thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Commentary: America Needs a Stable Bipartisan Consensus on National Security

Those of us who remember the years before Vietnam remember when , in foreign policy matters , “ partisanship ended at the water ’ s edge.
” There wasn ’ t much foreign policy in the United States until a rending national debate over participating in the League of Nations in 1919 and 1920 .
President Woodrow Wilson invented the League and asserted that , in entering World War I , the United States was waging “ a war to end war and to make the world safe for democracy.
” This was effectively repudiated by the voters in 1920 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as vice president ) .
As the war clouds gathered over Europe and the Far East in the late 1930s then-President Roosevelt , who spoke French and German fluently and was extremely well-informed about the principal Western European countries , saw that coexistence with Hitler was going to be impossible .
As Roosevelt gradually refocused his workfare programs to complete the restoration of American employment from what would today be called infrastructure to national defense including the construction of the soon-to-be world-famous aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown , he defined his policy as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deter aggression against it .
He broke a tradition as old as the Republic in seeking a third term in 1940 and said he was only doing so to keep America out of war .
He aimed to do so by building our deterrent strength and by assisting the democracies in defending themselves and preventing the war from spreading across the oceans to the Americas .
Although the Republican presidential candidate that year , Wendell L. Willkie , supported aid to the democracies , he accused Roosevelt of leading the nation into war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young men : “ They are already almost at the boats.
” Roosevelt concluded one of his last speeches of that memorable campaign : “ Your president says this nation is not going to war.
” The opposition to Roosevelt ’ s policy was led by the isolationist organization America First ( which has given President Trump ’ s slogan a bad precedent ) , led by aviation hero Colonel Charles Lindbergh , who was over-impressed by the German Air Force and was a militant isolationist .
Roosevelt feared that the democracies in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own to defeat an aggressive Germany ; that there was no local power in the Far East to counterbalance Japan , and that if the United States were not to some extent active in both Western Europe and the Far East there would be the risk every generation of the entire Eurasian landmass and its adjuncts being in the hands of anti-democratic powers .
“ We in the Americas would be living at the point of a gun , ” Roosevelt said in a famous address to the nation on December 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he called “ the pious frauds ” of those who served the dictators in the American political debate .
He urged that the United States become “ the great arsenal of democracy.
” From these convictions , almost all subsequent American foreign policy was born and was elaborated by his entourage to deal with the Cold War .
FDR ’ s definition of neutrality was idiosyncratic : he loaned the British 50 anti-submarine destroyers in the middle of the election campaign , instituted the first peacetime conscription in the country ’ s history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles to 1,800 miles out into the Atlantic , ordered the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to attack any German ship on detection , and passed the Lend Lease Act offering Britain and Canada anything they asked with payment to be made when possible , and ostensibly in exchange for granting the United States bases in a number of British Empire locations .
Winston Churchill called this “ the most unsordid act in the history of any nation ” and Roosevelt told him when they met for the first time in over 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We will make war without declaring it.
” As all the world knows , Roosevelt ’ s decision to embargo the sale of oil to Japan which relied on the United States for 85 percent of its oil and aviation fuel , forced Japan to choose between ending its invasion of China and Indochina or seizing the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies ( Indonesia ) , and going to war with the United States .
In choosing the second option , Japan committed the most disastrous strategic error of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Germany then declaring war on the United States also , though it had no obligation to do so under its treaty with Japan .
The combined power of the United States , the British Commonwealth , and the USSR ( which Hitler had attacked in June 1941 to try to get rid of it before the United States entered the war against him ) was far too great for Germany and Japan and both countries surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in 1945 .
At this point , the United States had hoped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and had set up the United Nations Organization , which Roosevelt intended as a method of collegializing the immense influence of his country in the world and also as a way to demonstrate to his isolationist countrymen that the world was a less dangerous place than it had been .
Roosevelt retained his conviction that American presence in the world was necessary to preserve peace .
Roosevelt ’ s intention had been to wait until he was certain that the atomic bomb worked and then to entice Russia to fulfill its Tehran and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and allow those countries to choose their governments in free elections as the Western powers had done in Western Europe , and to dangle an immense economic aid package as a carrot in front of Stalin to fortify the nuclear stick .
But Roosevelt died in April 1945 , Stalin chose to ignore his commitments to withdraw from Eastern Europe ( the second greatest strategic blunder of the last 100 years ) , and Roosevelt ’ s team—Harry S. Truman , George Marshall , Dean Acheson , Dwight D. Eisenhower , George Kennan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ containment policy of resistance to Soviet aggression and retention of deterrent force while gradually making Soviet competition with the West unaffordable to a Communist system .
This policy was a gradual but complete success .
The Soviet Union peacefully disintegrated in 1991 .
With no enemy posing a mortal threat to the United States , the former times of bipartisan foreign policy consensus have been lost , and the Roosevelt-Truman policy of the preceding 50 years has drifted .
It started to crumble with disagreements over Vietnam in the 1960s , but was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ artful triangulation of Great Power relations with China .
We now have the spectacle of American policy towards Iran , Israel , China , Russia , and to some extent its traditional allies , all fluctuating unpredictably every four to eight years , though aspects of the Roosevelt-Truman policy remain .
This is disconcerting to the world , and gives the United States the appearance of unreliability .
Whenever the extreme level of antagonism that is now dividing the main political parties in the United States subsides , all thoughtful Americans will wish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign policy issues .
Abraham Lincoln famously said when he was a young man that no foreign invader “ will drink from the Ohio or make a track in the Blue Ridge ; America will flourish as a democracy or perish by suicide.
” Despite these fraught times of societal atomization and widespread collective self-hate , the suicide of America still seems remote .
But it is never too soon to try to reduce the potential now available to unfriendly countries to exploit internecine American strategic differences .
The American national strategic interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy are excessive , and are destabilizing to the world .
Conrad Black has been one of Canada ’ s most prominent financiers for 40 years , and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world as owner of the British telegraph newspapers , the Fairfax newspapers in Australia , the Jerusalem Post , Chicago Sun-Times and scores of smaller newspapers in the U.S. , and most of the daily newspapers in Canada .
He is the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon , one-volume histories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and most recently of Donald J. Trump : A President Like No Other .
He is a member of the British House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour .

