thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts: ‘Every Worker is an Essential Worker’

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the line during the program ’ s second hour by Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts .
In the second hour , Roberts weighed in on the eight Republican County Chairmans ’ letter to Governor Lee which stated state reps are also essential workers .
He added that everybody is an essential worker and advocated that those people who feel vulnerable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : State Senator Kerry Roberts , I guess these eight GOP Republican County Chairman is telling Governor Lee that state senators and state representatives are also essential workers .
Roberts : Everybody is an essential worker .
Leahy : A great answer by the way .
A great answer .
Roberts : You know to their point in the letter , their letter is bringing up several things that I ’ m confident are going to be wrestled with .
And that is what is the definition of an emergency ?
Is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be invoked ?
Telling one business to close and not another is that constitutional ?
I thought it was very interesting to see General Crompt out of east Tennessee say that he ’ s not going to prosecute some of these orders because he believes them to be unconstitutional .
Do you have a right to tell a church what to do ?
You saw in Knox County them telling churches how to have communion .
Leahy : I mean really .
Knox County tried to tell churches how to have communion .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not worship .
( Leahy chuckles ) Telling them how to worship .
Telling them how to do communion .
You know what was fascinating about that 33-page order before it was revised if somebody can find it and dig around and find it online .
It had three columns on the order .
The left column was what the topic is .
The middle column was the guidance .
And the right column was the citation .
When you look at all these citations they are the state of New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citing the New York Department of Health ?
Leahy : You mean the same New York Department of Health that said that if you are over 65 and you test positive for the coronavirus we ’ re going to put you in a nursing home .
( Laughs ) That state department of health ?
Roberts : I guess they forgot they were in Tennessee .
( Leahy laughs ) I don ’ t really understand what was going on there .
Limiting the duration of these orders and then finally creating a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Speaker of the House and the Speaker of the Senate .
Leahy : First , when the general assembly comes back into session and I suppose you are ready to come back into session I ’ m guessing ?
Leahy : Are you going to introduce legislation to limit the powers of the governor and to specify exactly what an emergency should be and as you suggested require him to consult with the Speaker of the House ?
Roberts : I think that ’ s a January thing because when we come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate of our we going to just deal with the tremendous hit of the Tennessee budget .
Revise the budget and then go home ?
Or are we going to stay for a while ?
I think I referenced last week that my sense was the House would like to stay for a bit .
I think the Senate would like to go in and deal with the budget then go home .
And I ’ m speaking in general terms .
I ’ m not necessarily saying what I think one way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any of these modifications to Title 58 probably a little bit of time and a little bit of distance would be a good thing .
Let ’ s research the issue carefully .
Let ’ s make a good decision that will last us for years to come and not have an emotional or knee jerk reaction to the situation .
A lot of fascinating information has been revealed over the past few weeks .
There is the belief that the constitutionality of these types of orders .
I ’ m not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m referring also across the nation .
Leahy : Yes .
The US constitutionality .
Roberts : Yes .
And when you look at the case that some of them are based upon because we look up a lot of precedences that may have been undermined by Supreme Court rulings later on .
In other words , the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of limiting some of these authorities .
So there is a lot to talk about and there is a lot to dive into .
And I think all that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
The immediate thing is how fast do we get open ?
And I think it ’ s really important to trust Tennesseans .
And I think somebody feels like they ’ re vulnerable their option is to stay at home .
But if you have a county and there are not cases of COVID-19 and are very limited .
We ’ re talking about barbers and salons .
I ’ ve made this point before .
A clerk at Walmart will ring up more people in one shift than probably a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roberts : Think about that .
Leahy : And all within six feet .
Roberts : Hmm-hmm .
We know from touch surfaces you can pass germs and whatever .
You sneezed , touched your mouth and picked up a product and put it in your cart and put it on the conveyor belt and the clerk picks it up , scans it , and puts it in a bag .
We ’ ve got a lot of inconsistency .
The medical department is not whether it ’ s Dr. Fauci nationally or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these people are non-elected .
Their cell phone number isn ’ t over the internet with constituents calling and asking , why are you allowing this to happen ?
And you know we have a representative government that has been thrown out the window because the policymakers right now are unelected .
Medical or health experts are not being balanced with the representation of the people .
And again , we go back to the same thing .
Someone could be a listener right now and say we need to be shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer is that if you feel at risk then at stay home .
Roberts : I ’ m not going to lose my business .
If I ’ m a barber or a hairdresser or a colorist , stylist .
Listen to the full second hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the line during the program’s second hour by Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts.
In the second hour, Roberts weighed in on the eight Republican County Chairmans’ letter to Governor Lee which stated state reps are also essential workers. He added that everybody is an essential worker and advocated that those people who feel vulnerable to the virus should stay home.
Leahy: State Senator Kerry Roberts, I guess these eight GOP Republican County Chairman is telling Governor Lee that state senators and state representatives are also essential workers.
Roberts: Everybody is an essential worker.
Leahy: A great answer by the way. A great answer.
Roberts: You know to their point in the letter, their letter is bringing up several things that I’m confident are going to be wrestled with. And that is what is the definition of an emergency? Is the bar high enough for these powers to be invoked? Telling one business to close and not another is that constitutional?
I thought it was very interesting to see General Crompt out of east Tennessee say that he’s not going to prosecute some of these orders because he believes them to be unconstitutional. Do you have a right to tell a church what to do? You saw in Knox County them telling churches how to have communion.
Leahy: I mean really. Knox County tried to tell churches how to have communion. Unbelievable!
Roberts: And not sing and not worship. (Leahy chuckles) Telling them how to worship. Telling them how to do communion. You know what was fascinating about that 33-page order before it was revised if somebody can find it and dig around and find it online.
It had three columns on the order. The left column was what the topic is. The middle column was the guidance. And the right column was the citation. When you look at all these citations they are the state of New York. Unbelievable. Why is Knox County citing the New York Department of Health?
Leahy: You mean the same New York Department of Health that said that if you are over 65 and you test positive for the coronavirus we’re going to put you in a nursing home. (Laughs) That state department of health?
Roberts: I guess they forgot they were in Tennessee. (Leahy laughs) I don’t really understand what was going on there. Limiting the duration of these orders and then finally creating a requirement that you have to consult with the Speaker of the House and the Speaker of the Senate.
Leahy: First, when the general assembly comes back into session and I suppose you are ready to come back into session I’m guessing?
Roberts: Right.
Leahy: Are you going to introduce legislation to limit the powers of the governor and to specify exactly what an emergency should be and as you suggested require him to consult with the Speaker of the House?
Roberts: I think that’s a January thing because when we come back in June there is still the debate of our we going to just deal with the tremendous hit of the Tennessee budget. Revise the budget and then go home? Or are we going to stay for a while? I think I referenced last week that my sense was the House would like to stay for a bit.
I think the Senate would like to go in and deal with the budget then go home. And I’m speaking in general terms. I’m not necessarily saying what I think one way or the other. I think that any of these modifications to Title 58 probably a little bit of time and a little bit of distance would be a good thing.
Let’s research the issue carefully. Let’s make a good decision that will last us for years to come and not have an emotional or knee jerk reaction to the situation. A lot of fascinating information has been revealed over the past few weeks. There is the belief that the constitutionality of these types of orders. I’m not just referring just to Tennessee but I’m referring also across the nation.
Leahy: Yes. The US constitutionality.
Roberts: Yes. And when you look at the case that some of them are based upon because we look up a lot of precedences that may have been undermined by Supreme Court rulings later on. In other words, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of limiting some of these authorities. So there is a lot to talk about and there is a lot to dive into.
And I think all that’s going to come in due time. The immediate thing is how fast do we get open? And I think it’s really important to trust Tennesseans. And I think somebody feels like they’re vulnerable their option is to stay at home.
But if you have a county and there are not cases of COVID-19 and are very limited. We’re talking about barbers and salons. I’ve made this point before. A clerk at Walmart will ring up more people in one shift than probably a barber will see in a month.
Leahy: Yes.
Roberts: Think about that.
Leahy: And all within six feet.
Roberts: Hmm-hmm. We know from touch surfaces you can pass germs and whatever. You sneezed, touched your mouth and picked up a product and put it in your cart and put it on the conveyor belt and the clerk picks it up, scans it, and puts it in a bag.
We’ve got a lot of inconsistency. The medical department is not whether it’s Dr. Fauci nationally or whether its Dr. Pearcy in Tennessee, these people are non-elected. Their cell phone number isn’t over the internet with constituents calling and asking, why are you allowing this to happen?
And you know we have a representative government that has been thrown out the window because the policymakers right now are unelected. Medical or health experts are not being balanced with the representation of the people. And again, we go back to the same thing. Someone could be a listener right now and say we need to be shut down for another month. No, the answer is that if you feel at risk then at stay home.
Leahy: Exactly right.
Roberts: I’m not going to lose my business. If I’m a barber or a hairdresser or a colorist, stylist.
Leahy: Or a Davidson County restaurant owner.
Listen to the full second hour here:

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


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Commentary: The Failed Experiment of Social Distancing

