thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Commentary: Desperately Derailing Donald

The effort to stop President Trump is growing comical .
One always expects the media surprise leak of a purported hidden scandal as a presidential campaign winds down .
Remember the last-minute “ discovery ” of George W. Bush ’ s undisclosed 24-year-old DUI arrest in 2000 ?
Or the October 7 , 2016 effort of the Washington Post to publish the hoarded 11-year-old “ Access Hollywood ” tape , just two days before Donald Trump ’ s second debate with Hillary Clinton ?
We should expect lots of these “ bombshells ” and “ walls are closing in ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most widely investigated , probed , attacked , and smeared president in history .
And so the scandal-field has pretty well been picked over , as those fired like Omarosa Manigault Newman , Anthony Scaramucci , John Bolton , and others have long ago more or less lectured us that Trump is nuts , crazy , dangerous , stupid , ignorant , and so forth .
In terms of bombshells , what does the Left do after the 2016 suit to decertify voting machines , the FISA court abuse , the effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first impeachment drive , the Logan Act gambits , the Emoluments Clause joke , the 25th Amendment ruse , the Russian collusion hoax , the 22-month-asleep-at-the-wheel Mueller and his “ all-stars , ” Ukraine !
Ukraine !
, the second impeachment drive , and the 2020 trifecta of Trump as Typhoid Mary , Bull Connor , and Herbert Hoover ?
The point is , in Jussie Smollett fashion , the demand for scandals is outrunning the supply and time grows short .
It ’ s no wonder that one of Joe Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jobs of the Apple fortune , who owns most of The Atlantic , had the former Obama Administration megaphone Jeffrey Goldberg exhume a two-year-old and long-ago-refuted charge that President Trump did not wish to visit a U.S. military cemetery in France because he variously was afraid of the rain , that he would get his hair wet , and that he did not wish to celebrate “ losers ” and “ suckers.
” All this was from a left-wing media that not long ago damned a “ militaristic ” Trump for being infatuated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many in his White House , while needlessly spending billions on manpower and equipment to repair a military hollowed out by the Obama Administration .
The resuscitated scandal hit-piece was primed for all the left-wing cable news shows and supposedly would dominate the otherwise quiet Labor Day weekend news .
The problem was that the charge was calcified—and for a reason .
Security memos long ago had shown that the weather , not Trump , had deterred low-flying presidential helicopters .
Goldberg ’ s “ sources ” remain anonymous .
Supposedly they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear of a left-wing Twitter ever scared off a left-wing scandal-monger ? )
, and thus could not be found or checked to determine whether they stood by their hearsay charges .
The presidential entourage of that day all denied Goldberg ’ s accusations , including Trumphobe and former White House insider and National Security Advisor John Bolton , coming off a tell-all book attacking the president as a nincompoop and a dangerous nut .
Goldberg ’ s work , then , is symptomatic not just of the growing desperation of the Left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polling trajectory , but the poverty of the muck material still left to work with .
Expect more October “ smoking gun ” surprises surrounding Trump ’ s stale tax returns , a casino bankruptcy or two , a Mooch tidbit , a Michael Avenatti crumb , a retired general ’ s sudden memory recovery , or perhaps even an old undiscovered Stormy tweet .
The “ summer of love ” and “ largely peaceful ” tropes of late spring and early summer are now belied by the flames , firebombs , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fake news accounts , as journalists seem about to ignite as they assure us of calm .
Recently , there was another riot in Rochester , New York in which Black Lives Matter sought to destroy restaurants and attack diners as they ate—as a prelude to entering the suburbs , climbing roofs , and waking the supposedly largely complacent white “ racist ” populace up to their culpability for the rioters ’ unhappiness .
Their delayed anger grew over a just-released video of the death , six months ago , of an arrested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ custody .
That tragedy supposedly justified manhandling strangers with warnings of “ give us our shit ” and “ do not record crimes ” with cell phones .
These now nightly recurring riots and violence have a common theme : blue-state governors and blue mayors of the nation ’ s larger and middle-sized cities have institutionalized police procedures to detain supposedly dangerous or erratic acting suspects , which are either dangerous to the suspect or can easily appear post facto to be so on selectively edited or incompletely aired videos .
Local and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their cities for endemic African-American disparities , asymmetrical crime rates , and the proper behavior of their worn-out and beleaguered police , who are called by frightened businesses and bystanders to remove often dangerous suspects from their shared communities .
The result is that suspects now routinely resist arrest , confident either sympathetic district attorneys won ’ t prosecute them , or police themselves will have to choose between losing their lives arresting those not willing to be arrested or losing their careers and livelihood in the effort .
We know the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to calls from crime-infested areas , and those arrested don ’ t think the police will use force to make arrests stick—and so resist .
Nor do liberal officials know how to tamp down often violent protests over such deaths that often target their own police forces , and sometimes even the homes of the mayors themselves who struggle to show their sympathy with the rioters .
Add it all up and officials either contextualize or condole the ensuing violence sparked by their own actions , or strain to condemn it by blaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our age .
Either way , it is not a convincing strategy to reassure torched businesses or innocent diners or demoralized police who are spat upon and made the targets of firebombs , that a more vigorous Joe Biden will tame fellow blue-state America officeholders and quell the violence .
As for the Democratic Party ’ s standard-bearer , the mounting anger over the sanctioned violence has not only prompted the media to exhume and enhance old saw Trump stories , refashioned as autumn campaign surprises , but also has forced Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do what exactly ?
The question assumes that there was not a reason why Biden was in his basement in the first place , near-mute for three months .
For a time , seclusion was a winning strategy because otherwise to see and listen to Biden is to conclude that he is non compos mentis .
In addition , the media had driven down Trump ’ s ratings by blaming him for COVID-19 , the lockdown , recession , and looting , and was playing out the clock by reframing the election as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the strategy was not updated to recalibrate changing momentum in response to changing news cycles .
And Biden became even rustier by his basement sabbatical .
So now he is out and we are immediately reminded of the reasons he hibernated in the first place and should have stayed there .
We now witness surreal Biden press events .
Questions are scripted from an “ approved ” list of reporters who apparently send fuzzy inquiries in advance and , like North Korean journalists , queue up to repeat them in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes or a teleprompter for his canned answers , but stumbles through his responses .
He often gives the game away by reading out loud his handlers ’ prompts such as “ end of quote ” or “ topline message , ” while an uneasy rogue reporter occasionally blurts out loud in frustration that she wants to ask a question “ not on the paper.
” No one knows the exact state of the presidential race .
The polls are all over the place and many are weaponized .
Scan Emerson , Rasmussen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Trump is near dead even or even ahead in some key states .
Read the surveys discredited after 2016 like Reuters and Politico , and Biden is winning across the board .
But all pollsters seem to concede something is terribly wrong with this increasingly discredited institution .
How can IBD/TPP assure us that in his favorability ratings Trump is down by 16 points even as Emerson shows us he is up by two and Rasmussen by four ?
Either the pollsters are abjectly incompetent , or deliberately selecting flawed demographics that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and they do so to add momentum to their preferred candidate .
Or their subordinates who gather the data are massaging the numbers to reflect their own choices .
Or the respondents are deliberately misleading their questioners either out of fear or from spite .
The record of bias and error from 2016 might suggest all three reasons .
What then can we expect in the next 60 days from the Biden campaign ?
About every week or so there will be a media/Democratic/leftist fusion zombie scandal that suddenly arises from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anonymous rumors , and pushed as the long lost magic spike to drive into Count Trump ’ s heart .
Or we will have more rioting , spreading to smaller cities in the manner of Kenosha and Rochester , all well-organized and aimed at suburban and largely middle-class whites , to terrify them that no one is safe thinking they at least do not live in Portland or Chicago .
These riots will be contextualized by Biden with the now-familiar damnation of Trump and police excess , albeit with a nugget thrown in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And then we will see a campaign stop , press conference , or interview in which Biden will have the scripted questions , scripted answers , and inadvertently either read off his handlers ’ prompts or go blank or confused for about a five-second mind-out .
The interviewers will try to carry Biden across the finish line by finishing his half-completed sentences , rewording and translating his garble , or abruptly changing the subject when Biden goes into screensaver mode .
What can we conclude of these desperate efforts to derail Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stayed permanently in the basement but now can not .
Two , internal pollsters have frightened Democrats not so much because they believe Biden is behind , but because they advise Biden not to trust the media ’ s smiley polls , and don ’ t offer any strategy of how to stop Trump ’ s insidious trajectory .
Three , the issues of May and June have evaporated and now bleed Biden more than they do Trump .
The virus itself slowly wanes .
Better treatment ameliorates its effects .
And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more or less discredited by the exemption given thousands of violent protesters and the issue is now recalibrated as keeping 50 million children out of school .
The economy did not go into depression but seems to be climbing out of recession .
And George Floyd ’ s death increasingly has nothing to do with nightly looting and arson , as the rioters turn unapologetically Marxist , nihilist—and increasingly venomously racist .
Given all that , and given the dearth of fresh scandal material , expect more ossified scandals , Kindergarten interviews , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and desperate efforts to prove COVID-19 is resurging , quarantines must be extended , rioting and burning are acts of love , and we are in a Great Depression .
And the more this does not work , the more vehemently it will be repeated .
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian , columnist , former classics professor , and scholar of ancient warfare .
He was a professor of classics at California State University , Fresno , and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been a visiting professor at Hillsdale College since 2004 .
Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush .
Hanson is also a farmer ( growing raisin grapes on a family farm in Selma , California ) and a critic of social trends related to farming and agrarianism .
He is the author most recently of The Second World Wars : How the First Global Conflict was Fought and Won ( Basic Books ) .