by Conrad Black
Those of us who remember the years before Vietnam remember when, in foreign policy matters, “partisanship ended at the water’s edge.” There wasn’t much foreign policy in the United States until a rending national debate over participating in the League of Nations in 1919 and 1920. President Woodrow Wilson invented the League and asserted that, in entering World War I, the United States was waging “a war to end war and to make the world safe for democracy.”
This was effectively repudiated by the voters in 1920 (when Franklin D. Roosevelt was defeated as vice president). As the war clouds gathered over Europe and the Far East in the late 1930s then-President Roosevelt, who spoke French and German fluently and was extremely well-informed about the principal Western European countries, saw that coexistence with Hitler was going to be impossible.
As Roosevelt gradually refocused his workfare programs to complete the restoration of American employment from what would today be called infrastructure to national defense including the construction of the soon-to-be world-famous aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown, he defined his policy as peace through strength and arming America to deter aggression against it.
He broke a tradition as old as the Republic in seeking a third term in 1940 and said he was only doing so to keep America out of war. He aimed to do so by building our deterrent strength and by assisting the democracies in defending themselves and preventing the war from spreading across the oceans to the Americas. Although the Republican presidential candidate that year, Wendell L. Willkie, supported aid to the democracies, he accused Roosevelt of leading the nation into war, and said of America’s young men: “They are already almost at the boats.”
Roosevelt concluded one of his last speeches of that memorable campaign: “Your president says this nation is not going to war.” The opposition to Roosevelt’s policy was led by the isolationist organization America First (which has given President Trump’s slogan a bad precedent), led by aviation hero Colonel Charles Lindbergh, who was over-impressed by the German Air Force and was a militant isolationist.
Roosevelt feared that the democracies in Western Europe were not strong enough on their own to defeat an aggressive Germany; that there was no local power in the Far East to counterbalance Japan, and that if the United States were not to some extent active in both Western Europe and the Far East there would be the risk every generation of the entire Eurasian landmass and its adjuncts being in the hands of anti-democratic powers.
“We in the Americas would be living at the point of a gun,” Roosevelt said in a famous address to the nation on December 29, 1940, as he rebutted what he called “the pious frauds” of those who served the dictators in the American political debate.
He urged that the United States become “the great arsenal of democracy.” From these convictions, almost all subsequent American foreign policy was born and was elaborated by his entourage to deal with the Cold War.
FDR’s definition of neutrality was idiosyncratic: he loaned the British 50 anti-submarine destroyers in the middle of the election campaign, instituted the first peacetime conscription in the country’s history, extended U.S. territorial waters from three miles to 1,800 miles out into the Atlantic, ordered the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to attack any German ship on detection, and passed the Lend Lease Act offering Britain and Canada anything they asked with payment to be made when possible, and ostensibly in exchange for granting the United States bases in a number of British Empire locations. Winston Churchill called this “the most unsordid act in the history of any nation” and Roosevelt told him when they met for the first time in over 20 years at Newfoundland in August 1941, “We will make war without declaring it.”
As all the world knows, Roosevelt’s decision to embargo the sale of oil to Japan which relied on the United States for 85 percent of its oil and aviation fuel, forced Japan to choose between ending its invasion of China and Indochina or seizing the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), and going to war with the United States. In choosing the second option, Japan committed the most disastrous strategic error of the last century, and it was compounded by Germany then declaring war on the United States also, though it had no obligation to do so under its treaty with Japan.
The combined power of the United States, the British Commonwealth, and the USSR (which Hitler had attacked in June 1941 to try to get rid of it before the United States entered the war against him) was far too great for Germany and Japan and both countries surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in 1945.
At this point, the United States had hoped to bring all its forces home, and had set up the United Nations Organization, which Roosevelt intended as a method of collegializing the immense influence of his country in the world and also as a way to demonstrate to his isolationist countrymen that the world was a less dangerous place than it had been. Roosevelt retained his conviction that American presence in the world was necessary to preserve peace.
Roosevelt’s intention had been to wait until he was certain that the atomic bomb worked and then to entice Russia to fulfill its Tehran and Yalta conference commitments to vacate Eastern Europe and allow those countries to choose their governments in free elections as the Western powers had done in Western Europe, and to dangle an immense economic aid package as a carrot in front of Stalin to fortify the nuclear stick. But Roosevelt died in April 1945, Stalin chose to ignore his commitments to withdraw from Eastern Europe (the second greatest strategic blunder of the last 100 years), and Roosevelt’s team—Harry S. Truman, George Marshall, Dean Acheson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Kennan, Charles Bohlen, and others—fashioned the containment policy of resistance to Soviet aggression and retention of deterrent force while gradually making Soviet competition with the West unaffordable to a Communist system. This policy was a gradual but complete success. The Soviet Union peacefully disintegrated in 1991.
With no enemy posing a mortal threat to the United States, the former times of bipartisan foreign policy consensus have been lost, and the Roosevelt-Truman policy of the preceding 50 years has drifted. It started to crumble with disagreements over Vietnam in the 1960s, but was tightened again by President Nixon’s artful triangulation of Great Power relations with China. We now have the spectacle of American policy towards Iran, Israel, China, Russia, and to some extent its traditional allies, all fluctuating unpredictably every four to eight years, though aspects of the Roosevelt-Truman policy remain. This is disconcerting to the world, and gives the United States the appearance of unreliability.
Whenever the extreme level of antagonism that is now dividing the main political parties in the United States subsides, all thoughtful Americans will wish to resume a bipartisan consensus on principal foreign policy issues. Abraham Lincoln famously said when he was a young man that no foreign invader “will drink from the Ohio or make a track in the Blue Ridge; America will flourish as a democracy or perish by suicide.”
Despite these fraught times of societal atomization and widespread collective self-hate, the suicide of America still seems remote. But it is never too soon to try to reduce the potential now available to unfriendly countries to exploit internecine American strategic differences. The American national strategic interest evolves slowly and these oscillations in American policy are excessive, and are destabilizing to the world.
– – –
Conrad Black has been one of Canada’s most prominent financiers for 40 years, and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world as owner of the British telegraph newspapers, the Fairfax newspapers in Australia, the Jerusalem Post, Chicago Sun-Times and scores of smaller newspapers in the U.S., and most of the daily newspapers in Canada. He is the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, one-volume histories of the United States and Canada, and most recently of Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other. He is a member of the British House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--U.S. Supreme Court Sides with California Churches in Challenge to Gov. Newsom’s Ban on Indoor Servic

U.S. Supreme Court Sides with California Churches in Challenge to Gov. Newsom’s Ban on Indoor Services

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with two California church groups that are challenging Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s ban on indoor religious services during the latest COVID-19 surge .
“ Today ’ s ruling by the Supreme Court provides great relief for churches and places of worship , ” Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said of the ruling .
Liberty Counsel is representing Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry in their lawsuit against the state .
“ The handwriting is now on the wall , ” Staver added .
“ The final days of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executive edicts ’ banning worship are numbered and coming to an end .
It is past time to end these unconstitutional restrictions on places of worship.
” Justice Elena Kagan had given Newsom ’ s legal team until Saturday , and then until Monday , to respond to the churches ’ emergency petition .
On Tuesday , the plaintiffs filed their final reply .
And Thursday , the court granted the plaintiffs ’ request for an injunction pending appeal .
“ The application for injunctive relief , presented to Justice Kagan and by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment , and the petition is granted , ” the court said in its ruling .
“ The September 2 order of the United States District Court for the Central District of California is vacated , and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with instructions to remand to the District Court for further consideration … ” The district court originally denied the churches request for an injunction on Newsom ’ s shutdown order , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling .
But citing a similar ruling in a New York case from last week , the Supreme Court tossed the appeals court decision and ordered it to remand the case back to the district court for further consideration .
The restrictions against houses of worship in California are more severe than those in New York , Liberty Counsel argued .
Newsom ’ s orders banned all in-person worship for 99.1 percent of Californians , the nonprofit religious freedom organization said .
Harvest Rock Church has multiple campuses in California , including in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corona and its Harvest International Ministries has 162 member churches throughout the state .
The Code Enforcement Division for the City of Pasadena and the Criminal Prosecutor have threatened criminal charges , fines and closure of Harvest ’ s ministries for allowing people to worship against the governor ’ s and local health agencies ’ orders .
They have been threatened with up to one year in prison , daily criminal charges and $ 1,000 fines against the pastors , staff and parishioners .
These threats and charges are now on hold .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center Square .

by Bethany Blankley
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with two California church groups that are challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban on indoor religious services during the latest COVID-19 surge.
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court provides great relief for churches and places of worship,” Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said of the ruling.
Liberty Counsel is representing Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry in their lawsuit against the state.
“The handwriting is now on the wall,” Staver added. “The final days of Governor Gavin Newsom’s ‘color-coded executive edicts’ banning worship are numbered and coming to an end. It is past time to end these unconstitutional restrictions on places of worship.”
Justice Elena Kagan had given Newsom’s legal team until Saturday, and then until Monday, to respond to the churches’ emergency petition. On Tuesday, the plaintiffs filed their final reply. And Thursday, the court granted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction pending appeal.
“The application for injunctive relief, presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court, is treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, and the petition is granted,” the court said in its ruling. “The September 2 order of the United States District Court for the Central District of California is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with instructions to remand to the District Court for further consideration …”
The district court originally denied the churches request for an injunction on Newsom’s shutdown order, and the appeals court upheld that initial ruling.
But citing a similar ruling in a New York case from last week, the Supreme Court tossed the appeals court decision and ordered it to remand the case back to the district court for further consideration.
The restrictions against houses of worship in California are more severe than those in New York, Liberty Counsel argued. Newsom’s orders banned all in-person worship for 99.1 percent of Californians, the nonprofit religious freedom organization said.
Harvest Rock Church has multiple campuses in California, including in Pasadena, Los Angeles, Irvine and Corona and its Harvest International Ministries has 162 member churches throughout the state.
The Code Enforcement Division for the City of Pasadena and the Criminal Prosecutor have threatened criminal charges, fines and closure of Harvest’s ministries for allowing people to worship against the governor’s and local health agencies’ orders. They have been threatened with up to one year in prison, daily criminal charges and $1,000 fines against the pastors, staff and parishioners.
These threats and charges are now on hold.
– – –
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Governor Kemp Breaks Silence Again, Says He’s Always Asked for a Complete Audit

Governor Brian Kemp called for a complete audit of absentee ballot signatures late Thursday evening .
The governor appeared on Fox News to express concern with the findings presented during Thursday ’ s Georgia Senate hearing .
“ I called early on for a signature audit .
Obviously , the Secretary of State per the laws and the Constitution would have to order that – he has not done that .
I think it should be done , ” he said .
“ I think , especially from what we saw today , it [ the evidence presented ] raises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transparency on that .
I would , again , call for that.
” One of the widely-circulated pieces of evidence presented during the hearing was security footage from one of the vote counting centers .
The footage appeared to depict several poll workers waiting until poll workers , monitors , and the media departed before pulling out baskets of ballots from underneath tables and resuming counting .
The governor acknowledged that he is upset with the post-election proceedings as much as the president .
He added that he supports future changes to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a photo ID requirement .
The Senate Committee on Government Oversight and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee convened to discuss constituents ’ concerns over Georgia ’ s election procedures and present testimonies linked to affidavits .
The Georgia Star News reached out to Governor Kemp ’ s office for further clarification on his decision to request a signature audit , as well as how it may affect the election results certification .
Spokespersons from the governor ’ s office referred The Star News to a statement issued by Communications Director Cody Hall .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his support for a sample signature audit on Nov 20 in a statewide , televised speech , ” Hall tweeted .
“ He reiterated his support on Nov 24 .
The answer to @ IngrahamAngle marked his third time making that request .
# gapol [ . ]
” In weeks prior , the governor opted to remain silent on concerns raised over certain issues with the election ’ s integrity .
Kemp didn ’ t address scrutiny over Dominion Voting Systems or the overall validity of absentee ballots cast in the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kemp to call a special session , the governor has stated that he has no intentions of holding one .
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network .
Follow her latest on Twitter , or email tips to [ email protected ] .
Photo “ Brian Kemp ” by Brian Kemp .
Background Photo “ Georgia Capital ” by andre m. CC BY-SA 3.0 .

