of student-athletes will be allowed to attend games as well as each team’s coaching staff. The release does not specify how families will be seated or if season ticket holders will be offered a refund or other compensation.
“I honestly haven’t heard about the fan regulation when it comes to UVA football games, but either way, our team will be ready to answer the call,” said Charles Mack, a team graduate assistant, in an interview with the The Virginia Star. “[Games will] probably resemble more like a practice where players have to bring their own energy but still stay focused and execute.”
The Cavaliers averaged 47,811 fans per game last season and brought in crowds of more than 52,000 people in three home games, according to The Daily Progress.
“These are unprecedented times and we are thankful for the patience and continued support of everyone,” Williams said in the release. “I encourage everyone to follow our teams on the ACC Network and our other television partners, the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and our team’s social media accounts.”
The capacity guidelines apply to all fall sports home competitions at Scott Stadium (football), Klöckner Stadium (men’s and women’s soccer), Turf Field (field hockey), Memorial Gymnasium (volleyball) and Panorama Farms (cross country).
UVA athletics also announced Friday the finalized version of the 2020 football schedule.
Virginia will begin the season on Saturday, September 19th facing rivals Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
The Cavaliers will host NC State (Oct. 10), North Carolina (Oct. 31), Louisville (Nov. 7), Duke (Nov. 14), Abilene Christian (Nov. 21) and Boston College (Dec. 5).
Besides week one at Virginia Tech, the football team will travel to Clemson (Oct. 3), Wake Forest (Oct. 17), Miami (Oct. 24) and Florida State (Nov. 28).
– – –
Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Follow Jacob on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “UVA Football” by Yanping Soong CC2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Ohio Leaders Play Both Sides of Mask Debate

The Ohio Department of Health on Sunday reported 773 more COVID infections , increasing the number of cases to 130,558 .
That is below the 21-day average of 1,061 newly reported cases a day .
If past claims are indicative of future assertions , Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine will say masking caused the dip .
Gov .
Mike DeWine recently talked about dropping case numbers and said measures like the statewide mask order were small sacrifices given what the state faces , according to a story by WTOL .
“ I do not shy away from making decisions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are dealing with a once-in-a-102-year pandemic , ” he said , “ I make those decisions ; some people agree , some people disagree , but the thing I can assure you is that each decision is made with the best advice I can get from the health community and its made with my dedication and my commitment to the people of the state of Ohio to keep them safe and keep our economy moving.
” One Ohio resident is questioning the mask mandate .
Scott Liechty is a Summit County resident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers and does not believe that case numbers are caused by the statewide mask mandate .
He spoke to The Ohio Star about his concerns .
Liechty mentioned how public policy seems to be based solely off case counts , not hospitalizations .
That was the reason given for the statewide mask mandate .
According to the county health department ’ s COVID-19 dashboard , available here , for the 22 days prior to the July 23 mask mandate , Summit County had 782 reported cases ( in a county population of 541,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the mask mandate , Liechty said , quoting from the health department portal , Summit County had 782 cases reported ( in a county population of 541,000 ) .
To be fair , he said , he allowed a week for the mandate to take hold .
From Aug. 1-22 , another 22 days – a time during which Governor DeWine has repeatedly talked about how wearing masks drives down positive cases – Liechty pointed out that the mandate should have lowered the case count .
Yet , there were 909 cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He pointed out there was an increase on August 21 .
“ Even if I remove that blip and use the average 37 case per day range during that time for August 21 , under the best of circumstances , the case count … had virtually no statistical difference in case counts .
No evidence the mask mandate did anything whatsoever in Summit County.
” He said it is his opinion that Summit County has a good sample size and has urban , suburban and rural populations , making it a good case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not mean people will wear them right — he sees people not covering their nose , and they leave their masks hanging from their car ’ s rearview mirror when they may have germs on them .
The government focused only on mandating masks and not on educating people on using them , and not convincing people masks help , he says .
Governor DeWine enacted the statewide mask order on July 23 .
Then , the DeWine administration said that two to 14 days passed between infection and symptoms .
Cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at 1774 reported cases , 10 days before the statewide mask mandate took effect on July 23 .
Based on the incubation estimates , cases may have peaked 12 to 24 days before the mask mandate took effect – throwing a wrench into the claim that masks stopped a surge .
On Thursday , DeWine highlighted 50 new deaths and 1,345 new cases .
DeWine also said , “ 1 , 345 cases and 50 deaths .
So , certainly not good .
