Day: April 28, 2020

Hundreds Rally at the State Capitol from Across the State in Support of the #FreeTN Movement

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Hundreds of people from all parts of the state gathered again at the state capitol Monday in support of the #FreeTN movement, following a rally of the same name last Sunday. In addition to those standing on either side of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard with a wide variety of messaging on their hand-held signs, numerous others slowly drove in between sporting signs and flags while honking their horns. The #FreeTN movement continues, even as the state is set to start a phased reopening under the guidelines of the Tennessee Pledge launched last week by Governor Bill Lee and Tennessee’s Economic Recovery Group. #FreeTN organizer, Kimberley Edwards scheduled the rally as a follow-up to those held in seven cities across the state last Sunday, The Tennessee Star reported. The bipartisan effort is focused on the immediate lifting of the state and local government’s safer-at-home executive orders, allowing the opening of all businesses without social distancing mandates. After saying that the event should exhibit gentleness, togetherness and kindness, Edwards’ wedding DJ and musician husband led the group in a prayer. The prayer was followed by an acapella rendition of the national anthem by Bridget Cheek, who…

Read the full story

Tyson Tennessee Plants in Good Shape During COVID-19, Local Officials Say, Despite HQ’s Dire Warnings

Chris Butler

Tyson Foods has four locations in Tennessee, and if the one in Union City ever closed then it would dent Obion County’s tax revenue in a big way, said County Mayor Benny McGuire.

Tyson officials took out dire newspaper ads this past weekend. Those ads warned that America’s food supply chain might nearly collapse because of the way the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted some of their facilities.

Read the full story

Commentary: Anti-Lockdown Protests and the Defiant Protestant Heart of America

Admin

by George Rasley   In his 1904 masterwork, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. German social researcher Max Weber argued that Western capitalism and the Protestant Reformation were inextricably linked. Weber made the case that the Protestant theology of John Calvin and the idea of work and economic activity as a God-given “calling,” inspired Protestant societies to develop a strong work ethic, leading to the development of Western capitalism. Today, only about 49 percent of Americans identify as Protestants, but the Pilgrims and Puritans continue to exercise a powerful influence on the American psyche whether one is Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or adheres to no religion at all. And, Weber’s monumental work, and the century of research and thought it spawned, tells us much about the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of the protests against the government-imposed lockdowns of the economy that have sprung-up in the past week. In 2013 André van Hoorn and Robbert Maseland of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands published research demonstrating that the psychic harm from unemployment is about 40% worse for Protestants than for the general population. Moreover, people living in Protestant societies are hurt more by being unemployed than people living in other societies,…

Read the full story

Sen. Sherrod Brown Calls for Investigation into Reports Paycheck Protection Program Prioritized ‘Wealthier Clients’

Admin

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, joined two other Democrats in calling for an investigation into reports some Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lenders are prioritizing “larger and wealthier clients.”

In a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General Mike Ware, the senators allege some lenders “have prioritized the applications of their larger and wealthier clients to the detriment of smaller [businesses] adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.”

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, joined Brown, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, in sending the letter.

Read the full story

Crom Carmichael Reflects on Joe Biden’s History of Poor Decision Making, Connections to China, and Tara Reade

Julie Carr
Democrat Joe Biden

During the second hour of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, all-star panelis Crom Carmichael advocated that it was important to get the economy back open and take care of America’s economic wellness. Later in the segment, he reviewed Joe Biden’s stance on China and many of his detestable wrongdoings and current allegations of sexual assault by staffer Tara Reade in 1993.

Read the full story

Analysis: Interest Rates Indicate Unemployment Will Grow as Trump Administration Eyes Phase Four Relief Spending

Admin

by Robert Romano   The unemployment rate will likely continue rising as the spread between the 10-year treasury on one side, and the 2-year and 3-month treasuries on the other, continue rising over the next weeks and months, an analysis of interest rates over the past four recession shows, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The relationship shows that peak unemployment comes after the inversions and tends to continue until the peak the 10-year-2-year, and the 10-year-3-month spreads, with the average period lasting 26 months from when the inversions ended, and the range being from about 13 months as in the 1982 recession 30 to 31 months in the cases of the 1991, 2001 and 2007-2009 recessions. The question here is how quickly will the U.S. get to peak unemployment? Both the 10-year-2-year and 10-year-3-month spreads uninverted in Oct. 2019, and then another brief inversion happened in the 10-year-3-month last month, but not for the 10-year-2-year. So where to start counting from? October or last month? It’s impossible to know but you can produce a very wide range, and say that unemployment will probably continue rising until at least Nov. 2020,…