Governor Brian Kemp called for a complete audit of absentee ballot signatures late Thursday evening. The governor appeared on Fox News to express concern with the findings presented during Thursday’s Georgia Senate hearing.
“I called early on for a signature audit. Obviously, the Secretary of State per the laws and the Constitution would have to order that – he has not done that. I think it should be done,” he said. “I think, especially from what we saw today, it [the evidence presented] raises more questions. There needs to be transparency on that. I would, again, call for that.”
One of the widely-circulated pieces of evidence presented during the hearing was security footage from one of the vote counting centers. The footage appeared to depict several poll workers waiting until poll workers, monitors, and the media departed before pulling out baskets of ballots from underneath tables and resuming counting.
The governor acknowledged that he is upset with the post-election proceedings as much as the president. He added that he supports future changes to the absentee ballot system, including the addition of a photo ID requirement.
The Senate Committee on Government Oversight and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee convened to discuss constituents’ concerns over Georgia’s election procedures and present testimonies linked to affidavits.
The Georgia Star News reached out to Governor Kemp’s office for further clarification on his decision to request a signature audit, as well as how it may affect the election results certification.
Spokespersons from the governor’s office referred The Star News to a statement issued by Communications Director Cody Hall.
“[email protected] first announced his support for a sample signature audit on Nov 20 in a statewide, televised speech,” Hall tweeted. “He reiterated his support on Nov 24. The answer to @IngrahamAngle marked his third time making that request. #gapol[.]”
.@GovKemp first announced his support for a sample signature audit on Nov 20 in a statewide, televised speech. https://t.co/aCxkISmbHd He reiterated his support on Nov 24. https://t.co/vAzklCrRfU The answer to @IngrahamAngle marked his third time making that request. #gapol https://t.co/DGWsq2kZ8q — Cody Hall (@CodyHallGA) December 4, 2020
In weeks prior, the governor opted to remain silent on concerns raised over certain issues with the election’s integrity. Kemp didn’t address scrutiny over Dominion Voting Systems or the overall validity of absentee ballots cast in the election.
Although legislators and voters are pushing Kemp to call a special session, the governor has stated that he has no intentions of holding one.
– – –
Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Brian Kemp. Background Photo “Georgia Capital” by andre m. CC BY-SA 3.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--GOP Poll Challengers in Michigan Describe Massive Fraud, Racial Hostility at TCF Center in Detroit

In credible and compelling testimony Wednesday night , a pair of GOP poll watchers in Michigan described what appeared to be coordinated election fraud in the TCF Center on Election night .
Hima Kolanagireddy , an IT expert from India and Andrew Sitto , a 26-year-old college business student , both described suspicious activity such as poll workers feeding ballots into the tabulating machines after they had already been counted and poll workers filling out duplicate ballots to indicate a straight Democrat ticket when the ballots did not reflect that .
According to Kolanagireddy , the poll workers and Democrat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidate the GOP poll challengers with the goal of blocking them or having them thrown out of the room .
She noted that because of her brown skin , she was treated differently than the Republican white males .
President Trump ’ s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani , and Trump Campaign attorney Jenna Ellis joined a Michigan House panel Wednesday to discuss the rampant election irregularities in Detroit surrounding the 2020 election .
The hours long hearing lasted well into the night .
Kolanagireddy corroborated IT contractor Mellissa Carone ’ s blockbuster testimony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were putting batches of ballots through the tabulating machines numerous times , resulting in a massive overcount of the votes .
She said that she was standing behind the tabulator machines , and could tell that the election workers didn ’ t seem to know what to do when a ballot got jammed , which happened 3 to 4 times an hour .
Kolanagireddy explained that many of the workers would recount the whole batch without first discarding the initial count .
“ I could clearly tell that some of those people didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start again , ” she said .
“ Whether it was intentional or not , I can not witness to that , ” she added .
Kolanagireddy went on to say that she witnessed a big stack of ballots that came in with a note that said “ Not in EPBS , ” which she said meant “ not in election poll book or system.
” “ I didn ’ t even know that that can even happen , ” she told the lawmakers , adding incredulously , “ these people were manually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Kolanagireddy later explained that she eventually realized that these ballots were numbered in perfect sequence , which didn ’ t make sense because they were absentee ballots that should have come in at different times .
“ That ’ s when my antennae went up , ” she said .
Kolanagireddy alleged that there were not even valid dates on the envelopes .
“ They said zero dash 2020 , ” she explained .
Moreover , they all came from the same area in downtown Detroit , and the signatures were all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said when she asked election workers about the curious date , they became vey angry with her and said she was not letting them do their job .
Kolanagireddy , who started her own successful IT company , said at that point , she decided to hold back because the workers were getting GOP challengers kicked out for challenging them .
She told the lawmakers that she is a very private person who doesn ’ t even have a Facebook or Twitter account , but came forward because she knew she had witnessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this fraud that was happening—it was heartbreaking , ” she said .
Kolanagireddy made a point of stressing that the “ Democratic poll challengers ” were only there to harass GOP poll observers , and facilitate the fraud .
“ I don ’ t even call them challengers , ” she said .
“ They were agitators .
They were only there with one purpose , ” she claimed , and that was “ to intimidate the GOP people and get them out.
” She said that as a minority woman , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the corrupt poll workers .
At one point , she overheard a female poll worker singing “ get the MFs out.
” The election worker “ was targeting white , male Republicans , ” Kolanagireddy told the lawmakers , explaining that they would accuse the Republicans of not wearing their masks properly , or not standing six feet away , as a pretense to have them thrown out of the room .
“ They were really intimidating all these white people , ” she said , adding that she would sometimes step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said as soon as the poll workers realized that , she too , was a Republican , they treated her with hostility .
“ I was literally shocked that someone could judge me because of my political affiliation , ” Kolanagireddy said .
She said she began to notice that so many Republicans were being escorted out of the room that “ we became pretty scarce.
” At that point , she said she decided to get a non-partisan name tag so she could continue to help make sure the right things were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nonpartisan name tag , the workers were very respectful toward her , and didn ’ t apply the same rules they applied to Republicans .
The Democratic poll workers ’ only job there was to block the GOP challengers from doing their job .
Sitto said that throughout the night that he was observing , he witnessed many employees stealing duplicate ballots .
In Michigan , voters in the military , overseas or with certain disabilities are emailed ballots that clerks have to replicate into the correct ballot format in order to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They would come up to the table of duplicate ballots , grab 3 or 4 duplicate ballots , run back to their table , give one to another person at another table , and never complete a duplicate process , ” Sitto alleged .
“ They would stash the ballots under boxes , ” and not complete the process .
“ At around 4:30 at night , we had an announcement that a new shipment of ballots were arriving , ” he testified , adding that the boxes of ballots were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former elections director for Detroit , whom Carone has alleged “ was in on the whole thing.
” He said that after the shift change at 600 a.m. , Baxter said over the intercom , “ this is what democracy looks like !
” and the whole room cheered .
Sitto told the legislators that of all the duplicate ballots that he saw completed that night , only one of them was for President Trump .
Other GOP challengers noticed the same thing , he said .
Sitto went on to state that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all night long , and those challenges were refused .
“ They never issued challenge ballots , there was no track , no remedy , no records , No recording of challenged ballots for the entire night , ” he complained .
Sitto stated that he witnessed poll workers changing duplicate ballots to show a straight Democrat ticket .
“ For example , if it was a mixed ticket , bubbles filled in everywhere , I personally eye-witnessed employees taking their pen and filling in the Democrat straight ticket when it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he also witnessed poll workers processing “ duplicates of duplicate ballots , ” for “ unknow reasons ” which he found “ very strange.
” All of his complaints to election officials were ignored , he said .
Like Kolanagireddy and Carone , Sitto said he too witnessed poll workers rescanning entire batches when one jammed .
He said that after he left the room that afternoon , poll workers blocked the entire room with coverings and GOP poll challengers prohibited from coming back in purportedly because the room had exceeded Covid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entire night , this room was slammed , ” Sitto noted .
“ It looked like the New York stock exchange on its busiest day .
And then at 2:00 p.m. after most of the employees have already finished their work , they ’ re leaving , or have left the room , now they ’ re placing the Covid capacity rules.
” During the question and answer period , State Rep. Cynthia Johnson ( D-Detroit ) complained to Committee Chair Matt Hall ( R-Marshall ) that the witnesses were being allowed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to come in here and LIE !
I know they ’ re lying !
, ” the liberal Democrat shouted .
Hall stated that lawmakers in Michigan traditionally don ’ t administer oaths , and told Johnson that she was “ out of order.
” “ I ’ ve indulged you , and we ’ re going to move on , ” the committee chair said .
Rudy Giuliani noted on behalf of his witnesses that “ every single witness we ’ ve presented here has sworn an affidavit as to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the final word : “ Can I say something please ?
If that is what you want me to do , I will do it .
And I will still repeat the exact same thing .
And I also want to say one thing , if it is a lie it may change because a liar has to have a lot of memory power .
But if it is the truth , you can ask me in the middle of the night and it will still be the same .
”