by Victor Davis Hanson
The effort to stop President Trump is growing comical.
One always expects the media surprise leak of a purported hidden scandal as a presidential campaign winds down. Remember the last-minute “discovery” of George W. Bush’s undisclosed 24-year-old DUI arrest in 2000? Or the October 7, 2016 effort of the Washington Post to publish the hoarded 11-year-old “Access Hollywood” tape, just two days before Donald Trump’s second debate with Hillary Clinton?
We should expect lots of these “bombshells” and “walls are closing in” pseudo derailments. Except Trump has been the most widely investigated, probed, attacked, and smeared president in history. And so the scandal-field has pretty well been picked over, as those fired like Omarosa Manigault Newman, Anthony Scaramucci, John Bolton, and others have long ago more or less lectured us that Trump is nuts, crazy, dangerous, stupid, ignorant, and so forth.
In terms of bombshells, what does the Left do after the 2016 suit to decertify voting machines, the FISA court abuse, the effort to sabotage electors’ votes, the first impeachment drive, the Logan Act gambits, the Emoluments Clause joke, the 25th Amendment ruse, the Russian collusion hoax, the 22-month-asleep-at-the-wheel Mueller and his “all-stars,” Ukraine! Ukraine!, the second impeachment drive, and the 2020 trifecta of Trump as Typhoid Mary, Bull Connor, and Herbert Hoover?
The point is, in Jussie Smollett fashion, the demand for scandals is outrunning the supply and time grows short.
It’s no wonder that one of Joe Biden’s largest campaign contributors, billionaire Laurene Jobs of the Apple fortune, who owns most of The Atlantic, had the former Obama Administration megaphone Jeffrey Goldberg exhume a two-year-old and long-ago-refuted charge that President Trump did not wish to visit a U.S. military cemetery in France because he variously was afraid of the rain, that he would get his hair wet, and that he did not wish to celebrate “losers” and “suckers.” All this was from a left-wing media that not long ago damned a “militaristic” Trump for being infatuated with generals, and putting far too many in his White House, while needlessly spending billions on manpower and equipment to repair a military hollowed out by the Obama Administration.
The resuscitated scandal hit-piece was primed for all the left-wing cable news shows and supposedly would dominate the otherwise quiet Labor Day weekend news.
The problem was that the charge was calcified—and for a reason. Security memos long ago had shown that the weather, not Trump, had deterred low-flying presidential helicopters. Goldberg’s “sources” remain anonymous. Supposedly they were afraid of Twitter reprisals (when has fear of a left-wing Twitter ever scared off a left-wing scandal-monger?), and thus could not be found or checked to determine whether they stood by their hearsay charges.
The presidential entourage of that day all denied Goldberg’s accusations, including Trumphobe and former White House insider and National Security Advisor John Bolton, coming off a tell-all book attacking the president as a nincompoop and a dangerous nut.
Goldberg’s work, then, is symptomatic not just of the growing desperation of the Left to blow up Trump’s current polling trajectory, but the poverty of the muck material still left to work with. Expect more October “smoking gun” surprises surrounding Trump’s stale tax returns, a casino bankruptcy or two, a Mooch tidbit, a Michael Avenatti crumb, a retired general’s sudden memory recovery, or perhaps even an old undiscovered Stormy tweet.
“Summers of Love”
The “summer of love” and “largely peaceful” tropes of late spring and early summer are now belied by the flames, firebombs, and looting that often offer on-scene backdrops for fake news accounts, as journalists seem about to ignite as they assure us of calm.
Recently, there was another riot in Rochester, New York in which Black Lives Matter sought to destroy restaurants and attack diners as they ate—as a prelude to entering the suburbs, climbing roofs, and waking the supposedly largely complacent white “racist” populace up to their culpability for the rioters’ unhappiness.
Their delayed anger grew over a just-released video of the death, six months ago, of an arrested African-American youth, while in Rochester police custody. That tragedy supposedly justified manhandling strangers with warnings of “give us our shit” and “do not record crimes” with cell phones.
These now nightly recurring riots and violence have a common theme: blue-state governors and blue mayors of the nation’s larger and middle-sized cities have institutionalized police procedures to detain supposedly dangerous or erratic acting suspects, which are either dangerous to the suspect or can easily appear post facto to be so on selectively edited or incompletely aired videos.
Local and municipal Democratic officials apparently have no answers in their cities for endemic African-American disparities, asymmetrical crime rates, and the proper behavior of their worn-out and beleaguered police, who are called by frightened businesses and bystanders to remove often dangerous suspects from their shared communities.
The result is that suspects now routinely resist arrest, confident either sympathetic district attorneys won’t prosecute them, or police themselves will have to choose between losing their lives arresting those not willing to be arrested or losing their careers and livelihood in the effort. We know the consequences: police simply are not responding to calls from crime-infested areas, and those arrested don’t think the police will use force to make arrests stick—and so resist.
Nor do liberal officials know how to tamp down often violent protests over such deaths that often target their own police forces, and sometimes even the homes of the mayors themselves who struggle to show their sympathy with the rioters.
Add it all up and officials either contextualize or condole the ensuing violence sparked by their own actions, or strain to condemn it by blaming Donald Trump, the Emmanuel Goldstein of our age.
Either way, it is not a convincing strategy to reassure torched businesses or innocent diners or demoralized police who are spat upon and made the targets of firebombs, that a more vigorous Joe Biden will tame fellow blue-state America officeholders and quell the violence.
Biden Unbound
As for the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer, the mounting anger over the sanctioned violence has not only prompted the media to exhume and enhance old saw Trump stories, refashioned as autumn campaign surprises, but also has forced Joe Biden out of his basement.
But to do what exactly?
The question assumes that there was not a reason why Biden was in his basement in the first place, near-mute for three months. For a time, seclusion was a winning strategy because otherwise to see and listen to Biden is to conclude that he is non compos mentis.
In addition, the media had driven down Trump’s ratings by blaming him for COVID-19, the lockdown, recession, and looting, and was playing out the clock by reframing the election as Trump versus the media and the coronavirus.
But the strategy was not updated to recalibrate changing momentum in response to changing news cycles. And Biden became even rustier by his basement sabbatical. So now he is out and we are immediately reminded of the reasons he hibernated in the first place and should have stayed there.
We now witness surreal Biden press events. Questions are scripted from an “approved” list of reporters who apparently send fuzzy inquiries in advance and, like North Korean journalists, queue up to repeat them in public. Biden then either looks at his notes or a teleprompter for his canned answers, but stumbles through his responses. He often gives the game away by reading out loud his handlers’ prompts such as “end of quote” or “topline message,” while an uneasy rogue reporter occasionally blurts out loud in frustration that she wants to ask a question “not on the paper.”
Sure-Thing Polls?
No one knows the exact state of the presidential race. The polls are all over the place and many are weaponized. Scan Emerson, Rasmussen, Trafalgar, and Zogby polls, and Trump is near dead even or even ahead in some key states. Read the surveys discredited after 2016 like Reuters and Politico, and Biden is winning across the board.
But all pollsters seem to concede something is terribly wrong with this increasingly discredited institution. How can IBD/TPP assure us that in his favorability ratings Trump is down by 16 points even as Emerson shows us he is up by two and Rasmussen by four?
Something is rotten.
Either the pollsters are abjectly incompetent, or deliberately selecting flawed demographics that they know will reflect their own biases, and they do so to add momentum to their preferred candidate.
Or their subordinates who gather the data are massaging the numbers to reflect their own choices.
Or the respondents are deliberately misleading their questioners either out of fear or from spite.
The record of bias and error from 2016 might suggest all three reasons.
60 Days More of Scripts
What then can we expect in the next 60 days from the Biden campaign?
About every week or so there will be a media/Democratic/leftist fusion zombie scandal that suddenly arises from the past but with new unnamed sources and anonymous rumors, and pushed as the long lost magic spike to drive into Count Trump’s heart.
Or we will have more rioting, spreading to smaller cities in the manner of Kenosha and Rochester, all well-organized and aimed at suburban and largely middle-class whites, to terrify them that no one is safe thinking they at least do not live in Portland or Chicago.
These riots will be contextualized by Biden with the now-familiar damnation of Trump and police excess, albeit with a nugget thrown in about the need for peaceful change. And then we will see a campaign stop, press conference, or interview in which Biden will have the scripted questions, scripted answers, and inadvertently either read off his handlers’ prompts or go blank or confused for about a five-second mind-out.
The interviewers will try to carry Biden across the finish line by finishing his half-completed sentences, rewording and translating his garble, or abruptly changing the subject when Biden goes into screensaver mode.
What can we conclude of these desperate efforts to derail Donald Trump?
One, Biden really should have stayed permanently in the basement but now cannot.
Two, internal pollsters have frightened Democrats not so much because they believe Biden is behind, but because they advise Biden not to trust the media’s smiley polls, and don’t offer any strategy of how to stop Trump’s insidious trajectory.
Three, the issues of May and June have evaporated and now bleed Biden more than they do Trump. The virus itself slowly wanes. Better treatment ameliorates its effects. And the vaccine looms larger. The lockdown was more or less discredited by the exemption given thousands of violent protesters and the issue is now recalibrated as keeping 50 million children out of school. The economy did not go into depression but seems to be climbing out of recession. And George Floyd’s death increasingly has nothing to do with nightly looting and arson, as the rioters turn unapologetically Marxist, nihilist—and increasingly venomously racist.
Given all that, and given the dearth of fresh scandal material, expect more ossified scandals, Kindergarten interviews, improving favorability ratings for the president, and desperate efforts to prove COVID-19 is resurging, quarantines must be extended, rioting and burning are acts of love, and we are in a Great Depression. And the more this does not work, the more vehemently it will be repeated.
– – –
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, former classics professor, and scholar of ancient warfare. He was a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has been a visiting professor at Hillsdale College since 2004. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush. Hanson is also a farmer (growing raisin grapes on a family farm in Selma, California) and a critic of social trends related to farming and agrarianism. He is the author most recently of The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict was Fought and Won (Basic Books).