After a two-month trial , researchers are collecting early outcomes of the Great American Social Distancing Experiment of 2020 .
The results , to say the least , ain ’ t pretty—and the “ experts ” who initiated this experiment on 330 million well-meaning but unwitting test subjects are starting to admit failure .
“ Wait .
An experiment ?
” you may ask .
But we have been assured by the credentialed class that keeping a distance of six feet between healthy people for weeks on end was the only tried-and-true way to prevent the deadly spread of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government shutter public schools and colleges for five months , bankrupt small businesses , send tens of millions to the unemployment line , jeopardize the nation ’ s food supply chain , prevent children from comforting dying parents and grandparents , and subject their fellow countrymen to soul-crushing house arrest for the first time in U.S. history if the so-called “ social distancing ” guidance hadn ’ t been carefully vetted over time , you might insist .
Certainly every variable and every side effect of social distancing has been factored into this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Unfortunately , and maddeningly , the answer is no .
Dr. Scott Gottlieb , former head of the Food and Drug Administration and a lead booster of social distancing , admitted Sunday that the draconian measures aren ’ t working as the experts promised .
“ The concerning thing here is that we ’ re looking at the prospect that this may be a persistent spread , ” Gottlieb said on CBS News ’ “ Face the Nation , ” further noting 20,000 to 30,000 new reported cases per day despite intense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While mitigation didn ’ t fail , I think it ’ s fair to say that it didn ’ t work as well as we expected , ” he said .
“ We expected that we would start seeing more significant declines in new cases and deaths around the nation at this point , and we ’ re just not seeing that.
” In fact , Gottlieb pointed to rising daily COVID-19 cases in 20 states , including heavily locked-down states such as Virginia and Maryland .
But this seems to defy the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly pledge to follow in order to keep people safe from the virus .
After all , Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued his first social distancing order on March 17 to “ stop the spread of the virus in the Commonwealth , ” as he promised .
A few weeks later , Northam , a physician , joined Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Washington , D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to announce a collective shelter-in-place decree after residents failed to obey their original commands .
“ What we ’ re seeing now is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three weeks ago , ” Northam scolded on March 30 .
“ What we will see a few weeks from now will be determined by how people behave today and in the following days.
” But five weeks later , the area is reporting a record number of COVID-19 cases .
Yes , of course , testing is ramping up , too—but considering the harsh stay-at-home orders , how and why are people still getting infected ?
It turns out , as I wrote last month , “ social distancing ” is untested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus .
On its website , the CDC provides no links to any peer-reviewed social distancing studies that bolster its official guidance .
Both the CDC and the World Health Organization confess uncertainty as to how COVID-19 is spread , further raising doubts about the long term success of social distancing .
The agencies claim that respiratory droplets sustained in the air can infect healthy people , but WHO admits it is “ assessing ongoing research on the ways that COVID-19 is spread and will continue to share @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about surface-to-human transmission .
That ’ s hardly the sort of settled science that justifies the abrupt and costly disruption to the American way of life wrought by social distancing .
The alarming reality is that social distancing never has been tested on a massive scale in the modern age ; its current formula was conceived during George W. Bush ’ s administration and met with much-deserved skepticism .
“ People could not believe that the strategy would be effective or even feasible , ” one scientist told the New York Times last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I am not joking—added more weight to the concept .
After a five-year review by the Obama Administration , according to the Times , current mitigation strategies to contain a “ novel ” influenza outbreak in the United States were codified in an April 2017 CDC report .
( Yes , you have reason to be suspicious .
President Trump ’ s first CDC director wasn ’ t appointed until July 2017 , which means Obama holdovers were still in charge of the agency at the time . )
The dubious social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of scientists in 2006 doubted the effectiveness of school closures , travel restrictions , cancellation of large gatherings , the use of face masks , and individual social distancing to contain flu-like viruses .
“ It has been recommended that individuals maintain a distance of 3 feet or more during a pandemic so as to diminish the number of contacts with people who may be infected .
The efficacy of this measure is unknown , ” the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center concluded .
They further stated that such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environments and public transportations systems .
But two of the authors , like so many have done in the Trump era , changed their tune .
Drs .
Thomas Inglesby and Jennifer Nuzzo now are outspoken advocates of continued social distancing .
“ Staying six feet apart , wearing masks when in public , avoiding large gatherings .
.
.
to the extent we are able to do that over the next couple of months will dictate how we do as states and as a country , ” Inglesby told Chuck Todd on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wrote 14 years ago .
Nuzzo also defends social distancing rules for the foreseeable future .
“ You can not go to a pre-COVID-19 state .
The virus is still out there , and people will still die , ” she warned last month .
The country , we now know , is undergoing an experiment to which we never consented : Further , it is as much a political and social experiment as a public health one .
The short term results are not what the experts predicted but their lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that could last for years .
And unfortunately , like most experts , instead of conceding they had it all wrong and walking away from the failed experiment , they insist they just need a little more time to make it work .
But this experiment needs to end , immediately .
Cases continue to rise despite the lockdowns ; hospitals are not overwhelmed , nor were they ever ( with a few exceptions ) .
The overall death count is inflated ; it appears that COVID-19 is asymptomatic for most people and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And the economy is in tatters with more bad news on the horizon .
The history of science , sadly , is littered with bad experiments gone horribly wrong .
The Great Social Distancing Experiment of 2020 , when it is over , will very likely be toward the top of that list .
Julie Kelly is a political commentator and senior contributor to American Greatness .

by Julie Kelly
After a two-month trial, researchers are collecting early outcomes of the Great American Social Distancing Experiment of 2020.
The results, to say the least, ain’t pretty—and the “experts” who initiated this experiment on 330 million well-meaning but unwitting test subjects are starting to admit failure.
“Wait. An experiment?” you may ask. But we have been assured by the credentialed class that keeping a distance of six feet between healthy people for weeks on end was the only tried-and-true way to prevent the deadly spread of the novel coronavirus. No way would the government shutter public schools and colleges for five months, bankrupt small businesses, send tens of millions to the unemployment line, jeopardize the nation’s food supply chain, prevent children from comforting dying parents and grandparents, and subject their fellow countrymen to soul-crushing house arrest for the first time in U.S. history if the so-called “social distancing” guidance hadn’t been carefully vetted over time, you might insist.
Certainly every variable and every side effect of social distancing has been factored into this economy-crashing “mitigation” strategy, right?
Unfortunately, and maddeningly, the answer is no.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and a lead booster of social distancing, admitted Sunday that the draconian measures aren’t working as the experts promised.
“The concerning thing here is that we’re looking at the prospect that this may be a persistent spread,” Gottlieb said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” further noting 20,000 to 30,000 new reported cases per day despite intense lockdown orders in most states.
“While mitigation didn’t fail, I think it’s fair to say that it didn’t work as well as we expected,” he said. “We expected that we would start seeing more significant declines in new cases and deaths around the nation at this point, and we’re just not seeing that.”
In fact, Gottlieb pointed to rising daily COVID-19 cases in 20 states, including heavily locked-down states such as Virginia and Maryland.
But this seems to defy the “science” that governors and lawmakers repeatedly pledge to follow in order to keep people safe from the virus.
After all, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued his first social distancing order on March 17 to “stop the spread of the virus in the Commonwealth,” as he promised. A few weeks later, Northam, a physician, joined Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to announce a collective shelter-in-place decree after residents failed to obey their original commands.
“What we’re seeing now is the result of how people interacted two or three weeks ago,” Northam scolded on March 30. “What we will see a few weeks from now will be determined by how people behave today and in the following days.”
But five weeks later, the area is reporting a record number of COVID-19 cases. Yes, of course, testing is ramping up, too—but considering the harsh stay-at-home orders, how and why are people still getting infected?
It turns out, as I wrote last month, “social distancing” is untested pseudoscience particularly as it relates to halting the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. On its website, the CDC provides no links to any peer-reviewed social distancing studies that bolster its official guidance.
Both the CDC and the World Health Organization confess uncertainty as to how COVID-19 is spread, further raising doubts about the long term success of social distancing. The agencies claim that respiratory droplets sustained in the air can infect healthy people, but WHO admits it is “assessing ongoing research on the ways that COVID-19 is spread and will continue to share updated findings.” Scientists are also unsure about surface-to-human transmission.
That’s hardly the sort of settled science that justifies the abrupt and costly disruption to the American way of life wrought by social distancing.
The alarming reality is that social distancing never has been tested on a massive scale in the modern age; its current formula was conceived during George W. Bush’s administration and met with much-deserved skepticism.
“People could not believe that the strategy would be effective or even feasible,” one scientist told the New York Times last month. A high school science project—no, I am not joking—added more weight to the concept.
After a five-year review by the Obama Administration, according to the Times, current mitigation strategies to contain a “novel” influenza outbreak in the United States were codified in an April 2017 CDC report. (Yes, you have reason to be suspicious. President Trump’s first CDC director wasn’t appointed until July 2017, which means Obama holdovers were still in charge of the agency at the time.)
The dubious social distancing approach has its critics. A group of scientists in 2006 doubted the effectiveness of school closures, travel restrictions, cancellation of large gatherings, the use of face masks, and individual social distancing to contain flu-like viruses.
“It has been recommended that individuals maintain a distance of 3 feet or more during a pandemic so as to diminish the number of contacts with people who may be infected. The efficacy of this measure is unknown,” the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center concluded. They further stated that such restrictions would be unworkable in most work environments and public transportations systems.
But two of the authors, like so many have done in the Trump era, changed their tune. Drs. Thomas Inglesby and Jennifer Nuzzo now are outspoken advocates of continued social distancing.
“Staying six feet apart, wearing masks when in public, avoiding large gatherings . . . to the extent we are able to do that over the next couple of months will dictate how we do as states and as a country,” Inglesby told Chuck Todd on Sunday, in direct contradiction of what he wrote 14 years ago. Nuzzo also defends social distancing rules for the foreseeable future. “You cannot go to a pre-COVID-19 state. The virus is still out there, and people will still die,” she warned last month.
(Inglesby and Nuzzo, both now at Johns Hopkins, the entity tracking reported COVID-19 cases and fatalities around the world, refused numerous requests by American Greatness to explain their change of heart.)
The country, we now know, is undergoing an experiment to which we never consented: Further, it is as much a political and social experiment as a public health one. The short term results are not what the experts predicted but their lab rats—the American people—are suffering traumatic side effects that could last for years. And unfortunately, like most experts, instead of conceding they had it all wrong and walking away from the failed experiment, they insist they just need a little more time to make it work.
But this experiment needs to end, immediately. Cases continue to rise despite the lockdowns; hospitals are not overwhelmed, nor were they ever (with a few exceptions). The overall death count is inflated; it appears that COVID-19 is asymptomatic for most people and far less lethal than originally predicted. And the economy is in tatters with more bad news on the horizon.
The history of science, sadly, is littered with bad experiments gone horribly wrong. The Great Social Distancing Experiment of 2020, when it is over, will very likely be toward the top of that list.
– – –
Julie Kelly is a political commentator and senior contributor to American Greatness.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Tennessee Republican Senate Candidate George Flinn: ‘This Pandemic Should Be a Wake-Up Call to the U