by Debra Heine
In credible and compelling testimony Wednesday night, a pair of GOP poll watchers in Michigan described what appeared to be coordinated election fraud in the TCF Center on Election night.
Hima Kolanagireddy, an IT expert from India and Andrew Sitto, a 26-year-old college business student, both described suspicious activity such as poll workers feeding ballots into the tabulating machines after they had already been counted and poll workers filling out duplicate ballots to indicate a straight Democrat ticket when the ballots did not reflect that.
According to Kolanagireddy, the poll workers and Democrat poll challengers worked together to bully and intimidate the GOP poll challengers with the goal of blocking them or having them thrown out of the room. She noted that because of her brown skin, she was treated differently than the Republican white males.
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and Trump Campaign attorney Jenna Ellis joined a Michigan House panel Wednesday to discuss the rampant election irregularities in Detroit surrounding the 2020 election. The hours long hearing lasted well into the night.
Kolanagireddy corroborated IT contractor Mellissa Carone’s blockbuster testimony that poorly trained and/or corrupt election workers were putting batches of ballots through the tabulating machines numerous times, resulting in a massive overcount of the votes.
She said that she was standing behind the tabulator machines, and could tell that the election workers didn’t seem to know what to do when a ballot got jammed, which happened 3 to 4 times an hour. Kolanagireddy explained that many of the workers would recount the whole batch without first discarding the initial count.
“I could clearly tell that some of those people didn’t know how to discard and start again,” she said. “Whether it was intentional or not, I can not witness to that,” she added.
Kolanagireddy went on to say that she witnessed a big stack of ballots that came in with a note that said “Not in EPBS,” which she said meant “not in election poll book or system.”
“I didn’t even know that that can even happen,” she told the lawmakers, adding incredulously, “these people were manually entering it with a birthdate of 1900.”
Kolanagireddy later explained that she eventually realized that these ballots were numbered in perfect sequence, which didn’t make sense because they were absentee ballots that should have come in at different times.
“That’s when my antennae went up,” she said. Kolanagireddy alleged that there were not even valid dates on the envelopes.
“They said zero dash 2020,” she explained. Moreover, they all came from the same area in downtown Detroit, and the signatures were all the same, Kolanagireddy noted.
She said when she asked election workers about the curious date, they became vey angry with her and said she was not letting them do their job.
Kolanagireddy, who started her own successful IT company, said at that point, she decided to hold back because the workers were getting GOP challengers kicked out for challenging them.
She told the lawmakers that she is a very private person who doesn’t even have a Facebook or Twitter account, but came forward because she knew she had witnessed serious election irregularities.
“All of this fraud that was happening—it was heartbreaking,” she said.
Kolanagireddy made a point of stressing that the “Democratic poll challengers” were only there to harass GOP poll observers, and facilitate the fraud.
“I don’t even call them challengers,” she said. “They were agitators. They were only there with one purpose,” she claimed, and that was “to intimidate the GOP people and get them out.”
She said that as a minority woman, she was automatically assumed to be a Democrat by the corrupt poll workers. At one point, she overheard a female poll worker singing “get the MFs out.”
The election worker “was targeting white, male Republicans,” Kolanagireddy told the lawmakers, explaining that they would accuse the Republicans of not wearing their masks properly, or not standing six feet away, as a pretense to have them thrown out of the room.
“They were really intimidating all these white people,” she said, adding that she would sometimes step in to defend the Republicans.
Kolanagireddy said as soon as the poll workers realized that, she too, was a Republican, they treated her with hostility.
“I was literally shocked that someone could judge me because of my political affiliation,” Kolanagireddy said. She said she began to notice that so many Republicans were being escorted out of the room that “we became pretty scarce.”
At that point, she said she decided to get a non-partisan name tag so she could continue to help make sure the right things were being done. Once she had the nonpartisan name tag, the workers were very respectful toward her, and didn’t apply the same rules they applied to Republicans.
The Democratic poll workers’ only job there was to block the GOP challengers from doing their job.
Sitto said that throughout the night that he was observing, he witnessed many employees stealing duplicate ballots.
In Michigan, voters in the military, overseas or with certain disabilities are emailed ballots that clerks have to replicate into the correct ballot format in order to be properly read by the ballot counting machines.
“They would come up to the table of duplicate ballots, grab 3 or 4 duplicate ballots, run back to their table, give one to another person at another table, and never complete a duplicate process,” Sitto alleged. “They would stash the ballots under boxes,” and not complete the process.
“At around 4:30 at night, we had an announcement that a new shipment of ballots were arriving,” he testified, adding that the boxes of ballots were brought in by Daniel Baxter, a former elections director for Detroit, whom Carone has alleged “was in on the whole thing.”
Michigan witness says ballots were carried in from the rear of the polling station basement at 4:30 A.M. pic.twitter.com/QfKWb0Hk4Z — Team Trump (@TeamTrump) December 3, 2020
He said that after the shift change at 600 a.m., Baxter said over the intercom, “this is what democracy looks like!” and the whole room cheered.
Sitto told the legislators that of all the duplicate ballots that he saw completed that night, only one of them was for President Trump. Other GOP challengers noticed the same thing, he said.
Sitto went on to state that he and other GOP observers challenged ballots all night long, and those challenges were refused.
“They never issued challenge ballots, there was no track, no remedy, no records, No recording of challenged ballots for the entire night,” he complained.
Sitto stated that he witnessed poll workers changing duplicate ballots to show a straight Democrat ticket.
“For example, if it was a mixed ticket, bubbles filled in everywhere, I personally eye-witnessed employees taking their pen and filling in the Democrat straight ticket when it’s not,” he testified.
Sitto said he also witnessed poll workers processing “duplicates of duplicate ballots,” for “unknow reasons” which he found “very strange.” All of his complaints to election officials were ignored, he said.
Like Kolanagireddy and Carone, Sitto said he too witnessed poll workers rescanning entire batches when one jammed.
He said that after he left the room that afternoon, poll workers blocked the entire room with coverings and GOP poll challengers prohibited from coming back in purportedly because the room had exceeded Covid capacity.
“Mind you, the entire night, this room was slammed,” Sitto noted. “It looked like the New York stock exchange on its busiest day. And then at 2:00 p.m. after most of the employees have already finished their work, they’re leaving, or have left the room, now they’re placing the Covid capacity rules.”
During the question and answer period, State Rep. Cynthia Johnson (D-Detroit) complained to Committee Chair Matt Hall (R-Marshall) that the witnesses were being allowed to lie.
“You’re allowing people to come in here and LIE! I know they’re lying!,” the liberal Democrat shouted.
Hall stated that lawmakers in Michigan traditionally don’t administer oaths, and told Johnson that she was “out of order.”
“I’ve indulged you, and we’re going to move on,” the committee chair said.
Rudy Giuliani noted on behalf of his witnesses that “every single witness we’ve presented here has sworn an affidavit as to all these facts.”
Kolanagireddy chimed in to have the final word: “Can I say something please? If that is what you want me to do, I will do it. And I will still repeat the exact same thing. And I also want to say one thing, if it is a lie it may change because a liar has to have a lot of memory power. But if it is the truth, you can ask me in the middle of the night and it will still be the same.”
– – –
Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Economic Recovery Slows, U.S. Adds Just 245,000 Jobs in November

