thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Host Leahy and Carol Swain Discuss the Absence of Republican Ballot Counting Oversight and Trump’s P

Host Leahy and Carol Swain Discuss the Absence of Republican Ballot Counting Oversight and Trump’s Path to the Presidency

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville ’ s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist , Dr. Carol Swain , to the studio .
During the second hour , Leahy and Swain discussed the rampant alleged voter fraud across the country and how Republican election officials were not allowed any oversight in the counting of ballots .
They later outlined the only path for Donald Trump to remain president of the United States citing North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia in play .
Leahy : We are joined by our good friend .
All-star panelist , former Vanderbilt Professor and former mayoral candidate here in Nashville , Carol Swain .
Good morning , Carol .
Swain : Good morning .
How are you ?
Leahy : I ’ m looking at the numbers Carol .
It ’ s not looking good for our guy , but the game ain ’ t over .
I kind of went through this analysis of where we are on .
There is a chance that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of things have to happen .
And I ’ m wondering what your take is on all this Carol ?
Swain : Well , I mean obviously this email this morning and of course the president ’ s people have not given up .
Leahy : Oh .
Do not give up .
Yeah .
Do not give up at all .
Swain : But their concerns are about the way the Democrats are counting votes and excluding them .
And when they say every vote must count they mean the illegal votes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They ’ re trying to count everything and they ’ re not allowing any oversight .
Leahy : Well , and that ’ s the case .
Lawsuits have been filed by the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania , Georgia , and Michigan .
Yeah , every vote counts , and in particular the illegal votes for Joe Biden .
That seems to be their policy .
Swain : I ’ m concerned .
And I wrote an article I guess was 2018 when I talked about voter fraud and that election and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course , the Republicans did nothing about it .
They didn ’ t pursue it .
But all of this could have been anticipated .
The ballot harvesting .
And I will say that I was right again about coronavirus being tied to politics and financial interests of the pharmaceutical companies .
And so Democrats have had every incentive to keep it alive .
And at the very end , even here in Tennessee , they said people with coronavirus could vote in person the whole push to have mail-in ballots and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots , but the push for mail-in ballots had to do with it ’ s not safe to vote because of coronavirus .
And then in the end , they tell people you can vote if you have coronavirus meaning you can stand in line , you know with hundreds of other people or scores of other people with coronavirus if you ’ re going to vote .
Leahy : Well , it ’ s all over but the crying , counting now and the legal work , right ?
Swain : Well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without the other party providing any oversight , we know that it ’ s a sham .
It ’ s a way to steal the election .
And I had hoped that President Trump would have won by a landslide .
And what has happened is , look at how many votes he has gotten and just how much support .
Leahy : It ’ s about from what I can tell is about 50.4 percent of the national popular vote for Biden and about 48 percent for the president .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden but even including all the cheating that I think is going on .
Swain : Well , I mean it ’ s like what 68 million votes or something like that ?
Leahy : It ’ s like 72 million to 69 something million .
Swain : Yeah .
I mean that ’ s a lot of people that supported the president .
And I think that the elites and the media they ’ ve always had it in for this president .
Leahy : Well Fox News decision desk certainly did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They were horrible .
Leahy : I can barely watch Chris Wallace and this Arnon Mishkin character .
He is arrogant and condescending and not telling the truth about why he called Arizona with 70 percent of the votes in .
Swain : Oh , I thought it was very frustrating for me watching the returns was how they had an incentive just like the coronavirus numbers how they kept putting them up to scare people .
They called those states early for Biden for the psychological effect to make it seem like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question about it .
And they didn ’ t call Florida where the president had easily had a three and a half point lead for a long time until there was 99 percent of the precincts counted .
Seventy percent of the precincts counted in Arizona at the time that the vice president had a 3.1 percent lead and they called it and it ’ s dwindling ever since .
Leahy : But here ’ s the thing Carol there are lawsuits in Pennsylvania , Georgia , and Michigan already .
There will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lawsuit there .
Probably a lawsuit in Arizona .
Probably a lawsuit in Nevada I would guess .
Swain : Well , I mean I can tell you that even in Virginia where the president was not even close… Swain : They were cheating .
They were mailing out ballots to people that elderly people that hadn ’ t requested them .
They were highlighting where they were supposed to put in the name address and signature and then they were leaving the rest of it blank .
And so the intent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it because these were uneducated people who returned the ballot .
Then they would check the candidate .
Leahy : And so the trying to steal Pennsylvania , it looks like to me .
Eighty-seven percent reporting 164,000 lead for the president .
And that can evaporate very quickly if you ’ re jamming in illegal votes there .
The president sued .
What ’ s going to happen in that lawsuit in Pennsylvania ?
Swain : I think it clearly depends on the courts and the powers that be because we know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have both parties in the room where votes are being counted .
We know from living in Nashville that the Democrats don ’ t play fair .
They believe the ends justify the means .
And what the Supreme Court , I don ’ t know whether or not they would be willing to wait in there for the Democratic process .
But as far as we the people , I see I power dwindling more and more and our nation moving away from being the Democratic Republic for we the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than having elites select them for us .
Leahy : Well , you know , we try to lead the way in news and education here in Tennessee .
And that ’ s an accurate analysis Carol of where we are .
Swain : I ’ m glad to hear you say that because I know that you are very cautious .
And I probably make you very nervous .
Leahy : You don ’ t make me nervous at all .
Well , actually what I was trying to say about that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program and they want to provide information , but they also need to have a plan of action , right ?
Leahy : That ’ s what we try and do and for those listeners and it first for somebody out there right now , there ’ s nothing really to do except journalistically .
There ’ s something for us to do .
We ’ re going to document all the voter irregularities going on in these seven states that have not yet been finally called .
And we ’ re going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s team to include it in a lawsuit .
We thought that ’ d be fine .
But I do think there ’ s a widespread evidence of voter fraud .
Let ’ s take a look , Milwaukee City Wire has this analysis .
Seven Milwaukee wards report more 2020 presidential votes than registered voters .
( Swain chuckles ) Biden nets 146,000 votes in the city .
Let me just read this .
The seven-city of Milwaukee voting wards reported more 2020 U.S. presidential election votes , then they had registered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Secretary of State files five of five of them are in the city ’ s 11th Aldermanic ward on the city ’ s far southwest side .
Vice President Joe Biden carried those five wards in 2020 with 3,768 votes to President Donald Trump ’ s 2,883 .
A margin of 885 votes or eight times the margin in 2016 that Hillary Clinton had over Donald Trump .
Hmm .
Swain : Well , there are some precincts and I don ’ t remember which city where Biden got a hundred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yeah .
Philadelphia would be most likely where that would happen .
Swain : Yeah , but I don ’ t think it would accurately happen because I believe the president made inroads into the Black community and it disturbs me a lot when the voting machines went down in DeKalb County , Georgia .
And when they came back up , Biden had 83 percent of the vote .
Swain : I know .
And it ’ s just how much of this can we put up with and what can we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got a month to fight .
And I think that all of these cases will be litigated .
Joe Biden however is just waiting for that opportunity to declare himself president .
Swain : His fans are out there or his supporters are out there are rioting now and that ’ s like a subtle threat .
It hasn ’ t even been decided .
Leahy : So far the riots are not as bad as we might have expected .
Swain : It doesn ’ t matter .
They are trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yes .
Interestingly enough I would say there ’ s kind of a two-step program here .
Number one is to hang tight for this next month .
See what happens with the president .
See how these lawsuits progress .
And we ’ ve got to see some final votes coming in Arizona .
And will see if it ends up being for the president or not .
And Georgia right now we ’ ll see if miraculously 87 percent of the 25,000 outstanding folks just happened to be for Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carolina , there is a 77,000 vote lead , there are enough votes there for the Democrats to discover somewhere .
Possibly .
Pennsylvania has 164,000 votes .
There ’ s a path to the presidency for Donald Trump .
Hold North Carolina .
Hold Georgia and hold Pennsylvania .
Flip , Arizona and he ’ s the president of the United States if that happens .
The probability and I just went through the numbers on that and right now I ’ m guessing it is sort of 12 to 25 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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 .
Background Photo “ Ballots ” by Davidson County Election Commission .