It ’ s consistent with what we ’ ve seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a plateau , and we certainly can ’ t drop below 1,000 , and we ’ re around 12 , 1300.
” On one hand , DeWine says that mask mandates are working to flatten cases , but on the other he is claiming that the state struggles to get below 1,000 new cases consistently – while at the same time arguing that case counts are not related to increases in testing .
The New York Times begs to differ .
The newspaper wrote that 90 percent of people who tested positive were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contagious – positive tests are not indicative of an active infection and spread .
But if DeWine is right that masks work and testing isn ’ t the impetus to increasing case numbers , Ohio would not be in a ‘ plateau ’ as the Governor describes , since ( as he also claims ) 90 % of Ohioans are wearing masks .
The administration continues to play both sides of the numbers .
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years ’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @

The Ohio Department of Health on Sunday reported 773 more COVID infections, increasing the number of cases to 130,558. That is below the 21-day average of 1,061 newly reported cases a day. If past claims are indicative of future assertions, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine will say masking caused the dip.
Gov. Mike DeWine recently talked about dropping case numbers and said measures like the statewide mask order were small sacrifices given what the state faces, according to a story by WTOL.
“I do not shy away from making decisions, somebody has to make those decisions when you are dealing with a once-in-a-102-year pandemic,” he said, “I make those decisions; some people agree, some people disagree, but the thing I can assure you is that each decision is made with the best advice I can get from the health community and its made with my dedication and my commitment to the people of the state of Ohio to keep them safe and keep our economy moving.”
One Ohio resident is questioning the mask mandate.
Scott Liechty is a Summit County resident who has tracked his county’s numbers and does not believe that case numbers are caused by the statewide mask mandate. He spoke to The Ohio Star about his concerns.
Liechty mentioned how public policy seems to be based solely off case counts, not hospitalizations. That was the reason given for the statewide mask mandate.
According to the county health department’s COVID-19 dashboard, available here, for the 22 days prior to the July 23 mask mandate, Summit County had 782 reported cases (in a county population of 541,000).
For the 22 days prior to the mask mandate, Liechty said, quoting from the health department portal, Summit County had 782 cases reported (in a county population of 541,000). To be fair, he said, he allowed a week for the mandate to take hold.
From Aug. 1-22, another 22 days – a time during which Governor DeWine has repeatedly talked about how wearing masks drives down positive cases – Liechty pointed out that the mandate should have lowered the case count.
Yet, there were 909 cases, an increase of 14 percent. He pointed out there was an increase on August 21.
“Even if I remove that blip and use the average 37 case per day range during that time for August 21, under the best of circumstances, the case count … had virtually no statistical difference in case counts. No evidence the mask mandate did anything whatsoever in Summit County.”
He said it is his opinion that Summit County has a good sample size and has urban, suburban and rural populations, making it a good case study.
Liechty observes that mandating masks do not mean people will wear them right — he sees people not covering their nose, and they leave their masks hanging from their car’s rearview mirror when they may have germs on them.
The government focused only on mandating masks and not on educating people on using them, and not convincing people masks help, he says.
Governor DeWine enacted the statewide mask order on July 23. Then, the DeWine administration said that two to 14 days passed between infection and symptoms.
Cases and hospitalizations began peaking around July 13 at 1774 reported cases, 10 days before the statewide mask mandate took effect on July 23.
Based on the incubation estimates, cases may have peaked 12 to 24 days before the mask mandate took effect – throwing a wrench into the claim that masks stopped a surge.
On Thursday, DeWine highlighted 50 new deaths and 1,345 new cases.
Here is today’s data snapshot. Sadly, Ohio had 50 deaths reported to @OHDeptofHealth since yesterday. This is the highest number of deaths reported on a single day since June. pic.twitter.com/jxTBEQ6VWb — Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) September 3, 2020
DeWine also said, “1, 345 cases and 50 deaths. So, certainly not good. It’s consistent with what we’ve seen. We’ve sort of hit a plateau, and we certainly can’t drop below 1,000, and we’re around 12, 1300.”
On one hand, DeWine says that mask mandates are working to flatten cases, but on the other he is claiming that the state struggles to get below 1,000 new cases consistently – while at the same time arguing that case counts are not related to increases in testing.
The New York Times begs to differ. The newspaper wrote that 90 percent of people who tested positive were barely carrying the virus and likely not contagious – positive tests are not indicative of an active infection and spread.
But if DeWine is right that masks work and testing isn’t the impetus to increasing case numbers, Ohio would not be in a ‘plateau’ as the Governor describes, since (as he also claims) 90% of Ohioans are wearing masks.