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Rep Jim Hagedorn Only MN Leader to Sign Pledge Opposing Any ‘Defund the Police’ Bills, Resolutions,

Rep Jim Hagedorn Only MN Leader to Sign Pledge Opposing Any ‘Defund the Police’ Bills, Resolutions, Movements

Representative Jim Hagedorn ( R-MN-1 ) is the only Minnesotan leader to sign the Police Pledge , a promise to oppose any bills , resolutions , or movements to defund the police .
No other leaders from the state have signed this pledge yet .
Hagedorn signed the pledge Thursday .
He credits his decision to American government leadership excusing criminal behavior while blaming law enforcement .
“ Unfortunately , in recent months , we have seen mayors in big cities across America cave to the most radical voice and undermine police departments , ” Hagedorn stated in his press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ routinely destroying public and private property , the businesses that American citizens have spent their lives building , and even people ’ s homes.
” Heritage Action for America launched the Police Pledge last month at a law enforcement town hall .
Vice President Mike Pence , Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf , and U.S .
Senator Joni Ernst ( R-IA ) were present .
Of those who signed , the webpage tracks U.S .
Senators , House Representatives , governors , state and local officials , and citizens .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ free from mob rule and violent insurrection ” aren ’ t possible without law enforcement .
Signers of the pledge promise “ to oppose any bill , resolution , or movement to ‘ Defund the Police . '
” In the wake of George Floyd ’ s death , the Minneapolis City Council attempted to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department ( MPD ) entirely .
Instead of a traditional police force , the council proposed establishment of a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention .
The Minneapolis Charter Commission delayed their vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the November ballot .
City Council President Lisa Bender ( Ward 10 ) stated that reliance on police “ comes from a place of privilege.
” Bender suggested an alternate reality exists for minorities , in which calling the police does more harm than good .
A recent poll conducted by KARE 11/MPR News/Star Tribune Minnesota discovered that while a majority of Twin Cities citizens agree to lessen police funding , they don ’ t believe police should be abolished entirely .
Corinne Murdock is an author at The Minnesota Sun and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest on Twitter , or email tips to [ email protected ] .

Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1) is the only Minnesotan leader to sign the Police Pledge, a promise to oppose any bills, resolutions, or movements to defund the police. No other leaders from the state have signed this pledge yet.
Hagedorn signed the pledge Thursday. He credits his decision to American government leadership excusing criminal behavior while blaming law enforcement.
“Unfortunately, in recent months, we have seen mayors in big cities across America cave to the most radical voice and undermine police departments,” Hagedorn stated in his press release. “Rioters and looters are routinely destroying public and private property, the businesses that American citizens have spent their lives building, and even people’s homes.”
Heritage Action for America launched the Police Pledge last month at a law enforcement town hall. Vice President Mike Pence, Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) were present. Of those who signed, the webpage tracks U.S. Senators, House Representatives, governors, state and local officials, and citizens.
The pledge states that lawful societies “free from mob rule and violent insurrection” aren’t possible without law enforcement. Signers of the pledge promise “to oppose any bill, resolution, or movement to ‘Defund the Police.'”
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis City Council attempted to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) entirely. Instead of a traditional police force, the council proposed establishment of a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. The Minneapolis Charter Commission delayed their vote on the matter, effectively leaving it off the November ballot.
City Council President Lisa Bender (Ward 10) stated that reliance on police “comes from a place of privilege.” Bender suggested an alternate reality exists for minorities, in which calling the police does more harm than good.
A recent poll conducted by KARE 11/MPR News/Star Tribune Minnesota discovered that while a majority of Twin Cities citizens agree to lessen police funding, they don’t believe police should be abolished entirely.
– – –
Corinne Murdock is an author at The Minnesota Sun and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Richmond Protest-Related Fires Caused More Than $4 Million in Loses over 18-Day Period

Richmond firefighters responded to 48 fires believed to be protest-related causing more than $ 4 million in estimated losses from late May to mid-June , according to internal fire & EMS department analysis obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch ( RTD ) .
From May 29 , the Friday after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minnesota , to June 15th eight buildings , 16 dumpsters , six vehicles as well as other fires involving trash or debris , according to the RTD .
During and following those turbulent 18 days , the destruction to many businesses was evident , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from seemingly peaceful protests .
Sen. Joe Morrissey ( D-Richmond City ) is one Richmond resident who thinks bad actors among the larger groups are vastly responsible for the fires , looting and vandalizing .
“ If somebody wants to protest , let them do it as loud and as long as they want to , but what I find absolutely disgraceful and indefensible is the protests that morphed into looting , rioting , burning and destroying private property , and I have absolutely zero respect for the people engaged in that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Virginia Star .
“ I think there are a lot of people who have embedded themselves in with Richmond protesters and have used it simply as an avenue to create havoc.
” Mayoral candidate and Richmond councilwoman Kim Gray , who lives in the historic neighborhood of Jackson Ward , recalled the height of the civil unrest .
“ I witnessed many of the fires and I was actually out calling fires in , but I couldn ’ t get a response from the fire department because they said they had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so my adult daughters and I were out putting fires out with some of our neighbors , ” Gray said in an interview with The Star .
The $ 4 million in losses suffered does not account for businesses ’ merchandise or inventory that was inside the stores which had caught fire , resulting in hundreds of thousands in additional losses .
DTLR apparel and shoe store on Broad St. was one business severely affected after the building they lease was burnt down by a fire on May 31st .
According to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to $ 500,000 worth of merchandise from the fire .
“ That weekend [ May 29-31 ] for most of our members was a once-in-a-career event , and they met the moment , ” Richmond Fire Chief Melvin Carter told the RTD .
“ I am proud of each and every member that participated or supported the overall response.
” Other stores and building affected by fires include a Gamestop and Starbucks , Rite Aid , dollar stores , the United Daughters of the Confederacy headquarters as well as black-owned businesses in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know many , many business men and women who say they won ’ t relocate back down here or they are going to move [ their business someplace else ] , ” Morrissey said .
“ We owe those people that put life savings and sweat equity into building a business up over 20-30 years and see it destroyed .
I think we have to help them out as much as any other group.
” Morrissey also said he would vote for legislation that gives relief to local businesses if brought in front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gray , however , believe that Richmond is a strong city and will come out of this summer better off than before .
“ I think that [ Richmond ] is stronger than this recent amount of vandalism and looting and fires that we ’ ve experienced , and I think that we ’ ll be able to look past this and be stronger for it , ” Gray said .
“ In the interim though it is really tough because there were so many businesses that were already struggling [ during COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not reopen and there are several that still haven ’ t gotten to a point where they feel comfortable unboarding and reopening.
” The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project ( ACLED ) recorded over 7,750 demonstrations between May 26th and August 22nd linked to the Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) movement across more than 2,440 locations in all 50 states and Washington , DC .
The ACLED study found that 93 percent of the BLM protests were peaceful while the violent protests ( 7 percent ) occurred in 220 locations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed that the vast majority of the nation ’ s largest cities – New York , Los Angeles , Chicago and Houston – experienced violent riots along with protests .
Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network .
Follow Jacob on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