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, Dr. Carol Swain, to the studio.
During the second hour, Leahy and Swain discussed the rampant alleged voter fraud across the country and how Republican election officials were not allowed any oversight in the counting of ballots. They later outlined the only path for Donald Trump to remain president of the United States citing North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia in play.
Leahy: We are joined by our good friend. All-star panelist, former Vanderbilt Professor and former mayoral candidate here in Nashville, Carol Swain. Good morning, Carol.
Swain: Good morning. How are you?
Leahy: I’m looking at the numbers Carol. It’s not looking good for our guy, but the game ain’t over. I kind of went through this analysis of where we are on. There is a chance that the president could be re-elected but a lot of things have to happen. And I’m wondering what your take is on all this Carol?
Swain: Well, I mean obviously this email this morning and of course the president’s people have not given up.
Leahy: Oh. Do not give up. Yeah. Do not give up at all.
Swain: But their concerns are about the way the Democrats are counting votes and excluding them. And when they say every vote must count they mean the illegal votes as well as votes that are legal. They’re trying to count everything and they’re not allowing any oversight.
Leahy: Well, and that’s the case. Lawsuits have been filed by the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan. Yeah, every vote counts, and in particular the illegal votes for Joe Biden. That seems to be their policy.
Swain: I’m concerned. And I wrote an article I guess was 2018 when I talked about voter fraud and that election and the need for federal election reform. Of course, the Republicans did nothing about it. They didn’t pursue it. But all of this could have been anticipated. The ballot harvesting. And I will say that I was right again about coronavirus being tied to politics and financial interests of the pharmaceutical companies. And so Democrats have had every incentive to keep it alive.
And at the very end, even here in Tennessee, they said people with coronavirus could vote in person the whole push to have mail-in ballots and absentee ballots. We always have absentee ballots, but the push for mail-in ballots had to do with it’s not safe to vote because of coronavirus. And then in the end, they tell people you can vote if you have coronavirus meaning you can stand in line, you know with hundreds of other people or scores of other people with coronavirus if you’re going to vote.
Leahy: Well, it’s all over but the crying, counting now and the legal work, right?
Swain: Well the counting being done behind closed doors without the other party providing any oversight, we know that it’s a sham. It’s a way to steal the election. And I had hoped that President Trump would have won by a landslide. And what has happened is, look at how many votes he has gotten and just how much support.
Leahy: It’s about from what I can tell is about 50.4 percent of the national popular vote for Biden and about 48 percent for the president. That’s a margin of 2.4 percent for Biden but even including all the cheating that I think is going on.
Swain: Well, I mean it’s like what 68 million votes or something like that?
Leahy: It’s like 72 million to 69 something million.
Swain: Yeah. I mean that’s a lot of people that supported the president. And I think that the elites and the media they’ve always had it in for this president.
Leahy: Well Fox News decision desk certainly did.
Swain: They were horrible. They were horrible.
Leahy: I can barely watch Chris Wallace and this Arnon Mishkin character. He is arrogant and condescending and not telling the truth about why he called Arizona with 70 percent of the votes in.
Swain: Oh, I thought it was very frustrating for me watching the returns was how they had an incentive just like the coronavirus numbers how they kept putting them up to scare people. They called those states early for Biden for the psychological effect to make it seem like Biden was winning.
Leahy: No question about it. And they didn’t call Florida where the president had easily had a three and a half point lead for a long time until there was 99 percent of the precincts counted. Seventy percent of the precincts counted in Arizona at the time that the vice president had a 3.1 percent lead and they called it and it’s dwindling ever since.
Swain: I know.
Leahy: But here’s the thing Carol there are lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan already. There will be a recount in Wisconsin. Probably a lawsuit there. Probably a lawsuit in Arizona. Probably a lawsuit in Nevada I would guess.
Swain: Well, I mean I can tell you that even in Virginia where the president was not even close…
Leahy: Lost by six points.
Swain: They were cheating. They were mailing out ballots to people that elderly people that hadn’t requested them. They were highlighting where they were supposed to put in the name address and signature and then they were leaving the rest of it blank. And so the intent I believe was for them to return it because these were uneducated people who returned the ballot. Then they would check the candidate.
Leahy: And so the trying to steal Pennsylvania, it looks like to me. Eighty-seven percent reporting 164,000 lead for the president. And that can evaporate very quickly if you’re jamming in illegal votes there. The president sued. What’s going to happen in that lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
Swain: I think it clearly depends on the courts and the powers that be because we know that if the process was fair you would have both parties in the room where votes are being counted. We know from living in Nashville that the Democrats don’t play fair. They believe the ends justify the means. And what the Supreme Court, I don’t know whether or not they would be willing to wait in there for the Democratic process. But as far as we the people, I see I power dwindling more and more and our nation moving away from being the Democratic Republic for we the people, you know, elected politicians rather than having elites select them for us.
Leahy: Well, you know, we try to lead the way in news and education here in Tennessee. And that’s an accurate analysis Carol of where we are.
Swain: I’m glad to hear you say that because I know that you are very cautious. And I probably make you very nervous.
Leahy: You don’t make me nervous at all. Well, actually what I was trying to say about that Carol is that people listen to our program and they want to provide information, but they also need to have a plan of action, right?
Swain: They do.
Leahy: That’s what we try and do and for those listeners and it first for somebody out there right now, there’s nothing really to do except journalistically. There’s something for us to do. We’re going to document all the voter irregularities going on in these seven states that have not yet been finally called. And we’re going to provide information for the president’s team to include it in a lawsuit.
We thought that’d be fine. But I do think there’s a widespread evidence of voter fraud. Let’s take a look, Milwaukee City Wire has this analysis. Seven Milwaukee wards report more 2020 presidential votes than registered voters. (Swain chuckles) Biden nets 146,000 votes in the city. Let me just read this. The seven-city of Milwaukee voting wards reported more 2020 U.S. presidential election votes, then they had registered voters according to an analysis of results.
The Secretary of State files five of five of them are in the city’s 11th Aldermanic ward on the city’s far southwest side. Vice President Joe Biden carried those five wards in 2020 with 3,768 votes to President Donald Trump’s 2,883. A margin of 885 votes or eight times the margin in 2016 that Hillary Clinton had over Donald Trump. Hmm.
Swain: Well, there are some precincts and I don’t remember which city where Biden got a hundred percent of the vote.
Leahy: Yeah. Philadelphia would be most likely where that would happen.
Swain: Yeah, but I don’t think it would accurately happen because I believe the president made inroads into the Black community and it disturbs me a lot when the voting machines went down in DeKalb County, Georgia. And when they came back up, Biden had 83 percent of the vote.
Leahy: Magic.
Swain: I know.
Leahy: Magic.
Swain: I know. And it’s just how much of this can we put up with and what can we do?
Leahy: We’ve got a month to fight. And I think that all of these cases will be litigated. Joe Biden however is just waiting for that opportunity to declare himself president.
Swain: His fans are out there or his supporters are out there are rioting now and that’s like a subtle threat. It hasn’t even been decided.
Leahy: So far the riots are not as bad as we might have expected.
Swain: It doesn’t matter. They are trying to intimidate people.
Leahy: Well, yes. Interestingly enough I would say there’s kind of a two-step program here. Number one is to hang tight for this next month. See what happens with the president. See how these lawsuits progress. And we’ve got to see some final votes coming in Arizona. And will see if it ends up being for the president or not. And Georgia right now we’ll see if miraculously 87 percent of the 25,000 outstanding folks just happened to be for Joe Biden that would flip Georgia.
In North Carolina, there is a 77,000 vote lead, there are enough votes there for the Democrats to discover somewhere. Possibly. Pennsylvania has 164,000 votes. There’s a path to the presidency for Donald Trump. Hold North Carolina. Hold Georgia and hold Pennsylvania. Flip, Arizona and he’s the president of the United States if that happens. The probability and I just went through the numbers on that and right now I’m guessing it is sort of 12 to 25 percent. It’s better than zero.
Swain: Right.
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.
Background Photo “Ballots” by Davidson County Election Commission.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Commentary: Government Can’t Count Ballots, So How Can It Possibly Manage a Pandemic or Our Health C

Commentary: Government Can’t Count Ballots, So How Can It Possibly Manage a Pandemic or Our Health Care?