Tennessee Republican Senate Candidate George Flinn: ‘This Pandemic Should Be a Wake-Up Call to the United States of America Just Like the Tea Party’

Live from Memphis Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by Shelby County resident George Flinn who is seeking to replace Sen. Lamar Alexander in the U.S. Senate .
During the third hour , Flinn described why he was running again for the Senate seat in Tennessee and emphasized the need for a national medical stockpile .
He added that China is hostile to the United States and we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to foreign countries .
Flinn pledged action by initiating legislation that would bring back manufacturing and supplies to being made in America .
Leahy : We are joined now by our good friend U.S. Republican Senate Candidate Dr. George Flinn from Memphis .
George welcome to The Tennessee Star Report .
Flinn : Michael Patrick Leahy , its been far too long .
And I ’ ll tell you what , our kids are growing up and everything .
Man , the Tea Party movement , we just have a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leahy : You and I were very active at the beginning of the Tea Party Movement back in 2009 .
We spent many a day and many events in Memphis in 2009 .
Thank you for all of the things you did to support the Tea Party Movement .
Now I ’ m going to give you a little bit of a hard time .
( Chuckles ) Flinn : Somebody told me that and I said you know , he may give me a hard time but he is fair .
Leahy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think ideologically we agree with a general Conservative world view .
But here ’ s the thing .
By the way congratulations on being a very successful doctor of radiology and the eventer of medical products .
You own a number of radio stations down there .
You ’ ve made a lot of money which is fantastic .
And came from a very modest background .
People admire that .
But , here ’ s a little rub .
You ran for Congress in 2012 against Steve Cohen .
Thanks for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you lost 75 % to 25 % .
You ran for the United States Senate in the Republican nomination of 2014 .
You got five percent of the vote .
Lamar Alexander beat Joe Carr by 49:40 and you were at five percent .
2016 , you almost beat David Kustoff for the eighth congressional district here in Tennessee .
You only lost by 3,000 votes .
You ran again in the primary against Kustoff in 2018 and you lost by 57,004 votes .
And here it is 2020 .
We already have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hagerty .
You ’ ve got Dr. Manny Sethi with a lot of grassroots support .
And you are in this one as well .
Why are you running again for public office ?
Flinn : Well two or three things .
One is I don ’ t quit .
Another one is I ’ ve got a lot of solutions and what I ’ m seeing is a lot of people putting out slogans .
They are soundbites .
They are great for newspapers .
They are great for radio and TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything .
And I ’ ve come up with solution after solution for the problems that we have .
That ’ s just part of my makeup for kids , grandkids , the future , and for the President of the United States of America .
We need solutions .
We need to fix this thing .
Take China for instance .
They have us right now to the point they ’ ve got us in a chokehold .
And without firing a missile or hacking our computer system or our electrical grid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by disrupting our access essential medications .
Essential medical equipment .
They could take us down just by turning it off .
And we see that in the coronavirus epidemic .
We see what ’ s going on and China has just taken over the United States and they are not necessarily a friendly regime .
They are somewhat hostile to us .
And to have a hostile nation holding us hostage .
Look right there in Franklin you ’ ve got community health systems and I think about 97 hospitals it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re 25 % owned by Chinese billionaires .
They are taking us over and we are the United States of America .
We are a people and we are not going to be bought by China .
That ’ s just not going to happen .
Leahy : What ’ s your number one solution that Dr. Flinn .
What ’ s your number one solution ?
Flinn : The first thing we can do is we can use the power of the United States government .
It ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we can say OK , the United States government is only going to buy things made in America .
Take for instance penicillin .
When we opened up trade in 2000 the Chinese government flooded the market with penicillin .
The American makers of penicillin had to close their doors and the last factory to make penicillin was in 2004 .
We don ’ t make antibiotics here anymore .
They are all made in China .
The 80 % to 90 % of it is either made in China or you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A lot of them are made in India .
But the key to that is India gets 80 % -90 % of the raw materials from China .
So China holds the key to everything right now .
And it was a very good plan on their part and we ’ ve got to fight back .
We can have the right to sue .
You know they have sovereign immunity right now ?
We need to change our treaties and our laws about that and let individuals and let groups let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign nations .
Don ’ t make them immune to being sued by us because they ’ ve hurt our economy .
They ’ ve hurt our health .
They ’ ve hurt all kinds of things in the United States .
They ’ ve disrupted our lifestyle and we should have the right to sue them for it .
It ’ s just crazy that we ’ re protecting them .
Our laws protect them and they are using our laws against us .
And we ’ ve got to stop this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislation to that effect ?
Flinn : Absolutely .
That would be one of the first things I ’ d do .
Leahy : What else would you do Dr. Flinn ?
Flinn : I would support President Trump ’ s buy American executive order .
But what ’ s happened is loophole after loophole has opened up by special interests .
By politicians to where the buy America order really doesn ’ t have any teeth to it .
I think we need a second Declaration of Independence .
We had one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need a second one now .
We need to be independent .
We are the United States of America .
We need to be manufacturing things here .
Remember the oil crisis ?
We now have oil reserves .
We need to have a national medical reserve where somebody can say “ Ok , I ’ m not going to supply you with antibiotics or medications.
” We need to have that reserve where it doesn ’ t disrupt us .
Right now , we are totally beholden to China to furnish us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s very frustrating .
That ’ s why I ’ m running .
I ’ m so frustrated and I feel like the guy in-network who says I ’ m mad as blank and I ’ m not going to take this anymore .
Leahy : ( Chuckles ) I was just watching that over the weekend by the way George .
Flinn : That will inspire you to do things .
And we need to wake up and get mad and angry about this and do something .
That movie could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get angry and wake up to what ’ s happening we won ’ t do anything .
And we just need to fully fund the national medical stock .
You know we have a national stockpile but we found it running low .
We used equipment and used equipment and didn ’ t replenish it .
And now we ’ re found with our gas tank empty and the little orange light on saying , “ Oh , you ’ re about to run out of this and run out of that .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Congress needs to fund replenishing the national stockpile and I think we need to create a national medical stockpile where we can keep a close eye on what we need .
This pandemic should be a wake-up call to the United States of America just like the Tea Party was a wake-up call .
You and I have been through it .
Leahy : Yes we have .
Flinn : I ’ m going to quit until we do something .
Rather than support our troops or say buy American .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have a plan .
We need to do something about it .
And I won ’ t quit until we get this right .
Leahy : It sounds like you are very supportive of President Trump ’ s agenda .
Flinn : I am supportive of his agenda .
As long as it ’ s good for Tennessee .
The U.S .
Senator is supposed to represent Tennessee through the federal government .
And we ’ ve got to make sure that the agenda is benefiting Tennesseans .
I think it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it continues to represent and take care of Tennesseans .
We have so many factories that have closed .
We have so many small towns that have just been devastated by the closing of factories .
And where were the jobs sent ?
China .
India .
Malaysia .
Japan .
I mean come on !
We ’ ve got to stop this .
We have paid a large price for a smaller price .
Leahy : Dr. George Flinn our good friend and candidate for the Republican Senate seat here in Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I hope you have a great day .
Flinn : I really appreciate being on with you .
Good to see you in the trenches again .
( Leahy chuckles ) Listen to the full third hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .
Photo “ George Finn ” by George Finn .