The administration continues to play both sides of the numbers.
– – –
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes. Jack Windsor contributed to this report.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Team Trump Bus Tour MAGA Meetup Comes to Marshall, Minnesota, Later Joined by Senate Candidate Jason

Team Trump Bus Tour MAGA Meetup Comes to Marshall, Minnesota, Later Joined by Senate Candidate Jason Lewis

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis will co-host a Trump Bus Tour/MAGA meetup in Marshall , Minnesota .
Lewis tweeted a link to the event signup page Sunday .
Other speakers include MyPillow founder and Minnesota Trump Campaign Honorary Chairman Mike Lindell , Director of Strategic Communications Marc Lotter , and former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann .
The Trump campaign ’ s bus tours launched early last month .
Most recently , the Team Trump Bus Tour made a stop in Texas .
The former U.S .
Congressman is running against incumbent Senator Tina Smith ( DFL-MN ) .
Lewis ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign is excited by the response they ’ re seeing on the ground .
According to Lewis ’ s team , support for their movement is only growing .
The race between Lewis and Smith is now considered a toss-up .
Several polling bodies indicate that Smith ’ s lead is shrinking .
In an interview with KVRR on Sunday , Lewis shared that his goals would be to “ end onerous lockdowns , ” reform healthcare , and aim to “ put Minnesotans first ” such as opening up the precious metal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I think it ’ s time to get back to first principles : restoring public order – that ’ s the first object of government – the protection of life , liberty , and property.
” Lewis isn ’ t the only Republican candidate making gains in the traditionally blue state .
The polling ground that correctly predicted unique key state outcomes in 2016 released data that President Trump is tied with Democratic candidate Joe Biden .
Recently , researchers discovered twice as many Trump supporters than Biden supporters will lie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of stating their true intentions to vote Republican , they say they will vote Democrat .
These discrepancies explain the 2016 election outcome , after nearly every pollster predicted Hillary Clinton would win .
Senator Smith ’ s most recent focus is on legalizing marijuana , apart from impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns .
The event is scheduled for September 15th at 10 am ( CT ) .
Admission is free , but an RSVP is required .
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and the Star News Network .
Follow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tips to [ email protected ] .

A Trump Bus Tour/MAGA meetup will arrive in Marshall, Minnesota next week. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis tweeted a link to the event signup page Sunday.
‼ Attn folks in the Marshall area ‼ The @TeamTrump bus will be rolling through Marshall on Sept 15th! Come on out & chat with @realMikeLindell, @MicheleBachmann, & @marc_lotter! Click the link below to sign up! @TrumpVictoryMNhttps://t.co/jrQpeyEqo1 — Jason Lewis (@LewisForMN) September 6, 2020
Speakers will include MyPillow founder and Minnesota Trump Campaign Honorary Chairman Mike Lindell, Director of Strategic Communications Marc Lotter, and former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
The Trump campaign’s bus tours launched early last month: the Team Trump on Tour Bus Tour and the Women for Trump Bus Tour. Most recently, the Team Trump Bus Tour made a stop in Texas.
Former U.S. Congressman Lewis plans to join up with the bus at their Fergus Falls stop.
Lewis faces off against incumbent Senator Tina Smith (DFL-MN) this November. Lewis’s communications director shared that the Lewis campaign is excited by the response they’re seeing on the ground. According to Lewis’s team, support for their movement is only growing.
The race between Lewis and Smith is now considered a toss-up. Several polling bodies indicate that Smith’s lead is shrinking. In an interview with KVRR on Sunday, Lewis shared that his goals would be to “end onerous lockdowns,” reform healthcare, and aim to “put Minnesotans first” such as opening up the precious metal mining range and building Enbridge Line 3.
“I think it’s time to get back to first principles: restoring public order – that’s the first object of government – the protection of life, liberty, and property.”
Lewis isn’t the only Republican candidate making gains in the traditionally blue state. The polling ground that correctly predicted unique key state outcomes in 2016 released data that President Trump is tied with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Recently, researchers found that as much as twice as many Trump supporters than Biden supporters will lie about who they truly support. Instead of stating their true intentions to vote Republican, they say they will vote Democrat. These discrepancies explain the 2016 election outcome, after nearly every pollster predicted Hillary Clinton would win.
Senator Smith’s most recent focus is on legalizing marijuana, apart from impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns.
The event is scheduled for September 15th at 10 am (CT). Admission is free, but an RSVP is required.