Elections are a nasty business , but sometimes they can be clarifying .
We don ’ t yet know who won the US presidential election , and we may not for days or weeks to come .
This stems largely from the ineptitude Americans witnessed on Election Tuesday .
It wasn ’ t just the fact that pollsters once again failed disastrously , or that networks fumbled their election coverage .
The bigger issue is that America ’ s governing bodies look incapable of managing something as simple as a vote , something Americans have managed to do efficiently for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ digital communication , and mass transportation .
As an American , I find this a tad embarrassing .
As the journalist Glenn Greenwald observed Wednesday , countries with far fewer resources and less advanced technology regularly manage to hold speedy , efficient elections .
This is something the US failed to do on Tuesday , Greenwald noted .
The richest and most powerful country on earth — whether due to ineptitude , choice or some combination of both — has no ability to perform the simple task of counting votes in a minimally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result , the credibility of the voting process is severely impaired , and any residual authority the U.S. claims to “ spread ” democracy to lucky recipients of its benevolence around the world is close to obliterated .
At 7:30 a.m .
ET on Wednesday , the day after the 2020 presidential elections , the results of the presidential race , as well as control of the Senate , are very much in doubt and in chaos .
Watched by [ the ] rest of the world — deeply affected by who rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and stumbles and staggers to engage in a simple task mastered by countless other less powerful and poorer countries : counting votes .
Some states are not expected to [ finish ] their vote-counting until the end of this week or beyond .
This , to be blunt , is unacceptable .
The most prosperous country in the world can not manage to do something as simple as collect and count ballots .
Think about that for just a moment .
Unfortunately , this incompetence carries consequences that are quite real .
Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ integrity of elections .
I ’ m not just talking about voters in the fever swamps of Twitter .
Many impressive journalists , thinkers , and students of various political stripes have expressed alarm at what they witnessed in the last 24 hours .
Many readers can probably relate to some of these concerns .
The reality is , the inability of election authorities to do something as simple as gather and count votes is undermining Americans ’ faith in the constitutional system .
As Greenwald notes , this is dangerous ; but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the power and breadth of the federal government , there is a great deal at stake in presidential elections—too much at stake .
Americans sense this , and when they see mail-in ballots missing , precincts that can ’ t get votes counted , voting delays , errors in data feeds , and other problems it naturally creates a feeling of uncertainty .
Uncertainty in turn breeds distrust .
One could argue that this year ’ s election was unique .
Turnout was unprecedented ( at least in raw numbers ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic and the record number of mail-in ballots .
Perhaps that ’ s true .
But the fact remains : how hard is it to collect and count ballots ?
I don ’ t wish to disparage the people working these elections .
The process is probably far more complicated than many Americans realize .
But this is true of most systems , which brings me to a key point .
Is collecting and counting ballots more difficult than running a vast health care system that involves pricing , insurance , medication , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals ?
The answer is no .
Is collecting and counting ballots more difficult than attempting to manage the spread of an invisible virus without ruining the livelihoods , spirits , educations , and very lives of hundreds of millions of people ?
Again , the answer is no .
In some ways , we should not be surprised to see governing bodies fail to manage something as elementary as an election .
For decades we ’ ve watched the United States Post Office bungle something as simple as collecting and delivering mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every year doing something a private company would make a profit doing , while delivering substandard service .
( This is why libertarians have been arguing for more than a century that the Post Office should be subjected to competition . )
It ’ s no coincidence that the election debacle of 2020 happened in the year the Post Office played its largest role ever .
It was bound to happen .
As the economist Ludwig von Mises observed in his 1944 book Bureaucracy , government agencies can never be anywhere near as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market compels entrepreneurs and their employees to competently and efficiently serve the buying public or go out of business .
And profit-and-loss accounting enables them to figure out exactly what ’ s working and what ’ s not .
In contrast , as Mises wrote : “ Public administration , the handling of the government apparatus of coercion and compulsion , must necessarily be formalistic and bureaucratic .
No reform can remove the bureaucratic features of the government ’ s bureaus .
It is useless to blame them for their slowness and slackness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that the assiduity , carefulness , and painstaking work of the average bureau clerk are , as a rule , below those of the average worker in private business .
( … ) In the absence of an unquestionable yardstick of success and failure it is almost impossible for the vast majority of men to find that incentive to utmost exertion that the money calculus of profit-seeking business easily provides .
It is of no use to criticize the bureaucrat ’ s pedantic observance of rigid rules and regulations .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the performance of services which can not be checked by money statements of profit and loss.
” That isn ’ t to say that bureaucracy is inherently evil .
Mises clarified that , “ bureaucracy in itself is neither good nor bad.
” “ There is a field , ” he continued , “ namely , the handling of the apparatus of government , in which bureaucratic methods are required by necessity.
” Elections , for example , are necessarily a bureaucratic affair , even if that means they often get bungled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bureaucratize things that don ’ t need to be bureaucratic .
The evil lies in , as Mises said , “ the expansion of the sphere in which bureaucratic management is applied.
” For example , health care does not need to be bureaucratic .
It can and has been provided through the market .
To the extent that it has been , market forces and signals have made it better .
But if health care were to be socialized—as in a single-payer scheme—it would have to be managed bureaucratically and would inevitably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ineptitude , slowness , neglect , etc .
Just imagine having to depend on the DMV or the USPS for your medical treatment .
( If you ’ ve ever had to deal with the Veterans Administration , perhaps you don ’ t have to imagine . )
One may object that our health care system already suffers from those failings and is already quite bureaucratic .
But that is because the government is already so heavily involved in it .
As Mises wrote , “ Every kind of government meddling… breeds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market forces and signals that makes governments inefficient .
The normal mechanisms in markets that lead to efficiency , productivity , and prosperity simply can not be replicated in a government system .
Ever .
This is not to say some government systems can not be managed more effectively than others .
Naturally , they can .
Just as many countries manage to hold elections and quickly get reliable results instead of the fiasco Americans witnessed this week .
The point is bureaucracy is inefficient by nature .
We saw that Tuesday night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves an important question : If government can not manage something as simple as an election , how can it possibly make rational decisions about health care and pandemics that affect hundreds of millions of people ?
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org .
His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine , The Wall Street Journal , CNN , Forbes , Fox News , and the Star Tribune .
Dan Sanchez is the Director of Content at the Foundation for Economic Education ( FEE ) and the @ @ @ @ @

by Jon Miltimore and Dan Sanchez
Elections are a nasty business, but sometimes they can be clarifying.
We don’t yet know who won the US presidential election, and we may not for days or weeks to come. This stems largely from the ineptitude Americans witnessed on Election Tuesday.
It wasn’t just the fact that pollsters once again failed disastrously, or that networks fumbled their election coverage.
The bigger issue is that America’s governing bodies look incapable of managing something as simple as a vote, something Americans have managed to do efficiently for centuries without the benefit of computers, digital communication, and mass transportation.
As an American, I find this a tad embarrassing. As the journalist Glenn Greenwald observed Wednesday, countries with far fewer resources and less advanced technology regularly manage to hold speedy, efficient elections. This is something the US failed to do on Tuesday, Greenwald noted.
The richest and most powerful country on earth — whether due to ineptitude, choice or some combination of both — has no ability to perform the simple task of counting votes in a minimally efficient or confidence-inspiring manner. As a result, the credibility of the voting process is severely impaired, and any residual authority the U.S. claims to “spread” democracy to lucky recipients of its benevolence around the world is close to obliterated. At 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the day after the 2020 presidential elections, the results of the presidential race, as well as control of the Senate, are very much in doubt and in chaos. Watched by [the] rest of the world — deeply affected by who rules the still-imperialist superpower — the U.S. struggles and stumbles and staggers to engage in a simple task mastered by countless other less powerful and poorer countries: counting votes. Some states are not expected to [finish] their vote-counting until the end of this week or beyond.
This, to be blunt, is unacceptable.
The most prosperous country in the world cannot manage to do something as simple as collect and count ballots. Think about that for just a moment.
Unfortunately, this incompetence carries consequences that are quite real. Americans are beginning to lose faith in the integrity of elections. I’m not just talking about voters in the fever swamps of Twitter.
Many impressive journalists, thinkers, and students of various political stripes have expressed alarm at what they witnessed in the last 24 hours.
Things are getting very sketchy — Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) November 4, 2020
Those 300,000 ballots not delivered after DeJoy ignored judge’s ruling: many states had set Election Day as the cutoff for mail-in ballots. Data Appears to Show USPS Failed to Deliver Mail Ballots from Voters Nationwide https://t.co/MBnENp0l43 via @politicususa — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 4, 2020
After yesterday's alarmist court filing misrepresented that 300k mail ballots were "missing," aka scanned in and not scanned out, the USPS swept 220 postal facilities nationwide. They found only 13 delayed ballots (all in Central PA), not 300k. They were immediately expedited. — Ellie Rushing (@EllieRushing) November 4, 2020
What is going on in Arizona… https://t.co/bNwrFhuJYK — Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) November 4, 2020
Many readers can probably relate to some of these concerns.
The reality is, the inability of election authorities to do something as simple as gather and count votes is undermining Americans’ faith in the constitutional system. As Greenwald notes, this is dangerous; but it’s also rational.
Because of the power and breadth of the federal government, there is a great deal at stake in presidential elections—too much at stake. Americans sense this, and when they see mail-in ballots missing, precincts that can’t get votes counted, voting delays, errors in data feeds, and other problems it naturally creates a feeling of uncertainty. Uncertainty in turn breeds distrust.
One could argue that this year’s election was unique. Turnout was unprecedented (at least in raw numbers), perhaps in part because of the coronavirus pandemic and the record number of mail-in ballots.
Perhaps that’s true. But the fact remains: how hard is it to collect and count ballots? I don’t wish to disparage the people working these elections. The process is probably far more complicated than many Americans realize. But this is true of most systems, which brings me to a key point.
Is collecting and counting ballots more difficult than running a vast health care system that involves pricing, insurance, medication, billing, and the very lives of individuals? The answer is no.
Is collecting and counting ballots more difficult than attempting to manage the spread of an invisible virus without ruining the livelihoods, spirits, educations, and very lives of hundreds of millions of people? Again, the answer is no.
In some ways, we should not be surprised to see governing bodies fail to manage something as elementary as an election. For decades we’ve watched the United States Post Office bungle something as simple as collecting and delivering mail. The USPS bleeds billions of dollars every year doing something a private company would make a profit doing, while delivering substandard service. (This is why libertarians have been arguing for more than a century that the Post Office should be subjected to competition.)
It’s no coincidence that the election debacle of 2020 happened in the year the Post Office played its largest role ever. It was bound to happen.
As the economist Ludwig von Mises observed in his 1944 book Bureaucracy, government agencies can never be anywhere near as efficient as private businesses. The competitive market compels entrepreneurs and their employees to competently and efficiently serve the buying public or go out of business. And profit-and-loss accounting enables them to figure out exactly what’s working and what’s not. In contrast, as Mises wrote:
“Public administration, the handling of the government apparatus of coercion and compulsion, must necessarily be formalistic and bureaucratic. No reform can remove the bureaucratic features of the government’s bureaus. It is useless to blame them for their slowness and slackness. It is vain to lament over the fact that the assiduity, carefulness, and painstaking work of the average bureau clerk are, as a rule, below those of the average worker in private business. (…) In the absence of an unquestionable yardstick of success and failure it is almost impossible for the vast majority of men to find that incentive to utmost exertion that the money calculus of profit-seeking business easily provides. It is of no use to criticize the bureaucrat’s pedantic observance of rigid rules and regulations. (…) All such deficiencies are inherent in the performance of services which cannot be checked by money statements of profit and loss.”
That isn’t to say that bureaucracy is inherently evil. Mises clarified that, “bureaucracy in itself is neither good nor bad.”
“There is a field,” he continued, “namely, the handling of the apparatus of government, in which bureaucratic methods are required by necessity.”
Elections, for example, are necessarily a bureaucratic affair, even if that means they often get bungled.
The big problem is when governments bureaucratize things that don’t need to be bureaucratic. The evil lies in, as Mises said, “the expansion of the sphere in which bureaucratic management is applied.”
For example, health care does not need to be bureaucratic. It can and has been provided through the market. To the extent that it has been, market forces and signals have made it better.
But if health care were to be socialized—as in a single-payer scheme—it would have to be managed bureaucratically and would inevitably suffer all the deficiencies of a bureaucracy: ineptitude, slowness, neglect, etc.
Just imagine having to depend on the DMV or the USPS for your medical treatment. (If you’ve ever had to deal with the Veterans Administration, perhaps you don’t have to imagine.)
One may object that our health care system already suffers from those failings and is already quite bureaucratic. But that is because the government is already so heavily involved in it. As Mises wrote, “Every kind of government meddling… breeds bureaucratism.”
It is the absence of market forces and signals that makes governments inefficient. The normal mechanisms in markets that lead to efficiency, productivity, and prosperity simply cannot be replicated in a government system. Ever.
This is not to say some government systems cannot be managed more effectively than others. Naturally, they can. Just as many countries manage to hold elections and quickly get reliable results instead of the fiasco Americans witnessed this week.
The point is bureaucracy is inefficient by nature. We saw that Tuesday night.
And we should all be asking ourselves an important question: If government cannot manage something as simple as an election, how can it possibly make rational decisions about health care and pandemics that affect hundreds of millions of people?
– – –
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune.
Dan Sanchez is the Director of Content at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and the editor-in chief of FEE.org.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Analysis Reveals Milwaukee Presidential Election Voting Irregularities