Richmond firefighters responded to 48 fires believed to be protest-related causing more than $4 million in estimated losses from late May to mid-June, according to internal fire & EMS department analysis obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD).
From May 29, the Friday after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minnesota, to June 15th eight buildings, 16 dumpsters, six vehicles as well as other fires involving trash or debris, according to the RTD.
During and following those turbulent 18 days, the destruction to many businesses was evident, raising questions how so much damage resulted from seemingly peaceful protests.
Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond City) is one Richmond resident who thinks bad actors among the larger groups are vastly responsible for the fires, looting and vandalizing.
“If somebody wants to protest, let them do it as loud and as long as they want to, but what I find absolutely disgraceful and indefensible is the protests that morphed into looting, rioting, burning and destroying private property, and I have absolutely zero respect for the people engaged in that,” Morrissey said in an interview with The Virginia Star. “I think there are a lot of people who have embedded themselves in with Richmond protesters and have used it simply as an avenue to create havoc.”
Mayoral candidate and Richmond councilwoman Kim Gray, who lives in the historic neighborhood of Jackson Ward, recalled the height of the civil unrest.
“I witnessed many of the fires and I was actually out calling fires in, but I couldn’t get a response from the fire department because they said they had to get clearance from the police department, so my adult daughters and I were out putting fires out with some of our neighbors,” Gray said in an interview with The Star.
The $4 million in losses suffered does not account for businesses’ merchandise or inventory that was inside the stores which had caught fire, resulting in hundreds of thousands in additional losses.
DTLR apparel and shoe store on Broad St. was one business severely affected after the building they lease was burnt down by a fire on May 31st. According to a company spokesman, DTLR lost $350,000 to $500,000 worth of merchandise from the fire.
“That weekend [May 29-31] for most of our members was a once-in-a-career event, and they met the moment,” Richmond Fire Chief Melvin Carter told the RTD. “I am proud of each and every member that participated or supported the overall response.”
Other stores and building affected by fires include a Gamestop and Starbucks, Rite Aid, dollar stores, the United Daughters of the Confederacy headquarters as well as black-owned businesses in the area, among others.
“I know many, many business men and women who say they won’t relocate back down here or they are going to move [their business someplace else],” Morrissey said. “We owe those people that put life savings and sweat equity into building a business up over 20-30 years and see it destroyed. I think we have to help them out as much as any other group.”
Morrissey also said he would vote for legislation that gives relief to local businesses if brought in front of the Senate.
Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico County) declined to comment.
Both Morrissey and Gray, however, believe that Richmond is a strong city and will come out of this summer better off than before.
“I think that [Richmond] is stronger than this recent amount of vandalism and looting and fires that we’ve experienced, and I think that we’ll be able to look past this and be stronger for it,” Gray said. “In the interim though it is really tough because there were so many businesses that were already struggling [during COVID-19], there are several that will not reopen and there are several that still haven’t gotten to a point where they feel comfortable unboarding and reopening.”
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded over 7,750 demonstrations between May 26th and August 22nd linked to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement across more than 2,440 locations in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
The ACLED study found that 93 percent of the BLM protests were peaceful while the violent protests (7 percent) occurred in 220 locations across the country.
The study also showed that the vast majority of the nation’s largest cities – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston – experienced violent riots along with protests.
– – –
Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Follow Jacob on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Judge Rules Minnesota’s ’51 Percent’ Wine Rule Unconstitutional

A federal judge struck down a Minnesota law that forced wineries to make wine using 51 percent of grapes grown within the state .
Critics say the rule is a “ protectionist ” restriction placed to shield the state ’ s grape producers from competition .
The ruling could have implications across the nation where the law is mirrored , including in New York , Pennsylvania and Illinois .
“ This is a huge win for the future of the wine industry and small wineries in Minnesota , ” Nan Bailly , owner of Alexis Bailly Vineyard , said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free to make the wines we want to make , not the wine dictated by the state legislature.
” State law ordered vintners to make wine using at least 51 percent of grapes grown in the state .
Some vintners say the 51 percent rule handicaps competition because consumers are accustomed to drinking wines that are made from grapes that don ’ t grow well in Minnesota ’ s cold climate .
Minnesota wineries Alexis Bailly Vineyard and Next Chapter Winery joined the Institute for Justice in 2017 to challenge the law .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ combination of aged vines and lousy weather have reduced her crop by about 80 percent compared to normal .
The Minnesota Grape Growers Association didn ’ t respond to a request for comment .
Northern grapes can grow in Minnesota but are very acidic , so most wineries blend Minnesota grapes with out-of-state grapes to create a more palatable wine .
Nan Bailly said the 51 percent regulation resulted in poor quality grapes that lead to “ sub-par wines ” and hurt Minnesota ’ s wine reputation .
“ My lawsuit was very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local wineries to make better wines , ” Bailly said .
The same percentage rule doesn ’ t apply to Minnesota ’ s biggest craft beer breweries , like Summit and Surly Brewing , which use hops grown in the Pacific Northwest to flavor beers .
“ The U.S. Constitution was crafted to guarantee free trade among the states , ” Institute for Justice ( IJ ) Senior Attorney Anthony Sanders said in a statement .
“ Minnesota violated this founding ideal by restricting the grapes that wineries can purchase from other states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ client ’ s rights and also of that founding ideal of free trade.
” In the ruling , Judge Wilhelmina Wright found the law violates the U.S. Constitution ’ s Interstate Commerce Clause .
Wright continued : “ There is no suggestion in the record or the parties ’ arguments that the Act ’ s in-state requirement serves any interest other than favoring Minnesota ’ s economic interests over similar out-of-state economic interests.
” Jaimie Cavanaugh , another IJ Minnesota attorney , added , “ We are very pleased that the judge saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Our clients can not get a license if they trade more with Wisconsin than Minnesota .
But our Constitution says that we are one nation .
We just made that principle a little more real in Minnesota.
” Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square .
A graduate of Hillsdale College , his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org .

by Scott McClallen
A federal judge struck down a Minnesota law that forced wineries to make wine using 51 percent of grapes grown within the state.
Critics say the rule is a “protectionist” restriction placed to shield the state’s grape producers from competition.
The ruling could have implications across the nation where the law is mirrored, including in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
“This is a huge win for the future of the wine industry and small wineries in Minnesota,” Nan Bailly, owner of Alexis Bailly Vineyard, said in a statement. “We are finally free to make the wines we want to make, not the wine dictated by the state legislature.”
State law ordered vintners to make wine using at least 51 percent of grapes grown in the state.
Some vintners say the 51 percent rule handicaps competition because consumers are accustomed to drinking wines that are made from grapes that don’t grow well in Minnesota’s cold climate.
Minnesota wineries Alexis Bailly Vineyard and Next Chapter Winery joined the Institute for Justice in 2017 to challenge the law.
Nan Bailly told The Center Square a combination of aged vines and lousy weather have reduced her crop by about 80 percent compared to normal.
The Minnesota Grape Growers Association didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Northern grapes can grow in Minnesota but are very acidic, so most wineries blend Minnesota grapes with out-of-state grapes to create a more palatable wine.
Nan Bailly said the 51 percent regulation resulted in poor quality grapes that lead to “sub-par wines” and hurt Minnesota’s wine reputation.
“My lawsuit was very much intended to spark competition and force local wineries to make better wines,” Bailly said.
The same percentage rule doesn’t apply to Minnesota’s biggest craft beer breweries, like Summit and Surly Brewing, which use hops grown in the Pacific Northwest to flavor beers.
“The U.S. Constitution was crafted to guarantee free trade among the states,” Institute for Justice (IJ) Senior Attorney Anthony Sanders said in a statement. “Minnesota violated this founding ideal by restricting the grapes that wineries can purchase from other states. This is a vindication of our client’s rights and also of that founding ideal of free trade.”
In the ruling, Judge Wilhelmina Wright found the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause.
Wright wrote that “the Act’s in-state requirement expressly favors and benefits in-state economic interests.”
Wright continued: “There is no suggestion in the record or the parties’ arguments that the Act’s in-state requirement serves any interest other than favoring Minnesota’s economic interests over similar out-of-state economic interests.”
Jaimie Cavanaugh, another IJ Minnesota attorney, added, “We are very pleased that the judge saw what is going on in this case: Our clients cannot get a license if they trade more with Wisconsin than Minnesota. But our Constitution says that we are one nation. We just made that principle a little more real in Minnesota.”
– – –
Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--University of Michigan Graduate Student Employees to Go on Strike

