thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--The Tennessee Star National Correspondent Weighs in on the Rigging of Elections and Purpose of a Dem

The Tennessee Star National Correspondent Weighs in on the Rigging of Elections and Purpose of a Democracy

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 Tennessee Star National Correspondent Neil W. McCabe to the newsmakers line to discuss the alleged rigging of the 2020 presidential election and noted how the President ’ s attorneys are working independently to secure affidavits from witnesses afraid to come forward that observed fraudulent behavior .
Leahy : In the studio with me is the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Tennessee Star .
Good friend .
Great journalist .
Fellow Irish-American .
Neil W. McCabe .
Welcome , Neil .
Leahy : Yes !
11 years of Breitbart .
Thanks for noticing that .
And it ’ s been quite a ride at Breitbart News .
In fact , interestingly enough the guy that helped me first get a piece up on Breitbart was Ben Shapiro .
Who is now with the Daily Wire and who ’ s moved to Nashville .
We ’ re gon na have a party for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New Year .
You ’ re invited , Neil .
Will you come down to that party ?
Leahy : We will be delighted to have you down here .
and we ’ re not going to have it in Davidson County because we have no idea what rule or regulation Mayor John Cooper , the Bill de Blasio of the South will have for us in Davidson County .
( McCabe laughs ) We are on December 2 .
The Electoral College meets on December 14 .
When you look into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what do you see for our future ?
McCabe : Well , I see that the fix is in unless somebody comes up with something very very quick .
I can tell you that , you know Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani are both working independently towards the same goal of making this rigged election honest .
Sidney Powell is in the process of collecting affidavits from people around the country .
I can also tell you that General Mike Flynn is helping Sidney Powell .
Not only with the analysis and sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls for people who are reluctant to come forward because of the pressure from their employers or from Lydia .
And General Flynn is getting on the phone and saying hey , this is important .
And if you have a story to tell you should come forward and sign an affidavit so we can submit it .
So Rudy Giuliani ’ s strategy was to put pressure on the legislators so that you know , they intercede for a clean election .
And he ’ s holding these hearings around the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s frightening that people are coming forward with the craziest stories of ballot and election irregularities .
And the states are just going forward ignoring it .
And what we heard about Michigan , Arizona , and Georgia , that alone should be enough to scare you .
But the idea that it ’ s going on around the country is absolutely frightening .
And so I hope that somebody comes up with something that is so compelling .
But I think that you know , this thing is just moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carmichael : Neil , I agree with what you are saying .
I think I also share your pessimism that anything is going to come of it and I ’ ll tell you why .
If somebody signs an affidavit , they have to go public .
They can ’ t be a “ whistleblower ” and protected like the way Democrats think the whistleblowers ought to be protected when they come out against Trump .
So these will be people who will be publicly named and their lives will be ruined .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t know why anybody would do that .
So I have a back-up plan because I think you and I both think that this goose is cooked or whatever it is .
And the back-up plan is that a book is written where anonymous sources are cited .
and they ’ re cited in a way that protects their identity , but it gives the state that it happened in in the story .
It doesn ’ t give a location so that you can ’ t pin it down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because during the Trump years anonymous sources became the regular way of reporting .
And so there ought to be a book and it ought to be documented making sure that the people who are the anonymous sources are protected so that their lives aren ’ t destroyed .
But there ought to be a record of what happened .
I don ’ t care if the source falls on a sword as long as the story is accurate .
And I ’ m perfectly willing to have Sidney Powell and I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You know , be the person responsible .
and if she wrote a book citing anonymous sources , I think it would be very very believable by all people who care about free and fair elections .
It wouldn ’ t be believable by people who want to cheat .
And even if she named the name the sources so they weren ’ t anonymous in the book it still wouldn ’ t be accepted by the people who want to cheat because they ’ re cheaters .
I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to stop the train that ’ s rolling down the track .
But what we do have to have are stories of anecdotal evidence of what happened , how it happened , where it happened so that what Michael and I have been talking about is it is up to the legislators of the various states where Republicans control the House and the Senate to fix this so that for the next election the rules are in place .
Rules that essentially require election officials under penalty of criminal sanctions for doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be spelled out with great specificity of what ’ s right and what ’ s wrong and what constitutes a legal ballot or illegal ballot or anything that doesn ’ t meet the standard of legal ballots is automatically not counted .
What do you what are your thoughts on the remedy assuming that Biden wins ?
What is your remedy for the problem going forward ?
McCabe : Well , I think the reason why and I said it last week .
The reason why we have a democracy is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other .
The reason why they have a democracy is because it works and it ’ s the best form of government .
They rigged this thing and they ’ re going to steal it .
and because they stole an election it isn ’ t going to work .
And we ’ re looking at two and the first two years of the Biden administration will be full of a lot of chaos and acrimony .
And you know the bike the Biden administration is not going to end well because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
And I think that like we saw in 1960 everyone knows how Kennedy rigged it and how he stole the election and Illinois , Texas , and frankly in the West Virginia primary , which is even more egregious , and yet the FBI had that evidence and they sat on it .
And so Kennedy became president .
and because everyone knew that 60 was rigged you ’ ve had relatively clean elections afterward .
This is really the first scandalous election in 60 years .
And I think after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are going to say all right .
no more .
and they ’ ll fix what they have to fix and will finally figure out what ’ s going on with these voting machines .
Remember in 2004 I was told that George W. Bush stole the election from John Kerry because of the computer voting machines in Ohio .
And that was a big deal .
( Chuckles ) I mean there were movies made and there were TV shows done with this sort of a theme of the crooked voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was banging the pots and pans and now they ’ re telling me it never happens .
It ’ s like it happens when they wanted to happen .
I think that the rigging of this election is so universal and in so many states that laws and regulations and rules of procedures are all going to be changed .
And you know , they got away with it because of the COVID .
I mean for the first time in our history the majority of the ballots are passed through the post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post office the most trusted institution in this country ?
Never Leahy : And on that on that fine point that ’ s it .
Carmichael : And that ’ s a very good point .
The point that Neil is making is dead on .
Listen to the full third hour here : Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510 .
Listen online at iHeart Radio .
Photo “ People Voting ” by Wyofile .
@ @ @ @

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 Tennessee Star National Correspondent Neil W. McCabe to the newsmakers line to discuss the alleged rigging of the 2020 presidential election and noted how the President’s attorneys are working independently to secure affidavits from witnesses afraid to come forward that observed fraudulent behavior.
Leahy: In the studio with me is the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael. And on our newsmaker line the Washington Correspondent of the Tennessee Star. Good friend. Great journalist. Fellow Irish-American. Neil W. McCabe. Welcome, Neil.
McCabe: Hey, Crom, Michael. Hey Mike, Happy Anniversary. 11 years at Breitbart.
Leahy: Yes! 11 years of Breitbart. Thanks for noticing that. And it’s been quite a ride at Breitbart News. In fact, interestingly enough the guy that helped me first get a piece up on Breitbart was Ben Shapiro. Who is now with the Daily Wire and who’s moved to Nashville. We’re gonna have a party for Ben and the Daily Wire sometime in the New Year. You’re invited, Neil. Will you come down to that party?
McCabe: Absolutely.
Leahy: We will be delighted to have you down here. and we’re not going to have it in Davidson County because we have no idea what rule or regulation Mayor John Cooper, the Bill de Blasio of the South will have for us in Davidson County. (McCabe laughs) We are on December 2. The Electoral College meets on December 14. When you look into your crystal ball, Neil McCabe, what do you see for our future?
McCabe: Well, I see that the fix is in unless somebody comes up with something very very quick. I can tell you that, you know Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani are both working independently towards the same goal of making this rigged election honest. Sidney Powell is in the process of collecting affidavits from people around the country.
I can also tell you that General Mike Flynn is helping Sidney Powell. Not only with the analysis and sort of the strategy but also making phone calls for people who are reluctant to come forward because of the pressure from their employers or from Lydia. And General Flynn is getting on the phone and saying hey, this is important. And if you have a story to tell you should come forward and sign an affidavit so we can submit it.
So Rudy Giuliani’s strategy was to put pressure on the legislators so that you know, they intercede for a clean election. And he’s holding these hearings around the country and it’s absolutely frightening. It’s frightening that people are coming forward with the craziest stories of ballot and election irregularities. And the states are just going forward ignoring it.
And what we heard about Michigan, Arizona, and Georgia, that alone should be enough to scare you. But the idea that it’s going on around the country is absolutely frightening. And so I hope that somebody comes up with something that is so compelling. But I think that you know, this thing is just moving along like the Death Star Mike.
Carmichael: Neil, I agree with what you are saying. I think I also share your pessimism that anything is going to come of it and I’ll tell you why. If somebody signs an affidavit, they have to go public. They can’t be a “whistleblower” and protected like the way Democrats think the whistleblowers ought to be protected when they come out against Trump. So these will be people who will be publicly named and their lives will be ruined.