An analysis of the City of Milwaukee ’ s 2020 U.S. Presidential election votes reveals several irregularities related primarily to voter participation .
Wisconsin is a key battleground state with 10 electoral college votes .
In 2016 , then first-time presidential candidate Donald Trump won the state over Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton , taking a little over 47 percent of the state ’ s nearly 2.9 million votes .
While Trump held a lead throughout election day , Democrat nominee Joe Biden was declared the winner of Wisconsin Wednesday with 49.6 percent of the state ’ s nearly 3.3 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump is about 20,000 votes .
Wisconsin is one of the states that allow Election Day voter registration and also has a track record of voter fraud .
Wisconsin ’ s MacIver Institute reported in 2018 that there were almost 4,000 cases of likely voter fraud recorded by Wisconsin officials after the 2016 election .
Of the 368,392 people who registered statewide to vote on Election Day in November 2016 , 10,461 postcards sent by the state to verify their residency came back as undeliverable .
MacIver ’ s report also said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out 381,495 notices to people who hadn ’ t voted in four years , resulting in 351,733 registrations – 93 percent – being deactivated .
“ Only 28,169 voters who were mailed the four-year notice asked for their registration to be continued , while 153,416 were returned as undeliverable , and 189,702 voters did not respond to the notice , ” according to MacIver .
Additionally , voter record comparisons to DMV data after the 2016 election had 145,109 with conflicting information .
Milwaukee alone had 22,359 voter mismatches , MacIver reported .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a 2019 estimated population of 590,157 , representing only about 14 percent of Wisconsin ’ s total votes , but having an eyebrow-raising registration rate of 93 percent of its population .
Milwaukee has 478 voting wards and , at the time of this report , the Milwaukee County Clerk website indicates that 100 percent of the wards have reported .
Milwaukee registered voters in 2020 number 550,132 , representing a decrease from 2016 when registered voters were reported at 556,690 , according to the clerk .
The number of ballots cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 460,300 , for a voter participation rate of 83.7 percent .
That ’ s an increase of nearly 4 percent over 2016 , when 444,108 ballots were cast for a 79.8 percent participation rate even though the overall population decreased by about one percent over the four-year period .
According to the clerk , Biden took 317,251 or 69 percent of the votes , compared to Trump ’ s 134,355 or 29 percent .
If that data is correct , that would mean that Biden bested Clinton , who took only 65.57 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 28.61 percent with the balance going to the other six candidate even though Trump won the state in 2016 .
The data for Milwaukee , as reported by the clerk , has several irregularities and inconsistencies with how Trump and Republicans performed elsewhere .
The irregularities start with about 170,000 absentee votes that turned up in Milwaukee in the early morning hours that wiped out Trump ’ s 100,000 vote lead .
A deeper dive into the data also showed that of Milwaukee ’ s 478 wards , two reported more ballots cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ward 326 had 4 registered voters but 5 votes were cast 3 of which went to Trump and 2 for Biden .
Village of River Hills Wards 1 , 2 , 3 reportedly has 186 registered voters , while 1,266 ballots were cast .
And , that data keeps changing , if a report by the Milwaukee City Wire is any indication .
On Wednesday , City Wire reported as many as seven wards had more presidential votes than registered voters .
Voting results from 2016 still show at least two wards – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – had a 139 percent voter participation rate with 1307 ballots cast by 969 registered voters and 101 percent with 538 votes cast by 531 registered voters , respectively .
In 2020 , 93 wards had voter participation rates above 90 percent .
Also , 215 wards had voter participation rates above Milwaukee ’ s average of 83.7 percent .
Meanwhile , 278 of wards had voter participation rates in 2020 above the 2016 average voter participation rate for Milwaukee .
Trump beat Biden in only 45 of the wards , while he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
City of Franklin Ward 1 has only two registered voters with just one vote cast and it was for Trump .
Three wards have no registered voters .
The Trump campaign ’ s Bill Stepien announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will demand a recount .
“ There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results , ” said Stepien .
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star .

An analysis of the City of Milwaukee’s 2020 U.S. Presidential election votes reveals several irregularities related primarily to voter participation.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state with 10 electoral college votes. In 2016, then first-time presidential candidate Donald Trump won the state over Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, taking a little over 47 percent of the state’s nearly 2.9 million votes.
While Trump held a lead throughout election day, Democrat nominee Joe Biden was declared the winner of Wisconsin Wednesday with 49.6 percent of the state’s nearly 3.3 million votes.
The gap between Biden and Trump is about 20,000 votes.
Wisconsin is one of the states that allow Election Day voter registration and also has a track record of voter fraud.
Wisconsin’s MacIver Institute reported in 2018 that there were almost 4,000 cases of likely voter fraud recorded by Wisconsin officials after the 2016 election.
Of the 368,392 people who registered statewide to vote on Election Day in November 2016, 10,461 postcards sent by the state to verify their residency came back as undeliverable.
MacIver’s report also said that in 2017 the Wisconsin Elections Commission mailed out 381,495 notices to people who hadn’t voted in four years, resulting in 351,733 registrations – 93 percent – being deactivated.
“Only 28,169 voters who were mailed the four-year notice asked for their registration to be continued, while 153,416 were returned as undeliverable, and 189,702 voters did not respond to the notice,” according to MacIver.
Additionally, voter record comparisons to DMV data after the 2016 election had 145,109 with conflicting information. Milwaukee alone had 22,359 voter mismatches, MacIver reported.
Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s largest city with a 2019 estimated population of 590,157, representing only about 14 percent of Wisconsin’s total votes, but having an eyebrow-raising registration rate of 93 percent of its population.
Milwaukee has 478 voting wards and, at the time of this report, the Milwaukee County Clerk website indicates that 100 percent of the wards have reported.
Milwaukee registered voters in 2020 number 550,132, representing a decrease from 2016 when registered voters were reported at 556,690, according to the clerk.
The number of ballots cast in Milwaukee the 2020 presidential election totaled 460,300, for a voter participation rate of 83.7 percent.
That’s an increase of nearly 4 percent over 2016, when 444,108 ballots were cast for a 79.8 percent participation rate even though the overall population decreased by about one percent over the four-year period.
According to the clerk, Biden took 317,251 or 69 percent of the votes, compared to Trump’s 134,355 or 29 percent.
If that data is correct, that would mean that Biden bested Clinton, who took only 65.57 percent of the vote over Trump’s 28.61 percent with the balance going to the other six candidate even though Trump won the state in 2016.
The data for Milwaukee, as reported by the clerk, has several irregularities and inconsistencies with how Trump and Republicans performed elsewhere.
The irregularities start with about 170,000 absentee votes that turned up in Milwaukee in the early morning hours that wiped out Trump’s 100,000 vote lead.
A deeper dive into the data also showed that of Milwaukee’s 478 wards, two reported more ballots cast than registered voters.
City of Milwaukee Ward 326 had 4 registered voters but 5 votes were cast 3 of which went to Trump and 2 for Biden.
Village of River Hills Wards 1, 2, 3 reportedly has 186 registered voters, while 1,266 ballots were cast.
And, that data keeps changing, if a report by the Milwaukee City Wire is any indication.
On Wednesday, City Wire reported as many as seven wards had more presidential votes than registered voters.
Voting results from 2016 still show at least two wards – City of Milwaukee Wards 130 and 187 – had a 139 percent voter participation rate with 1307 ballots cast by 969 registered voters and 101 percent with 538 votes cast by 531 registered voters, respectively.
In 2020, 93 wards had voter participation rates above 90 percent.
Also, 215 wards had voter participation rates above Milwaukee’s average of 83.7 percent.
Meanwhile, 278 of wards had voter participation rates in 2020 above the 2016 average voter participation rate for Milwaukee.
Trump beat Biden in only 45 of the wards, while he beat Clinton in 63 wards in 2016.
City of Franklin Ward 1 has only two registered voters with just one vote cast and it was for Trump.
Three wards have no registered voters.
The Trump campaign’s Bill Stepien announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will demand a recount.
“There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results,” said Stepien.
– – –
Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Over 100 Illegal Immigrants Detained by CBP in Texas Over One Week