Live from Memphis Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by Shelby County resident George Flinn who is seeking to replace Sen. Lamar Alexander in the U.S. Senate.
During the third hour, Flinn described why he was running again for the Senate seat in Tennessee and emphasized the need for a national medical stockpile. He added that China is hostile to the United States and we have outsourced too many of our jobs and needs to foreign countries. Flinn pledged action by initiating legislation that would bring back manufacturing and supplies to being made in America.
Leahy: We are joined now by our good friend U.S. Republican Senate Candidate Dr. George Flinn from Memphis. George welcome to The Tennessee Star Report.
Flinn: Michael Patrick Leahy, its been far too long. And I’ll tell you what, our kids are growing up and everything. Man, the Tea Party movement, we just have a lot of memories, don’t we?
Leahy: You and I were very active at the beginning of the Tea Party Movement back in 2009. We spent many a day and many events in Memphis in 2009. Thank you for all of the things you did to support the Tea Party Movement. Now I’m going to give you a little bit of a hard time. (Chuckles)
Flinn: I know.
Leahy: But we’re friends.
Flinn: Somebody told me that and I said you know, he may give me a hard time but he is fair.
Leahy: (Laughs) But you and I think ideologically we agree with a general Conservative world view. But here’s the thing. By the way congratulations on being a very successful doctor of radiology and the eventer of medical products. You own a number of radio stations down there. You’ve made a lot of money which is fantastic. And came from a very modest background. People admire that.
But, here’s a little rub. You ran for Congress in 2012 against Steve Cohen. Thanks for doing that by the way. But you lost 75% to 25%. You ran for the United States Senate in the Republican nomination of 2014. You got five percent of the vote. Lamar Alexander beat Joe Carr by 49:40 and you were at five percent. 2016, you almost beat David Kustoff for the eighth congressional district here in Tennessee.
You only lost by 3,000 votes. You ran again in the primary against Kustoff in 2018 and you lost by 57,004 votes. And here it is 2020. We already have a Trump-endorsed candidate in former ambassador Bill Hagerty. You’ve got Dr. Manny Sethi with a lot of grassroots support. And you are in this one as well. Why are you running again for public office?
Flinn: Well two or three things. One is I don’t quit. Another one is I’ve got a lot of solutions and what I’m seeing is a lot of people putting out slogans. They are soundbites. They are great for newspapers. They are great for radio and TV, but they don’t fix anything.
And I’ve come up with solution after solution for the problems that we have. That’s just part of my makeup for kids, grandkids, the future, and for the President of the United States of America. We need solutions. We need to fix this thing. Take China for instance. They have us right now to the point they’ve got us in a chokehold.
And without firing a missile or hacking our computer system or our electrical grid, China could take America down just by disrupting our access essential medications. Essential medical equipment. They could take us down just by turning it off. And we see that in the coronavirus epidemic.
We see what’s going on and China has just taken over the United States and they are not necessarily a friendly regime. They are somewhat hostile to us. And to have a hostile nation holding us hostage. Look right there in Franklin you’ve got community health systems and I think about 97 hospitals it was up to 130 at one time and they’re 25% owned by Chinese billionaires. They are taking us over and we are the United States of America. We are a people and we are not going to be bought by China. That’s just not going to happen.
Leahy: What’s your number one solution that Dr. Flinn. What’s your number one solution?
Flinn: The first thing we can do is we can use the power of the United States government. It’s the largest buying population and purchaser of goods and we can say OK, the United States government is only going to buy things made in America. Take for instance penicillin.
When we opened up trade in 2000 the Chinese government flooded the market with penicillin. The American makers of penicillin had to close their doors and the last factory to make penicillin was in 2004. We don’t make antibiotics here anymore. They are all made in China. The 80% to 90% of it is either made in China or you can have over the counter the generics. A lot of them are made in India.
But the key to that is India gets 80%-90% of the raw materials from China. So China holds the key to everything right now. And it was a very good plan on their part and we’ve got to fight back. We can have the right to sue. You know they have sovereign immunity right now? We need to change our treaties and our laws about that and let individuals and let groups let them sue China. Let them sue foreign nations.
Don’t make them immune to being sued by us because they’ve hurt our economy. They’ve hurt our health. They’ve hurt all kinds of things in the United States. They’ve disrupted our lifestyle and we should have the right to sue them for it. It’s just crazy that we’re protecting them. Our laws protect them and they are using our laws against us. And we’ve got to stop this.
Leahy: So you would introduce legislation to that effect?
Flinn: Absolutely. That would be one of the first things I’d do.
Leahy: What else would you do Dr. Flinn?
Flinn: I would support President Trump’s buy American executive order. But what’s happened is loophole after loophole has opened up by special interests. By politicians to where the buy America order really doesn’t have any teeth to it. I think we need a second Declaration of Independence. We had one 224 years ago I believe.
We need a second one now. We need to be independent. We are the United States of America. We need to be manufacturing things here. Remember the oil crisis? We now have oil reserves. We need to have a national medical reserve where somebody can say “Ok, I’m not going to supply you with antibiotics or medications.”
We need to have that reserve where it doesn’t disrupt us. Right now, we are totally beholden to China to furnish us with the proper antibiotics, and it’s very frustrating. That’s why I’m running. I’m so frustrated and I feel like the guy in-network who says I’m mad as blank and I’m not going to take this anymore.
Leahy: (Chuckles) I was just watching that over the weekend by the way George.
Flinn: That will inspire you to do things. And we need to wake up and get mad and angry about this and do something. That movie could have been made yesterday but until we get angry and wake up to what’s happening we won’t do anything. And we just need to fully fund the national medical stock.
You know we have a national stockpile but we found it running low. We used equipment and used equipment and didn’t replenish it. And now we’re found with our gas tank empty and the little orange light on saying, “Oh, you’re about to run out of this and run out of that. We’ve got to replenish it.”
Congress needs to fund replenishing the national stockpile and I think we need to create a national medical stockpile where we can keep a close eye on what we need. This pandemic should be a wake-up call to the United States of America just like the Tea Party was a wake-up call. You and I have been through it.
Leahy: Yes we have.
Flinn: I’m going to quit until we do something. Rather than support our troops or say buy American. We need to do something! We need to have a plan. We need to do something about it. And I won’t quit until we get this right.
Leahy: It sounds like you are very supportive of President Trump’s agenda.
Flinn: I am supportive of his agenda. As long as it’s good for Tennessee. The U.S. Senator is supposed to represent Tennessee through the federal government. And we’ve got to make sure that the agenda is benefiting Tennesseans. I think it is and I just want to make sure it continues to represent and take care of Tennesseans.
We have so many factories that have closed. We have so many small towns that have just been devastated by the closing of factories. And where were the jobs sent? China. India. Malaysia. Japan. I mean come on! We’ve got to stop this. We have paid a large price for a smaller price.
Leahy: Dr. George Flinn our good friend and candidate for the Republican Senate seat here in Tennessee. Thanks for joining us today. I hope you have a great day.
Flinn: I really appreciate being on with you. Good to see you in the trenches again. (Leahy chuckles)
Listen to the full third hour here:

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


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Top 25 Universities with $350 Billion Total in Endowments Were Allocated $800 million in Coronavirus

Top 25 Universities with $350 Billion Total in Endowments Were Allocated $800 million in Coronavirus Aid

Roughly $ 800 million was allocated to the country ’ s top 25 universities and colleges that have endowments totaling $ 350 billion , according to OpenTheBooks.com , a nonprofit watchdog organization .
None of the money is required to be paid back .
Instead , the funding is paid for by taxpayer debt added to the growing $ 24.9 trillion national debt .
In an article first published by Forbes , OpenTheBooks.com evaluated 5,100 colleges and universities that were allocated $ 12.5 billion in coronavirus funding .
The organization created an interactive map by state to help users identify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal money .
The list does not necessarily mean that the institutions have taken the money .
They must first apply for it to receive it .
Taxpayers interested in learning where their money is going ( or how much debt they will go into for paying for it ) can click a pin on a state and scroll down to the chart under the map to find out the amount each college or university is allocated .
In California , for example , 530 higher education institutions are listed .
In New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 295 .
Texas higher education institutions received a total of $ 1 billion out of the total $ 14 billion allocated , according to a tally by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn , R-Austin .
The University of Texas system received the most– $ 172.5 million– even though it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for its involvement with the infectious diseases laboratory in Wuhan , China , and its potential links to Beijing and roughly 24 Chinese state-owned companies , including telecom giant Huawei , according to a report by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is believed to be responsible for creating and releasing the virus that is responsible for shutting down the global economy .
According to the report , the five colleges and universities that received the most federal bailout money are Arizona State University ( $ 63.5 million ) , Penn State ( $ 55 million ) , Rutgers , The State University of New Jersey ( $ 54.1 million ) , University of Central Florida ( $ 51.1 million ) , and Miami Dade College ( $ 49.1 million ) .
OpenTheBooks.com auditors found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools , including : • $ 42 million to Ohio State University , which has a $ 3.6 billion endowment • $ 8.5 million to Northwestern University , which has a $ 9.7 billion endowment • $ 6.2 million to The University of Chicago , which has a $ 7 billion endowment • $ 5 million to Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) , which has a $ 13.2 billion endowment The most bailout money going to the biggest higher education systems include : • $ 55 million to Penn State , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • $ 82.2 million to Texas A & M , which has a $ 10.5 billion endowment • $ 172.5 million to The University of Texas , which has a $ 24.2 billion endowment • $ 260 million to the University of California , which has a $ 8.3 billion endowment The 14 schools of the Big 10 Conference were allocated the most bailout money of all— $ 393 million—an average of $ 28 million per institution , the report found .
Indiana University took $ 24.6 million in taxpayer money despite having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The president of the school ’ s salary was $ 3.5 million ( 2017-2019 ) and the school ’ s foundation employed his wife ( $ 303,641 ) and daughter ( $ 58,271 ) , OpenTheBooks.com reports .
The 50 worst community colleges , according to WalletHub , received $ 200 million in taxpayer funded bailout money .
Collectively , their graduation rates for 2017-2018 was 12.3 percent out of 100 .
“ The top 10 worst schools were allocated $ 66 million despite reporting graduation rates between 4-9 percent , ” CEO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , says , adding , “ The U.S. taxpayer may want to know why these schools are even allowed to operate.
” The report found that blue states were allocated more money on average than the red states were , by a difference of $ 50 million .
“ This is because blue states had more higher-ed institutions than the red states , ” Andrzejewski says .
In 20 blue states , 2,155 institutions were allocated federal aid , an average of 108 schools per state .
In 30 red states , 2,853 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per state , were allocated federal aid .
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square .