Their lives will be ruined. So I don’t know why anybody would do that. So I have a back-up plan because I think you and I both think that this goose is cooked or whatever it is. And the back-up plan is that a book is written where anonymous sources are cited. and they’re cited in a way that protects their identity, but it gives the state that it happened in in the story. It doesn’t give a location so that you can’t pin it down.
But you then have anonymous sources because during the Trump years anonymous sources became the regular way of reporting. And so there ought to be a book and it ought to be documented making sure that the people who are the anonymous sources are protected so that their lives aren’t destroyed. But there ought to be a record of what happened. I don’t care if the source falls on a sword as long as the story is accurate.
And I’m perfectly willing to have Sidney Powell and I think she is willing to take the brunt. You know, be the person responsible. and if she wrote a book citing anonymous sources, I think it would be very very believable by all people who care about free and fair elections. It wouldn’t be believable by people who want to cheat. And even if she named the name the sources so they weren’t anonymous in the book it still wouldn’t be accepted by the people who want to cheat because they’re cheaters.
I don’t think we’re going to be able to stop the train that’s rolling down the track. But what we do have to have are stories of anecdotal evidence of what happened, how it happened, where it happened so that what Michael and I have been talking about is it is up to the legislators of the various states where Republicans control the House and the Senate to fix this so that for the next election the rules are in place.
Rules that essentially require election officials under penalty of criminal sanctions for doing their job. And the job needs to be spelled out with great specificity of what’s right and what’s wrong and what constitutes a legal ballot or illegal ballot or anything that doesn’t meet the standard of legal ballots is automatically not counted. What do you what are your thoughts on the remedy assuming that Biden wins? What is your remedy for the problem going forward?
McCabe: Well, I think the reason why and I said it last week. The reason why we have a democracy is not that we want to be nice to each other. The reason why they have a democracy is because it works and it’s the best form of government. They rigged this thing and they’re going to steal it. and because they stole an election it isn’t going to work. And we’re looking at two and the first two years of the Biden administration will be full of a lot of chaos and acrimony. And you know the bike the Biden administration is not going to end well because it’s not aligned with the people.
And I think that like we saw in 1960 everyone knows how Kennedy rigged it and how he stole the election and Illinois, Texas, and frankly in the West Virginia primary, which is even more egregious, and yet the FBI had that evidence and they sat on it. And so Kennedy became president. and because everyone knew that 60 was rigged you’ve had relatively clean elections afterward. This is really the first scandalous election in 60 years.
And I think after this election everybody Democrats and Republicans because they are going to say all right. no more. and they’ll fix what they have to fix and will finally figure out what’s going on with these voting machines. Remember in 2004 I was told that George W. Bush stole the election from John Kerry because of the computer voting machines in Ohio. And that was a big deal. (Chuckles)
I mean there were movies made and there were TV shows done with this sort of a theme of the crooked voting machines in Ohio. And the left was banging the pots and pans and now they’re telling me it never happens. It’s like it happens when they wanted to happen. I think that the rigging of this election is so universal and in so many states that laws and regulations and rules of procedures are all going to be changed. And you know, they got away with it because of the COVID. I mean for the first time in our history the majority of the ballots are passed through the post office? And since when is the post office the most trusted institution in this country? Never
Leahy: And on that on that fine point that’s it.
Carmichael: And that’s a very good point. The point that Neil is making is dead on.
Leahy: Exactly.
Listen to the full third hour here:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--Commentary: Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Wars

While there is a long-shot hope that Donald Trump will remain president , things are not looking good .
We have to consider , while remaining hopeful , what a Biden presidency will look like .
On issues of war and peace , we have a preview from his cabinet picks .
The Return of the Technocrats The most prominent name to date is Tony Blinken , Biden ’ s pick for secretary of state .
Undoubtedly qualified in the sense that he has experience in prior administrations and high-status educational credentials—a bachelor ’ s from Harvard and a Columbia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ qualification of being frequently wrong and completely undaunted by his record of failure .
Blinken had a hand in the “ humanitarian interventions ” of Obama ’ s second term .
He helped craft the disastrous Syria policy , which created a refugee crisis and permitted the rise of ISIS .
He also supported military intervention in Libya , which led to anarchy , a refugee crisis , and the death of an ambassador .
While working as a Senate staffer , he supported the invasion of Iraq .
In short , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change wars against countries that did not attack us , do not threaten us , and , in the cases of Syria and Libya , were bulwarks against Islamic fundamentalism .
Michèle Flournoy reportedly is on the short list for secretary of defense .
Like Blinken , she is known for advocating the expansive use of American power and was involved in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations .
She is notable for her close ties to defense contractors , supporting the Afghanistan surge in Obama ’ s first term , and would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ female secretary of defense .
Of course , she is also a graduate of Harvard .
These choices remind us that Biden is a figurehead for the establishment and its army of technocrat functionaries .
Because he is pliable and dependent , he became the rallying point for a coalition of government , business , and media insiders deeply hostile to Trump .
This hostility arose because Trump demanded the unelected bureaucracy be accountable to the elected branches of government and to the American people .
Their hostility began in unprecedented spying against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a pretextual impeachment during an election year .
The First Peace Candidate Since Eisenhower One of Trump ’ s more profound breaks with the establishment was his approach to foreign policy .
He did not pursue grand plans , was skeptical of multilateralism , and mostly avoided pressure to continue fruitless wars in the Middle East .
He was critical of the vague , globalist priorities that emanated from his predecessors , whether named Bush , Obama , or Clinton .
All three accepted America ’ s role as guarantor of world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we live in a “ unipolar era , ” where America alone could shape events .
This policy supposedly upheld the “ rules-based , international order ” that prevailed since 1945 .
Of course , that world wasn ’ t terribly orderly , but , for a time , world wars did not happen because of the fortuitous balance between two large nuclear powers .
After the Soviet Union collapsed , America held a preeminent position .
But , instead of a “ peace dividend ” and a reduction of overseas commitments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expanding markets , “ humanitarian ” regime change wars , and , after the September 11 attacks , tried to transform the Middle East .
This approach remains popular among the “ smart set , ” despite its meager results .
In a recent Foreign Policy editorial , a collection of authors , including retired Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis , argued that a new Biden Administration should do away with references to “ America First ” in national strategy documents .
The piece is eye-opening , as it exposes the willful blindness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For all the magical thinking about alliances , process , and the need for stability , missing is any realistic attempt to define national interests clearly and to set priorities , which is the essence of an authentic grand strategy .
What happens in Afghanistan or the South China Sea is more meaningful to the authors than what happens on our Southern border or , for that matter , in our nation ’ s capital .
There is no acknowledgment that some things are less important than others , or that America may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in too many places .
The authors give alliances top billing because they function to create “ defense in depth , ” as if America were at risk of being overrun by the Golden Horde .
More important , the talk of “ defense ” ignores that we are not really defending ourselves when we impose our will on some far-flung part of the globe like Somalia , Syria , or the Caucasus .
As with the Cold War ’ s fanciful ideas of a conventional war in Europe , the neoliberals selectively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which nearly completely guarantees our sovereignty and territorial integrity , i.e.
, our defense .
This argument does not stand up to scrutiny .
In practice , alliances are temporary and ad hoc , rooted in common interests .
NATO provided inconsistent support for our conflict in Afghanistan long before Trump came on the scene .
This is nothing new .
Back in the 1980s , remember , France , Spain , and Italy denied U.S. overflight rights to attack Libya for its support of terrorism .
Similarly , some NATO members—France , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign .
Every nation in NATO and any other alliance judges its own interests differently .
We can not count on them across-the-board , and , realistically , they probably can not count on us .
Would Americans really be willing to lose tens of thousands of its servicemen over Taiwan ’ s territorial integrity ?
Or to change Iran ’ s regime in a redux of the Iraq campaign ?
Would Americans go to war over Estonia or Turkey ?
None of these places have any significant effect on our national destiny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bloated conception of American interests .
They define the whole globe as our business , whose “ rules-based order ” requires the United States to maintain “ unipolar ” supremacy forever .
While attacked nonstop as irresponsible , reckless , and defying norms , President Trump ’ s “ America First ” instincts expressed the American people ’ s abiding views .
Even at the height of the Cold War , Americans would not stand for an extended and inconclusive war in Vietnam , just as they later rejected a never-ending war in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support as to reject foreign engagements , but they generally do not stand for long-term campaigns in the service of abstract notions like “ stability ” and “ order.
” Thus , the most critical obstacle to the foreign policy agenda of Blanken , Flournoy , and Mattis is the American people , who simply do not want to be the world ’ s policeman .
They understand , correctly , that the benefits of assuming this role have been inchoate and overstated , while the costs and risks are enormous .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American people is neither sensible nor sustainable .
In this particular , Trump has not gotten sufficient credit for his own resistance to the deep state , which pulled out all the stops—even impeachment—when he vindicated his voters and refused to escalate in Syria and Afghanistan .
We can not expect such independence from a President Biden .
In addition to his physical weakness , he has the manifest moral weakness necessary to be the establishment ’ s man : cupidity , agreeableness , and dishonesty .