Over 100 illegal immigrants were found at three separate stash houses and detained over the span of a week near Laredo , Texas , border officials announced .
The illegal immigrants received medical screenings before they were processed as none were wearing personal protective equipment when officials searched the residences , according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) .
“ Migrants continue to show a total disregard for public health during the pandemic , ” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said Wednesday afternoon .
CBP agents worked with two Webb County Constable Sherriff ’ s deputies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illegal immigrants in Laredo , Texas , CBP announced on Nov. 3 .
The illegal immigrants were found to be from Guatemala , Honduras , and Mexico .
Agents also detained 68 illegal immigrants while searching a residence in Laredo , Texas , CBP announced on Oct. 30 .
Agents found the illegal immigrants to be from Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , and Mexico .
In another incident , agents detained 27 illegal immigrants from Mexico after a report of suspicious activity at an abandoned house near San Ygnacio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 29 .
“ With a noted increase in COVID-19 infections among detainees , the smuggling and housing of large groups of individuals in stash houses and close quarters without PPE not only endangers the people being smuggled , but the safety of our nation , ” CBP announced .
Kaylee Greenlee is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Kaylee Greenlee
Over 100 illegal immigrants were found at three separate stash houses and detained over the span of a week near Laredo, Texas, border officials announced.
The illegal immigrants received medical screenings before they were processed as none were wearing personal protective equipment when officials searched the residences, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Migrants continue to show a total disregard for public health during the pandemic,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said Wednesday afternoon.
Laredo Sector USBP agents shut down 3 stash houses in a week:
▪ 24 individuals: https://t.co/V9tOQnfxx6
▪ 68 individuals: https://t.co/iAqt1b7Ivf
▪ 27 individuals: https://t.co/zs8kIMooEm
Migrants continue to show a total disregard for public health during the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/EFHVdrwOCr — CBP Mark Morgan (@CBPMarkMorgan) November 4, 2020
CBP agents worked with two Webb County Constable Sherriff’s deputies to shut down a stash house hiding 24 illegal immigrants in Laredo, Texas, CBP announced on Nov. 3. The illegal immigrants were found to be from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Agents also detained 68 illegal immigrants while searching a residence in Laredo, Texas, CBP announced on Oct. 30. Agents found the illegal immigrants to be from Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
In another incident, agents detained 27 illegal immigrants from Mexico after a report of suspicious activity at an abandoned house near San Ygnacio, Texas, CBP announced on Oct. 29.
“With a noted increase in COVID-19 infections among detainees, the smuggling and housing of large groups of individuals in stash houses and close quarters without PPE not only endangers the people being smuggled, but the safety of our nation,” CBP announced.
– – –
Kaylee Greenlee is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--President Trump Has Multiple Paths to Victory, Steve Bannon Tells Fox Business

Steve Bannon told Fox Business on Thursday that multiple paths exist for President Donald Trump to reach a second term .
Video is available here .
Bannon , former White House chief strategist , said , “ President Trump won an overwhelming victory on Tuesday night with certifiable , verifiable , legal votes.
” “ It ’ s time to be bold , ” the host of Bannon ’ s War Room podcast said .
The president should have made an announcement at 10 p.m. on election night and declared himself the winner after winning minority votes and the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to federal court , Bannon said .
If a fair count of ballots is allowed in disputed states — Nevada , Wisconsin , Michigan , Pennsylvania , Arizona — the president will win , Bannon said .
Former Vice President Joe Biden is a “ feckless old man , wandering around a car dealership in Wilmington , Delaware and he should be treated with the dismissive contempt of that , ” Bannon said .
To reach the second term , there are multiple paths , including a fair recount , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the president ; North Carolina and Georgia already did .
ABC News ’ website on Thursday night showed Arizona in play again for Trump .
Michigan , Pennsylvania , Wisconsin , Nevada , Georgia and North Carolina are still counting votes , Americans for Limited Government said .
Trump carried Ohio , Florida and Iowa by big margins despite many polls saying he would lose handily there .
American Greatness reported that the Trump campaign on Thursday announced a “ major victory ” in a Pennsylvania appellate court in their suit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll watchers to the ballot processing and counting process .
Bannon also said that conservatives who have a strict interpretation of the Constitution control courts , including the Supreme Court , and state legislatures .
And , conservatives control a majority of state delegations in the House of Representatives if a vote comes there , Bannon said .
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years ’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes .

Steve Bannon told Fox Business on Thursday that multiple paths exist for President Donald Trump to reach a second term.
Video is available here.
Bannon, former White House chief strategist, said, “President Trump won an overwhelming victory on Tuesday night with certifiable, verifiable, legal votes.”
“It’s time to be bold,” the host of Bannon’s War Room podcast said.
The president should have made an announcement at 10 p.m. on election night and declared himself the winner after winning minority votes and the state of Ohio, and said he would go to federal court, Bannon said.
If a fair count of ballots is allowed in disputed states — Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona — the president will win, Bannon said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is a “feckless old man, wandering around a car dealership in Wilmington, Delaware and he should be treated with the dismissive contempt of that,” Bannon said.
To reach the second term, there are multiple paths, including a fair recount, he said. Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada will go to the president; North Carolina and Georgia already did.
ABC News’ website on Thursday night showed Arizona in play again for Trump.
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina are still counting votes, Americans for Limited Government said. Trump carried Ohio, Florida and Iowa by big margins despite many polls saying he would lose handily there.
American Greatness reported that the Trump campaign on Thursday announced a “major victory” in a Pennsylvania appellate court in their suit challenging the lack of access of Republican poll watchers to the ballot processing and counting process.
Trump’s lawsuits will identify fraudulent counting of votes, Bannon told Fox Business.
Bannon also said that conservatives who have a strict interpretation of the Constitution control courts, including the Supreme Court, and state legislatures.
And, conservatives control a majority of state delegations in the House of Representatives if a vote comes there, Bannon said.
– – –
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Colorado Joins Growing List of States Who Pledge to Dedicate Their Electoral Votes to the Winner of

Colorado Joins Growing List of States Who Pledge to Dedicate Their Electoral Votes to the Winner of the Popular Vote

Colorado residents approved a measure Wednesday to join a list of states pledging to award their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who obtains the majority of the popular vote .
Proposition 113 passed with roughly 52 % approval from voters , entering Colorado into the Interstate Popular Vote Compact , according to the Denver Post .
The state joins 15 other jurisdictions across the U.S. , including California , Illinois , New York and Washington , according to the compact ’ s website .
States in the compact will not switch to awarding its electoral votes based on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from enough jurisdictions to total at least 270 electoral points , according to the website .
The Interstate Popular Vote Compact raised its total to 196 after Colorado ’ s entrance to the group , the organization wrote .
“ The national popular vote is a very straightforward concept , ” Democratic Colorado state Sen. Michael Foote told the Hill .
“ One person should always equal one vote , and the presidential candidate who gets the most votes should win the election.
” But former Colorado House Speaker Frank McNulty , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coloradoʼs votes should be decided by Coloradans .
This is going to reduce Coloradoʼs clout , and itʼs going to reduce our influence on issues like transportation , water , health care and funding for our military bases.
” Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Jake Dima
Colorado residents approved a measure Wednesday to join a list of states pledging to award their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who obtains the majority of the popular vote.
Proposition 113 passed with roughly 52% approval from voters, entering Colorado into the Interstate Popular Vote Compact, according to the Denver Post. The state joins 15 other jurisdictions across the U.S., including California, Illinois, New York and Washington, according to the compact’s website.
JUST IN: Colorado has voted to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. That means Colorado is officially part of the movement to sideline the #ElectoralCollege.#copolitics #election2020 pic.twitter.com/SF782dmVIn — cprnews (@CPRNews) November 4, 2020
States in the compact will not switch to awarding its electoral votes based on the popular vote until the group obtains support from enough jurisdictions to total at least 270 electoral points, according to the website. The Interstate Popular Vote Compact raised its total to 196 after Colorado’s entrance to the group, the organization wrote.
“The national popular vote is a very straightforward concept,” Democratic Colorado state Sen. Michael Foote told the Hill. “One person should always equal one vote, and the presidential candidate who gets the most votes should win the election.”
But former Colorado House Speaker Frank McNulty, a Republican, told the Hill: “Coloradoʼs votes should be decided by Coloradans. This is going to reduce Coloradoʼs clout, and itʼs going to reduce our influence on issues like transportation, water, health care and funding for our military bases.”
– – –
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Governor Lee Grants $5 Million to Charter Schools Based on ‘Significant Academic Growth’