by Bethany Blankley
Roughly $800 million was allocated to the country’s top 25 universities and colleges that have endowments totaling $350 billion, according to OpenTheBooks.com, a nonprofit watchdog organization.
None of the money is required to be paid back. Instead, the funding is paid for by taxpayer debt added to the growing $24.9 trillion national debt.
In an article first published by Forbes, OpenTheBooks.com evaluated 5,100 colleges and universities that were allocated $12.5 billion in coronavirus funding.
The organization created an interactive map by state to help users identify which colleges and universities received how much federal money. The list does not necessarily mean that the institutions have taken the money. They must first apply for it to receive it.
Taxpayers interested in learning where their money is going (or how much debt they will go into for paying for it) can click a pin on a state and scroll down to the chart under the map to find out the amount each college or university is allocated.
In California, for example, 530 higher education institutions are listed. In New York, 389; in Texas, 295.
Texas higher education institutions received a total of $1 billion out of the total $14 billion allocated, according to a tally by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Austin.
The University of Texas system received the most–$172.5 million– even though it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for its involvement with the infectious diseases laboratory in Wuhan, China, and its potential links to Beijing and roughly 24 Chinese state-owned companies, including telecom giant Huawei, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The lab is believed to be responsible for creating and releasing the virus that is responsible for shutting down the global economy.
According to the report, the five colleges and universities that received the most federal bailout money are Arizona State University ($63.5 million), Penn State ($55 million), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey ($54.1 million), University of Central Florida ($51.1 million), and Miami Dade College ($49.1 million).
OpenTheBooks.com auditors found that taxpayer-indebted money went to the wealthiest schools, including:
$42 million to Ohio State University, which has a $3.6 billion endowment
$8.5 million to Northwestern University, which has a $9.7 billion endowment
$6.2 million to The University of Chicago, which has a $7 billion endowment
$5 million to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has a $13.2 billion endowment
The most bailout money going to the biggest higher education systems include:
$55 million to Penn State, which has a $3.6 billion endowment
$82.2 million to Texas A&M, which has a $10.5 billion endowment
$172.5 million to The University of Texas, which has a $24.2 billion endowment
$260 million to the University of California, which has a $8.3 billion endowment
The 14 schools of the Big 10 Conference were allocated the most bailout money of all—$393 million—an average of $28 million per institution, the report found.
Indiana University took $24.6 million in taxpayer money despite having an endowment of $2.4 billion. The president of the school’s salary was $3.5 million (2017-2019) and the school’s foundation employed his wife ($303,641) and daughter ($58,271), OpenTheBooks.com reports.
The 50 worst community colleges, according to WalletHub, received $200 million in taxpayer funded bailout money. Collectively, their graduation rates for 2017-2018 was 12.3 percent out of 100.
“The top 10 worst schools were allocated $66 million despite reporting graduation rates between 4-9 percent,” CEO and founder of OpenTheBooks.com, Adam Andrzejewski, says, adding, “The U.S. taxpayer may want to know why these schools are even allowed to operate.”
The report found that blue states were allocated more money on average than the red states were, by a difference of $50 million. “This is because blue states had more higher-ed institutions than the red states,” Andrzejewski says.
In 20 blue states, 2,155 institutions were allocated federal aid, an average of 108 schools per state. In 30 red states, 2,853 institutions, an average of 95 schools per state, were allocated federal aid.
– – –
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Nate Silver Is Not Convinced New Model Predicts COVID Daily Deaths Will Nearly Double, Cases Will So

Nate Silver Is Not Convinced New Model Predicts COVID Daily Deaths Will Nearly Double, Cases Will Soon Hit 200K Per Day

A new , internal government report projects coronavirus cases will expand to 200,000 per day within a month , while the number of daily deaths will nearly double during that time , The New York Times reported .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Trump administration dismissed the report , while the model ’ s creator said the numbers are unfinished projections presented to the CDC , the report notes , citing an internal document .
The numbers will skyrocket after May 14 , according to the newest projection , which received criticism from statistician Nate Silver , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role in the process by which that was presented and shown .
This data was presented as an FYI to CDC … it was not in any way intended to be a forecast , ” Justin Lessler , the creator and associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , told The Washington Post Monday .
He created the model and said it is not complete .
Lessler did note that 100,000 cases by the end of May is possible as states continue reopening .
“ There are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of control very quickly , ” Lessler said of the possibility of cases and deaths spiraling out of control .
Silver expressed skepticism about the numbers , asking his Twitter followers Monday : “ Why are *reported* deaths in this slide so different than projected deaths ?
Was this a model originally developed in March or something ?
It is very strange.
” He included in the tweet a screenshot of the graph that showed a gap between projected deaths and reported deaths .
Expecting the numbers to expand so rapidly over less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Silver suggested .
“ I would encourage some caution with taking these at face value , ” he wrote before asking if the model was perhaps leaked in an effort to “ scare Trump out of touting re-opening , so they ’ re releasing some sort of worst-case scenario.
” “ How do you multiply the number of projected cases by 8 and only double the number of deaths ?
” he said before suggesting the amount of testing will increase to reveal an explosion in cases .
The White House , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This is not a White House document , nor has it been presented to the Coronavirus Task Force or gone through interagency vetting .
This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the task force , or data that the task force has analyzed , ” the White House said in a statement to the media addressing the report .
The report ’ s slides show the CDC ’ s logo , though the agency also disavowed the report , the Post .
Several U.S. states are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Tennessee , for instance , have already or are preparing to ease stay-at-home orders and bucking health officials who argue that lockdowns must continue .
Trump has expressed desire to get the economy back into a running position after more than a month of state and city officials shuttering businesses to slow the coronavirus ’ s spread .
The virus originated in Wuhan , China , and has killed nearly 170,000 people worldwide .
Chris White is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Chris White
A new, internal government report projects coronavirus cases will expand to 200,000 per day within a month, while the number of daily deaths will nearly double during that time, The New York Times reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Trump administration dismissed the report, while the model’s creator said the numbers are unfinished projections presented to the CDC, the report notes, citing an internal document. The numbers will skyrocket after May 14, according to the newest projection, which received criticism from statistician Nate Silver, among others.
“I had no role in the process by which that was presented and shown. This data was presented as an FYI to CDC … it was not in any way intended to be a forecast,” Justin Lessler, the creator and associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Washington Post Monday. He created the model and said it is not complete.
Lessler did note that 100,000 cases by the end of May is possible as states continue reopening. “There are reopening scenarios where it could get out of control very quickly,” Lessler said of the possibility of cases and deaths spiraling out of control.
Silver expressed skepticism about the numbers, asking his Twitter followers Monday: “Why are *reported* deaths in this slide so different than projected deaths? Was this a model originally developed in March or something? It is very strange.”
He included in the tweet a screenshot of the graph that showed a gap between projected deaths and reported deaths.
Expecting the numbers to expand so rapidly over less than three weeks is a strange expectation, Silver suggested.
“I would encourage some caution with taking these at face value,” he wrote before asking if the model was perhaps leaked in an effort to “scare Trump out of touting re-opening, so they’re releasing some sort of worst-case scenario.”
Associated Press journalist Nick Riccardi posed similar questions.
“How do you multiply the number of projected cases by 8 and only double the number of deaths?” he said before suggesting the amount of testing will increase to reveal an explosion in cases.
The White House, for its part, refuted the modeling.
“This is not a White House document, nor has it been presented to the Coronavirus Task Force or gone through interagency vetting. This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the task force, or data that the task force has analyzed,” the White House said in a statement to the media addressing the report.
The report’s slides show the CDC’s logo, though the agency also disavowed the report, the Post.
Several U.S. states are reopening their economies. Georgia, Texas and Tennessee, for instance, have already or are preparing to ease stay-at-home orders and bucking health officials who argue that lockdowns must continue.
Trump has expressed desire to get the economy back into a running position after more than a month of state and city officials shuttering businesses to slow the coronavirus’s spread.
The virus originated in Wuhan, China, and has killed nearly 170,000 people worldwide.
– – –
Chris White is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--COVID-19 Claims Five More Nashville Residents, All with Already Underlying Health Issues