The graduate student union at the University of Michigan has voted to go on strike beginning Tuesday , the group announced Monday .
The Graduate Employees ’ Organizations represents Graduate Student Instructors and Graduate Student Staff Assistants at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan .
The four-day strike is protesting the university reopening for in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic and has the potential to be reauthorized for a longer work stoppage .
The union called the strike a “ historic moment.
” Nearly 80 percent of voters said they wanted to strike .
The protesters are calling for increased coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees who want to work remotely , subsidies for caregivers such as parents , and more support for international students , including the “ repealing of the discriminatory , termly international student fee.
” The group is also calling for a “ demilitarized workplace , ” decreased funding for campus police and ending “ any and all ties ” to law enforcement and other agencies like the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement .
“ We highlight that GEO views our anti-policing demands as inseparable from our COVID demands , ” the group said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explicitly , through the University ’ s decision to expand the policing of our community in a perverse effort to enforce social distancing , and implicitly , through the ways the crises of the pandemic and racist policing both disproportionately affect the most vulnerable among us .
Policing and surveillance are not ‘ public health-informed ; ’ they are harmful to physical and mental health.
” The strike saw support both online and from the University of Michigan Lecturers ’ Employee Organization .
“ After weeks of futile negotiations , GEO members have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders , in turn , have chosen to use that tool to pressure the Administration to take their demands more seriously , ” said LEO President Ian Robinson in a statement .
“ Like our graduate student colleagues , LEO condemns the way the Administration has mismanaged the return to classes this Fall : employees , including Lecturers , were not properly consulted ; information about the Fall plan , and internal disagreements over it , have been withheld ; and the testing regime in place appears inadequate to the task of keeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss next steps and “ any new offers from the university.
” Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Michigan Star .
Follow her on Twitter at @ JordynPair .

The graduate student union at the University of Michigan has voted to go on strike beginning Tuesday, the group announced Monday.
The Graduate Employees’ Organizations represents Graduate Student Instructors and Graduate Student Staff Assistants at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan.
The four-day strike is protesting the university reopening for in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic and has the potential to be reauthorized for a longer work stoppage. The union called the strike a “historic moment.”
The vote passes! GEO membership has authorized a strike, effective TOMORROW. This is a historic moment: we are striking at the beginning of the year, in the midst of a pandemic, to protect our whole community. IMPORTANT THREAD WITH NEXT STEPS: pic.twitter.com/oRm0PvNgPy — GEO at U-Michigan (@geo3550) September 7, 2020
Nearly 80 percent of voters said they wanted to strike. The protesters are calling for increased coronavirus testing and contract tracing, support for employees who want to work remotely, subsidies for caregivers such as parents, and more support for international students, including the “repealing of the discriminatory, termly international student fee.” The group is also calling for a “demilitarized workplace,” decreased funding for campus police and ending “any and all ties” to law enforcement and other agencies like the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
“We highlight that GEO views our anti-policing demands as inseparable from our COVID demands,” the group said in a statement. “They are linked explicitly, through the University’s decision to expand the policing of our community in a perverse effort to enforce social distancing, and implicitly, through the ways the crises of the pandemic and racist policing both disproportionately affect the most vulnerable among us. Policing and surveillance are not ‘public health-informed;’ they are harmful to physical and mental health.”
The strike saw support both online and from the University of Michigan Lecturers’ Employee Organization.
“After weeks of futile negotiations, GEO members have decided to go on strike. GEO leaders, in turn, have chosen to use that tool to pressure the Administration to take their demands more seriously,” said LEO President Ian Robinson in a statement. “Like our graduate student colleagues, LEO condemns the way the Administration has mismanaged the return to classes this Fall: employees, including Lecturers, were not properly consulted; information about the Fall plan, and internal disagreements over it, have been withheld; and the testing regime in place appears inadequate to the task of keeping students and employees safe.”
@geo3550!! Look at you go! If you like to support the GEO strike, you can contribute with solidarity dues here:https://t.co/K6dKGEbIl1 We stand together with labor struggles on this Labor Day and every day! https://t.co/n379wCB5JS — Marquette Academic Workers Union (@MarquetteUnion) September 7, 2020
Solidarity with the Michigan @geo3550 from a former member of the @LEOUnionUmich ✊ As a Michigan undergrad in 2005, friends & I stood on the GEO picket line in support of their 1 day strike—a more foundational educational experience than any class I missed could offer https://t.co/VGUy3gJI8x — Emily Hilliard (@hey_emhilly) September 7, 2020
Solidarity with @geo3550 ! If you are not at @UMich you can still support them: 1. a virtual picket offering various possible actions, like contacting U of M president https://t.co/LJRIqEjLUB 2. Contribute $ here: https://t.co/qu4OfzYEMt https://t.co/YCSBzLBjIl — Adan Quan (@aquandiary) September 7, 2020
GEO said it will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss next steps and “any new offers from the university.”
—
Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair.


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Sunday COVID Numbers Show Downward Trends

Ohio ’ s COVID numbers were updated yesterday , revealing a downward trend across the major COVID indicators .
778 cases of COVID were reported Sunday , which is well below the 21 day reported average of 1061 cases .
Deaths and hospitalizations are also down , with a drop from an average of 21 to 17 deaths yesterday , and 29 fewer people being hospitalized than the average of 75 .
The state has seen an uptick in cases for young adults between 18 and 22 years of age .
Governor DeWine weighed in on the increase on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to increased testing identifying existing cases , instead of a new outbreak in the demographic .
The governor also shared a public service announcement urging young people to wear masks , social distance and be mindful of the fact that they may carry the virus without being symptomatic .
The PSA warned that as carriers of the virus young people can infect the elderly or the immuno-compromised at home or work .
Even with the uptick in youth diagnosis , the elderly remain the most at risk with 91 % of all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people above the age of 60 .
Only 16 deaths have been reported for people under the age of 30 .
Newly reported cases may continue to increase as Ohio expands it ’ s testing efforts .
Ohio ’ s COVID Dashboard urges anyone who believes they are experience symptoms of the virus to speak with a medical professional .
Anyone who experiences severe symptoms should contact an emergency department immediately .
Ben Kolodny is a reporter for The Ohio Star and the Star News Network .
You can follow Ben on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ email protected ]

Ohio’s COVID numbers were updated yesterday, revealing a downward trend across the major COVID indicators.
778 cases of COVID were reported Sunday, which is well below the 21 day reported average of 1061 cases. Deaths and hospitalizations are also down, with a drop from an average of 21 to 17 deaths yesterday, and 29 fewer people being hospitalized than the average of 75.
The state has seen an uptick in cases for young adults between 18 and 22 years of age.
Governor DeWine weighed in on the increase on Twitter and announced that the increase may be due to increased testing identifying existing cases, instead of a new outbreak in the demographic.
I forgot to mention in this tweet that we are doing wide testing of this demographic for the first time, so it is naturally going to lead to a sizable increase and the most positive tests we've had with young people. — Lord Governor Mike DeWhiner (@dewhiner) September 6, 2020
The governor also shared a public service announcement urging young people to wear masks, social distance and be mindful of the fact that they may carry the virus without being symptomatic. The PSA warned that as carriers of the virus young people can infect the elderly or the immuno-compromised at home or work.
Even with the uptick in youth diagnosis, the elderly remain the most at risk with 91% of all virus-related deaths reported in Ohio being from people above the age of 60. Only 16 deaths have been reported for people under the age of 30.
Newly reported cases may continue to increase as Ohio expands it’s testing efforts. Ohio’s COVID Dashboard urges anyone who believes they are experience symptoms of the virus to speak with a medical professional. Anyone who experiences severe symptoms should contact an emergency department immediately.
_ _ _
Ben Kolodny is a reporter for The Ohio Star and the Star News Network. You can follow Ben on Twitter. Tips can be sent to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--In Battlegrounds, Absentee Ballot Rejections Could Triple