As revealed by his unattended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the American people , but the upper echelons of the bureaucracy , the media , and the donor class .
Those groups , unlike the American people , do not bear the cost , nor share the skepticism , of a government run amuck .
The establishment ’ s hostility to public opinion when it runs counter to the whims of its technocrats is an additional basis for skepticism regarding the claimed outcome of the recent election .
For the establishment , democracy is a symbolic , feel-good term—a short-hand phrase denoting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free trade .
Popular control of the government is secondary to this set of substantive policies .
Thus , the establishment gladly ignores elections so these policies come to fruition , whether in Ukraine or in Utah , all the while claiming to be the champions of democracy .
This is why they resisted Trump , cast a cloud over his 2016 victory with nonsensical allegations of Russian collusion , and felt free to pursue an impeachment on the word of an angry lieutenant colonel and his “ interagency ” comrades .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the will of the people and democratic accountability of elected officials .
Rather , it is about a government that does what they want , and ruling class preferences dressed up as the fruits of science , reason , human rights , and other glorified propaganda .
Christopher Roach is an attorney in private practice based in Florida .
He is a double graduate of the University of Chicago and has previously been published by The Federalist , Takimag , The Journal of Property Rights in Transition , the Washington Legal Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Orlando Sentinel .
The views presented are solely his own .

by Christopher Roach
While there is a long-shot hope that Donald Trump will remain president, things are not looking good. We have to consider, while remaining hopeful, what a Biden presidency will look like.
On issues of war and peace, we have a preview from his cabinet picks.
The Return of the Technocrats
The most prominent name to date is Tony Blinken, Biden’s pick for secretary of state. Undoubtedly qualified in the sense that he has experience in prior administrations and high-status educational credentials—a bachelor’s from Harvard and a Columbia law degree—he also has the uniquely Washington qualification of being frequently wrong and completely undaunted by his record of failure.
Blinken had a hand in the “humanitarian interventions” of Obama’s second term. He helped craft the disastrous Syria policy, which created a refugee crisis and permitted the rise of ISIS. He also supported military intervention in Libya, which led to anarchy, a refugee crisis, and the death of an ambassador. While working as a Senate staffer, he supported the invasion of Iraq. In short, he has fully embraced the hubris of regime change wars against countries that did not attack us, do not threaten us, and, in the cases of Syria and Libya, were bulwarks against Islamic fundamentalism.
Michèle Flournoy reportedly is on the short list for secretary of defense. Like Blinken, she is known for advocating the expansive use of American power and was involved in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations. She is notable for her close ties to defense contractors, supporting the Afghanistan surge in Obama’s first term, and would, if confirmed, be the first female secretary of defense. Of course, she is also a graduate of Harvard.
These choices remind us that Biden is a figurehead for the establishment and its army of technocrat functionaries. Because he is pliable and dependent, he became the rallying point for a coalition of government, business, and media insiders deeply hostile to Trump. This hostility arose because Trump demanded the unelected bureaucracy be accountable to the elected branches of government and to the American people. Their hostility began in unprecedented spying against Trump by rogue intelligence agencies and extended to a pretextual impeachment during an election year.
The First Peace Candidate Since Eisenhower
One of Trump’s more profound breaks with the establishment was his approach to foreign policy. He did not pursue grand plans, was skeptical of multilateralism, and mostly avoided pressure to continue fruitless wars in the Middle East. He was critical of the vague, globalist priorities that emanated from his predecessors, whether named Bush, Obama, or Clinton.
All three accepted America’s role as guarantor of world order. This flowed from the pretense that we live in a “unipolar era,” where America alone could shape events. This policy supposedly upheld the “rules-based, international order” that prevailed since 1945.
Of course, that world wasn’t terribly orderly, but, for a time, world wars did not happen because of the fortuitous balance between two large nuclear powers. After the Soviet Union collapsed, America held a preeminent position. But, instead of a “peace dividend” and a reduction of overseas commitments, the interventionists pursued vague policies of expanding markets, “humanitarian” regime change wars, and, after the September 11 attacks, tried to transform the Middle East.
This approach remains popular among the “smart set,” despite its meager results. In a recent Foreign Policy editorial, a collection of authors, including retired Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, argued that a new Biden Administration should do away with references to “America First” in national strategy documents. The piece is eye-opening, as it exposes the willful blindness stemming from the authors’ neoliberalism. For all the magical thinking about alliances, process, and the need for stability, missing is any realistic attempt to define national interests clearly and to set priorities, which is the essence of an authentic grand strategy.
What happens in Afghanistan or the South China Sea is more meaningful to the authors than what happens on our Southern border or, for that matter, in our nation’s capital. There is no acknowledgment that some things are less important than others, or that America may suffer from trying to do too much in too many places.
The authors give alliances top billing because they function to create “defense in depth,” as if America were at risk of being overrun by the Golden Horde. More important, the talk of “defense” ignores that we are not really defending ourselves when we impose our will on some far-flung part of the globe like Somalia, Syria, or the Caucasus. As with the Cold War’s fanciful ideas of a conventional war in Europe, the neoliberals selectively forget America’s nuclear arsenal, which nearly completely guarantees our sovereignty and territorial integrity, i.e., our defense.
The authors write:
The United States today is undermining the foundations of an international order manifestly advantageous to U.S. interests, reflecting a basic ignorance of the extent to which both robust alliances and international institutions provide vital strategic depth. In practice, “America First” meant “America alone.”
This argument does not stand up to scrutiny. In practice, alliances are temporary and ad hoc, rooted in common interests. NATO provided inconsistent support for our conflict in Afghanistan long before Trump came on the scene. This is nothing new. Back in the 1980s, remember, France, Spain, and Italy denied U.S. overflight rights to attack Libya for its support of terrorism. Similarly, some NATO members—France, in particular—stayed away from the 2003 Iraq campaign.
Every nation in NATO and any other alliance judges its own interests differently. We cannot count on them across-the-board, and, realistically, they probably cannot count on us. Would Americans really be willing to lose tens of thousands of its servicemen over Taiwan’s territorial integrity? Or to change Iran’s regime in a redux of the Iraq campaign? Would Americans go to war over Estonia or Turkey?
None of these places have any significant effect on our national destiny, other than in the neoliberals’ bloated conception of American interests. They define the whole globe as our business, whose “rules-based order” requires the United States to maintain “unipolar” supremacy forever.
Is American Empire Compatible With American Democracy?
While attacked nonstop as irresponsible, reckless, and defying norms, President Trump’s “America First” instincts expressed the American people’s abiding views. Even at the height of the Cold War, Americans would not stand for an extended and inconclusive war in Vietnam, just as they later rejected a never-ending war in Iraq. Americans are as quick to support as to reject foreign engagements, but they generally do not stand for long-term campaigns in the service of abstract notions like “stability” and “order.”
Thus, the most critical obstacle to the foreign policy agenda of Blanken, Flournoy, and Mattis is the American people, who simply do not want to be the world’s policeman. They understand, correctly, that the benefits of assuming this role have been inchoate and overstated, while the costs and risks are enormous.
A strategy built on defying the will of the American people is neither sensible nor sustainable. In this particular, Trump has not gotten sufficient credit for his own resistance to the deep state, which pulled out all the stops—even impeachment—when he vindicated his voters and refused to escalate in Syria and Afghanistan.
We cannot expect such independence from a President Biden. In addition to his physical weakness, he has the manifest moral weakness necessary to be the establishment’s man: cupidity, agreeableness, and dishonesty.
As revealed by his unattended campaign events, his real constituency is not the American people, but the upper echelons of the bureaucracy, the media, and the donor class. Those groups, unlike the American people, do not bear the cost, nor share the skepticism, of a government run amuck.
The establishment’s hostility to public opinion when it runs counter to the whims of its technocrats is an additional basis for skepticism regarding the claimed outcome of the recent election. For the establishment, democracy is a symbolic, feel-good term—a short-hand phrase denoting liberal values ranging from gay rights to free trade. Popular control of the government is secondary to this set of substantive policies. Thus, the establishment gladly ignores elections so these policies come to fruition, whether in Ukraine or in Utah, all the while claiming to be the champions of democracy.
This is why they resisted Trump, cast a cloud over his 2016 victory with nonsensical allegations of Russian collusion, and felt free to pursue an impeachment on the word of an angry lieutenant colonel and his “interagency” comrades.
For them, “democracy” is not about the will of the people and democratic accountability of elected officials. Rather, it is about a government that does what they want, and ruling class preferences dressed up as the fruits of science, reason, human rights, and other glorified propaganda.
– – –
Christopher Roach is an attorney in private practice based in Florida. He is a double graduate of the University of Chicago and has previously been published by The Federalist, Takimag, The Journal of Property Rights in Transition, the Washington Legal Foundation, the Marine Corps Gazette, and the Orlando Sentinel. The views presented are solely his own.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--All Star Panelist Crom Carmichael Discerns What It Means to Be Pro-American Versus Anti-American

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 discuss the difference of being pro-American versus anti-American .