Read the full story

Bill Hagerty Releases New Ad Criticizing Joe Biden and His Ties to China

Chris Butler

  U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty has released a digital ad that he said exposes presidential candidate Joe Biden for defending the Communist Chinese regime — as opposed to Biden holding them accountable for creating a global pandemic. Hagerty posted the ad on YouTube Monday. “As President Donald Trump stands up to China and holds them accountable for the Wuhan virus, Beijing Biden has defended the Communist Chinese regime and even parroted their talking points,” Hagerty said. “Beijing Biden’s family’s close economic ties to China are well known, and his track record of defending China prove that he cannot credibly lead our nation. In the Senate, I will continue to stand with President Trump to push back against the Communist regime’s propaganda and hold them accountable for what has become the crime of the century.” As The Tennessee Star reported earlier this month, Hagerty released a television ad touting the candidate holding China accountable for what he called that nation’s deceitful actions. Hagerty said China’s leaders continue to mislead and cover up their Wuhan coronavirus data. China, Hagerty said, even accuses the United States of starting the global pandemic. “The Chinese Communist regime’s efforts to conceal and destroy valuable evidence – including silencing their own people…

Read the full story

Audacious: Chinese Government Claims to be Victim of Coronavirus Disinformation, Accuses US of ‘Hiding Something’

Admin

The Chinese government’s foreign ministry portrayed China as the victim of coronavirus disinformation on Monday, before suggesting minutes later that the U.S. government is “hiding something” regarding the pandemic.

“China always stands against disinformation campaign. We are victim rather than producer of disinformation,” the Chinese foreign ministry wrote from its Twitter account.

The account then suggested without evidence that the U.S. government has lied about the extent of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Read the full story

Democrat Pelosi Praised Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Ford’s ‘Courage,’ But Ignores Biden Accuser Tara Reade

Admin

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported and praised Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford, but has maintained silence on 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s accuser Tara Reade.

Ford leveled accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh in September 2018, launching a media onslaught and a series of congressional hearings into the allegations against the now-Supreme Court justice. Throughout these events, Pelosi expressed support for Ford.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Sour Revolution of Bernie Sanders

Admin

Truly transformative social movements usually complete cycles. They start with a crisis, build momentum, organize, gain power, and then institutionalize. The French Revolution combined intellectuals, peasants, and convicts into a force that the mighty King Louis XVI and his professional army could not stop. Their effort culminated with the king’s execution on the guillotine in 1793.

After this, the various revolutionaries had to face the question of which vision of that revolution would be imposed. Many of them did not survive that stage of their revolution. Like their former king, many of them were guillotined and, eventually, all of the elements they detested about the monarchy were restored under Napoleon Bonaparte.

This cycle isn’t unique to the history of France and, indeed, it’s the template for most “revolutions.”

Read the full story

Nashville’s Small Business Owners Have New Resources to Reopen After COVID-19

Chris Butler

Nashville’s small business owners have new online resources to help them reopen and navigate their way out of COVID-19.

Nashville Metro At-Large Council member Steve Glover announced one new website, SBTFNashville.com at a press conference Monday.

Glover co-chairs the city’s Small Business Task Force. For assistance, business owners may sort through that website for a list of financial resources, he said.

“We are also working with the Metro Health Department in the coming days to try to develop a systematic plan for how we help you and the employees train, get ready for how to reopen and hopefully determine a date [to reopen],” Glover said, adding he and members of the task force are coordinating with Mayor John Cooper’s office.

Read the full story

Mexico Deports Nearly All of Its Illegal Migrants Amid Coronavirus Fears, Government Reveals

Admin

Mexico has almost completely cleared out all of its migrant centers as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak, its government announced.