COVID-19 claimed the lives of five more Nashvillians between Monday and Tuesday — all over the age of 60 and all people with underlying health conditions .
This , according to Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Alex Jahangir at a press conference Tuesday .
Those five deaths , in a 24-hour timespan , included a 62-year-old woman , a 65-year-old man , a 71-year-old man , a 76-year-old woman , and an 81-year-old man .
“ We now have 32 Nashvillians who have died from this virus .
Today we have 3,322 confirmed cases .
That is an increase of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Of these cases , 1,660 are currently active and 1,630 of the residents have recovered or have been cleared .
Looking at some of the other metrics we are tracking , the transmission rate continues to be one for the week , ” Jahangir said .
“ This means on average one person who has the virus is passing it on to one other person .
Our goal is for this to be at one .
While not where we want it , the transmission rate is holding steady and not regressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last week , 6,048 individuals in Davidson County were tested .
This is 909 more tests than were conducted previously and is well above our goal of 4,667 per week that we have set.
” Nashville Mayor John Cooper , meanwhile , said more confirmed COVID-19 cases disappointed him — but they also didn ’ t discourage him .
“ Our numbers are better than they could be , ” Cooper said .
“ You are not seeing that shocking uptick [ in cases ] , like 200 or 300 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and remind ourselves the reason you are not seeing it is because we ’ re becoming effective at social distancing .
I have said here , before you , the people at home will determine when we can move through our safer at home orders and our restart of the economy orders because you will have to be good at this for a long time .
You will have to have masks and distancing and look after your employees and your customers for a long time to come , and it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reminding and education to get it right.
” Nashville officials say they are still in a place where they can not move on to the first of four phases of a planned reopening of the city .
As The Tennessee Star reported , those phases involve the following : • In Phase One retail businesses will open and restaurants will have dine-in services , all at half-capacity and added guidelines and restrictions and operations will be present .
Employees will be screened daily to ensure that they are symptom free and they will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Other public gatherings will be limited to 10 people or less .
Everyone out in public should wear cloth masks and , if you are able , still work from home .
• In Phase Two , businesses and restaurants can go to three-quarters capacity with certain guidelines .
In addition , personal hygiene businesses like hair and nail salons will open but only for appointments , no walk-ins , and limited to 10 people inside the building at one time .
Playgrounds , tennis courts , and basketball courts will open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services , will be limited to 50 people and with adherence to strict physical distancing protocols .
• In Phase Three businesses and restaurants will go to full capacity .
In addition , bars and entertainment venues will open at half capacity .
Gyms and fitness facilities will open .
Other gatherings will be limited to 100 , again with adherence to strict physical distancing protocols .
• In Phase Four , bars and entertainment venues will be at full capacity , and sport venues will open with adherence to physical distancing protocols @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

COVID-19 claimed the lives of five more Nashvillians between Monday and Tuesday — all over the age of 60 and all people with underlying health conditions.
This, according to Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Alex Jahangir at a press conference Tuesday.
Those five deaths, in a 24-hour timespan, included a 62-year-old woman, a 65-year-old man, a 71-year-old man, a 76-year-old woman, and an 81-year-old man.
“We now have 32 Nashvillians who have died from this virus. Today we have 3,322 confirmed cases. That is an increase of 131 cases in the last 24 hours. Of these cases, 1,660 are currently active and 1,630 of the residents have recovered or have been cleared. Looking at some of the other metrics we are tracking, the transmission rate continues to be one for the week,” Jahangir said.
“This means on average one person who has the virus is passing it on to one other person. Our goal is for this to be at one. While not where we want it, the transmission rate is holding steady and not regressing. Testing capacity continues to be improved. Last week, 6,048 individuals in Davidson County were tested. This is 909 more tests than were conducted previously and is well above our goal of 4,667 per week that we have set.”
Nashville Mayor John Cooper, meanwhile, said more confirmed COVID-19 cases disappointed him — but they also didn’t discourage him.
“Our numbers are better than they could be,” Cooper said.
“You are not seeing that shocking uptick [in cases], like 200 or 300, and for that we need to be grateful and remind ourselves the reason you are not seeing it is because we’re becoming effective at social distancing. I have said here, before you, the people at home will determine when we can move through our safer at home orders and our restart of the economy orders because you will have to be good at this for a long time. You will have to have masks and distancing and look after your employees and your customers for a long time to come, and it’s all something that will require practice, reminding and education to get it right.”
Nashville officials say they are still in a place where they cannot move on to the first of four phases of a planned reopening of the city.
As The Tennessee Star reported, those phases involve the following:
• In Phase One retail businesses will open and restaurants will have dine-in services, all at half-capacity and added guidelines and restrictions and operations will be present. Employees will be screened daily to ensure that they are symptom free and they will be required to wear cloth face coverings. Other public gatherings will be limited to 10 people or less. Everyone out in public should wear cloth masks and, if you are able, still work from home.
• In Phase Two, businesses and restaurants can go to three-quarters capacity with certain guidelines. In addition, personal hygiene businesses like hair and nail salons will open but only for appointments, no walk-ins, and limited to 10 people inside the building at one time. Playgrounds, tennis courts, and basketball courts will open. Other public gatherings, including worship services, will be limited to 50 people and with adherence to strict physical distancing protocols.
• In Phase Three businesses and restaurants will go to full capacity. In addition, bars and entertainment venues will open at half capacity. Gyms and fitness facilities will open. Other gatherings will be limited to 100, again with adherence to strict physical distancing protocols.
• In Phase Four, bars and entertainment venues will be at full capacity, and sport venues will open with adherence to physical distancing protocols and best practices.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Three of the Four Largest US Oil and Gas Producers Are Facing Multimillion and Multibillion-Dollar L

Three of the Four Largest US Oil and Gas Producers Are Facing Multimillion and Multibillion-Dollar Losses

Three of the largest oil companies in the United States are feeling the pain amid historically low crude prices , economic lockdowns and a pandemic that has killed tens of thousands of Americans .
Big oil is taking a big hit , but smaller oil companies might bear the brunt as the industry grinds to a halt .
ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 are the third- and fourth-largest producers in the country , and they announced on April 30 huge losses : ConocoPhillips lost $ 1.7 billion amid the downturn while Phillips 66 reported a first-quarter loss of $ 2.5 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tough times in the past , though negative prices are new and scary , ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said during an earnings call Friday .
“ We ’ ve certainly weathered the ups and downs of many price cycles , ” he said .
“ However , I have to say , we ’ ve never seen anything like what the world is experiencing today.
” Woods announced during the call that Exxon dropped a staggering $ 610 million during the first three months of 2020 as mayors , governors and city officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of the coronavirus pandemic , which originated in Wuhan , China , before hitting the United States , where it has reportedly killed nearly 70,000 people .
This is the first time Exxon has posted a loss in the past three decades , though the oil producer is expecting to dial down its Permian Basin oil rigs by about 75 % , which is substantial given the speed with which demand dropped over the past month .
The bloodbath will help out Exxon and Chevron as they are likely to consolidate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wayside , analysts said .
“ Ultimately what ’ s going to happen … is you ’ re going to have massive consolidation ; they ’ re going to be able to buy assets incredibly cheap , ” Boris Schlossberg , a managing director at BK Asset Management , said in April .
Prices plunged into the $ 30s in March as Saudi Arabia pushed for a cut in output to prop up prices , while Russia worked to infuse the market with hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil .
Saudi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , kicking off a prolonged sell-off that roiled global markets .
The price of Western Canadian Select — which is typically transported via pipeline — tumbled to a little over $ 8 a barrel on April 1 , according to S & P Global Platts , while the price of West Texas Intermediate fell to just above $ 10 a barrel at the end of March .
Even worse , a firm that sells commodities reportedly bid less than $ 0 for Wyoming Asphalt Sour crude .
Oil prices eventually tumbled below zero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Chris White
Three of the largest oil companies in the United States are feeling the pain amid historically low crude prices, economic lockdowns and a pandemic that has killed tens of thousands of Americans.
Big oil is taking a big hit, but smaller oil companies might bear the brunt as the industry grinds to a halt. ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 are the third- and fourth-largest producers in the country, and they announced on April 30 huge losses: ConocoPhillips lost $1.7 billion amid the downturn while Phillips 66 reported a first-quarter loss of $2.5 billion.
The Texas-based oil producer has seen tough times in the past, though negative prices are new and scary, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said during an earnings call Friday.
“We’ve certainly weathered the ups and downs of many price cycles,” he said. “However, I have to say, we’ve never seen anything like what the world is experiencing today.”
Woods announced during the call that Exxon dropped a staggering $610 million during the first three months of 2020 as mayors, governors and city officials began initiating stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China, before hitting the United States, where it has reportedly killed nearly 70,000 people.
This is the first time Exxon has posted a loss in the past three decades, though the oil producer is expecting to dial down its Permian Basin oil rigs by about 75%, which is substantial given the speed with which demand dropped over the past month.
The bloodbath will help out Exxon and Chevron as they are likely to consolidate the energy sector as smaller firms fall by the wayside, analysts said.
“Ultimately what’s going to happen … is you’re going to have massive consolidation; they’re going to be able to buy assets incredibly cheap,” Boris Schlossberg, a managing director at BK Asset Management, said in April.
Prices plunged into the $30s in March as Saudi Arabia pushed for a cut in output to prop up prices, while Russia worked to infuse the market with hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil. Saudi Arabia relented and moved to increase output, kicking off a prolonged sell-off that roiled global markets.
The price of Western Canadian Select — which is typically transported via pipeline — tumbled to a little over $8 a barrel on April 1, according to S&P Global Platts, while the price of West Texas Intermediate fell to just above $10 a barrel at the end of March. Even worse, a firm that sells commodities reportedly bid less than $0 for Wyoming Asphalt Sour crude. Oil prices eventually tumbled below zero.
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Chris White is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Bill Hagerty: China Operates More Like Trade Enemy Than Ally