Leahy : We are joined now in studio by the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael .
Crom , good morning .
Carmichael : Michael , how are you , sir ?
Leahy : How was your drive in ?
Was it cold and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fairly safe ?
No big problems out there ?
Carmichael : Are we doing road reports now from Green Hills ?
Leahy : We are doing the Crom Carmichael safety report because I am always concerned about your safety .
Carmichael : They have re-topped .
They ’ ve completed the re-topping of Hillsboro Road .
So that makes it easy .
It makes it much nicer too .
Leahy : So you were listening to our interview with Laurie Cardoza-Moore .
She ’ s pretty brave .
Carmichael : Well she is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was was it Jefferson who said , and I ’ m going to only paraphrase .
And I could probably get closer than Biden would .
He said when good people do nothing bad people take over .
That ’ s more or less it .
He was a little more eloquent , but that gets the gist of it .
And this is a good person and she ’ s fighting against a bunch of very bad people .
She really is .
CAIR is a bad organization .
They have an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agenda .
They have an anti-American agenda in my view .
Carmichael : Yeah .
It is .
Here ’ s what ’ s interesting .
in order to say somebody ’ s anti-American , what must you first define ?
Carmichael : Yes .
What is American ?
You don ’ t have to be pro-American you just have to be American .
Let ’ s just say pro-American .
Carmichael : I ’ m going to go with yours .
I think it ’ s better because you can be one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You can be pro-American and not care at all .
Or you can be anti-American .
And so the question is what is it to be an American ?
Leahy : By the way , that is the fundamental question .
And Crom , I ’ m 65 years old .
I think since the time I ’ ve been four years old the most important thing in my life was to be an American .
Carmichael : Okay .
Well , I don ’ t know that all people are as are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leahy : I think you ’ re probably right .
Carmichael : And I think most people are not .
but but but I would describe you as a very pro-American person in the sense that you believe strongly in the Constitution .
You believe that the Constitution was flawed when it was written but it had an amendment process .
The amendments had made it better in order to form a more perfect union .
Blah , blah , blah .
and we have done that .
We ’ ve improved that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you I have the same view .
Carmichael : Yes .
And the Declaration of Independence .
Not since I was four though .
I probably came into caring more when I was in my 30s .
Leahy : It started with me just to probably more information that you want when I was watching the debate in 1960 with John Fitzgerald Kennedy who was an Irish Catholic like me and Richard Nixon .
And you know , of course , I ’ ve changed my views about Kennedy but not about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carmichael : So you can either be pro-American in which case you are a person that is well-grounded so to speak .
Using that term .
and I ’ m going to use that term on the other side too because that doesn ’ t mean well grounded does not necessarily mean good .
But you ’ re well-grounded in what constitutes the founding of our country The greatness of our country and the uniqueness of our country as a country that ’ s founded under the notion of God-given rights .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s what makes us different from every other country in the world , which is what makes us exceptional .
We were founded on the notion that God grants individuals rights and no institutions created by man can justly take away those rights .
So someone who strongly believes that is pro-American .
Somebody who does not like that idea and who wants the state to have the power over the individual and to be able to justify that power would be a person who is well-grounded in anti-Americanism .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese Communist Party for example does not share that view .
They don ’ t share the view that God gives individuals rights .
That ’ s why they repress religions of all kinds in China .
And now the very foundation of our country is under attack .
Let ’ s look at what ’ s going on .
I saw two stories over the weekend that we ’ re really interesting .
You ’ ve got this official in Georgia who says that he ’ s getting death threats now and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting death threats .
Leahy : You are talking about the voter implementation service manager Gabriel Sterling who aggressively attacked the President in a very unprofessional way , I thought .
This Sterling guy , I have researched the guy .
He ’ s A political hack .
Carmichael : Well , okay what I ’ m saying is this I ’ m glad you ’ ve researched them because all I did was read the story .
And so to Gabriel and and and people who agree with him I would simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fought and died in wars defending the right to be an American and that means to believe in God-given rights .
It means we should have free and fair elections .
In Georgia , they had anything but free and fair elections .
They had terrible elections .
So I have another story on exactly that point by one of the Democrat Senate candidates in Georgia who is now under investigation for the second time of trying to register out-of-state and… Carmichael : To come in and vote in Georgia .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Carmichael : So what ’ s happening is Gabriel Sterling is now receiving a lot of pressure .
You know what I hope he received a lot more .
It would not bother me at all if people protested outside of his home .
He signed up for the job .
Leahy : Well in the background is this guy ’ s a political hack .
Carmichael : Let me say this Michael I don ’ t care if he is a political hack .
What I ’ m saying is he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a job to do and he failed to do that job .
So now he ’ s getting pressure from people who wish he had done his job .
Who had confidence in him when he took the job that he would his job ?
And now he ’ s mad that he ’ s getting pressure .
Carmichael : Too bad .
I hope he gets more .
I hope he resigns .
I hope he moves to Brazil .
( Leahy laughs ) I don ’ t want anything bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just want things to happen to him emotionally so that he will and other people like him and if they sign up to make sure that our elections are free and fair that they do their job .
Because if they won ’ t do it Michael you can ’ t do anything about it .
And I can ’ t do anything about it .
The voters in Georgia can ’ t do anything about it after the fact .
Leahy : Well , you ’ re exactly right .
And by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documenting this on a whole series at Breitbart about how utterly incompetent the secretary of state is .
Carmichael : Do you think it was incompetence ?
Leahy : That ’ s the kindest beginning but it could have been more .
Carmichael : But you ’ re what you ’ re saying is that it ’ s a certain intellectual laziness .
Carmichael : That he ’ s getting pressure secretary of state , so stop me if I ’ m wrong because you know more about this than I do .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Stacey Abrams with all these lawsuits that she was filing .
So so she did he decided that it was in the best interest of Georgia ( i.e .
the best interest of himself ) to get the pressure off of him and to settle with her .
And the result is that there were there was a bunch of cheating that went on in Georgia .
Leahy : The consent decree that he signed violated Georgia state law .
And he gave away a whole series of irregularities to the Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mack truck through .
Carmichael : And so it ’ s what you and I are saying is that there and you will continue to find more and more evidence that shows that the elections in Georgia were flawed .
You ’ re going to find more and more evidence to that effect .
Will you find the smoking gun ?
Will you find the videotape of six people in a room saying let ’ s all throw in here and cheat together ?
And here ’ s exactly how we ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the camera when you are providing the proof ?
The answer is no .
But you ’ re going to find tons and tons of evidence .
Leahy : I might get pretty close to that smoking gun .
Carmichael : Well if you do that ’ s even better .
But the point I ’ m trying to make is but let ’ s look at I jokingly said last week Putin won his last election by 80 percent .
Did Al Capone ever call for somebody to be murdered and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Carmichael : Okay .
What do we how do we know that ?
There ’ s no proof .
He was indicted and convicted for income tax evasion .
Leahy : Income tax evasion .
As you know in your story the lawyer that gave him up the day he went to prison was assassinated .
That ’ s evidence perhaps not proof .
Carmichael : Well , that ’ s a great point .
That ’ s a great point .
But even still the conviction was on income tax evasion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It wasn ’ t on bootlegging .
It wasn ’ t on murder .
It was not any of those things .
Why ?
Because the government had lots of evidence but not enough proof .
And so for voters to feel that their elections are being stolen quite frankly we don ’ t need proof .
we need evidence .
And we have plenty of it .
And so the Democrats claim that Trump stole the election with the help of Russia .
They investigated guess what ?
After $ 35 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Nothing .
Not even evidence .
Listen to the 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 .
Photo “ Pledge of Allegiance ” by Gage Skidmore .
CC BY-SA 2.0 .

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 discuss the difference of being pro-American versus anti-American.
Leahy: We are joined now in studio by the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael. Crom, good morning.
Carmichael: Michael, how are you, sir?
Leahy: How was your drive in? Was it cold and slick or just cold?
Carmichael: Cold. Just cold.
Leahy: Fairly safe? No big problems out there?
Carmichael: Are we doing road reports now from Green Hills?
Leahy: We are doing the Crom Carmichael safety report because I am always concerned about your safety.
Carmichael: They have re-topped. They’ve completed the re-topping of Hillsboro Road. So that makes it easy. It makes it much nicer too.
Leahy: So you were listening to our interview with Laurie Cardoza-Moore. She’s pretty brave.
Carmichael: Well she is and you know, I think it was was it Jefferson who said, and I’m going to only paraphrase. And I could probably get closer than Biden would. He said when good people do nothing bad people take over. That’s more or less it. He was a little more eloquent, but that gets the gist of it. And this is a good person and she’s fighting against a bunch of very bad people. She really is. CAIR is a bad organization. They have an agenda.
Leahy: They have an agenda. They have an anti-American agenda in my view.
Carmichael: Yeah. It is. Here’s what’s interesting. in order to say somebody’s anti-American, what must you first define?
Leahy: What pro-American is.