Governor Bill Lee announced Wednesday a $ 5 million grant for charter schools that had exhibited academic growth .
The governor ’ s Emergency Relief Fund ( GEER ) will source the funds .
These grants will be referred to as “ Charter School Support Grants.
” Lee ’ s decision marked the first grant for charter schools during COVID-19 .
Charter schools will be awarded $ 2.5 million based on this year ’ s student enrollment .
Significant academic growth as measured by the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System ( TVAAS ) will determine where the remaining $ 2.5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lee has also awarded $ 61 million to K-12 schools .
These funds sourced $ 11 million for reopening efforts , and $ 50 million for educational technology .
In August , reports and national surveys indicated that charter schools were offering better education than public schools .
The numbers also reflected parents ’ satisfaction with instruction in charter versus public schools .
Those with children in charter schools were nearly doubly satisfied with their educational experience during the shutdowns than their public school peers .
However , the Metro Nashville School Board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schooling .
In April , they denied five charter school applications .
In their decision , the board cited concerns with their budget and the quality of the applicant schools .
The impact of pandemic shutdowns and the tornado incentivized the board ’ s majority to choose current teacher salaries over new charter schools .
Applicants for three of the charter schools appealed to the board in August unsuccessfully .
Prior to the pandemic , The Tennessee Star spoke with Metro City At Large Council Member Steve Glover about charter schools .
Glover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ budget that indicated a financial strain long before the tornado and the shutdowns .
The GEER funds were allocated from the Education Stabilization Fund created by the U.S. Congress ’ s CARES Act .
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network .
Follow her latest on Twitter , or email tips to [ email protected ] .

Governor Bill Lee announced Wednesday a $5 million grant for charter schools that had exhibited academic growth. The governor’s Emergency Relief Fund (GEER) will source the funds.
These grants will be referred to as “Charter School Support Grants.” Lee’s decision marked the first grant for charter schools during COVID-19.
Charter schools will be awarded $2.5 million based on this year’s student enrollment. Significant academic growth as measured by the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) will determine where the remaining $2.5 million should go.
Throughout the pandemic, Lee has also awarded $61 million to K-12 schools. These funds sourced $11 million for reopening efforts, and $50 million for educational technology.
In August, reports and national surveys indicated that charter schools were offering better education than public schools. The numbers also reflected parents’ satisfaction with instruction in charter versus public schools. Those with children in charter schools were nearly doubly satisfied with their educational experience during the shutdowns than their public school peers.
However, the Metro Nashville School Board hasn’t moved to expand charter schooling. In April, they denied five charter school applications. In their decision, the board cited concerns with their budget and the quality of the applicant schools. The impact of pandemic shutdowns and the tornado incentivized the board’s majority to choose current teacher salaries over new charter schools.
Applicants for three of the charter schools appealed to the board in August unsuccessfully.
Prior to the pandemic, The Tennessee Star spoke with Metro City At Large Council Member Steve Glover about charter schools. Glover expressed concerns with the city’s budget that indicated a financial strain long before the tornado and the shutdowns.
The GEER funds were allocated from the Education Stabilization Fund created by the U.S. Congress’s CARES Act.
– – –
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Florida Passes $15 Minimum Wage Amendment

Florida passed a ballot initiative Tuesday to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by the year 2026 , the Tampa Bay Times reported .
Amendment 2 on the Florida ballot called for the minimum wage to be incrementally increased over the next six years , according to the Tampa Bay Times .
Currently , the minimum wage in Florida is $ 8.56 per hour .
By Sept. 30 of next year , the minimum wage will go up to $ 10 an hour , and will increase by one dollar per year for five years until $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill reported .
The amendment to the Florida state constitution passed with 60.8 % approval , per the Tampa Bay Times .
For a constitutional amendment to pass , 60 % of voters must vote in favor of the measure .
“ Amendment 2 would lift pay for hundreds of thousands of Floridians and reverse decades of growing pay inequality , ” wrote Florida for a Fair Wage , a group that advocated for the measure to be added to the ballot , per The Hill .
“ I ’ m going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to accommodate an increase on the minimum wage , ” said Deborah Kladis , owner of South Florida ’ s Lili ’ s Cafe , according to ABC West Palm Beach Florida News .
The passing of this amendment makes Florida the eighth state to approve a $ 15 minimum wage , according to The Hill .
Among these states are New Jersey , Illinois , Maryland , and Connecticut .
Republican Gov .
Ron DeSantis of Florida pushed for Floridians to vote “ no ” on the measure .
“ Ballot Amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs and reduce wages , ” DeSantis said in a statement Monday , according to Forbes .
Autumn Klein is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .
Photo “ 15 Dollar Minimum Wage Supporter ” by The All-Nite Images .
CC BY-SA 2.0

by Autumn Klein
Florida passed a ballot initiative Tuesday to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2026, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Amendment 2 on the Florida ballot called for the minimum wage to be incrementally increased over the next six years, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Currently, the minimum wage in Florida is $8.56 per hour. By Sept. 30 of next year, the minimum wage will go up to $10 an hour, and will increase by one dollar per year for five years until $15 is reached in 2026, The Hill reported.
BREAKING: Florida just became the 8th state to pass a $15 minimum wage with a SUPERMAJORITY of Floridians voting YES to Amendment 2. Hats off to the efforts of the workers & volunteers in the #FLfor15 coalition. We're just getting started! #FightFor15 pic.twitter.com/msgX6aKo4T — Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) November 4, 2020
The amendment to the Florida state constitution passed with 60.8% approval, per the Tampa Bay Times. For a constitutional amendment to pass, 60% of voters must vote in favor of the measure.
“Amendment 2 would lift pay for hundreds of thousands of Floridians and reverse decades of growing pay inequality,” wrote Florida for a Fair Wage, a group that advocated for the measure to be added to the ballot, per The Hill.
“I’m going to have to raise my prices in order to accommodate an increase on the minimum wage,” said Deborah Kladis, owner of South Florida’s Lili’s Cafe, according to ABC West Palm Beach Florida News.
The passing of this amendment makes Florida the eighth state to approve a $15 minimum wage, according to The Hill. Among these states are New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, and Connecticut.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida pushed for Floridians to vote “no” on the measure. “Ballot Amendment 2 would close small businesses, kill jobs and reduce wages,” DeSantis said in a statement Monday, according to Forbes.
– – –
Autumn Klein is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “15 Dollar Minimum Wage Supporter” by The All-Nite Images. CC BY-SA 2.0


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Michigan USPS Whistleblower: Late Mail-in-Ballots Are Being Stamped as Received on November 3

A mail carrier who works for a post office in Traverse City , Michigan blew the whistle Wednesday on what he called a “ sketchy ” directive from his supervisor .
“ We were issued a directive this morning to collect any ballots we find in mail boxes , collection boxes—just outgoing mail in general—separate them at the end of the day so they could hand stamp them with the previous day ’ s date , ” the whistleblower told Project Veritas ’ James O ’ Keefe .
“ Today is November 4th , for clarification , ” he added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 to be accepted .
The worker said he worked at the Barlow Branch Post Office in Traverse City , and his supervisor is named Jonathan Clarke .
He added that a carrier from another office told him that they had seen the postmaster doing the same thing , The whistleblower said he was told to separate the ballots “ from standard letter mail so they can hand stamp them with yesterday ’ s date and put them through.
” The workers were then ordered to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wherever they needed to go , he said .
“ They were putting them into express bags to go to the distribution center , ” he explained .
The mail carrier told O ’ Keefe that he came forward because the order seems “ sketchy ” and “ screams corruption.
” “ Also , knowing the post office ’ s leanings politically , it didn ’ t seem quite right , ” he added .
O ’ Keefe called Clarke , the whistleblower ’ s boss at the Barlow Branch office for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on after he explained the reason for his call .
The muckraker tweeted that after posting his video on Twitter , Wednesday night , a special agent with the Office of Inspector General for the @ USPS contacted him and said “ they are assessing whether an investigation is appropriate.
” Editors ’ note : Neil McCabe , The Tennessee Star and Star News Network National Correspondent , also serves as a contract communications manager for Project Veritas .

by Debra Heine
A mail carrier who works for a post office in Traverse City, Michigan blew the whistle Wednesday on what he called a “sketchy” directive from his supervisor.
“We were issued a directive this morning to collect any ballots we find in mail boxes, collection boxes—just outgoing mail in general—separate them at the end of the day so they could hand stamp them with the previous day’s date,” the whistleblower told Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe.
“Today is November 4th, for clarification,” he added.
All states require mail-in ballots to be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 to be accepted.
The worker said he worked at the Barlow Branch Post Office in Traverse City, and his supervisor is named Jonathan Clarke.
He added that a carrier from another office told him that they had seen the postmaster doing the same thing,
The whistleblower said he was told to separate the ballots “from standard letter mail so they can hand stamp them with yesterday’s date and put them through.”
The workers were then ordered to “send them through the express system” to wherever they needed to go, he said.
“They were putting them into express bags to go to the distribution center,” he explained.
The mail carrier told O’Keefe that he came forward because the order seems “sketchy” and “screams corruption.”
“Also, knowing the post office’s leanings politically, it didn’t seem quite right,” he added.
O’Keefe called Clarke, the whistleblower’s boss at the Barlow Branch office for comment, but was immediately hung up on after he explained the reason for his call.
The muckraker tweeted that after posting his video on Twitter, Wednesday night, a special agent with the Office of Inspector General for the @USPS contacted him and said “they are assessing whether an investigation is appropriate.”
– – –
Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Michigan Fraud Allegation” by Project Veritas.
Editors’ note: Neil McCabe, The Tennessee Star and Star News Network National Correspondent, also serves as a contract communications manager for Project Veritas.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Democratic Sen Gary Peters Wins Reelection in Michigan