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty has weighed in on China in a new FOX News editorial with Andy Puzder .
Puzder was chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants and is currently a senior fellow at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy .
In the column , both men praised U.S. President Donald Trump for “ an extraordinary job ” slowing the spread of the coronavirus by , among other things , banning travel with China .
“ But make no mistake , the efforts of China ’ s communist overlords to conceal and destroy evidence regarding COVID-19 ; including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regime ’ s true intentions : to preserve their power and evade responsibility for their gross misconduct .
Communist leaders prioritized regime control over the safety of the Chinese people , the world ’ s health , and the global economy , ” Hagerty and Puzder wrote .
“ This isn ’ t the first time it has been necessary for President Trump to stand up to the Communist Chinese regime .
He kept his campaign promise and took on their unfair trade practices , which included heavy subsidies for China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firms seeking access to China ’ s domestic markets , and outright theft of intellectual property .
Using targeted tariffs , President Trump pressured China to end its abusive trade practices .
The Communist leaders finally came to the negotiating table and signed the historical ‘ Phase One ’ trade deal with America.
” In order to rebound quickly from the set-back precipitated by the Wuhan virus , both men said we must further reduce taxes for all American enterprises and continue to streamline our regulations and permitting requirements .
“ To encourage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deduct from taxable income 100 percent of all capital expenditures in the year they are made , ” Hagerty and Puzder wrote .
“ As recently stated by White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow ‘ if we had 100 percent immediate expensing we would literally pay the moving costs of American companies from China back to the U.S. ’ ” “ These basic steps would enhance after-tax returns and attract more capital for investment here at home , further accelerating the movement of U.S. supply chains back from China .
Additionally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ training and skills development so our workforce is ready for the jobs to come , ” the editorial said .
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty has weighed in on China in a new FOX News editorial with Andy Puzder.
Puzder was chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants and is currently a senior fellow at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.
In the column, both men praised U.S. President Donald Trump for “an extraordinary job” slowing the spread of the coronavirus by, among other things, banning travel with China.
“But make no mistake, the efforts of China’s communist overlords to conceal and destroy evidence regarding COVID-19; including silencing their own people, expose this regime’s true intentions: to preserve their power and evade responsibility for their gross misconduct. Communist leaders prioritized regime control over the safety of the Chinese people, the world’s health, and the global economy,” Hagerty and Puzder wrote.
“This isn’t the first time it has been necessary for President Trump to stand up to the Communist Chinese regime. He kept his campaign promise and took on their unfair trade practices, which included heavy subsidies for China’s state-controlled industries, forced technology transfers for firms seeking access to China’s domestic markets, and outright theft of intellectual property. Using targeted tariffs, President Trump pressured China to end its abusive trade practices. The Communist leaders finally came to the negotiating table and signed the historical ‘Phase One’ trade deal with America.”
In order to rebound quickly from the set-back precipitated by the Wuhan virus, both men said we must further reduce taxes for all American enterprises and continue to streamline our regulations and permitting requirements.
“To encourage investment, Congress should also allow companies to deduct from taxable income 100 percent of all capital expenditures in the year they are made,” Hagerty and Puzder wrote. “As recently stated by White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow ‘if we had 100 percent immediate expensing we would literally pay the moving costs of American companies from China back to the U.S.’”
“These basic steps would enhance after-tax returns and attract more capital for investment here at home, further accelerating the movement of U.S. supply chains back from China. Additionally, we must encourage work by targeting job training and skills development so our workforce is ready for the jobs to come,” the editorial said.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Trump: ‘I Just Want to Get a Vaccine That Works,’ Touts Vaccine by End of Year; Trump Moves Signal M

Trump: ‘I Just Want to Get a Vaccine That Works,’ Touts Vaccine by End of Year; Trump Moves Signal Maduro Regime Now on the Clock

President Donald Trump told Fox News anchor Brett Baier and Martha McCollum he expects a COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year at Sunday night ’ s virtual town hall held at the Lincoln Memorial .
“ Look , a vaccine has never gone like it ’ s gone now , ” the president said .
“ We ’ re so far ahead of any vaccine ever in history .
You know , these things would take two , four , five , six years , 10 years .
I think we ’ re going to have a vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the end of the year , I think we ’ re going to have a vaccine.
” MacCallum asked Trump : “ Do you think another country could beat us ?
” Trump said in reply : “ I don ’ t care .
I just want to get a vaccine that works .
I really don ’ t care , if it ’ s another country , I ’ ll take my hat off to them.
” The three sat in chairs roughly six feet apart in front of Daniel Chester @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abraham Lincoln for a format that including video questions from around the country to supplement the anchors ’ inquires .
Sitting in such a stark setting , the president opened up about people in his life that he lost to COVID-19 .
“ I knew people who had the flu all my life , no one ever died , ” Trump said .
“ I ’ ve lost three friends , one a very good friend.
” That good friend was a New York City developer , who owned the St. Regis Hotel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Stanley Chera .
He went to the hospital .
He called me : ‘ I tested positive.
’ ” Trump said Chera told him he was going to the hospital and he would call him the next day .
“ He didn ’ t call .
I called the hospital – he ’ s in a coma.
” The president also said he supported for Americans looking to break out of the current social and business restrictions .
“ I think a lot of people want to go back .
They want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every day .
You see demonstrations all over the country and those are meaningful demonstrations – big stuff.
” Economic revival was the focus of the president ’ s rare working weekend at Camp David , the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains just inside Maryland along the border with Pennsylvania .
Trump and his team left the White House Friday at or around 5:30 p.m. , and speaking with reporters he had the chance to take another shot at Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp .
Trump endorsed Kemp in the 2018 GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has soured over how to reopen Georgia and also over Kemp ’ s choosing Kelly Koeffler to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson .
Trump wanted Republican Rep. Doug Collins , who had been gallant in his defense of the president during the impeachment crisis .
Trump did not take the bait .
“ No , no , I think it ’ s wonderful .
I want to see us open safely , but I didn ’ t like spas and tattoo parlors , and I wasn ’ t thrilled about that , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Georgia , other than that .
I like the states opening .
They will be opening .
They ’ re going to open safely and quickly , I hope , because we have to get our country back.
” While the president was at Camp David , he spoke to numerous world leaders , but two conversations stand out as significant : Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez and interim Bolivan President Jeanine Áñez .
Trump promised both leaders support in their COVID-19 programs , but the calls were really about Venezuela .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ January 2019 , as soon as Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a new term .
Áñez is the replacement for Maduro ’ s friend and ally Evo Morales , who resigned after 14 years in office when evidence of voter fraud tainted his election to a fourth term .
With the price of oil collapsing and word of Iranians loading up gold bricks from the Venezuelan government vaults and flying them back to Persia , the Maduro regime could be ready to finally collapse .
It was not a headline in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday , the president signed executive order authorizing the Pentagon to call up reserve military personnel for the “ Enhanced Department of Defense Counternarcotic Operation in the Western Hemisphere.
” Another word for this project : Venezuela .
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 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ 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 .