Carmichael: Yes. What is American? You don’t have to be pro-American you just have to be American. Let’s just say pro-American.
Leahy: Same thing. Pro- American or American.
Carmichael: I’m going to go with yours. I think it’s better because you can be one of three things. I suppose. You can be pro-American and not care at all. Or you can be anti-American. And so the question is what is it to be an American?
Leahy: By the way, that is the fundamental question. And Crom, I’m 65 years old. I think since the time I’ve been four years old the most important thing in my life was to be an American.
Carmichael: Okay. Well, I don’t know that all people are as are focused on that as you are.
Leahy: I think you’re probably right.
Carmichael: And I think most people are not. but but but I would describe you as a very pro-American person in the sense that you believe strongly in the Constitution. You believe that the Constitution was flawed when it was written but it had an amendment process. The amendments had made it better in order to form a more perfect union. Blah, blah, blah. and we have done that. We’ve improved that.
Leahy: And I will say that you I have the same view.
Carmichael: Yes. And the Declaration of Independence. Not since I was four though. I probably came into caring more when I was in my 30s.
Leahy: It started with me just to probably more information that you want when I was watching the debate in 1960 with John Fitzgerald Kennedy who was an Irish Catholic like me and Richard Nixon. And you know, of course, I’ve changed my views about Kennedy but not about America since then. (Chuckles)
Carmichael: So you can either be pro-American in which case you are a person that is well-grounded so to speak. Using that term. and I’m going to use that term on the other side too because that doesn’t mean well grounded does not necessarily mean good. But you’re well-grounded in what constitutes the founding of our country The greatness of our country and the uniqueness of our country as a country that’s founded under the notion of God-given rights.
And that’s really the key. That’s what makes us different from every other country in the world, which is what makes us exceptional. We were founded on the notion that God grants individuals rights and no institutions created by man can justly take away those rights. So someone who strongly believes that is pro-American. Somebody who does not like that idea and who wants the state to have the power over the individual and to be able to justify that power would be a person who is well-grounded in anti-Americanism.
They oppose that point of view. The Chinese Communist Party for example does not share that view. They don’t share the view that God gives individuals rights. That’s why they repress religions of all kinds in China. And now the very foundation of our country is under attack. Let’s look at what’s going on. I saw two stories over the weekend that we’re really interesting. You’ve got this official in Georgia who says that he’s getting death threats now and the people who work with him are getting death threats.
Leahy: You are talking about the voter implementation service manager Gabriel Sterling who aggressively attacked the President in a very unprofessional way, I thought. This Sterling guy, I have researched the guy. He’s A political hack.
Carmichael: Well, okay what I’m saying is this I’m glad you’ve researched them because all I did was read the story. And so to Gabriel and and and people who agree with him I would simply say this. People have gone overseas and fought and died in wars defending the right to be an American and that means to believe in God-given rights.
It means we should have free and fair elections. In Georgia, they had anything but free and fair elections. They had terrible elections. So I have another story on exactly that point by one of the Democrat Senate candidates in Georgia who is now under investigation for the second time of trying to register out-of-state and…
Leahy: Raphael Warnock.
Carmichael: To come in and vote in Georgia. And Gabriel Sterling does not care about that.
Leahy: No, he doesn’t.
Carmichael: So what’s happening is Gabriel Sterling is now receiving a lot of pressure. You know what I hope he received a lot more. It would not bother me at all if people protested outside of his home. He signed up for the job.
Leahy: Well in the background is this guy’s a political hack.
Carmichael: Let me say this Michael I don’t care if he is a political hack. What I’m saying is he signed up for the job. He had a job to do and he failed to do that job. So now he’s getting pressure from people who wish he had done his job. Who had confidence in him when he took the job that he would his job? And now he’s mad that he’s getting pressure.
Leahy: Exactly.
Carmichael: Too bad. I hope he gets more. I hope he resigns. I hope he moves to Brazil. (Leahy laughs) I don’t want anything bad to happen to him physically. I just want things to happen to him emotionally so that he will and other people like him and if they sign up to make sure that our elections are free and fair that they do their job. Because if they won’t do it Michael you can’t do anything about it. And I can’t do anything about it. The voters in Georgia can’t do anything about it after the fact.
Leahy: Well, you’re exactly right. And by the way, I’ve been documenting this on a whole series at Breitbart about how utterly incompetent the secretary of state is.
Carmichael: Do you think it was incompetence?
Leahy: That’s the kindest beginning but it could have been more.
Carmichael: But you’re what you’re saying is that it’s a certain intellectual laziness.
Leahy: Yes.
Carmichael: That he’s getting pressure secretary of state, so stop me if I’m wrong because you know more about this than I do. The secretary of Ssate was getting pressure from Stacey Abrams with all these lawsuits that she was filing. So so she did he decided that it was in the best interest of Georgia (i.e. the best interest of himself) to get the pressure off of him and to settle with her. And the result is that there were there was a bunch of cheating that went on in Georgia.
Leahy: The consent decree that he signed violated Georgia state law. And he gave away a whole series of irregularities to the Democrats. A big hole they drove a Mack truck through.
Carmichael: And so it’s what you and I are saying is that there and you will continue to find more and more evidence that shows that the elections in Georgia were flawed. You’re going to find more and more evidence to that effect. Will you find the smoking gun? Will you find the videotape of six people in a room saying let’s all throw in here and cheat together? And here’s exactly how we’ll do it? And please smile at the camera when you are providing the proof? The answer is no. But you’re going to find tons and tons of evidence.
Leahy: I might get pretty close to that smoking gun.
Carmichael: Well if you do that’s even better. But the point I’m trying to make is but let’s look at I jokingly said last week Putin won his last election by 80 percent. Did Al Capone ever call for somebody to be murdered and then put out a contract that somebody murdered?
Leahy: Yeah.
Carmichael: Okay. What do we how do we know that? There’s no proof. He was indicted and convicted for income tax evasion.
Leahy: Income tax evasion. As you know in your story the lawyer that gave him up the day he went to prison was assassinated. That’s evidence perhaps not proof.
Carmichael: Well, that’s a great point. That’s a great point. But even still the conviction was on income tax evasion. It wasn’t on racketeering. It wasn’t on bootlegging. It wasn’t on murder. It was not any of those things. Why? Because the government had lots of evidence but not enough proof. And so for voters to feel that their elections are being stolen quite frankly we don’t need proof. we need evidence. And we have plenty of it. And so the Democrats claim that Trump stole the election with the help of Russia. They investigated guess what? After $35 million in a bunch of lawyers…
Leahy: Nothing.
Carmichael: Nothing. Not even evidence.
Leahy: I got plenty of evidence.
Listen to the 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.
Photo “Pledge of Allegiance” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--Trump Campaign Lawyer: More Than 40,000 People in Nevada Voted Twice

The lawyer leading President Trump ’ s election lawsuit in Nevada said Wednesday that he will submitting real evidence of voter fraud—including evidence that over 40,000 people in the state voted twice—to the court this afternoon .
The official results of the election in Nevada show Biden winning with 50.1 percent of the vote compared to Trump ’ s 47.7 percent .
For weeks , Trump Campaign attorney Jesse Binnall has been telling reporters that Trump—not Biden—was the actual winner in Nevada .
“ Donald Trump won … after you account for the fraud and irregularities that occurred , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced the lawsuit last month .
The lawyer said he wants a state judge to either declare Trump the winner of the election or to invalidate the presidential vote results .
“ We are going to present evidence of real voter fraud—thousands and thousands of instances of voter fraud in Nevada alone , ” Binnall told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo Wednesday morning .
“ We have instances , for instance , of 40,000-plus people who have voted twice in the election , ” he added .
“ We have data showing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having voted by mail , didn ’ t even receive ballots and didn ’ t even receive votes.
” Members of Trump ’ s legal team and representatives of Joe Biden ’ s six Nevada Electoral College delegates reportedly inspected a vote-counting location in Carson City on Tuesday in connection with Trump ’ s lawsuit .
Carson City District Court Judge James T. Russell on Monday granted a motion from Trump ’ s campaign to inspect the equipment on Monday , in accordance with Nevada state law .
Russell will hold a hearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday afternoon .
Binnall told Bartiromo that he will argue that Nevada voters were disenfranchised , “ because every time there ’ s a fraudulent vote cast—put into the system—it dilutes the votes of honest voters.
” He said that his team will be submitting evidence to the court at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon .
Debra Heine reports for American Greatness .
Photo “ People Voting ” by Wyofile Wyofile .
CC BY 2.0 .

by Debra Heine
The lawyer leading President Trump’s election lawsuit in Nevada said Wednesday that he will submitting real evidence of voter fraud—including evidence that over 40,000 people in the state voted twice—to the court this afternoon.
The official results of the election in Nevada show Biden winning with 50.1 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 47.7 percent.
For weeks, Trump Campaign attorney Jesse Binnall has been telling reporters that Trump—not Biden—was the actual winner in Nevada.
“Donald Trump won … after you account for the fraud and irregularities that occurred,” campaign attorney Binnall told reporters when he announced the lawsuit last month.