The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November , far below economists ’ expectations , while unemployment fell to 6.7 % , according to Department of Labor data released Friday .
Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 245,000 in November , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report , and the number of unemployed persons fell by 400,000 to 10.7 million .
The U.S. added 638,000 jobs in October while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9 % .
“ As infection rates go down , as the number of people vaccinated goes up , then we ’ ll start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate , and we will see the employment numbers pick up more strongly , ” Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. chief economist David Berson told The Wall Street Journal .
Economists projected 440,000 Americans to be added to payrolls and the unemployment rate to drop to 6.7 % prior to Friday ’ s report , according to the WSJ .
In August , the unemployment rate fell below 10 % for the first time since April when the rate reached 14.7 % .
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt businesses nationwide , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % in the third quarter as businesses started opening up again , according to a Oct. 29 Department of Commerce report .
Average coronavirus cases and deaths per million have been increasing steadily in the U.S. since mid-October , according to The COVID Tracking Project .
On Thursday , the U.S. reported 2,706 new coronavirus-related deaths and 210,161 new cases while 100,667 Americans remained hospitalized from the virus .
The stock market has surged since President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Nov. 3 election by several media organizations including The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market ’ s performance is due to positive large-scale human trial vaccine results and Biden ’ s announcement that he would appoint former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury Department .
There is also renewed hope that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will push for a coronavirus stimulus package before the end of the year , according to CNBC .
McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resumed negotiations on Thursday .
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Thomas Catenacci
The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November, far below economists’ expectations, while unemployment fell to 6.7%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 245,000 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 400,000 to 10.7 million. The U.S. added 638,000 jobs in October while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9%.
“As infection rates go down, as the number of people vaccinated goes up, then we’ll start to see…business activity expand at a faster rate, and we will see the employment numbers pick up more strongly,” Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. chief economist David Berson told The Wall Street Journal.
Economists projected 440,000 Americans to be added to payrolls and the unemployment rate to drop to 6.7% prior to Friday’s report, according to the WSJ. In August, the unemployment rate fell below 10% for the first time since April when the rate reached 14.7%.
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt businesses nationwide, the U.S. economy grew by a record 33.1% in the third quarter as businesses started opening up again, according to a Oct. 29 Department of Commerce report.
Average coronavirus cases and deaths per million have been increasing steadily in the U.S. since mid-October, according to The COVID Tracking Project. On Thursday, the U.S. reported 2,706 new coronavirus-related deaths and 210,161 new cases while 100,667 Americans remained hospitalized from the virus.
The stock market has surged since President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Nov. 3 election by several media organizations including The Associated Press and Fox News. The market’s performance is due to positive large-scale human trial vaccine results and Biden’s announcement that he would appoint former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury Department.
There is also renewed hope that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will push for a coronavirus stimulus package before the end of the year, according to CNBC. McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resumed negotiations on Thursday.
– – –
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Crom Carmichael Talks Mob Psychology, Governmental Bureaucracy, and Obama’s Motto

Live from Music Row Friday 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 the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio to continue the conversation of the mob psychology in Washington , D.C. and explain the inefficiencies and incompetence of governmental bureaucracies and messaging .
Leahy : We are live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville , Tennessee .
And we are talking with the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America sort of in the 19th century really seems to be taking over the government .
You know you ’ re talking about the military-industrial complex as the first element of that if you will .
We were warned back in 1960 by President Dwight Eisenhower apparently .
Carmichael : Right .
As he was leaving office .
But I was really talking about that one more as it also is part of the problem .
Now you also have and I ’ m learning more and more about this .
All of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the FDA , for example .
What have we learned more than any other thing from Operation Warp Speed ?
What have we learned ?
Leahy : If you get rid of the unnecessary regulations you get things done quickly .
Carmichael : Yes .
And Big Pharma was opposed to Operation Warp Speed .
Now it then finally participated but it initially resisted .
The FDA initially resisted .
So what did Trump do ?
Trump brought somebody else in from the outside and said you ’ re in charge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in charge of the entire FDA apparatus in regard to this single vaccine .
Carmichael : Yes .
Yes , and what he did was within nine months .
Now , let ’ s look at all of the swampish people who then tried to organize against Trump .
The leader of the pack was Anthony Fauci followed by that fool and I call him a fool because not only is he a terrible bureaucrat and he doesn ’ t even think well , that guy that was head of the CDC .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ because he was a klutz .
That ’ s what ’ s particularly scary because if you ’ re really good and you really want to make policy better you ’ re not going to rise because you ’ re going to get so much pushback from the people inside who like the status quo and are perfectly happy with mediocrity at best .
The same thing was true with the VA system .
Under Obama and Biden people waited months for an appointment .
A lot of people died .
The service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ VA is owned and run by the federal government .
Every one of their employees is a member of a union .
Trump finally got legislation passed through Congress that gave whoever the administration is , the authority to fire somebody who works at a VA hospital for incompetence .
imagine that you have people who are dealing with people ’ s lives .
And until you passed a piece of legislation you couldn ’ t get rid of them .
Now , by the way , we have exactly the same problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t get rid of a bad teacher .
And by the way , 70 to 80 percent of the teachers are really good and really want to do a good job .
But there are 10 to 20 percent who are not good teachers .
But even worse you have 70 to 80 percent of the bureaucrats at the boards of educations in the various metropolitan areas who are detrimental to a quality education because they ’ re pushing an agenda or they ’ re pushing something that allows them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And so these are the problems that you have .
And so it ’ s interesting to me .
Now Obama was on TV the other night and he said something that was just fascinating to me .
He complained about how the defund the police ‘ how that message and how that motto hurt Democrats.
’ Carmichael : The motto for Democrats , not the idea .
It was the motto .
And he and he complained .
He said look he said when you use expressions , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use expressions , like defund the police you lose a lot of voters .
So you shouldn ’ t be using… Carmichael : Don ’ t call it that .
And Barack Obama was a master at telling people what they wanted to hear and then doing whatever it is that he wanted to do .
Leahy : What he ’ s saying is you guys at Black Lives Matter should have paid more attention to my style and my approach .
It would have been more successful .
Carmichael : Then you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and you could get the people elected that you needed to defund the police .
But also to control the legislators and control the elections and all these other things that we on the left need to control if we ’ re going to impose our agenda because we can ’ t get our passed voluntarily .
Leahy : This is the subtle tactical advice from a master manipulator .
Carmichael : Yeah , so it ’ s interesting .
So if you look at what Obama promised compared to whether or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , of all the presidents in my lifetime , a close second is Ronald Reagan , but of all the presidents in my lifetime , Donald Trump has kept or attempted to keep , in fact , there ’ s not a major promise that he made in his campaign that he hasn ’ t either kept or tried to keep .
Leahy : And he was only prohibited from keeping it by John McCain .
Carmichael : By John McCain .
By one guy .
And that was the repeal of Obamacare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now the forces that are lined up in support of Obamacare are mostly these big and what I call mob psychology or intellectual mobs and that is the health insurance companies .
And now by the way every one of these people , for example , the mobsters in Chicago and New York who are running the speakeasies and alcohol and all that , they thought that what they were doing was just fine .
It was okay .
Might even be good .
Because first of all everyone who was a customer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now they fought amongst each other and killed each other over the money .
But in the healthcare space , you try to reduce the amount of influence and the amount that insurance companies are in and then the insurance people start acting more like the mobs .
And the way that they handle it is through lobbyists .
That ’ s where the payoffs are .
And Big Pharma is right in there with them .
Listen to the full second hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .

Live from Music Row Friday 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 the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio to continue the conversation of the mob psychology in Washington, D.C. and explain the inefficiencies and incompetence of governmental bureaucracies and messaging.
Leahy: We are live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. And we are talking with the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael about how the mob mentality that was started in America sort of in the 19th century really seems to be taking over the government. You know you’re talking about the military-industrial complex as the first element of that if you will. We were warned back in 1960 by President Dwight Eisenhower apparently.
Carmichael: Right. As he was leaving office. But I was really talking about that one more as it also is part of the problem. Now you also have and I’m learning more and more about this. All of our federal institutions. If you look at the FDA, for example. What have we learned more than any other thing from Operation Warp Speed? What have we learned?
Leahy: If you get rid of the unnecessary regulations you get things done quickly.
Carmichael: Yes. And Big Pharma was opposed to Operation Warp Speed. Now it then finally participated but it initially resisted. The FDA initially resisted. So what did Trump do? Trump brought somebody else in from the outside and said you’re in charge of Operation Warp Speed and you’re in charge of the entire FDA apparatus in regard to this single vaccine.
Leahy: A great managerial move.
Carmichael: Yes. Yes, and what he did was within nine months. Now, let’s look at all of the swampish people who then tried to organize against Trump. The leader of the pack was Anthony Fauci followed by that fool and I call him a fool because not only is he a terrible bureaucrat and he doesn’t even think well, that guy that was head of the CDC.
Leahy: Redfield.
Carmichael: Redfield. But he rose because he was a klutz. That’s what’s particularly scary because if you’re really good and you really want to make policy better you’re not going to rise because you’re going to get so much pushback from the people inside who like the status quo and are perfectly happy with mediocrity at best. The same thing was true with the VA system. Under Obama and Biden people waited months for an appointment.
A lot of people died. The service level was terrible. Why? The VA is owned and run by the federal government. Every one of their employees is a member of a union. Trump finally got legislation passed through Congress that gave whoever the administration is, the authority to fire somebody who works at a VA hospital for incompetence. imagine that you have people who are dealing with people’s lives.
And until you passed a piece of legislation you couldn’t get rid of them. Now, by the way, we have exactly the same problem with the teachers’ unions. You can’t get rid of a bad teacher. And by the way, 70 to 80 percent of the teachers are really good and really want to do a good job. But there are 10 to 20 percent who are not good teachers.
But even worse you have 70 to 80 percent of the bureaucrats at the boards of educations in the various metropolitan areas who are detrimental to a quality education because they’re pushing an agenda or they’re pushing something that allows them to keep their job and accomplish nothing positive. And so these are the problems that you have. And so it’s interesting to me. Now Obama was on TV the other night and he said something that was just fascinating to me. He complained about how the defund the police ‘how that message and how that motto hurt Democrats.’
Leahy: The motto.
Carmichael: The motto for Democrats, not the idea. It was the motto. And he and he complained. He said look he said when you use expressions, that’s the word you used, when you use expressions, like defund the police you lose a lot of voters. So you shouldn’t be using…
Leahy: Don’t call it that.
Carmichael: Don’t call it that. And Barack Obama was a master at telling people what they wanted to hear and then doing whatever it is that he wanted to do.
Leahy: What he’s saying is you guys at Black Lives Matter should have paid more attention to my style and my approach. It would have been more successful.
Carmichael: Then you could sell them to defund the police and you could get the people elected that you needed to defund the police. But also to control the legislators and control the elections and all these other things that we on the left need to control if we’re going to impose our agenda because we can’t get our passed voluntarily.
Leahy: This is the subtle tactical advice from a master manipulator.
Carmichael: Yeah, so it’s interesting. So if you look at what Obama promised compared to whether or not he kept his promises compared to Trump, of all the presidents in my lifetime, a close second is Ronald Reagan, but of all the presidents in my lifetime, Donald Trump has kept or attempted to keep, in fact, there’s not a major promise that he made in his campaign that he hasn’t either kept or tried to keep.
Leahy: And he was only prohibited from keeping it by John McCain.
Carmichael: By John McCain. By one guy. And that was the repeal of Obamacare so that you could replace it. Now the forces that are lined up in support of Obamacare are mostly these big and what I call mob psychology or intellectual mobs and that is the health insurance companies. And now by the way every one of these people, for example, the mobsters in Chicago and New York who are running the speakeasies and alcohol and all that, they thought that what they were doing was just fine. It was okay. Might even be good. Because first of all everyone who was a customer was a voluntary customer.
Leahy: Right.
Carmichael: Now they fought amongst each other and killed each other over the money. But in the healthcare space, you try to reduce the amount of influence and the amount that insurance companies are in and then the insurance people start acting more like the mobs. And the way that they handle it is through lobbyists. That’s where the payoffs are. And Big Pharma is right in there with them.
Listen to the full second hour here:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Commentary: Homeschooling More Than Doubles During the Pandemic

Many families took one look at their school district ’ s remote or hybrid learning offerings this fall and said “ no , thank you.
” That ’ s the message gleaned from national and state-specific data on the surging number of homeschooled students this academic year .
Prior to the pandemic and related school closures last spring , there were just under two million homeschoolers in the US , representing about 3.4 percent of the total K-12 school-age population .
According to recent polling by Education Week , that percentage has more than doubled to nine percent this fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This estimate mirrors related polling from Gallup in August suggesting that 10 percent of US students would be homeschooled this year .
State-level data show just how dramatic the surge in homeschooling has been , particularly in areas where many district schools continue to be closed for full-time , in-person learning .
In Massachusetts , for example , the Boston Globe reported last week that 7,188 students statewide transferred from public schools into homeschooling this year , compared to only 802 homeschooling transfers last year .
In North Carolina , homeschooling filings nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ submitted over the summer , compared to about 3,500 last year .
In fact , so many parents in North Carolina completed their online intent to homeschool forms during the first week of July ( when the system began accepting filings for this year ) , that it crashed the state ’ s nonpublic education website .
In New York City , homeschooling increased by nearly one-third this fall .
More than 10,000 students withdrew from the city ’ s public schools this year for homeschooling , compared to about 2,500 student withdrawals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applications were up 75 percent compared to last year , with similar patterns seen in neighboring New Hampshire .
In Wisconsin , homeschooling filings more than doubled this year , and in Connecticut , more than six times as many students have left the public schools for homeschooling compared to last year .
According to the Education Week survey , it ’ s lower-income families who are more likely to be choosing homeschooling during the pandemic .
This challenges the continued criticism that “ pandemic pods ” and other family-centered learning models are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , as the New York Times pointed out in July in response to these criticisms , “ the population of home-schoolers — before the pandemic — was less affluent than average.
” Driven in large part by new homeschoolers , public schools across the country are experiencing plummeting enrollment .
For instance , in Arizona , public school enrollment is down five percent compared to last year , and in Massachusetts it ’ s down four percent .
In addition to the homeschooling surge , some families have opted out of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that have been better able to meet parent demand for in-person learning during the pandemic .
A new analysis of private school enrollment finds that 70 percent of private schools surveyed experienced either increased or constant enrollment compared to last year .
Of those indicating that their enrollment remained the same , it was due to already being at capacity .
Kerry McDonald is a Senior Education Fellow at FEE and author of Unschooled : Raising Curious , Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom ( Chicago Review Press , 2019 ) .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cato Institute and a regular Forbes contributor .
Kerry has a B.A .
in economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed .
in education policy from Harvard University .
She lives in Cambridge , Massachusetts with her husband and four children .