– – –
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Tennessee Businessman Seeking Presidential Pardon Says Prison Was ‘A Wakeup Call’

Writer ’ s Note : This is the second of a three-part series about Madison , Tennessee resident and businessman Robert Sherrill , who seeks a federal pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump for past federal drug offenses .
As reported Saturday , Robert Sherrill ’ s path to redemption began on a bus ride to the federal prison facility in Forrest City , Arkansas .
Authorities had convicted Sherrill of a drug-related felony .
At age 25 , Sherrill had already resolved he wouldn ’ t die in a penitentiary , as his father did .
“ I didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legacy , ” Sherrill , now 37 , said .
In prison , Sherrill would have no luxuries .
The bus ride there foreshadowed that .
“ We were like cattle .
They have animal response units .
They pick a dog up or a critter and just throw it in there .
We were shackled head , feet , and arms with no seat belts on , crowded in the back of a hot van driving four hours to get to a prison .
I ’ ll never forget that .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cage .
That ’ s how they haul the men around , ” Sherrill said .
“ If you have to use the bathroom then you can ’ t use it .
They will never pull over .
A guy next to me peed on himself because they wouldn ’ t let him use the bathroom.
” Some movies , like Office Space , describe federal prison as almost like a posh resort compared to a state lockup .
When asked about that , Sherrill told The Tennessee Star it was anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state prison .
While there , he said he served time alongside members of the Mexican drug cartel , the Texas Syndicate gang , and high-ranking members of both the Gangster Disciple street gang and the Aryan Brotherhood .
“ It ’ s so segregated that each ethnic group or gang had their own side of the cafeteria .
They had their own phones and their own TV ’ s that you can not touch , ” Sherrill said .
“ I have seen people die and get murdered .
I have seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war .
I ’ ve seen people Life Flighted out of that place .
I ’ ve seen people not make it home .
It was very traumatizing .
Prison is not a nice place for anybody .
Some people never make it out .
Outside of the raping , the stories you hear about prison are true.
” Despite the brutality surrounding him , Sherrill said he still had time to reflect .
“ I don ’ t want my life to be this way .
You understand I am meeting people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They will literally die in prison .
And then you ’ re seeing people die .
You ’ re seeing people sick and not make it home , ” Sherrill , now a successful businessman , said .
“ Logically , that is a wakeup call .
I used it as such .
I utilized that time to educate myself to know more about business because I knew what I wanted to do when I got out .
Everything I cultivated there I am utilizing now.
” Sherrill left prison at the age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Star will report in the final part of our three-part series , reentry into society put Sherrill on a new path of opportunity and the chance to influence Tennessee for the better .
But his past felony conviction restricts him from contributing all that he wants to contribute .
A pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump could , if granted , enable Sherrill to accomplish grander things .
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

Writer’s Note: This is the second of a three-part series about Madison, Tennessee resident and businessman Robert Sherrill, who seeks a federal pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump for past federal drug offenses.
As reported Saturday, Robert Sherrill’s path to redemption began on a bus ride to the federal prison facility in Forrest City, Arkansas. Authorities had convicted Sherrill of a drug-related felony.
At age 25, Sherrill had already resolved he wouldn’t die in a penitentiary, as his father did.
“I didn’t want that to be my legacy,” Sherrill, now 37, said.
In prison, Sherrill would have no luxuries. The bus ride there foreshadowed that.
“We were like cattle. They have animal response units. They pick a dog up or a critter and just throw it in there. We were shackled head, feet, and arms with no seat belts on, crowded in the back of a hot van driving four hours to get to a prison. I’ll never forget that. It’s like a cage inside of a cage. That’s how they haul the men around,” Sherrill said.
“If you have to use the bathroom then you can’t use it. They will never pull over. A guy next to me peed on himself because they wouldn’t let him use the bathroom.”
Some movies, like Office Space, describe federal prison as almost like a posh resort compared to a state lockup. When asked about that, Sherrill told The Tennessee Star it was anything but — and probably worse than a state prison. While there, he said he served time alongside members of the Mexican drug cartel, the Texas Syndicate gang, and high-ranking members of both the Gangster Disciple street gang and the Aryan Brotherhood.
“It’s so segregated that each ethnic group or gang had their own side of the cafeteria. They had their own phones and their own TV’s that you cannot touch,” Sherrill said.
“I have seen people die and get murdered. I have seen people stab each other and go to war. I’ve seen people Life Flighted out of that place. I’ve seen people not make it home. It was very traumatizing. Prison is not a nice place for anybody. Some people never make it out. Outside of the raping, the stories you hear about prison are true.”