The lawyer said he wants a state judge to either declare Trump the winner of the election or to invalidate the presidential vote results.
“We are going to present evidence of real voter fraud—thousands and thousands of instances of voter fraud in Nevada alone,” Binnall told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo Wednesday morning.
“We have instances, for instance, of 40,000-plus people who have voted twice in the election,” he added. “We have data showing that people who were on the record as having voted by mail, didn’t even receive ballots and didn’t even receive votes.”
Members of Trump’s legal team and representatives of Joe Biden’s six Nevada Electoral College delegates reportedly inspected a vote-counting location in Carson City on Tuesday in connection with Trump’s lawsuit.
Carson City District Court Judge James T. Russell on Monday granted a motion from Trump’s campaign to inspect the equipment on Monday, in accordance with Nevada state law.
Russell will hold a hearing on the Trump Campaign’s lawsuit on Thursday afternoon.
Binnall told Bartiromo that he will argue that Nevada voters were disenfranchised, “because every time there’s a fraudulent vote cast—put into the system—it dilutes the votes of honest voters.”
He said that his team will be submitting evidence to the court at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon.
.@jbinnall on Nevada lawsuit: We are presenting to the court over 40,000 people who voted twice in the election pic.twitter.com/Pvw4cIzWQN — Team Trump (@TeamTrump) December 2, 2020
– – –
Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--Food Insecurity Doubles in U.S. During Coronavirus Shutdowns

As 2020 winds down , roughly 23 percent of households in the U.S. are struggling with food insecurity , a number that has doubled since last year .
Experts project over 50 million Americans will be food insecure in 2020 , including roughly 17 million children , Craig Gundersen , a Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics professor at the University of Illinois , says .
In 2019 , roughly 13.7 million U.S. families – 10.5 percent of households – experienced food insecurity at some point , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .
Since state-mandated shutdowns began in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of U.S. families experiencing food insecurity has roughly doubled , a number which coincides with high unemployment .
According to estimates published by researchers at Northwestern University , food insecurity has impacted as many as 23 percent of all U.S. households so far in 2020 .
Households that have food security are defined as those who have access at all times to enough food for an active , healthy life for all household members , the USDA states .
Food insecurity in households includes those who are uncertain of having , or unable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the needs of all their family members because they have insufficient money or other resources to purchase food .
The most food insecure households are those with children headed by a single woman , followed by households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold .
The federal poverty line was $ 25,926 for a family of four in 2019 .
From April to July 2020 , roughly 22.5 percent of all respondents to a U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey , and 29.3 percent of respondents with children , reported experiencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Meal Gap , an interactive model designed for Feeding America , a national network of more than 200 food banks in the U.S. For his most recent report , Gundersen combined MMG data with projected unemployment numbers .
“ One of the key things about COVID-19 is how there ’ s differential impacts across the country and by demographic groups , ” Gundersen said .
“ People with college education generally have not seen much of an impact on either unemployment rates or incomes .
However , people in lower-wage jobs tend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States with the highest food insecurity levels before the coronavirus also had the highest food insecurity levels after the virus , but were worse .
According to the Northwestern study , the state with the least number of food insecure residents is Vermont ( 14.2 percent ) .
Mississippi has the highest ( 30.8 percent ) .
The second-highest number of food insecure families lives in New Mexico ( 29.3 percent ) , followed by Louisiana ( 29.1 percent ) , Texas ( 28 percent ) and Arkansas ( 27.9 percent ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack of resources to purchase it , well over 100 million food boxes will have been distributed to support U.S. farmers and families with food insecurity through the USDA ’ s Farmers to Families Food Box Program by the end of the year .
The USDA ’ s Agricultural Marketing Services has partnered with national , regional and local distributors “ whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants , hotels and other food service businesses , ” the USDA says , to purchase fresh produce , dairy and meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 4 billion .
The program has supplied food boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables , dairy and meat products , and a combination box of fresh produce , dairy or meat products in partnership with state departments of agriculture nationwide .
Distributors pack the products into family-sized boxes and transport them to food banks , community and faith-based organizations , and other nonprofit organizations working directly with families in need .
From May 15 to June 30 , the USDA invoiced 35.7 million food boxes nationwide .
From July 1 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50.8 million food boxes .
From Sept. 1 to Sept. 18 , 15.1 million food boxes were delivered , and from Sept. 22 to Oct. 31 , 17.2 million food boxes were invoiced .
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square .

by Bethany Blankley
As 2020 winds down, roughly 23 percent of households in the U.S. are struggling with food insecurity, a number that has doubled since last year.
Experts project over 50 million Americans will be food insecure in 2020, including roughly 17 million children, Craig Gundersen, a Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics professor at the University of Illinois, says.
In 2019, roughly 13.7 million U.S. families – 10.5 percent of households – experienced food insecurity at some point, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since state-mandated shutdowns began in most states in mid-March, the number of U.S. families experiencing food insecurity has roughly doubled, a number which coincides with high unemployment.
According to estimates published by researchers at Northwestern University, food insecurity has impacted as many as 23 percent of all U.S. households so far in 2020.
Households that have food security are defined as those who have access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members, the USDA states.
Food insecurity in households includes those who are uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their family members because they have insufficient money or other resources to purchase food.
The most food insecure households are those with children headed by a single woman, followed by households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold. The federal poverty line was $25,926 for a family of four in 2019.
From April to July 2020, roughly 22.5 percent of all respondents to a U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, and 29.3 percent of respondents with children, reported experiencing food insecurity conditions.
Gundersen developed Map the Meal Gap, an interactive model designed for Feeding America, a national network of more than 200 food banks in the U.S.
For his most recent report, Gundersen combined MMG data with projected unemployment numbers.
“One of the key things about COVID-19 is how there’s differential impacts across the country and by demographic groups,” Gundersen said. “People with college education generally have not seen much of an impact on either unemployment rates or incomes. However, people in lower-wage jobs tend to be impacted a lot more.”
States with the highest food insecurity levels before the coronavirus also had the highest food insecurity levels after the virus, but were worse.
According to the Northwestern study, the state with the least number of food insecure residents is Vermont (14.2 percent). Mississippi has the highest (30.8 percent).
The second-highest number of food insecure families lives in New Mexico (29.3 percent), followed by Louisiana (29.1 percent), Texas (28 percent) and Arkansas (27.9 percent).
To meet the demand for food and lack of resources to purchase it, well over 100 million food boxes will have been distributed to support U.S. farmers and families with food insecurity through the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program by the end of the year.
The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services has partnered with national, regional and local distributors “whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses,” the USDA says, to purchase fresh produce, dairy and meat products from American producers to the tune of $4 billion.
The program has supplied food boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat products, and a combination box of fresh produce, dairy or meat products in partnership with state departments of agriculture nationwide. Distributors pack the products into family-sized boxes and transport them to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other nonprofit organizations working directly with families in need.
From May 15 to June 30, the USDA invoiced 35.7 million food boxes nationwide. From July 1 to August 31, the number increased to 50.8 million food boxes.
From Sept. 1 to Sept. 18, 15.1 million food boxes were delivered, and from Sept. 22 to Oct. 31, 17.2 million food boxes were invoiced.
– – –
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-03--Head of PJTN Laurie Cardoza-Moore Talks About Her New Appointment to the Tennessee Textbook Commissi

Head of PJTN Laurie Cardoza-Moore Talks About Her New Appointment to the Tennessee Textbook Commission and Backlash She’s Received

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 Laurie Cardoza-Moore from Proclaiming Justice to the Nations to the newsmakers line .
During the second hour , Moore discussed her newly appointed position to the Tennessee Textbook Commission to ensure textbooks are historically accurate and unbiased .
She also described the threats and intimidation that she ’ s received from the ( CAIR ) Council on American-Islamic Relations group .
Leahy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line by our good friend Laurie Cardoza-Moore .
Head and founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations .
Welcome and good morning , Laurie .
Moore : Good morning , Michael .
How are you ?
Leahy : Well , I ’ m great .
You are apparently under personal attack for apparently just you know , living and articulating your very traditional views .
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton has appointed you to the textbook commission .
It ’ s a very important job to look at the textbooks that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And now you ’ ve come under attack from the Council on American-Islamic Relations for just being you .
what is going on here ?
Moore : Well , I will state that yes , this is a very important appointment because as you know , Michael we have been at the forefront since we ’ ve launched our campaign to review textbooks and the content in the textbooks .
We were led to an anti-Semitic book almost a decade ago in Williamson County and a textbook being used , a Pearson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that book cover to cover that , we not only found the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content , but we found anti-American , anti-Judeo-Christian content that was in and also content that was unconstitutional .
It was pro-China .
So when we saw this , the story broke Fox News picked it and up ran it for two weeks .
We were hearing from parents and citizens all over the country .
And Michael this was a systemic problem then .
it ’ s been going on for a long time , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with parents being locked in their homes homeschooling their kids because of covid parents are seeing for the first time what we have been trying to warn people about .