by Kerry McDonald
Many families took one look at their school district’s remote or hybrid learning offerings this fall and said “no, thank you.” That’s the message gleaned from national and state-specific data on the surging number of homeschooled students this academic year.
Prior to the pandemic and related school closures last spring, there were just under two million homeschoolers in the US, representing about 3.4 percent of the total K-12 school-age population. According to recent polling by Education Week, that percentage has more than doubled to nine percent this fall, or nearly five million homeschoolers. This estimate mirrors related polling from Gallup in August suggesting that 10 percent of US students would be homeschooled this year.
State-level data show just how dramatic the surge in homeschooling has been, particularly in areas where many district schools continue to be closed for full-time, in-person learning. In Massachusetts, for example, the Boston Globe reported last week that 7,188 students statewide transferred from public schools into homeschooling this year, compared to only 802 homeschooling transfers last year.
In North Carolina, homeschooling filings nearly tripled, with over 10,000 parent forms submitted over the summer, compared to about 3,500 last year. In fact, so many parents in North Carolina completed their online intent to homeschool forms during the first week of July (when the system began accepting filings for this year), that it crashed the state’s nonpublic education website.
In New York City, homeschooling increased by nearly one-third this fall. More than 10,000 students withdrew from the city’s public schools this year for homeschooling, compared to about 2,500 student withdrawals last year. In Vermont, homeschooling applications were up 75 percent compared to last year, with similar patterns seen in neighboring New Hampshire. In Wisconsin, homeschooling filings more than doubled this year, and in Connecticut, more than six times as many students have left the public schools for homeschooling compared to last year.
According to the Education Week survey, it’s lower-income families who are more likely to be choosing homeschooling during the pandemic. This challenges the continued criticism that “pandemic pods” and other family-centered learning models are only options for more privileged families. Indeed, as the New York Times pointed out in July in response to these criticisms, “the population of home-schoolers — before the pandemic — was less affluent than average.”
Public School Enrollment Plummets
Driven in large part by new homeschoolers, public schools across the country are experiencing plummeting enrollment. For instance, in Arizona, public school enrollment is down five percent compared to last year, and in Massachusetts it’s down four percent.
The Boston Globe reports a stunning decline in MA public school enrollment this year due to the pandemic. Parents are choosing homeschooling, private schooling instead. pic.twitter.com/oOFK4fb7hb — Kerry McDonald (@kerry_edu) December 4, 2020
In addition to the homeschooling surge, some families have opted out of their district school for private and parochial schools that have been better able to meet parent demand for in-person learning during the pandemic. A new analysis of private school enrollment finds that 70 percent of private schools surveyed experienced either increased or constant enrollment compared to last year. Of those indicating that their enrollment remained the same, it was due to already being at capacity.
Declining enrollment in public schools has some people worried. State funding of public schools is often directly related to the number of students enrolled in these schools. With the recent public school exodus, states like Texas and California have decided to freeze enrollment at pre-pandemic levels to maintain school funding rates. But many parents and taxpayers may be getting frustrated that public schools continue to receive full funding while, in many cases, not offering their full education services for students. This could partly explain why parent support for school choice has soared during the pandemic. According to a recent RealClear Opinion Research poll, support for school choice policies that encourage funding to follow students instead of schools has jumped 10 percent since April, to 77 percent. Sustained Surge in Homeschooling With a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, hopes of returning to normal life are higher than they were at the start of this academic year. Many of the families who recently withdrew their children from a district school in favor of homeschooling or private schooling will likely return to their district when the pandemic ends and standard schooling resumes. But some families may find that they prefer their new learning options. Some of the now nearly five million homeschoolers and their parents may discover that they weren’t so fond of standard schooling after all and appreciate the freedom, creativity, and flexibility that homeschooling offers. Parents I have interviewed told me that they had been considering homeschooling for a long time but lacked the catalyst to give it a try until now. Seeing their children flourish outside of a conventional classroom could lead many of these parents to continue homeschooling post-pandemic. As an article in The Atlantic stated: “COVID-19 is a catalyst for families who were already skeptical of the traditional school system—and are now thinking about leaving it for good.” Once life returns to normal, new homeschoolers may also discover that real homeschooling is much better than the pandemic version they have experienced. Local homeschooling groups will regain their full vitality and sociability. Museums, libraries, and local businesses and organizations will return to offering their suite of homeschooling classes. Daily activities will take place more often outside one’s home than inside it, and homeschoolers will once again be deeply connected to the people, places, and things of their communities. This fall, millions of new homeschooling parents have realized that their children can learn without school. When the world reopens to them, they will find that homeschooling is even better than they imagined.
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Kerry McDonald is a Senior Education Fellow at FEE and author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019). She is also an adjunct scholar at The Cato Institute and a regular Forbes contributor. Kerry has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Biden Pledges to Hike Taxes to Bush Administration Levels

President-elect Joe Biden in a Wednesday interview said “ there ’ s no reason why ” his administration shouldn ’ t raise both corporate and individual income taxes to levels maintained during former president George Bush ’ s administration .
Biden insisted “ everybody pairs their fair share ” in taxes during his presidency , and suggested a nearly 40 % rate for those in the top bracket , which he said was commonplace during the Bush era , in an interview with the New York Times .
“ And by that fair share , I mean there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shouldn ’ t be 39.6 percent , which it was in the beginning of the Bush administration , ” he said in the Times interview .
“ There ’ s no reason why 91 Fortune 500 companies should be paying zero in taxes.
” In the early 2000s , the nation ’ s highest tax bracket was 39.6 % for citizens earning more than $ 374,000 per year , according to Fox Business .
Bush then slashed the rate to 35 % until former president Barack Obama reset the benchmark at 39.6 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported .
President Donald Trump cut down corporate taxes to 21 % and the individual tax rate to 37 % in 2017 shortly after assuming office , according to Fox .
Biden ’ s ability to implement his tax reform may be hindered by the outcome of the Georgia Senate runoff elections if Republicans are able to retain control .
However , the former vice president said he would be able to pass his agenda even if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell resists .
“ Let me put it this way , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ There are a number of things that when McConnell controlled the Senate that people said couldn ’ t get done , and I was able to get them done with [ him ] .
I was able to get them to , you know , raise taxes on the wealthy.
” Biden throughout his campaign pledged to increase the tax burden of those “ making over $ 400,000 ” a year .
“ I will raise taxes for anybody making over $ 400,000 , ” Biden said , according to Fox .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m going to do it .
It ’ s about time they start paying a fair share of the economic responsibility we have .
The very wealthy should pay a fair share – corporations should pay a fair share.
” Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Jake Dima
President-elect Joe Biden in a Wednesday interview said “there’s no reason why” his administration shouldn’t raise both corporate and individual income taxes to levels maintained during former president George Bush’s administration.
Biden insisted “everybody pairs their fair share” in taxes during his presidency, and suggested a nearly 40% rate for those in the top bracket, which he said was commonplace during the Bush era, in an interview with the New York Times.
“And by that fair share, I mean there’s no reason why the top tax rate shouldn’t be 39.6 percent, which it was in the beginning of the Bush administration,” he said in the Times interview. “There’s no reason why 91 Fortune 500 companies should be paying zero in taxes.”
In the early 2000s, the nation’s highest tax bracket was 39.6% for citizens earning more than $374,000 per year, according to Fox Business. Bush then slashed the rate to 35% until former president Barack Obama reset the benchmark at 39.6% following the 2008 financial crisis, Fox reported.
President Donald Trump cut down corporate taxes to 21% and the individual tax rate to 37% in 2017 shortly after assuming office, according to Fox.
Biden’s ability to implement his tax reform may be hindered by the outcome of the Georgia Senate runoff elections if Republicans are able to retain control. However, the former vice president said he would be able to pass his agenda even if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell resists.
“Let me put it this way,” Biden said in the Times interview. “There are a number of things that when McConnell controlled the Senate that people said couldn’t get done, and I was able to get them done with [him]. I was able to get them to, you know, raise taxes on the wealthy.”
Biden throughout his campaign pledged to increase the tax burden of those “making over $400,000” a year.
“I will raise taxes for anybody making over $400,000,” Biden said, according to Fox. “Let me tell you why I’m going to do it. It’s about time they start paying a fair share of the economic responsibility we have. The very wealthy should pay a fair share – corporations should pay a fair share.”
– – –
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Music Spotlight: Ethan Payne

Music Spotlight: Ethan Payne

NASHVILLE , Tennesse – Years ago , I vaguely remember Luke Bryan giving his guitar to a 13-year-old kid on stage who he met via the Make-a-Wish Foundation .
That night , a fire was lit in young Ethan Payne .
He knew then that performing country music was what he was born to do .
Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a toddler ( 18-months-old ) , Payne was faced with an uphill battle early on .
However , that didn ’ t stop him from following his passions and pursuing a career in country music .
I wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alum .
Payne states that his Grandma bought him a guitar when he was 8-years-old .
She had also bought his older brother guitars as well , but they never did anything with it .
However , young Payne decided to take lessons .
He took lessons for a year and since then the now accomplished guitar player has been teaching himself .
Five years ago , when Bryan called him on stage in Dallas , he knew he wanted to pursue music but was kind of scared .
That night he heard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He recalled , “ I heard everybody singing the words back to me , all the lights and the craziness.
” He thought , “ This is something that I would thoroughly enjoy doing for the rest of my life.
” After that , Bryan became a friend and a mentor and at age 15 , Payne tried out for the 2019 American Idol season .
He ended singing Bryan ’ s “ Do I ” in the audition and made it to the next level .
Payne is graduating high school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been homeschooled for the past two years mainly because he felt bullied by the kids who didn ’ t understand his dream .
Until American Idol , “ Nobody took me seriously .
They thought I was a nerd playing guitar and singing.
” When he got the golden ticket on American Idol , he got to prove to everyone that “ I am who I say am.
” It was a tough run until then .
The night that Payne sang with Bryan in Dallas , Bryan gave him his guitar .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ poignant and touching song about the incident , called “ Luke ’ s Guitar.
” He stated , “ The guitar he gifted me has been my motivation during the struggles with my health.
” Payne is a spokesperson for the Make-a-Wish foundation and traveled for them before COVID .
“ The fact that I can ’ t watch these wishes come true in person anymore is not a cool deal , ” he explained .
The Georgia native also travels to Nashville several times a month for songwriting sessions .
His family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He began writing with songwriters such as Danny Myrick and Kent Blazy who opened his eyes to what songwriting is about and more recently has written with modern hit writers like Cole Taylor , Thomas Archer , and Tyler Reeve .
He hopes to have a publishing deal by his 18th birthday .
“ The fact that you can get paid to write a song and it never gets released is just crazy to think about , ” he said .
But that is exactly what happens in Nashville .
For every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there are 50 more that never see the light of day .
Payne takes a balanced approach to singing/songwriting .
He informed , “ If you are going to establish yourself as an artist , I think it is important that you have to pour your heart out on the paper for other people to really understand who you are and where you came from .
You will connect a lot better with the people.
” In October , Payne released his single “ Make A Scene ” a song that explores falling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Fittingly enough , the female , Callie , who plays Payne ’ s ( fictional ) love interest in the music video is also a Make-A-Wish kid and a cancer survivor .
He states that early on , he was a “ god-awful ” songwriter , but as he started writing , people began pitching songs to him .
He hadn ’ t written a Grandpa song , but since his parents were divorced , his Grandpa became the main male role model to him .
His latest single “ Spin ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes the listener into the life-bonding relationship of a grandson and a grandfather who never let time get the best of them , ” Ethan explained .
“ I relate to this song so much as my grandfather was my father figure before he passed away nearly five years ago .
He was the first person to ever teach me how to drive and I miss him every day.
” In a crazy way , Payne ’ s Cystic Fibrosis has lifted him mentally and physically .
“ Being able to work my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If I can ’ t sing , then I am nothing , ” he stated emphatically .
Singing literally makes his lungs stronger .
Payne ’ s life ’ s motto hails from an old Tim McGraw song , “ Live like you were dying.
” With his youthful exuberance and dogged determination , the sky is the limit for this talented country crooner .
You can follow Payne on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube .
Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer .
You can follow her blog , @ @ @ @ @ @ @