Peters beat GOP challenger John James , a businessman and former Air Force pilot , by just 1.1 points , leading 49.6 % to 48.5 % when the race was called .
Though the state was viewed as one of Republicans ’ only senate pickup opportunities this cycle , most forecasts predicted Peters to win .
Even with James ’ strong fundraising ability , Peters held a consistent , single-digit lead throughout the race .
Democrats were worried that Peters was in greater danger heading into the final few months of the race as James began to outraise Peters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gap between the two widened in the closing weeks .
James also challenged Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2018 , but lost by just over six points .
He was floated as President Donald Trump ’ s possible pick to succeed former Nikki Haley as the ambassador to the United Nations but Trump ultimately picked Kelly Craft .
Though Peters ’ win was critical for Democrats ’ effort to flip the Senate , they are likely to stay in the minority after Republicans defended seats in Maine , Iowa , Montana and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate seats in Arizona and Colorado , Democratic Sen. Doug Jones lost his race in Alabama as well .
Democrats ’ hopes now rest in the hands of Independent Alaska candidate Al Gross , Democratic North Carolina candidate Cal Cunningham and Georgia Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock .
They need two out of four to have a 50-50 split in Congress ’ s upper chamber , and must at least three to retake the majority , though both scenarios are unlikely , forecasters say .
Andrew Trunsky is a reporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @

by Andrew Trunsky
Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters won a second term Wednesday, multiple outlets reported.
Peters beat GOP challenger John James, a businessman and former Air Force pilot, by just 1.1 points, leading 49.6% to 48.5% when the race was called. Though the state was viewed as one of Republicans’ only senate pickup opportunities this cycle, most forecasts predicted Peters to win.
Michigan, thank you. It's an honor to serve you for another six years in the U.S. Senate. To all who believed in us, gave your time and effort in our fight: thank you for putting your trust in me. I'm so grateful and energized to keep working to move our state forward. — Gary Peters (@GaryPeters) November 5, 2020
Even with James’ strong fundraising ability, Peters held a consistent, single-digit lead throughout the race. Democrats were worried that Peters was in greater danger heading into the final few months of the race as James began to outraise Peters and polls showed him closing in, but the gap between the two widened in the closing weeks.
James also challenged Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2018, but lost by just over six points. He was floated as President Donald Trump’s possible pick to succeed former Nikki Haley as the ambassador to the United Nations but Trump ultimately picked Kelly Craft.
Though Peters’ win was critical for Democrats’ effort to flip the Senate, they are likely to stay in the minority after Republicans defended seats in Maine, Iowa, Montana and South Carolina. Though Democrats did flip Senate seats in Arizona and Colorado, Democratic Sen. Doug Jones lost his race in Alabama as well.
Democrats’ hopes now rest in the hands of Independent Alaska candidate Al Gross, Democratic North Carolina candidate Cal Cunningham and Georgia Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. They need two out of four to have a 50-50 split in Congress’s upper chamber, and must at least three to retake the majority, though both scenarios are unlikely, forecasters say.
– – –
Andrew Trunsky is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--Music Spotlight: Wino-Strut and Friends

Music Spotlight: Wino-Strut and Friends

When I saw/heard David Phillips ’ ( aka wino-strut ) video for his newest single , “ Natural Home ” I knew this was someone I wanted to interview .
The song had an interesting , old school sound that I wasn ’ t quite sure if it was Americana , Outlaw Country , or Rock ’ n ’ roll .
What I didn ’ t realize was that Phillips is a renowned expressionist American painter .
He is a unique , non-commercial aesthetic artist with unrivaled natural talent .
Conversely , music was something in his spare time he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Phillips was raised in two towns in Oklahoma , Tulsa and an Indian reservation town called Nowata .
His mother was a single mom and raised him and his two brothers alongside their grandmother .
His grandmother was an oil painter and when he and his brothers would get in trouble , she would separate them into three rooms .
The room Phillips got put in was the art studio and painting was his punishment .
She would critique his work and offer advice .
He did it so much that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kid at school who could draw and paint .
When he was around 14 , he started painting animals that he saw on the reservation .
He painted and a deer and his grandmother took it to her framer .
It was so good that the framer thought the grandmother had done it .
He framed it for free and the story got around that a 14-year-old had painted and someone purchased the painting for $ 300 .
Phillips realized then he could make money selling artwork .
After he sold a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When he painted , he always had music on .
“ Luckily , my grandmother likes good music .
I was raised on Chuck Berry , Elvis , and even the blues bands like Muddy Waters , ” Phillips said .
He played in some bands in high school , but visual art was always his main passion and he went to art school after graduation .
At age 21 , Phillips booked a visual arts show in Los Angeles .
He loaded up his old car with art supplies , a bag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his guitar .
He drove from Oklahoma to Los Angeles to attend the art show .
He knew one person in LA and asked them if they wanted to go to an art show and could he crash on their couch .
That person lived in Venice Beach and he fell in love with the area .
He was able to sell his abstract painting for a lot more money than it would have fetched in Oklahoma .
He got an odd job as a production assistant that he had for six years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ art studio in Venice Beach which at that time was not the trendy location it is now .
Phillips literally wrote songs and played guitar while his oil paintings dried .
He tried being in a band in LA but as Phillips described , “ It was next to impossible .
Everyone wants to be the lead singer and the main guitar player .
Everyone wants to be famous .
Even though I was the frontman of the band , I always did it for fun.
” It took him a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way , he finally quit trying to have a band .
He decided to go solo and only play with friends .
Hence the band name : wino-strut and Friends .
He explained , “ I finally gave up on all that and said , ‘ I don ’ t care what happens anymore , I am doing this for fun.
’ ” Phillips ’ next-door neighbor , Bob Cook , who is a film director , played every instrument so he approached him and asked , “ Let ’ s start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , let ’ s just stop it.
” They started meeting up every Tuesday night .
Then they added new members and had no road map and it started being more like a party .
Phillips wrote songs , but if someone else had something they wanted to play , they played it .
This was 15 years after living in LA and their party band started sounding pretty good and they got offers to play in clubs .
If they got a gig , they would only do it if it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about getting paid or if it was a packed room as long as it had a good vibe .
“ Us having fun on stage translated to access to everything , to our music , to our fans and even us getting a label , ” he said .
His friend started American Standard Time Records and they enlisted wino-strut and Friends as one of their first bands .
Bloodsicle is the inaugural record on the new American Standard Time Records label .
They rented an Airbnb , invited their families , partied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Most of the tracks were recorded to tape ( as opposed to digital ) live with a very exile main street Rolling Stones kind of vibe .
What resulted was the first full-length LP , Bloodsicle , which was released on October 30 of this year .
Initially , they couldn ’ t decide whether or not to release new music since they wouldn ’ t be able to tour with it .
But as Phillips said , “ Everything about this year has been so absurd anyway , and it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we did hit a lot of snafus but it became funny because there so were so many .
But I like the struggle with art .
It shouldn ’ t be glossy and easy.
” They were fortunate to have famed percussionist Ms. Bobbye Hall ( Bob Dylan / Janis Joplin / Bill Withers ) play on two of the songs on Bloodsicle including the latest release “ Natural Home.
” “ [ Hall ’ s ] a human metronome with the rhythm .
It ’ s insane , ” the singer said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director , Bob Cook was shooting a documentary on Hall .
He had forgotten about his Tuesday night gig with wino-strut .
Cook told Hall , “ I ’ ve got to go to practice.
” Hall wanted to hear the band and when she heard them , she said , “ I want to play.
” The forty-year-old has been an artist in LA for 21 years and has the luxury of making good music as a side endeavor .
Phillips ’ newest music , Bloodsicle , mainly nods to its roots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while being slightly psychedelic .
The music , along with their lifestyle , is a throwback to the 60s and 70s .
Peter Hund from Good News Music says Bloodsicle is “ situated squarely at the confluence of the Rolling Stones , Black Crowes , and Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Bands…it upends convention.
” Though they have songs available to buy/stream , they are truly a live band and their music was meant to be consumed that way .
Wino-strut and Friends plan to tour all over whenever things get back normal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going to pass .
We ’ re not putting a date on it or a year on it but we are trying to stay positive .
What a giant party it ’ s going to be when everyone gets back together.
” You can follow David Phillips ( wino-strut and Friends ) on Twitter , Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , and all popular streaming platforms .
Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer .
You can follow her blog , Instagram , Twitter , and YouTube .