Now as it pertains to CAIR .
Let me we just talked about this organization .
This is the Council on American-Islamic Relations .
They were listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorist fundraising operation in the history of the United States of America .
They should have been arrested .
They should have been fined .
They should have done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why they weren ’ t tried and unindicted basically means that the federal government ran out of money and decided to close the case and not do anything further .
This organization has found itself into the halls of government .
And now they ’ re trying to influence .
Let me tell you about my record with the Muslim community .
I serve also as a special envoy to the United Nations for the World Council of Independent Christian Churches .
I have been invited by Muslim women to serve on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who came from Islamist countries .
They came to the United Nations asking women in the west to help them obtain their freedoms because of the oppression of their rights as women in Islamic countries .
If I am so bad or if I ’ m supposedly this Islamophobe or anti-Muslim why would Muslim women invite me to participate ?
Leahy : The real motivation is that they don ’ t want you to go in and find all these errors in the textbooks .
Moore : That ’ s exactly right Michael @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not just CAIR .
It ’ s other organizations that don ’ t want me to see .
It ’ s the publishing companies that don ’ t want me to see .
Everybody knows I have a reputation for being a bulldog .
I go and I look for the content because I know something ’ s in there .
How do I know ?
Look at what has happened in the streets of our cities this year .
We have seen chaos .
We have seen our young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people on the streets .
Innocent bystanders .
Destroying public and private property .
Destroying monuments that they don ’ t even know who the monuments are or the people and the legacy that they left behind .
this is going on in our streets .
And I told people back a decade ago when I realized that this was a nationwide problem I was telling elected officials only not only in Congress but state legislators because I work a lot with the legislators in the department of education in other states as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that if we don ’ t get a handle on the education and curriculum and the content we are teaching our children we are going to lose this constitutional republic .
Our children will not love America the way we love America .
They are not going to be great patriots .
They ’ re not going to care .
They ’ re not going to enlist .
We see the number of enlistments going down .
Leahy : And this is a theme by the way that you ’ ve been talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s been a theme of The Tennessee Star since we started almost four years ago .
Leahy : I ’ m going to read this quote from the ( CAIR ) Council on American-Islamic Relations .
They are propaganda people and they don ’ t like you because you ’ re going to actually give fix the textbooks so that they ’ re honest and not dishonest here is their criticism of you .
This individual should not be anywhere near the selection of textbooks in Tennessee or any state .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negatively impact any textbook selection .
We urge the Speaker to rescind the appointment immediately.
’ That ’ s from the CAIR national communications propaganda guy trying to intimidate you and the Speaker .
I don ’ t think it ’ s going to work .
Tell us what the next step is here , Laurie .
Moore : Yeah , definitely not going to work because I want to first applaud Cameron Sexton our Speaker for his bold and courageous leadership .
This has been an issue that this legislature has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a decade .
And we passed legislation to ensure the textbooks in Tennessee are historically accurate and that they are unbiased and they must reflect the values of Tennesseans .
And that ’ s my job .
I will serve on that commission as appointed by Speaker Sexton to review those textbooks and instructional materials on behalf of the parents and the citizens of this state considering our values as Tennesseans .
It ’ s interesting that that CAIR is coming after me because another thing I want to add Michael is we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos .
We brought on 11 different experts to cover seven different education disciplines .
One of those experts happens to be a Muslim by the name of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser who is an American patriot and he is also a Muslim .
And guess what his topic was ?
His essay was about the propaganda that is taught to American kids in public schools about Islam that is being whitewashed and he believes that this is extremely dangerous .
He agrees with our premise .
And his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So I don ’ t know what the disconnect is between CAIR and Dr. Zuhdi Jasser because it can ’ t be both .
So we have to look at CAIR and we have to look at their reputation as an organization .
I have established a reputation in the state legislature .
And the legislators know me .
I ’ ve been down there since 1993 to lobby on behalf of the unborn .
Lobbying on behalf of Israel .
lobbying on behalf of education as a citizen .
And of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work that I have done .
It ’ s not based on what CAIR suggests .
Leahy : So this guy this propagandist is from CAIR , Ibrahim Hooper .
Who as far as I know , I don ’ t know if he ’ s ever been in Tennessee .
He certainly doesn ’ t live in Tennessee .
He wants to tell Tennessee how to run the state in some textbooks .
Moore : Absolutely .
No Ibrahim Hooper again , he had a quote years ago where he said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wasn ’ t going to do anything violent to do that .
He was going to use education .
Well , you know , what ?
Why would you even use the word violence in the same sentence as education or changing America ?
So tell me why .
Leahy : Tell us about the job you ’ re going to do at the Tennessee Textbook Commission .
When will the next meeting be and what will be the topics you ’ ll discuss ?
Moore : There will be three training @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the others that will be coming on this year .
And then as soon as we get our orders as to what is going to be reviewed next and what subject matter is going to be covered with textbooks and instructional materials .
One of the things that I have been asking for and I ’ ve contacted .
I ’ ve already contacted even though I haven ’ t gone through the training .
I basically understand the whole process .
And so I ’ ve asked the Department of Education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new literacy program that Penny Schwinn is going to shove down the throats of our children and the legislature before the legislature convenes .
I understand she ’ s going to put it into place before the legislature convenes mid-January .
Well , you know what ?
Why is the Senate , and House education committees , why are they being bypassed ?
Why are they not able to look at this ?
I have asked and I would like to see this content .
I want to see what literacy program she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if phonics is part of that .
It should be all of that .
So I haven ’ t seen anything with regards to it .
I ’ m waiting to see if I will get access to this literacy program to see what Penny Schwinn has in mind for our children here in Tennessee .
Leahy : The process of textbook review is quite long and laborious I think .
And so if you start this process isn ’ t part of it reviewing the standards for textbooks and then that takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Absolutely .
You have to review the standards .
And once you know what the standards are for that item and that topic of education , then you have to look at those textbooks and instructional materials keeping in mind the state law and the standards .
Leahy : It takes a long time to change the standards and then after the standards are changed , you ’ ve got to select the textbooks .
And then the teachers deliver the content from the textbooks and other sources .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : And well how long before you the work that you do will have an impact directly in the classrooms ?
Moore : Typically it takes about two years before you see it from standards .
Because what has to happen is the standards are reviewed and if there aren ’ t any changes they are adopted .
then those standards that are adopted are given to the publishers .
The publishers review the content .
And then the publishers publish content , textbooks , and instructional materials to submit for approval or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re in the middle of that process in reviewing to make sure again that what is in the textbooks reflects the state law and reflects the standards of the state .
Leahy : Why is there such opposition from the groups like CAIR to one person you who ’ s dedicated to just getting actual history in our history books in the textbooks that the K-12 kids use and read ?
I mean there are 10 people on the textbook commission ?
How many people are on the textbook commission ?
Moore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leahy : 12 .
Okay .
So you ’ re one of 12 .
Leahy : Why are they so afraid of one person on the textbook commission ?
Moore : Michael , I think that the reason why is because we have a history at PJTN and me personally in reviewing content and exposing content being used in Tennessee schools .
We have changed legislation laws with regards to the content .
And that makes the publishers nervous .
It makes the people who have an agenda in education nervous .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a vested interest like CAIR .
I don ’ t know what their interest is .
But surely they want accurate information about Islam to be communicated because that seems to be where their concern is .
Surely they want the information to be accurate .
Well , that ’ s what I am here to ensure .
That there is an accurate perspective of history , geography , social studies , English language arts , and whatever it is that we are reviewing .
Whatever textbooks we are reviewing or instructional materials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are historically accurate and unbiased and they reflect the values of Tennesseans .
Leahy : Laurie , of these twelve members of the Tennessee textbook commission , how many are appointed by the speaker ?
How many are appointed by the governor ?
How many appointed by the head of the Senate ?
How do you get to be on one of these 12 ?
Moore : The Speaker and the Senate also each get to submit three individual recommendations from three of the grand divisions of Tennessee .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you a little history Michael this commission or the previous commission was fired by the state legislature .
Leahy : Because they weren ’ t doing a good job .
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 .
Photo “ Laurie Cardoza-Moore ” by Proclaiming Justice to the Nations .

Live from Music Row Wednesday 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 Laurie Cardoza-Moore from Proclaiming Justice to the Nations to the newsmakers line.
During the second hour, Moore discussed her newly appointed position to the Tennessee Textbook Commission to ensure textbooks are historically accurate and unbiased. She also described the threats and intimidation that she’s received from the (CAIR) Council on American-Islamic Relations group.
Leahy: We are joined on our newsmaker line by our good friend Laurie Cardoza-Moore. Head and founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations. Welcome and good morning, Laurie.
Moore: Good morning, Michael. How are you?
Leahy: Well, I’m great. You are apparently under personal attack for apparently just you know, living and articulating your very traditional views. Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton has appointed you to the textbook commission. It’s a very important job to look at the textbooks that it gives K-12 in our public schools read. And now you’ve come under attack from the Council on American-Islamic Relations for just being you. what is going on here?