The National Migration Institute (INM), the agency in Mexico that manages immigration, said that it has been deporting immigrants from the country’s 65 migrant facilities since March 21, according to Reuters. The actions are being made in order to comply with safety and health guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico’s government migrant centers housed a total of 3,759 people in March. In recent weeks, authorities have repatriated 3,653 migrants back to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Guatemala by air and road.

Read the full story

Detroit Democrat Jonathan Kinloch Pushing Censure of State Lawmaker Says Elected Dems ‘Do Not Belong to Themselves’

Admin

Michigan Democrats plan to censure the state lawmaker who “broke protocol” by thanking President Trump for recommending hydroxychloroquine.  State Rep. Karen Whitsett (pictured right) earlier this month credited the controversial drug for saving her life after she had battled the deadly coronavirus for weeks.

Elected Democrats “do not belong to themselves,” explained Jonathan Kinloch, the chairman of the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization (pictured left).

Read the full story

Gov. DeWine Encourages Ohioans to ‘Have a Little #SpiritWeekOhio Fun’ and ‘Stay in Your PJ’s All Day’

Jason M. Reynolds

Nearly 1 million Ohioans have filed for unemployment since Gov. Mike DeWine shut the state down, and the governor has responded by calling for a “Spirit Week” to have “#SpiritWeekOhio fun” which includes wearing pajamas.

Six of the state’s most influential business organizations last week sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine last week urging him to reopen the economy as nearly one million Ohioans have now filed unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as The Ohio Star reported Monday. The letter was signed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, the Ohio Council on Retail Merchants, Ohio Farm Bureau, and NFIB-Ohio.

Read the full story

Royal Oak Commission to Request Censure, Resignation from Commissioner Who Protested Lockdown

Jordyn Pair

The Royal Oak City Commission is voting on Monday night whether to censure City Commissioner Kim Gibbs and ask for her resignation for attending a rally in Lansing to protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown order.

Gibbs attended a rally on April 15 in Lansing, where she walked on the sidewalk in front of the Capitol building, according to the agenda from the Royal Oak City Commission. During this rally, Gibbs walked near other Michigan residents without wearing a mask.

Read the full story

Organization Claims Minnesota Legislative Committees Meeting in Small Groups to Avoid Open Meetings Law

Anthony Gockowski
ACLU Minnesota John Gordon

A legal organization said members of the Minnesota Legislature are holding committee meetings in small groups in order to avoid triggering the state’s “Open Meeting Law.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota said legislators have been deliberately meeting in small groups so they can bypass the law, which generally requires that all meetings be open to the public.

Read the full story

Jesse Ventura ‘Testing the Waters’ for Green Party Presidential Bid

Anthony Gockowski

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said Monday that he has decided to “test the waters” on a third-party presidential bid.

“If I were going to run for president, the Green Party would be my first choice. I’ve endorsed the party and I’m testing the waters,” the former professional wrestler said on Twitter.

Ventura said he hasn’t filed for candidacy but simply authorized a letter of interest sent to the Green Party on his behalf.

Read the full story

Michigan to Face More Budget Cuts as Tax Revenues Plummet

Admin

A storm of skyrocketing unemployment paired with plummeting tax revenue have plunged the state budget into a multi-billion dollar deficit.

State Budget Office Communications Director Kurt Weiss told The Center Square in an email that tax revenues for this fiscal year are projected to drop between $1 billion and $3 billion.

There’s another $1 billion to $4 billion projected for Michigan’s next fiscal year, Weiss said.

Over 1 million people have filed for unemployment benefits, more than a quarter of the state’s workforce.

Read the full story

Model Developed by UT Prof Claims Jails Will Act as ‘Volcanoes’ for Spread of COVID-19 as State Prison Sees Massive Outbreak

Anthony Gockowski

A new model developed by a professor at the University of Tennessee and other academics suggests that most models on the coronavirus pandemic have failed to consider one important variable: jail populations.

Most standard COVID-19 models predict that America will experience about 101,000 deaths during the course of the pandemic, but that number increases by 98 percent to 200,000 deaths when jails are accounted for, the new model claims.

The model was developed by Dr. Nina Fefferman at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Eric Lofgren at Washington State University, and Dr. Kristian Lum from the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with Aaron Horowitz and Brooke Madubuonwu of the ACLU’s data analytics team.

Read the full story