NASHVILLE, Tennesse – Years ago, I vaguely remember Luke Bryan giving his guitar to a 13-year-old kid on stage who he met via the Make-a-Wish Foundation. That night, a fire was lit in young Ethan Payne. He knew then that performing country music was what he was born to do.
Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a toddler (18-months-old), Payne was faced with an uphill battle early on. However, that didn’t stop him from following his passions and pursuing a career in country music. I wanted to find out more about this American Idol alum.
Payne states that his Grandma bought him a guitar when he was 8-years-old. She had also bought his older brother guitars as well, but they never did anything with it. However, young Payne decided to take lessons. He took lessons for a year and since then the now accomplished guitar player has been teaching himself.
Five years ago, when Bryan called him on stage in Dallas, he knew he wanted to pursue music but was kind of scared. That night he heard all the screaming fans yelling his name. He recalled, “I heard everybody singing the words back to me, all the lights and the craziness.” He thought, “This is something that I would thoroughly enjoy doing for the rest of my life.”
After that, Bryan became a friend and a mentor and at age 15, Payne tried out for the 2019 American Idol season. He ended singing Bryan’s “Do I” in the audition and made it to the next level.
Payne is graduating high school in June of 2021. He has been homeschooled for the past two years mainly because he felt bullied by the kids who didn’t understand his dream. Until American Idol, “Nobody took me seriously. They thought I was a nerd playing guitar and singing.”
When he got the golden ticket on American Idol, he got to prove to everyone that “I am who I say am.” It was a tough run until then.
The night that Payne sang with Bryan in Dallas, Bryan gave him his guitar. Recently, he wrote and recorded a poignant and touching song about the incident, called “Luke’s Guitar.”
He stated, “The guitar he gifted me has been my motivation during the struggles with my health.”
Payne is a spokesperson for the Make-a-Wish foundation and traveled for them before COVID.
“The fact that I can’t watch these wishes come true in person anymore is not a cool deal,” he explained.
The Georgia native also travels to Nashville several times a month for songwriting sessions. His family plans to move to Nashville in 2021. He began writing with songwriters such as Danny Myrick and Kent Blazy who opened his eyes to what songwriting is about and more recently has written with modern hit writers like Cole Taylor, Thomas Archer, and Tyler Reeve. He hopes to have a publishing deal by his 18th birthday.
“The fact that you can get paid to write a song and it never gets released is just crazy to think about,” he said. But that is exactly what happens in Nashville. For every song that makes it to radio, there are 50 more that never see the light of day.
Payne takes a balanced approach to singing/songwriting. He informed, “If you are going to establish yourself as an artist, I think it is important that you have to pour your heart out on the paper for other people to really understand who you are and where you came from. You will connect a lot better with the people.”
In October, Payne released his single “Make A Scene” a song that explores falling in love for the very first time. Fittingly enough, the female, Callie, who plays Payne’s (fictional) love interest in the music video is also a Make-A-Wish kid and a cancer survivor.
He states that early on, he was a “god-awful” songwriter, but as he started writing, people began pitching songs to him. He hadn’t written a Grandpa song, but since his parents were divorced, his Grandpa became the main male role model to him. His latest single “Spin” is about his Grandfather.
“Spin takes the listener into the life-bonding relationship of a grandson and a grandfather who never let time get the best of them,” Ethan explained. “I relate to this song so much as my grandfather was my father figure before he passed away nearly five years ago. He was the first person to ever teach me how to drive and I miss him every day.”
In a crazy way, Payne’s Cystic Fibrosis has lifted him mentally and physically. “Being able to work my lungs out, is number one. If I can’t sing, then I am nothing,” he stated emphatically. Singing literally makes his lungs stronger.
Payne’s life’s motto hails from an old Tim McGraw song, “Live like you were dying.” With his youthful exuberance and dogged determination, the sky is the limit for this talented country crooner.
You can follow Payne on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
– – –
Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-05--Google Spied on, Fired, Coerced Employees for Unionization Attempt, National Labor Relations Board A

Google Spied on, Fired, Coerced Employees for Unionization Attempt, National Labor Relations Board Alleges

The National Labor Relations Board accused Google of violating labor laws by spying on and coercing employees who attempted unionization , according to complaint filings .
Google and its parent company Alphabet allegedly spied on and fired employees in retaliation for trying to organize into a labor union , according to the National Labor Relations Board ( NLRB ) charges filed Tuesday , CNBC reported .
The tech giant also allegedly prevented employees from sharing work grievances with each other via internal communications tools .
“ [ Google was ] interfering with , restraining , and coercing employees in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7 of the Act , ” the NLRB filings said , according to CNBC .
The Tuesday filing comes nearly one year after the NLRB initiated a probe into Google ’ s labor practices .
The investigation was triggered by a federal complaint filed by four Google employees who had been fired , CNBC reported .
In November 2019 , Google questioned , then fired the four employees who had been involved in employee activism for sharing confidential documents and breaching security , according to The New York Times .
Two of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed a complaint with the NLRB shortly after they were terminated , CNBC reported .
“ Google is too big , too powerful , and its anti-worker actions will end when we are in the White House , ” progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted after Google fired the four employees .
“ We are going to break up Google and stand up for workers against powerful tech monopolies.
” The company then fired security engineer Kathryn Spiers after she created a notification warning Google employees who visited IRI Consultants ’ website that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to CNBC .
Spiers filed a NLRB complaint against Google after she was fired .
Both the Berland and Spiers cases were consolidated into one complaint on Tuesday , according to CNBC .
Google is expected to respond to the charges by Dec. 16 , according to CNBC .
A hearing will take place on April 12 , 2021 in San Francisco , California .
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Thomas Catenacci
The National Labor Relations Board accused Google of violating labor laws by spying on and coercing employees who attempted unionization, according to complaint filings.
Google and its parent company Alphabet allegedly spied on and fired employees in retaliation for trying to organize into a labor union, according to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charges filed Tuesday, CNBC reported. The tech giant also allegedly prevented employees from sharing work grievances with each other via internal communications tools.
“[Google was] interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act,” the NLRB filings said, according to CNBC.
The Tuesday filing comes nearly one year after the NLRB initiated a probe into Google’s labor practices. The investigation was triggered by a federal complaint filed by four Google employees who had been fired, CNBC reported.
In November 2019, Google questioned, then fired the four employees who had been involved in employee activism for sharing confidential documents and breaching security, according to The New York Times. Two of the employees, Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland filed a complaint with the NLRB shortly after they were terminated, CNBC reported.
“Google is too big, too powerful, and its anti-worker actions will end when we are in the White House,” progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted after Google fired the four employees. “We are going to break up Google and stand up for workers against powerful tech monopolies.”
The company then fired security engineer Kathryn Spiers after she created a notification warning Google employees who visited IRI Consultants’ website that the firm specialized in anti-union work, according to CNBC. Spiers filed a NLRB complaint against Google after she was fired.
Both the Berland and Spiers cases were consolidated into one complaint on Tuesday, according to CNBC.
Google is expected to respond to the charges by Dec. 16, according to CNBC. A hearing will take place on April 12, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
– – –
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.