ATLANTA , Georgia ( AP ) — Thousands of absentee ballots get rejected in every presidential election .
This year , that problem could be much worse and potentially pivotal in hotly contested battleground states .
With the coronavirus creating a surge in mail-in balloting and postal delays reported across the country , the number of rejected ballots in November is projected to be significantly higher than previous elections .
If ballots are rejected at the same rate as during this year ’ s primaries , up to three times as many voters in November could be disenfranchised in key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential election , according to an Associated Press analysis of rejected ballots .
It could be even more pronounced in some urban areas where Democratic votes are concentrated and ballot rejection rates trended higher during this year ’ s primaries .
“ It is the number one thing that keeps me up at night — the idea that voters will do everything they can to ensure their ballot is returned on time and the system will still fail them , ” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson .
Ballot rejections occur even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go uncounted because they arrived too late in the mail , voters forgot to sign them or signatures didn ’ t match the one on file at local election offices .
Those problems could be compounded this year as millions of voters cast mail-in ballots for the first time because of election changes forced by the coronavirus .
Large numbers of uncounted ballots could be used to sow doubts about the election ; President Donald Trump has been claiming for months without evidence that widespread mail-in voting will lead to fraud .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going from absentee ballots comprising less than 10 % of all ballots four years ago to perhaps half or more this November .
Pennsylvania is among them : Nearly 51 % of all votes cast during its June primary were mail-in .
If voter turnout is the same as 2016 and the ballot rejection rate equals the 1.4 % from this year ’ s primary , nearly 43,000 voters in Pennsylvania could be disenfranchised this fall , according to AP ’ s analysis .
That ’ s almost the same number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton in the state four years ago , when some 2,100 ballots were rejected .
In Philadelphia , a far higher percentage of absentee ballots cast in June were rejected — 3.9 % .
Most of those arrived too late to be counted , even though Gov .
Tom Wolf extended the deadline by a week .
Amy Campbell , a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania medical student , had her ballot rejected for another reason : a missing signature .
Campbell is upset she didn ’ t have a chance to fix her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days after the vote count ended telling her officials “ couldn ’ t obtain ( her ) required signature.
” “ The first communication I got from the state was basically to tell me that my ballot had been canceled , ” Campbell said .
Philadelphia Board of Elections spokesman Nick Custodio said that ’ s not supposed to happen , but couldn ’ t explain why it did .
Vote-by-mail rejections could be of special concern to Democrats , who have seen a surge in absentee ballot applications this year .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ twice as many Democrats as Republicans voted by mail in the June primary .
Only 21 states have defined procedures for notifying voters if absentee ballots are rejected so they have a chance to fix it .
For its analysis , the AP also collected absentee ballot data from Arizona , Colorado , Florida , Michigan , Ohio and Wisconsin .
Based on the percentage of those ballots cast in each state ’ s primary this year , between 185,000 and 292,000 voters in the seven states examined could be disenfranchised if November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago and the rejection rate remains flat .
That compares to nearly 87,000 ballots rejected in those states in 2016 .
The ballot rejections could be pivotal in close races .
In 2016 , Trump won Wisconsin by roughly 23,000 votes .
Reasons for rejection can vary .
In a few states , a witness or notary must sign the ballot envelope for the ballot to be valid .
Where ballots received after Election Day are counted , a legible postmark from that day is generally required .
“ There could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this way for the first time , and they tend to make the errors that lead to lost votes , ” said Larry Norden , an elections expert with the Brennan Center for Justice .
New , young , Black and Hispanic voters — who tend to favor Democratic candidates — are disproportionately affected , according to research by University of Florida political scientist Daniel Smith .
All have had absentee ballots rejected at higher rates than white and more experienced mail-in voters .
Being able to notify voters of problems in time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for understaffed election offices .
It doesn ’ t help that election officials in some states , including Michigan and Pennsylvania , are not allowed to begin looking at absentee ballots until Election Day .
That leaves a narrow window for identifying problems and allowing voters to fix them .
Experts say voters must be diligent about requesting and returning absentee ballots well ahead of Election Day ; the Postal Service advises allowing seven days for a ballot to reach an election office .
Drop boxes can help .
Michigan , Georgia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more .
Colorado , which has been mailing ballots to all voters since 2013 , saw a slight increase in rejections from about 1 % in 2016 to 1.6 % in this year ’ s primary ; the rejection rate doubled in Denver but still remained below 2 % .
Joe Bernal , a 31-year-old tech analyst in Miami , expects to be driving to the nearest drop box to deliver his ballot ahead of Nov. 3 .
His ballot was rejected in Florida ’ s March presidential primary for arriving after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mailed it at least three weeks before .
Bernal , who lost an aunt to COVID-19 , said he is unwilling to vote in person : “ I ’ m asthmatic .
I don ’ t want to have to risk it.
” But drop boxes only solve one problem .
The process of authenticating voter signatures on ballot envelopes — an anti-fraud measure — is so troublesome that lawsuits have been filed seeking to end the practice barring an adequate remedy .
Jennifer Morrell , a former election official in Utah and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain they will be given an opportunity to fix a problem .
Some jurisdictions are adding software that quickly alerts voters via text or email , but Morrell said the problem is being unevenly addressed .
“ States that are really new to this , most likely they will just be sending out a letter in the mail and hope the voter gets it in time and fills it out , ” she said .
That wasn ’ t the case for Tasha Young , a 43-year-old teacher in metro Atlanta who found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buried in a pile of mail after Georgia ’ s primary in June .
It said she had failed to sign her ballot , but by then it was too late for her to submit the required affidavit .
She plans to vote in person in November .
“ For one thing , I don ’ t want to have to worry about a deadline or missing a signature , ” Young said .
Christina A. Cassidy and Frank Bajak are reporters with The Associated Press .
AP ’ s Bajak reported from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this May 27 , 2020 file photo , a worker processes mail-in ballots at the Bucks County Board of Elections office prior to the primary election in Doylestown , Pa .
In every U.S. presidential election , thousands of ballots are rejected and never counted .
They may have arrived after Election Day or were missing a voter ’ s signature .
That number will be far higher this year as the coronavirus pandemic forces tens of millions of Americans to vote by mail for the first time .
( AP Photo/Matt @ @ @ @

by Christina A. Cassidy and Frank Bajak
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of absentee ballots get rejected in every presidential election. This year, that problem could be much worse and potentially pivotal in hotly contested battleground states.
With the coronavirus creating a surge in mail-in balloting and postal delays reported across the country, the number of rejected ballots in November is projected to be significantly higher than previous elections.
If ballots are rejected at the same rate as during this year’s primaries, up to three times as many voters in November could be disenfranchised in key battleground states when compared to the last presidential election, according to an Associated Press analysis of rejected ballots. It could be even more pronounced in some urban areas where Democratic votes are concentrated and ballot rejection rates trended higher during this year’s primaries.
“It is the number one thing that keeps me up at night — the idea that voters will do everything they can to ensure their ballot is returned on time and the system will still fail them,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
Ballot rejections occur even under the best of circumstances. They go uncounted because they arrived too late in the mail, voters forgot to sign them or signatures didn’t match the one on file at local election offices.
Those problems could be compounded this year as millions of voters cast mail-in ballots for the first time because of election changes forced by the coronavirus. Large numbers of uncounted ballots could be used to sow doubts about the election; President Donald Trump has been claiming for months without evidence that widespread mail-in voting will lead to fraud.
The sudden leap is worrisome: 22 states are going from absentee ballots comprising less than 10% of all ballots four years ago to perhaps half or more this November. Pennsylvania is among them: Nearly 51% of all votes cast during its June primary were mail-in.
If voter turnout is the same as 2016 and the ballot rejection rate equals the 1.4% from this year’s primary, nearly 43,000 voters in Pennsylvania could be disenfranchised this fall, according to AP’s analysis. That’s almost the same number of votes by which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state four years ago, when some 2,100 ballots were rejected.
In Philadelphia, a far higher percentage of absentee ballots cast in June were rejected — 3.9%. Most of those arrived too late to be counted, even though Gov. Tom Wolf extended the deadline by a week.
Amy Campbell, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania medical student, had her ballot rejected for another reason: a missing signature.
Campbell is upset she didn’t have a chance to fix her ballot. She received an email two days after the vote count ended telling her officials “couldn’t obtain (her) required signature.”
“The first communication I got from the state was basically to tell me that my ballot had been canceled,” Campbell said.
Philadelphia Board of Elections spokesman Nick Custodio said that’s not supposed to happen, but couldn’t explain why it did.
Vote-by-mail rejections could be of special concern to Democrats, who have seen a surge in absentee ballot applications this year. In Pennsylvania, for example, more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans voted by mail in the June primary.
Only 21 states have defined procedures for notifying voters if absentee ballots are rejected so they have a chance to fix it.
For its analysis, the AP also collected absentee ballot data from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Based on the percentage of those ballots cast in each state’s primary this year, between 185,000 and 292,000 voters in the seven states examined could be disenfranchised if November’s turnout matches that of four years ago and the rejection rate remains flat. That compares to nearly 87,000 ballots rejected in those states in 2016.
The ballot rejections could be pivotal in close races. In 2016, Trump won Wisconsin by roughly 23,000 votes.
Reasons for rejection can vary. In a few states, a witness or notary must sign the ballot envelope for the ballot to be valid. Where ballots received after Election Day are counted, a legible postmark from that day is generally required.
“There could be a lot of people who are voting this way for the first time, and they tend to make the errors that lead to lost votes,” said Larry Norden, an elections expert with the Brennan Center for Justice.
New, young, Black and Hispanic voters — who tend to favor Democratic candidates — are disproportionately affected, according to research by University of Florida political scientist Daniel Smith. All have had absentee ballots rejected at higher rates than white and more experienced mail-in voters.
Being able to notify voters of problems in time to fix them will be difficult enough for understaffed election offices. It doesn’t help that election officials in some states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, are not allowed to begin looking at absentee ballots until Election Day. That leaves a narrow window for identifying problems and allowing voters to fix them.
Experts say voters must be diligent about requesting and returning absentee ballots well ahead of Election Day; the Postal Service advises allowing seven days for a ballot to reach an election office.
Drop boxes can help. Michigan, Georgia, Colorado and Arizona are among states adding more. Colorado, which has been mailing ballots to all voters since 2013, saw a slight increase in rejections from about 1% in 2016 to 1.6% in this year’s primary; the rejection rate doubled in Denver but still remained below 2%.
Joe Bernal, a 31-year-old tech analyst in Miami, expects to be driving to the nearest drop box to deliver his ballot ahead of Nov. 3. His ballot was rejected in Florida’s March presidential primary for arriving after the deadline, even though Bernal said he mailed it at least three weeks before.
Bernal, who lost an aunt to COVID-19, said he is unwilling to vote in person: “I’m asthmatic. I don’t want to have to risk it.”
But drop boxes only solve one problem. The process of authenticating voter signatures on ballot envelopes — an anti-fraud measure — is so troublesome that lawsuits have been filed seeking to end the practice barring an adequate remedy.
Jennifer Morrell, a former election official in Utah and Colorado, said voters need to be certain they will be given an opportunity to fix a problem. Some jurisdictions are adding software that quickly alerts voters via text or email, but Morrell said the problem is being unevenly addressed.
“States that are really new to this, most likely they will just be sending out a letter in the mail and hope the voter gets it in time and fills it out,” she said.
That wasn’t the case for Tasha Young, a 43-year-old teacher in metro Atlanta who found a letter from her local election office buried in a pile of mail after Georgia’s primary in June. It said she had failed to sign her ballot, but by then it was too late for her to submit the required affidavit.
She plans to vote in person in November.
“For one thing, I don’t want to have to worry about a deadline or missing a signature,” Young said.
– – –
Christina A. Cassidy and Frank Bajak are reporters with The Associated Press. AP’s Bajak reported from Boston.
About the Headline Photo: In this May 27, 2020 file photo, a worker processes mail-in ballots at the Bucks County Board of Elections office prior to the primary election in Doylestown, Pa. In every U.S. presidential election, thousands of ballots are rejected and never counted. They may have arrived after Election Day or were missing a voter’s signature. That number will be far higher this year as the coronavirus pandemic forces tens of millions of Americans to vote by mail for the first time. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--COVID-19 Helps Drive Restaurant Alcohol Sales Down Close to 20 Percent