Despite the brutality surrounding him, Sherrill said he still had time to reflect.
“I don’t want my life to be this way. You understand I am meeting people who will never get out again. They will literally die in prison. And then you’re seeing people die. You’re seeing people sick and not make it home,” Sherrill, now a successful businessman, said.
“Logically, that is a wakeup call. I used it as such. I utilized that time to educate myself to know more about business because I knew what I wanted to do when I got out. Everything I cultivated there I am utilizing now.”
Sherrill left prison at the age of 30.
And, as The Star will report in the final part of our three-part series, reentry into society put Sherrill on a new path of opportunity and the chance to influence Tennessee for the better. But his past felony conviction restricts him from contributing all that he wants to contribute.
A pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump could, if granted, enable Sherrill to accomplish grander things.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-07--Exclusive: Creator of Capitol Hill Musical ‘K Street’ Hosts First Zoom Table Read Wednesday

The creator and producer of “ K Street , NW : A Capitol Hill Musical ” told the Star News Network what motivated him to capture search for love while balancing principle and compromise in Washington and set it to music .
“ It is about a young woman from Iowa , who comes to Washington , D.C , to be a Hill intern and as she learns about Capitol Hill , she rises up the ranks to become a chief of staff for a senator with promising political prospects , ” said Karl Amadeus Notturno , who is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Success forces her to chose between her values and harsh political realities of D.C. , ” he said .
K Street , NW is the Rodeo Drive for lobbyists , consultants and trade associations .
The boulevard runs east-west roughly from Georgetown ’ s Potomac River waterfront district through the heart of the city passing two blocks north of Lafayette Park and the White House .
Mercifully for the Republic , K Street , NW ends at the edge of Chinatown and does not actually connect to Capitol Hill .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rests on the lobbyists heading to Capitol Hill in black SUVs and or Capitol Hill staffers taking $ 10 Ubers the other way .
In K Street ’ s first act , the lead character Samantha , played by Olivia Scott , has a conflict with her idealistic boss after she secures amendments to the Pentagon budget that both add protections to Iowa lakes and rivers and opens up oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , he said .
Sam ’ s legislative director boss is horrified that a so-called environmentalist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially at the behest of a wealthy Iowan with oil interests , Notturno said .
“ He tells her : ‘ I thought you cared about the environment ?
’ and she says : ‘ Well , I care about Iowa ’ s environment.
’ ” It should be no surprise that heroine point out that the L.D .
has never been to Iowa and grew up in Connecticut .
“ She comes to the city with lofty ideals and is disenchanted , ” Notturno said .
“ It is much more of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backdrop—and you get to see how D.C. actually works.
” An abridged version of the musical was set to a part of the Capital Fringe Festival this summer , but then came COVID-19 , he said .
“ I ’ ve been working on it for a year-and-a-half , so since that happened , we ’ ve been just refining it , refining it and refining it , ” said the 2017 graduate of Yale University .
Part of the refining process is the series of table reads Notturno said he will host @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not relying on opportunities created by “ Hamilton ” to address politics , he said .
“ The way I ’ ve described it as is ‘ La La Land ’ for Washington .
It is basically a candid look , somewhat humorous , but also loving—I don ’ t go into this : knives drawn.
” Songs in the show include upbeat numbers such as : “ I ’ ve Got a Bill , ” “ Is This the Hill to Die On ?
, ” “ Too Much Sense ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to strike a chord with veterans of Capitol Hill ’ s hearing rooms and network of tunnels connecting the Capitol with the House and Senate office buildings and the three buildings of the Library of Congress .
“ All the characters are sympathetic in that you can understand what they are doing , ” Notturno said .
The playwright and composer said he drew upon his own experiences working as a registered lobbyist for Qatar just out of college and on the consequences Wayfair Decision , in which the Supreme Court allowed states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by their residents from retailers not located in their states .
“ I spent a lot of time on the Hill and a lot of my friends were Hill staffers , and this is where the musical came from , ” he said .
“ By the end of the show , I think a lot of people should be able to see how very well-meaning people , who really want the best for the country , who come to D.C. with the best intentions , end up producing the type of government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The different characters deal with that transformation in different ways , ” he said .
“ Some people stay and continue to fight and continue to retain some sense of idealism , ” he said .
“ Some people come to the city and get completely swallowed up by the Swamp , they ’ re not always the people that you think will be .
Neil W. McCabe is a Washington-based national political reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network .
In addition to the Star Newspaper , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill and national politics for One America News , Breitbart , Human Events and Townhall .