Moore: Well, I will state that yes, this is a very important appointment because as you know, Michael we have been at the forefront since we’ve launched our campaign to review textbooks and the content in the textbooks. We were led to an anti-Semitic book almost a decade ago in Williamson County and a textbook being used, a Pearson published textbook.
And when we read that book cover to cover that, we not only found the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content, but we found anti-American, anti-Judeo-Christian content that was in and also content that was unconstitutional. It was pro-China. So when we saw this, the story broke Fox News picked it and up ran it for two weeks. We were hearing from parents and citizens all over the country.
And Michael this was a systemic problem then. it’s been going on for a long time, but it’s getting worse. and now with parents being locked in their homes homeschooling their kids because of covid parents are seeing for the first time what we have been trying to warn people about. Now as it pertains to CAIR. Let me we just talked about this organization. This is the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They were listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorist fundraising operation in the history of the United States of America. They should have been arrested.
They should have been fined. They should have done their time also. The only reason why they weren’t tried and unindicted basically means that the federal government ran out of money and decided to close the case and not do anything further. This organization has found itself into the halls of government. And now they’re trying to influence. Let me tell you about my record with the Muslim community.
I serve also as a special envoy to the United Nations for the World Council of Independent Christian Churches. I have been invited by Muslim women to serve on a panel. And these are Muslim women who came from Islamist countries. They came to the United Nations asking women in the west to help them obtain their freedoms because of the oppression of their rights as women in Islamic countries. If I am so bad or if I’m supposedly this Islamophobe or anti-Muslim why would Muslim women invite me to participate?
Leahy: The real motivation is that they don’t want you to go in and find all these errors in the textbooks.
Moore: That’s exactly right Michael. There are plenty of errors and it’s not just CAIR. It’s other organizations that don’t want me to see. It’s the publishing companies that don’t want me to see. Everybody knows I have a reputation for being a bulldog. I go and I look for the content because I know something’s in there.
How do I know? Look at what has happened in the streets of our cities this year. We have seen chaos. We have seen our young people destroying and murdering people. Attacking people on the streets. Innocent bystanders. Destroying public and private property. Destroying monuments that they don’t even know who the monuments are or the people and the legacy that they left behind. this is going on in our streets.
And I told people back a decade ago when I realized that this was a nationwide problem I was telling elected officials only not only in Congress but state legislators because I work a lot with the legislators in the department of education in other states as well. But I was warning them that if we don’t get a handle on the education and curriculum and the content we are teaching our children we are going to lose this constitutional republic. Our children will not love America the way we love America. They are not going to be great patriots. They’re not going to care. They’re not going to enlist. We see the number of enlistments going down.
Leahy: And this is a theme by the way that you’ve been talking about for many many years. It’s been a theme of The Tennessee Star since we started almost four years ago.
(Commercial break)
Leahy: I’m going to read this quote from the (CAIR) Council on American-Islamic Relations. They are propaganda people and they don’t like you because you’re going to actually give fix the textbooks so that they’re honest and not dishonest here is their criticism of you. This individual should not be anywhere near the selection of textbooks in Tennessee or any state.
She clearly has anti-Muslim views that inevitably would negatively impact any textbook selection. We urge the Speaker to rescind the appointment immediately.’ That’s from the CAIR national communications propaganda guy trying to intimidate you and the Speaker. I don’t think it’s going to work. Tell us what the next step is here, Laurie.
Moore: Yeah, definitely not going to work because I want to first applaud Cameron Sexton our Speaker for his bold and courageous leadership. This has been an issue that this legislature has been dealing with as I said for almost a decade. And we passed legislation to ensure the textbooks in Tennessee are historically accurate and that they are unbiased and they must reflect the values of Tennesseans. And that’s my job.
I will serve on that commission as appointed by Speaker Sexton to review those textbooks and instructional materials on behalf of the parents and the citizens of this state considering our values as Tennesseans. It’s interesting that that CAIR is coming after me because another thing I want to add Michael is we published last year a white paper for the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
We brought on 11 different experts to cover seven different education disciplines. One of those experts happens to be a Muslim by the name of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser who is an American patriot and he is also a Muslim. And guess what his topic was? His essay was about the propaganda that is taught to American kids in public schools about Islam that is being whitewashed and he believes that this is extremely dangerous. He agrees with our premise.
And his essay went into that white paper. So I don’t know what the disconnect is between CAIR and Dr. Zuhdi Jasser because it can’t be both. So we have to look at CAIR and we have to look at their reputation as an organization. I have established a reputation in the state legislature. And the legislators know me. I’ve been down there since 1993 to lobby on behalf of the unborn. Lobbying on behalf of Israel. lobbying on behalf of education as a citizen. And of course, my reputation is based on the work that I have done. It’s not based on what CAIR suggests.
Leahy: So this guy this propagandist is from CAIR, Ibrahim Hooper. Who as far as I know, I don’t know if he’s ever been in Tennessee. He certainly doesn’t live in Tennessee. He wants to tell Tennessee how to run the state in some textbooks.
Moore: Absolutely. No Ibrahim Hooper again, he had a quote years ago where he said that he wanted to make America Islamic and he wasn’t going to do anything violent to do that. He was going to use education. Well, you know, what? Why would you even use the word violence in the same sentence as education or changing America? So tell me why.
Leahy: Tell us about the job you’re going to do at the Tennessee Textbook Commission. When will the next meeting be and what will be the topics you’ll discuss?
Moore: There will be three training programs that I will be going through with the others that will be coming on this year. And then as soon as we get our orders as to what is going to be reviewed next and what subject matter is going to be covered with textbooks and instructional materials. One of the things that I have been asking for and I’ve contacted. I’ve already contacted even though I haven’t gone through the training.
I basically understand the whole process. And so I’ve asked the Department of Education to send me the documents for this new literacy program that Penny Schwinn is going to shove down the throats of our children and the legislature before the legislature convenes. I understand she’s going to put it into place before the legislature convenes mid-January. Well, you know what? Why is the Senate, and House education committees, why are they being bypassed?
Why are they not able to look at this? I have asked and I would like to see this content. I want to see what literacy program she is implementing and I want to see if phonics is part of that. It should be all of that. So I haven’t seen anything with regards to it. I’m waiting to see if I will get access to this literacy program to see what Penny Schwinn has in mind for our children here in Tennessee.
Leahy: The process of textbook review is quite long and laborious I think. And so if you start this process isn’t part of it reviewing the standards for textbooks and then that takes like a year or two?
Moore: Absolutely. You have to review the standards. And once you know what the standards are for that item and that topic of education, then you have to look at those textbooks and instructional materials keeping in mind the state law and the standards.
Leahy: It takes a long time to change the standards and then after the standards are changed, you’ve got to select the textbooks. And then the teachers deliver the content from the textbooks and other sources. That’s a long process I think.
Moore: Yes.
Leahy: And well how long before you the work that you do will have an impact directly in the classrooms?
Moore: Typically it takes about two years before you see it from standards. Because what has to happen is the standards are reviewed and if there aren’t any changes they are adopted. then those standards that are adopted are given to the publishers. The publishers review the content. And then the publishers publish content, textbooks, and instructional materials to submit for approval or adoption for purchase. And so we’re in the middle of that process in reviewing to make sure again that what is in the textbooks reflects the state law and reflects the standards of the state.
Leahy: Why is there such opposition from the groups like CAIR to one person you who’s dedicated to just getting actual history in our history books in the textbooks that the K-12 kids use and read? I mean there are 10 people on the textbook commission? How many people are on the textbook commission?
Moore: I believe there are 12.
Leahy: 12. Okay. So you’re one of 12.
Moore: 12 members.
Leahy: Why are they so afraid of one person on the textbook commission?
Moore: Michael, I think that the reason why is because we have a history at PJTN and me personally in reviewing content and exposing content being used in Tennessee schools. We have changed legislation laws with regards to the content. And that makes the publishers nervous. It makes the people who have an agenda in education nervous. And people who have other stakeholders who have a vested interest like CAIR. I don’t know what their interest is.
But surely they want accurate information about Islam to be communicated because that seems to be where their concern is. Surely they want the information to be accurate. Well, that’s what I am here to ensure. That there is an accurate perspective of history, geography, social studies, English language arts, and whatever it is that we are reviewing. Whatever textbooks we are reviewing or instructional materials that comply with state law. That they are historically accurate and unbiased and they reflect the values of Tennesseans.
Leahy: Laurie, of these twelve members of the Tennessee textbook commission, how many are appointed by the speaker? How many are appointed by the governor? How many appointed by the head of the Senate? How do you get to be on one of these 12?
Moore: The Speaker and the Senate also each get to submit three individual recommendations from three of the grand divisions of Tennessee. It’s interesting because this commission just to give you a little history Michael this commission or the previous commission was fired by the state legislature.
Leahy: Because they weren’t doing a good job.
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.
Photo “Laurie Cardoza-Moore” by Proclaiming Justice to the Nations.