Due in part to COVID-19 , alcohol sales at restaurants and similar business decreased 19 percent in the 2020 fiscal year , according to a press release from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority ( ABC ) .
At the same time , total ABC revenue , including licensee sales , increased by $ 117 million , driven by an increase in retail sales .
From March to July , licensee alcohol sales , including restaurants , dropped from a normal 18 percent to a range from 0 – 10 percent .
That ’ s a problem for the hospitality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large part of their revenue .
“ Typically a restaurant can do one-third alcohol , one-third beer , and one-third food sales .
That ’ s not an uncommon ratio , ” said Richmond-area restaurant owner Chris Smith .
Restaurants can also boost net profit by selling alcohol .
“ You can have a higher margin on alcohol than food , ” Smith said .
The ABC loosened restrictions to allow alcohol to be sold for take-out and delivery .
It also loosened restrictions on outdoor seating .
“ [ The loosened restrictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t really want to buy to-go drinks , said Dustin Hughes .
Hughes owns the Lockside Bar and Grill and the Vino Italian Bistro , both located on Battlefield Blvd in Chesapeake .
He said , “ If people want to drink at home , they ’ re going to buy it from the liquor store or from the grocery store where they pay a third of the price and can drink at home .
It ’ s not effective , not for the restaurant business.
” Hughes ’ restaurants have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virginia .
Eastern Virginia is under COVID-19 rules preventing alcohol from being sold after 10 p.m. “ You just don ’ t care as much about social distancing after you ’ ve had a couple of drinks .
That ’ s when the virus gets spread , ” Governor Ralph Northam said when he announced the restrictions , according to WAVY.com .
“ Typically the busiest time for people to be out having a couple drinks , enjoying some live music was really between 10 and midnight , ” Hughes said .
Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revenues to get back to normal until a COVID-19 vaccine is available .
“ I don ’ t think that all restaurants are going to make it that long without more government help.
” Smith said even healthy restaurants are economically endangered .
He said , “ There should be something specifically stimulus wise to help that industry.
” Hughes said opening bar seating would also help .
“ If they would allow us to seat our bars but still practice social distancing , we can put people at the bar six feet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and closed every other booth to keep people socially distanced .
“ If I had two couples sitting at a bar with six feet in between them , that achieves the same thing in my opinion , ” Hughes said .
“ The most effective thing for us is if they would allow us to stay open and sell alcohol and food until midnight , or even just go back to 2 a.m. , ” Hughes said .
He doesn ’ t know what to expect going forward .
“ In Virginia it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and more restrictions , not really loosening them up .
Your guess is as good as mine on what ’ s next , ” he said .
Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .

Due in part to COVID-19, alcohol sales at restaurants and similar business decreased 19 percent in the 2020 fiscal year, according to a press release from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC). At the same time, total ABC revenue, including licensee sales, increased by $117 million, driven by an increase in retail sales.
From March to July, licensee alcohol sales, including restaurants, dropped from a normal 18 percent to a range from 0 – 10 percent. That’s a problem for the hospitality industry, since alcohol sales are a large part of their revenue.
“Typically a restaurant can do one-third alcohol, one-third beer, and one-third food sales. That’s not an uncommon ratio,” said Richmond-area restaurant owner Chris Smith. Restaurants can also boost net profit by selling alcohol. “You can have a higher margin on alcohol than food,” Smith said.
The ABC loosened restrictions to allow alcohol to be sold for take-out and delivery. It also loosened restrictions on outdoor seating.
“[The loosened restrictions] are not really effective. People don’t really want to buy to-go drinks, said Dustin Hughes. Hughes owns the Lockside Bar and Grill and the Vino Italian Bistro, both located on Battlefield Blvd in Chesapeake. He said, “If people want to drink at home, they’re going to buy it from the liquor store or from the grocery store where they pay a third of the price and can drink at home. It’s not effective, not for the restaurant business.”
Hughes’ restaurants have been hit harder than the rest of Virginia. Eastern Virginia is under COVID-19 rules preventing alcohol from being sold after 10 p.m. “You just don’t care as much about social distancing after you’ve had a couple of drinks. That’s when the virus gets spread,” Governor Ralph Northam said when he announced the restrictions, according to WAVY.com.
“Typically the busiest time for people to be out having a couple drinks, enjoying some live music was really between 10 and midnight,” Hughes said.
Smith said he doesn’t expect restaurant revenues to get back to normal until a COVID-19 vaccine is available. “I don’t think that all restaurants are going to make it that long without more government help.” Smith said even healthy restaurants are economically endangered. He said, “There should be something specifically stimulus wise to help that industry.”
Hughes said opening bar seating would also help. “If they would allow us to seat our bars but still practice social distancing, we can put people at the bar six feet apart.” His restaurants have rearranged furniture and closed every other booth to keep people socially distanced. “If I had two couples sitting at a bar with six feet in between them, that achieves the same thing in my opinion,” Hughes said.
“The most effective thing for us is if they would allow us to stay open and sell alcohol and food until midnight, or even just go back to 2 a.m.,” Hughes said. He doesn’t know what to expect going forward.
“In Virginia it seems like they’re making more and more restrictions, not really loosening them up. Your guess is as good as mine on what’s next,” he said.
– – –
Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].


thetennesseestar--2020-09-08--Tennessee Man Seeking Pardon from Donald Trump for Non-Violent Crime Has Changed the Lives of Troubl

Tennessee Man Seeking Pardon from Donald Trump for Non-Violent Crime Has Changed the Lives of Troubled Youths