Before coming to Washington , he was a staff reporter for Boston ’ s Catholic paper , The Pilot , and the editor of two Boston-area community papers , The Somerville News and The Alewife .
McCabe is a public affairs NCO in the Army Reserve and he deployed for 15 months to Iraq as a combat historian .

The creator and producer of “K Street, NW: A Capitol Hill Musical” told the Star News Network what motivated him to capture search for love while balancing principle and compromise in Washington and set it to music.
“It is about a young woman from Iowa, who comes to Washington, D.C, to be a Hill intern and as she learns about Capitol Hill, she rises up the ranks to become a chief of staff for a senator with promising political prospects,” said Karl Amadeus Notturno, who is a Publicus Fellow at the Claremont Institute.
“Success forces her to choose between her values and harsh political realities of D.C.,” he said.
K Street, NW is the Rodeo Drive for lobbyists, consultants and trade associations. The boulevard runs east-west roughly from Georgetown’s Potomac River waterfront district through the heart of the city passing two blocks north of Lafayette Park and the White House. Mercifully for the Republic, K Street, NW ends at the edge of Chinatown and does not actually connect to Capitol Hill. However, the fate of budgets and legislation often rests on the lobbyists heading to Capitol Hill in black SUVs and or Capitol Hill staffers taking $10 Ubers the other way.
In K Street’s first act, the lead character Samantha, played by Olivia Scott, has a conflict with her idealistic boss after she secures amendments to the Pentagon budget that both add protections to Iowa lakes and rivers and opens up oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he said.
Sam’s legislative director boss is horrified that a so-called environmentalist would create this craven a trade-off, especially at the behest of a wealthy Iowan with oil interests, Notturno said. “He tells her: ‘I thought you cared about the environment?’ and she says: ‘Well, I care about Iowa’s environment.’”
It should be no surprise that heroine point out that the L.D. has never been to Iowa and grew up in Connecticut.
“She comes to the city with lofty ideals and is disenchanted,” Notturno said. “It is much more of a character study with D.C. as a backdrop—and you get to see how D.C. actually works.”
An abridged version of the musical was set to a part of the Capital Fringe Festival this summer, but then came COVID-19, he said.
“I’ve been working on it for a year-and-a-half, so since that happened, we’ve been just refining it, refining it and refining it,” said the 2017 graduate of Yale University.
Part of the refining process is the series of table reads Notturno said he will host online with Zoom.
We will be holding a virtual table read for Act One of K Street next Wednesday, September 9, at 7:30EDT. DM me if you'd like to be involved, either as an audience member or as a reader! — K Street (@kstreet_musical) September 3, 2020
The show is not relying on opportunities created by “Hamilton” to address politics, he said. “The way I’ve described it as is ‘La La Land’ for Washington. It is basically a candid look, somewhat humorous, but also loving—I don’t go into this: knives drawn.”
Songs in the show include upbeat numbers such as: “I’ve Got a Bill,” “Is This the Hill to Die On?,” “Too Much Sense” and “The Longworth Cafeteria” all sure to strike a chord with veterans of Capitol Hill’s hearing rooms and network of tunnels connecting the Capitol with the House and Senate office buildings and the three buildings of the Library of Congress.
“All the characters are sympathetic in that you can understand what they are doing,” Notturno said.
The playwright and composer said he drew upon his own experiences working as a registered lobbyist for Qatar just out of college and on the consequences Wayfair Decision, in which the Supreme Court allowed states to charge sales tax on online purchases by their residents from retailers not located in their states.
“I spent a lot of time on the Hill and a lot of my friends were Hill staffers, and this is where the musical came from,” he said.
“By the end of the show, I think a lot of people should be able to see how very well-meaning people, who really want the best for the country, who come to D.C. with the best intentions, end up producing the type of government we have,” he said.
“The different characters deal with that transformation in different ways,” he said.
“Some people stay and continue to fight and continue to retain some sense of idealism,” he said.
“Some people come to the city and get completely swallowed up by the Swamp, they’re not always the people that you think will be.
– – –
Neil W. McCabe is a Washington-based national political reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. In addition to the Star Newspaper, he has covered the White House, Capitol Hill and national politics for One America News, Breitbart, Human Events and Townhall. Before coming to Washington, he was a staff reporter for Boston’s Catholic paper, The Pilot, and the editor of two Boston-area community papers, The Somerville News and The Alewife. McCabe is a public affairs NCO in the Army Reserve and he deployed for 15 months to Iraq as a combat historian.