Trump at the Lincoln Memorial
President Donald Trump told Fox News anchor Brett Baier and Martha McCollum he expects a COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year at Sunday night’s virtual town hall held at the Lincoln Memorial.
“Look, a vaccine has never gone like it’s gone now,” the president said. “We’re so far ahead of any vaccine ever in history. You know, these things would take two, four, five, six years, 10 years. I think we’re going to have a vaccine. I’m telling you, by the end of the year, I think we’re going to have a vaccine.”
MacCallum asked Trump: “Do you think another country could beat us?”
Trump said in reply: “I don’t care. I just want to get a vaccine that works. I really don’t care, if it’s another country, I’ll take my hat off to them.”
The three sat in chairs roughly six feet apart in front of Daniel Chester French’s 1920 sculpture of President Abraham Lincoln for a format that including video questions from around the country to supplement the anchors’ inquires.
Sitting in such a stark setting, the president opened up about people in his life that he lost to COVID-19.
“I knew people who had the flu all my life, no one ever died,” Trump said. “I’ve lost three friends, one a very good friend.” That good friend was a New York City developer, who owned the St. Regis Hotel and other properties in the city. “Stanley Chera. He went to the hospital. He called me: ‘I tested positive.’”
Trump said Chera told him he was going to the hospital and he would call him the next day. “He didn’t call. I called the hospital – he’s in a coma.”
The president also said he supported for Americans looking to break out of the current social and business restrictions. “I think a lot of people want to go back. They want to go back – you see it every day. You see demonstrations all over the country and those are meaningful demonstrations – big stuff.”
Economic revival was the focus of the president’s rare working weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains just inside Maryland along the border with Pennsylvania. Trump and his team left the White House Friday at or around 5:30 p.m., and speaking with reporters he had the chance to take another shot at Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Trump endorsed Kemp in the 2018 GOP primary for governor, but the relationship has soured over how to reopen Georgia and also over Kemp’s choosing Kelly Koeffler to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson. Trump wanted Republican Rep. Doug Collins, who had been gallant in his defense of the president during the impeachment crisis.
Trump did not take the bait.
“No, no, I think it’s wonderful. I want to see us open safely, but I didn’t like spas and tattoo parlors, and I wasn’t thrilled about that,” he said. “I said nothing about Georgia, other than that. I like the states opening. They will be opening. They’re going to open safely and quickly, I hope, because we have to get our country back.”
Watch the full interview:
Trump calls Latin American allies against Maduro regime
While the president was at Camp David, he spoke to numerous world leaders, but two conversations stand out as significant: Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez and interim Bolivan President Jeanine Áñez.
Trump promised both leaders support in their COVID-19 programs, but the calls were really about Venezuela.
Benítez broke off diplomatic relationship Venezuela in January 2019, as soon as Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a new term.
Áñez is the replacement for Maduro’s friend and ally Evo Morales, who resigned after 14 years in office when evidence of voter fraud tainted his election to a fourth term.
With the price of oil collapsing and word of Iranians loading up gold bricks from the Venezuelan government vaults and flying them back to Persia, the Maduro regime could be ready to finally collapse.
It was not a headline in the United States, but Caracas noticed that Thursday, the president signed executive order authorizing the Pentagon to call up reserve military personnel for the “Enhanced Department of Defense Counternarcotic Operation in the Western Hemisphere.” Another word for this project: Venezuela.
– – –
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.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--Minnesota City Votes to Stop Enforcing Stay at Home Order

The city of Lakefield , Minnesota will no longer direct any resources to the enforcement of Gov .
Tim Walz ’ s stay-at-home order issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
According to the Lakefield Standard , the Lakefield City Council passed a resolution Monday night in a 3-2 vote declaring itself a “ Constitutional and business friendly community.
” “ The City Council of Lakefield hereby declares its intent to oppose any infringement by Executive Order or any other directive on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep their businesses open , ” states the resolution .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief from Gov .
Walz ’ s Executive Orders and demands that the sole power of issuing emergency orders and implementation related to the COVID-19 pandemic be restored to individual municipalities and local government agencies.
” The resolution says that city leaders will not direct any “ resources to enforce any Executive Order or any other directive which infringes on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep their businesses open as per the Constitution.
” “ The City Council of Lakefield will use any legal means to protect the Constitutional rights of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A local outlet reports that the council initially voted to table the resolution during an April 20 meeting , but passed the resolution Monday after Gov .
Walz extended his stay-at-home order for a second time .
“ So what the resolution itself says is that we as a city council support our residents , our business leaders in the community , our churches .
We support the Constitution and it ’ s more or less a formal stance saying that we support their right to choose to be open or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ KKOJ .
“ That doesn ’ t necessarily say that we are giving them permission to open because we can ’ t eliminate the governor ’ s executive order , we can ’ t override that , but we have said , with this resolution , that we support their choice in being open or not and we as a city are not going to stand in their way , ” he added .
Lakefield is located in southwestern Minnesota in Jackson County , which had 25 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below : Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star .
Follow Anthony on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .
Photo “ Lakefield , Minnesota ” by Lakefield , Minnesota .

The city of Lakefield, Minnesota will no longer direct any resources to the enforcement of Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Lakefield Standard, the Lakefield City Council passed a resolution Monday night in a 3-2 vote declaring itself a “Constitutional and business friendly community.”
“The City Council of Lakefield hereby declares its intent to oppose any infringement by Executive Order or any other directive on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep their businesses open,” states the resolution. “The City Council of Lakefield hereby requests relief from Gov. Walz’s Executive Orders and demands that the sole power of issuing emergency orders and implementation related to the COVID-19 pandemic be restored to individual municipalities and local government agencies.”
The resolution says that city leaders will not direct any “resources to enforce any Executive Order or any other directive which infringes on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep their businesses open as per the Constitution.”
“The City Council of Lakefield will use any legal means to protect the Constitutional rights of the citizens of Lakefield,” it adds.
A local outlet reports that the council initially voted to table the resolution during an April 20 meeting, but passed the resolution Monday after Gov. Walz extended his stay-at-home order for a second time.
“So what the resolution itself says is that we as a city council support our residents, our business leaders in the community, our churches. We support the Constitution and it’s more or less a formal stance saying that we support their right to choose to be open or not,” Lakefield Mayor Brian Rossow told KKOJ.
“That doesn’t necessarily say that we are giving them permission to open because we can’t eliminate the governor’s executive order, we can’t override that, but we have said, with this resolution, that we support their choice in being open or not and we as a city are not going to stand in their way,” he added.
Lakefield is located in southwestern Minnesota in Jackson County, which had 25 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday.
The full resolution can be viewed below:
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Lakefield, Minnesota” by Lakefield, Minnesota.


thetennesseestar--2020-05-06--St. Paul Barber Reopens for Business in Defiance of Stay at Home Order: ‘We Can’t Survive’

The owner of a St. Paul barbershop reopened for business Monday in defiance of Gov .
Tim Walz ’ s stay-at-home order .
Milan Dennie , owner of the King Milan ’ s Barbershop , said he presented state licensing boards with a plan for safely reopening but has yet to hear back .
“ We can ’ t survive .
I ’ m not trying to be disrespectful in any way to his rules or laws but it ’ s unfair , ” he told Frederick Melo of the Pioneer Press .
Dennie doesn ’ t think it makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remain open and be packed with customers while his barbershop has to close .
“ How is that more essential than , you know , what I ’ m doing ?
And I ’ m a professional .
I ’ m a business owner required by the state to go to school and to learn how to deal with these types of circumstances , ” he continued .
“ That ’ s not fair .
So I just can ’ t see myself following an unjust law .
It ’ s not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No , it ’ s not fair.
” In a recent Facebook post , Dennie said only five customers will be allowed in the shop at a time and all barbers will wear CDC-approved masks at all times .
Additional customers will be asked to take a number and wait outside until their number is called .
The capes worn by customers are cleaned and sanitized after each haircut .
A GoFundMe page was created Monday to help Dennie cover the cost of any legal fees he might face as a result of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a philanthropist who donates his services for free back-to-school haircuts for kids , ” the page states , calling him a “ brave patriot and the first business owner to stand up for freedom in Minnesota.
” According to a profile of Dennie in Minnesota Monthly , he moved to St. Paul in 2014 from Gary , Indiana and opened his barbershop “ about three days later.
” “ I came here to start a new life , ” he said .
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .

The owner of a St. Paul barbershop reopened for business Monday in defiance of Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order.
Milan Dennie, owner of the King Milan’s Barbershop, said he presented state licensing boards with a plan for safely reopening but has yet to hear back.
“We can’t survive. I’m not trying to be disrespectful in any way to his rules or laws but it’s unfair,” he told Frederick Melo of the Pioneer Press.
Dennie doesn’t think it makes sense that places like liquor stores can remain open and be packed with customers while his barbershop has to close.
“How is that more essential than, you know, what I’m doing? And I’m a professional. I’m a business owner required by the state to go to school and to learn how to deal with these types of circumstances,” he continued. “That’s not fair. So I just can’t see myself following an unjust law. It’s not the law to me and we starving. No, it’s not fair.”
Governor’s orders aren’t fair, says St. Paul barbershop owner and consummate community volunteer Milan Dennie, who presented state licensing boards with a social distancing and has yet to hear back. Liquor stores but not barbers? So he’s open and here’s how, why: “We starving.” pic.twitter.com/Z5gS5cYBRo — Frederick Melo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) May 4, 2020
In a recent Facebook post, Dennie said only five customers will be allowed in the shop at a time and all barbers will wear CDC-approved masks at all times. Additional customers will be asked to take a number and wait outside until their number is called. The capes worn by customers are cleaned and sanitized after each haircut.
A GoFundMe page was created Monday to help Dennie cover the cost of any legal fees he might face as a result of opening early.
“Mr. Dennie is a philanthropist who donates his services for free back-to-school haircuts for kids,” the page states, calling him a “brave patriot and the first business owner to stand up for freedom in Minnesota.”
According to a profile of Dennie in Minnesota Monthly, he moved to St. Paul in 2014 from Gary, Indiana and opened his barbershop“about three days later.”
“I came here to start a new life,” he said.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].