Writer ’ s Note : This is the third part 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 .
The first and second parts of this series are available on The Tennessee Star ’ s website .
At age 30 , Robert Sherrill had served his time for a drug-related felony and was out of prison , destined for greater things , but more struggles were approaching .
In 2015 Sherrill started his own company , Imperial Cleaning Systems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 million in revenue with more than 20 employees .
He published an autobiography , The Journey Back to Now .
Sherrill then started Impact Youth Outreach , a nonprofit to help inner city at-risk youth .
Former Tennessee Gov .
Bill Haslam pardoned him so that he would have no state record .
Sherrill then started The Dream Initiative , a nonprofit that helps former prisoners reenter society .
Imperial Cleaning Systems ’ Chief Operating Officer Contrecia Tharpe told The Tennessee Star that Sherrill ’ s capacity to connect with troubled adolescents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
“ Many youth advocates come into it from a place of sympathy , meaning that they just feel sorry .
They just feel sorry that the kid is going through that thing .
They just feel sorry that they are in juvenile detention .
They feel sorry that they have experienced some kind of turbulence at home .
But Robert comes at it from a place of empathy .
Because of that I have seen him be able to reach children in a way that I have never witnessed before , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a local high school here .
Two boys were going at it over something very minor , very trivial .
But the conversation was that not at school — but once they left — they were going to let the streets handle it , which essentially meant that one of them was going to get killed.
” Sherrill and Tharpe were at the school that day for another purpose entirely , to reward another student with a pair of shoes .
The school resource officer asked Sherrill for help , Tharpe said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45 minutes the situation was squashed .
One young man has graduated from that high school since then , and the other one is slated to graduate this year .
Those are the types of things that amaze me about him .
He is not just a youth advocate for the title .
He is a youth advocate with passion , ” Tharpe said .
“ He really wants to see children become more than he had the chance to become at that age .
He works very diligently with other mentors on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these kids understand they have a chance at better things.
” Despite his good works , Sherrill can not get certain loans for his business because of his past federal felony record — for a non-violent crime .
Filing for a federal pardon , Sherrill said , is a lengthy process .
“ It ’ s costly .
You have to hire attorneys .
You have to file a packet with the Department of Justice , ” Sherrill said .
“ And you don ’ t hear anything until the president rules on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has reached out to Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Rep. Mark Green ( R-TN-07 ) for help .
“ Mike Pence is very articulate and very smart , ” Sherrill said .
“ He didn ’ t have to talk to me , but he spent time with me .
He put his hands on my shoulders and told me that we believe in second chances , and I believe him.
” Sherrill said Green , meanwhile , “ was very instrumental in the local and federal process.
” “ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to know that I am operating at a disadvantage , and I know he ’ s pro-business .
He ’ s done some great things for us there .
I want to join that league of people and be able to grow my business , but I need a fresh start to do it , ” Sherrill said .
“ The sky is the limit .
Once I get this pardon there is nothing else in life that can stop me but me.
” Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Email tips to [ email protected ]

Writer’s Note: This is the third part 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. The first and second parts of this series are available on The Tennessee Star’s website.
At age 30, Robert Sherrill had served his time for a drug-related felony and was out of prison, destined for greater things, but more struggles were approaching.
In 2015 Sherrill started his own company, Imperial Cleaning Systems, which he said reaches nearly $1 million in revenue with more than 20 employees. He published an autobiography, The Journey Back to Now.
Sherrill then started Impact Youth Outreach, a nonprofit to help inner city at-risk youth. Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam pardoned him so that he would have no state record. Sherrill then started The Dream Initiative, a nonprofit that helps former prisoners reenter society.
Imperial Cleaning Systems’ Chief Operating Officer Contrecia Tharpe told The Tennessee Star that Sherrill’s capacity to connect with troubled adolescents is what wows her the most about him.
“Many youth advocates come into it from a place of sympathy, meaning that they just feel sorry. They just feel sorry that the kid is going through that thing. They just feel sorry that they are in juvenile detention. They feel sorry that they have experienced some kind of turbulence at home. But Robert comes at it from a place of empathy. Because of that I have seen him be able to reach children in a way that I have never witnessed before,” Tharpe said.
“We were at a local high school here. Two boys were going at it over something very minor, very trivial. But the conversation was that not at school — but once they left — they were going to let the streets handle it, which essentially meant that one of them was going to get killed.”
Sherrill and Tharpe were at the school that day for another purpose entirely, to reward another student with a pair of shoes. The school resource officer asked Sherrill for help, Tharpe said.
“And in a matter of 45 minutes the situation was squashed. One young man has graduated from that high school since then, and the other one is slated to graduate this year. Those are the types of things that amaze me about him. He is not just a youth advocate for the title. He is a youth advocate with passion,” Tharpe said.
“He really wants to see children become more than he had the chance to become at that age. He works very diligently with other mentors on Impact Youth Outreach to make sure that these kids understand they have a chance at better things.”
Despite his good works, Sherrill cannot get certain loans for his business because of his past federal felony record — for a non-violent crime.
Filing for a federal pardon, Sherrill said, is a lengthy process.
“It’s costly. You have to hire attorneys. You have to file a packet with the Department of Justice,” Sherrill said.
“And you don’t hear anything until the president rules on it.”
Since then, Sherrill said he has reached out to Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) for help.
“Mike Pence is very articulate and very smart,” Sherrill said.
“He didn’t have to talk to me, but he spent time with me. He put his hands on my shoulders and told me that we believe in second chances, and I believe him.”
Sherrill said Green, meanwhile, “was very instrumental in the local and federal process.”
“I appreciate President Trump. I want him to know that I am operating at a disadvantage, and I know he’s pro-business. He’s done some great things for us there. I want to join that league of people and be able to grow my business, but I need a fresh start to do it,” Sherrill said.
“The sky is the limit. Once I get this pardon there is nothing else in life that can stop me but me.”
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-09-09--Nashville Physician Ming Wang Oversees New Initiative to Donate Bibles to Public Schools for Secular

Nashville Physician Ming Wang Oversees New Initiative to Donate Bibles to Public Schools for Secular, Historical Context

Nashville physician Ming Wang is overseeing a new initiative to donate Aitken Bibles to the libraries and history departments of elementary , middle and high schools throughout Tennessee .
“ We are not putting this Bible in schools as a piece of religious teaching , ” Wang told The Tennessee Star Tuesday .
“ This is a piece of a historical document to show the students what our Founding Fathers were thinking at the time [ of the American Revolution ] and in the context of telling the story of the American Revolution.
” According to Wang ’ s website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bible Project .
A founders club for the project is in its early stages .
Wang and others have scheduled an inaugural luncheon for Saturday , Wang said .
Historians refer to The Aitken Bible as “ The Bible of the American Revolution.
” This is the only Bible that members of the U.S. Congress approved and the only Bible that the nation ’ s Founding Fathers recommended to Americans .
The Aitken Bible was first published in America , according to Wang ’ s website .
Right now , organizers only plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools in Tennessee .
They also plan to put only one or two hardcopies in each school library .
They do not plan to pass out a copy to every student — Wang said that ’ s too expensive .
According to BiblesinSchools.com , the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation is a nonprofit that manages the American Bible Project .
“ Our program furthers historic preservation through education .
As a primary source of the American Revolution , the Aitken Bible provides an object lesson for five topics included in the state academic standards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” according to the website .
“ These five topics are already being taught about the Revolution .
Thus , educators do not need to change their curriculum .
The five topics are : Congress , culture , economics , embargo , and immigration .
As an artifact of the American Revolution , the Aitken Bible helps make these five concepts more concrete .
The Aitken Bible is used only to illustrate these secular concepts.
” Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Photo “ Dr .
Ming Wang ” by Dr. Ming Wang .

Nashville physician Ming Wang is overseeing a new initiative to donate Aitken Bibles to the libraries and history departments of elementary, middle and high schools throughout Tennessee.
“We are not putting this Bible in schools as a piece of religious teaching,” Wang told The Tennessee Star Tuesday.
“This is a piece of a historical document to show the students what our Founding Fathers were thinking at the time [of the American Revolution] and in the context of telling the story of the American Revolution.”
According to Wang’s website, this is part of The American Bible Project.
A founders club for the project is in its early stages. Wang and others have scheduled an inaugural luncheon for Saturday, Wang said.
Historians refer to The Aitken Bible as “The Bible of the American Revolution.” This is the only Bible that members of the U.S. Congress approved and the only Bible that the nation’s Founding Fathers recommended to Americans. The Aitken Bible was first published in America, according to Wang’s website.
Right now, organizers only plan to hand out these Aitkin Bibles to schools in Tennessee. They also plan to put only one or two hardcopies in each school library. They do not plan to pass out a copy to every student — Wang said that’s too expensive.
According to BiblesinSchools.com, the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation is a nonprofit that manages the American Bible Project.
“Our program furthers historic preservation through education. As a primary source of the American Revolution, the Aitken Bible provides an object lesson for five topics included in the state academic standards for Social Studies regarding the American Revolution,” according to the website.
“These five topics are already being taught about the Revolution. Thus, educators do not need to change their curriculum. The five topics are: Congress, culture, economics, embargo, and immigration. As an artifact of the American Revolution, the Aitken Bible helps make these five concepts more concrete. The Aitken Bible is used only to illustrate these secular concepts.”
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Dr. Ming Wang” by Dr. Ming Wang.