When I saw/heard David Phillips’ (aka wino-strut) video for his newest single, “Natural Home” I knew this was someone I wanted to interview. The song had an interesting, old school sound that I wasn’t quite sure if it was Americana, Outlaw Country, or Rock’n’roll.
What I didn’t realize was that Phillips is a renowned expressionist American painter. He is a unique, non-commercial aesthetic artist with unrivaled natural talent. Conversely, music was something in his spare time he did when the oil paint was drying.
Phillips was raised in two towns in Oklahoma, Tulsa and an Indian reservation town called Nowata. His mother was a single mom and raised him and his two brothers alongside their grandmother. His grandmother was an oil painter and when he and his brothers would get in trouble, she would separate them into three rooms. The room Phillips got put in was the art studio and painting was his punishment. She would critique his work and offer advice.
He did it so much that he got good at drawing and became the kid at school who could draw and paint. When he was around 14, he started painting animals that he saw on the reservation. He painted and a deer and his grandmother took it to her framer. It was so good that the framer thought the grandmother had done it. He framed it for free and the story got around that a 14-year-old had painted it and someone purchased the painting for $300. Phillips realized then he could make money selling artwork.
After he sold a few paintings, he bought a guitar. When he painted, he always had music on.
“Luckily, my grandmother likes good music. I was raised on Chuck Berry, Elvis, and even the blues bands like Muddy Waters,” Phillips said.
He played in some bands in high school, but visual art was always his main passion and he went to art school after graduation. At age 21, Phillips booked a visual arts show in Los Angeles. He loaded up his old car with art supplies, a bag of clothes for the weekend, and his guitar. He drove from Oklahoma to Los Angeles to attend the art show. He knew one person in LA and asked them if they wanted to go to an art show and could he crash on their couch.
That person lived in Venice Beach and he fell in love with the area. He was able to sell his abstract painting for a lot more money than it would have fetched in Oklahoma. He got an odd job as a production assistant that he had for six years. That allowed him to get an art studio in Venice Beach which at that time was not the trendy location it is now.
Phillips literally wrote songs and played guitar while his oil paintings dried. He tried being in a band in LA but as Phillips described, “It was next to impossible. Everyone wants to be the lead singer and the main guitar player. Everyone wants to be famous. Even though I was the frontman of the band, I always did it for fun.”
It took him a lot of years, but when egos got in the way, he finally quit trying to have a band. He decided to go solo and only play with friends. Hence the band name: wino-strut and Friends. He explained, “I finally gave up on all that and said, ‘I don’t care what happens anymore, I am doing this for fun.’”
Phillips’ next-door neighbor, Bob Cook, who is a film director, played every instrument so he approached him and asked, “Let’s start a band and if anything gets weird, let’s just stop it.”
They started meeting up every Tuesday night. Then they added new members and had no road map and it started being more like a party. Phillips wrote songs, but if someone else had something they wanted to play, they played it.
This was 15 years after living in LA and their party band started sounding pretty good and they got offers to play in clubs. If they got a gig, they would only do it if it was fun. They didn’t care about getting paid or if it was a packed room as long as it had a good vibe.
“Us having fun on stage translated to access to everything, to our music, to our fans and even us getting a label,” he said.
His friend started American Standard Time Records and they enlisted wino-strut and Friends as one of their first bands. Bloodsicle is the inaugural record on the new American Standard Time Records label.
They rented an Airbnb, invited their families, partied at night and recorded in the day. Most of the tracks were recorded to tape (as opposed to digital) live with a very exile main street Rolling Stones kind of vibe. What resulted was the first full-length LP, Bloodsicle, which was released on October 30 of this year.
Initially, they couldn’t decide whether or not to release new music since they wouldn’t be able to tour with it. But as Phillips said, “Everything about this year has been so absurd anyway, and it was fun making the record. However, we did hit a lot of snafus but it became funny because there so were so many. But I like the struggle with art. It shouldn’t be glossy and easy.”
They were fortunate to have famed percussionist Ms. Bobbye Hall (Bob Dylan / Janis Joplin / Bill Withers) play on two of the songs on Bloodsicle including the latest release “Natural Home.”
“[Hall’s] a human metronome with the rhythm. It’s insane,” the singer said.
It turns out that bandmate and director, Bob Cook was shooting a documentary on Hall. He had forgotten about his Tuesday night gig with wino-strut. Cook told Hall, “I’ve got to go to practice.” Hall wanted to hear the band and when she heard them, she said, “I want to play.”
The forty-year-old has been an artist in LA for 21 years and has the luxury of making good music as a side endeavor. Phillips’ newest music, Bloodsicle, mainly nods to its roots rock, along with some cosmic country while being slightly psychedelic. The music, along with their lifestyle, is a throwback to the 60s and 70s.
Peter Hund from Good New Music says Bloodsicle is “situated squarely at the confluence of the Rolling Stones, Black Crowes, and Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Bands…it upends convention.”
Though they have songs available to buy/stream, they are truly a live band and their music was meant to be consumed that way.
Wino-strut and Friends plan to tour all over whenever things get back normal. Phillips exclaimed, “All this is going to pass. We’re not putting a date on it or a year on it but we are trying to stay positive. What a giant party it’s going to be when everyone gets back together.”
You can follow David Phillips (wino-strut and Friends) on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and all popular streaming platforms.
– – –
Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.


thetennesseestar--2020-11-06--A Breakdown of Michigan’s Witching Hour Ballot Dump from Tuesday

The masses turned in for the night during the early hours on Wednesday with President Donald Trump ahead of Democratic candidate Joe Biden by around 5 points .
By sunrise , Biden had gained nearly 139,000 votes due to an alleged data error .
As Wednesday morning ’ s counts added to the early morning influx of votes , the race had slimmed down to less than one percentage point – a slightly larger margin than Trump ’ s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 .
Registered voters totaled nearly 8.13 million in the mitten : over 5.5 million casted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had cropped up 2.8 million over Trump ’ s 2.6 million .
The majority of the witching hour ballot dump consisted of mail-in voters .
Fact-checkers explained that the significant jump occurred because Michigan counts mail-in ballots last .
A majority of these voters identified as Biden supporters in pre-election research .
While Trump enjoyed a consistent lead after polls closed on Tuesday , he lost the lead to Biden at 9 a.m. EST the next morning .
Commentators likened the closeness of Minnesota ’ s outcomes to their polling predictions in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In an interview with The Tennessee Star , Virginia Beach attorney and political pundit Tim Anderson explained that the voter dump is likely not indicative of fraud – it indicated that expanded mail-in ballots and early-voting windows caused more Democrats to show up with their vote .
“ There ’ s a lot more Democrats out there than we hoped there were , ” he said .
“ When you look at the statewide absentee ballots , you have more for Biden than Trump .
Then you get down to the congressional districts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back – and the absentee numbers are 65-70 percent Democrat.
” Even in the deep red state of Tennessee , absentee ballots favored Biden .
Anderson added that those voter tendencies were the reason behind early calls in the media , as seen most controversially with Fox News .
“ As soon as they knew how many absentee ballots were outstanding , and they knew a majority of those were going to go for Biden , that ’ s easy to call , ” he said .
Anderson also explained to The Star @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president is filing aren ’ t challenging the legality of the votes themselves , but how the votes are being processed .
The attorney ’ s lasting remarks asserted that the incoming results indicate a need for the Republican Party to rebrand instead of accusing the Democratic Party of stealing and cheating the election .
“ That ’ s the cold , hard truth of reality – the Republican Party needs to rebrand .
It needs to be rewritten by every conservative out there , ” Anderson said .
Corinne Murdock is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Star News Network .
Follow her latest on Twitter , or email tips to [ email protected ] .

The masses turned in for the night during the early hours on Wednesday with President Donald Trump ahead of Democratic candidate Joe Biden by around 5 points. By sunrise, Biden had gained nearly 139,000 votes due to an alleged data error.
As Wednesday morning’s counts added to the early morning influx of votes, the race had slimmed down to less than one percentage point – a slightly larger margin than Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Registered voters totaled nearly 8.13 million in the mitten: over 5.5 million casted their vote. By Thursday, Biden had cropped up 2.8 million over Trump’s 2.6 million.
The majority of the witching hour ballot dump consisted of mail-in voters. Fact-checkers explained that the significant jump occurred because Michigan counts mail-in ballots last. A majority of these voters identified as Biden supporters in pre-election research.
While Trump enjoyed a consistent lead after polls closed on Tuesday, he lost the lead to Biden at 9 a.m. EST the next morning.
Commentators likened the closeness of Minnesota’s outcomes to their polling predictions in the neighboring states of Wisconsin and Michigan.
In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Virginia Beach attorney and political pundit Tim Anderson explained that the voter dump is likely not indicative of fraud – it indicated that expanded mail-in ballots and early-voting windows caused more Democrats to show up with their vote.
“There’s a lot more Democrats out there than we hoped there were,” he said. “When you look at the statewide absentee ballots, you have more for Biden than Trump. Then you get down to the congressional districts, and you start peeling these numbers back – and the absentee numbers are 65-70 percent Democrat.”
Even in the deep red state of Tennessee, absentee ballots favored Biden.
Anderson added that those voter tendencies were the reason behind early calls in the media, as seen most controversially with Fox News.
“As soon as they knew how many absentee ballots were outstanding, and they knew a majority of those were going to go for Biden, that’s easy to call,” he said.
Anderson also explained to The Star that the types of lawsuits that the president is filing aren’t challenging the legality of the votes themselves, but how the votes are being processed.
The attorney’s lasting remarks asserted that the incoming results indicate a need for the Republican Party to rebrand instead of accusing the Democratic Party of stealing and cheating the election.
“That’s the cold, hard truth of reality – the Republican Party needs to rebrand. It needs to be rewritten by every conservative out there,” Anderson said.
– – –
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].