Daily Archives: January 3, 2021

Many in Connecticut, including most of its news organizations, are gushing about President-elect Joe Biden's choice of state Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, a Meriden native, to be secretary of the U.S. Education Department. News reports say the president-elect picked Cardona in large part because of the support he and Governor Lamont have given to keeping schools open amid the virus epidemic.

This gush couldn't be sillier.

For most schools in the state arenotreally open but operating entirely with internet classes or alternating erratically between in-person classes and internet classes. Since March when the governor began exercising emergency power to rule by decree during the epidemic, he has dictated to businesses, restaurants, and even churches, but he has onlyurgedschools to stay open, declining to order them to do so, lest he offend the teacher unions, the most feared special interest. His position and the commissioner's in favor of keeping schools open has been only a pose, though those gushing about Cardona misrepresent it as policy.

Having been commissioner for less than a year and a half, Cardona can't be blamed for not having changed much about Connecticut's schools. But then he can't be credited with much either. The embarrassing gap between the performance of white and minority students, which has caused years of hand-wringing, has not diminished during Cardona's tenure, nor has student performance improved generally. Nor has there been any candid acknowledgment from anyone in authority that school performance is not at all a matter of school financing but mostly a matter of parenting and that the state's main education policy is only social promotion, which cripples education.

Able as Cardona may be, having been a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent, he has not made Connecticut's schools any more of an example and has no national reputation.

So why his selection by the president-elect? It is because of his heartening personal story and, more so, his Puerto Rican ancestry. The Democratic Party is obsessed with racial, ethnic, and gender balance, the president-elect has been told that he must have a Hispanic in his Cabinet, and choosing Cardona mobilizes political correctness against support for putting a national teachers union leader in the education secretary's office. Choosing Cardona also avoids having to choose between the leaders of the two largest unions.

Indeed, not being a teachers union leader may be the highest qualification that can be expected from an education secretary appointed by a Democratic president. Besides, Connecticut should know better by now than to expect much from ethnic firsts in high positions in government.

Until the 1980s the state's political parties put much effort into balancing their state tickets by ethnicity, often splitting the gubernatorial nominations between Irish and Italians, assigning to Poles the nominations for the old congressman-at-large seat, and reserving treasurer nominations for Blacks and secretary of the state nominations for women. There was often room somewhere for a Jew, and political anti-Semitism was extinguished with Abraham Ribicoff's narrow election as governor in 1954. A woman easily made it to the top when Ella Grasso was elected governor 20 years later.

But ethnicity in politics doesn't resonate much in Connecticut anymore, perhaps because the state has grown up a bit politically and because, while the rise of someone from a disadvantaged group is always encouraging, it has happened often enough for people to realize that, if just given a chance in power, the disadvantaged can disappoint as much as anyone else and that no matter who wins, taxes go up but student test scores don't.

Education in the United States is almost entirely local and the federal education secretary has little authority over it. Mostly he can distribute federal money, highlight what he considers improvements, and make noise.

President Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has not been very expert but at least knows that teacher unions serve teachers, not students. If Cardona even hints at such understanding, his ethnicity won't save him or the president from the fury of the unions, which already may be resentful that they aren't getting all the patronage they expected.

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer.

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Cardona's qualifications are what he is and what he isn't - Journal Inquirer

As the Washington Football Team continues to trip its way through one of the leagues most confusing quarterback situations of the season, the person who gets asked about it more often than anyone is sitting in Jacksonville.

OK, thats a slight exaggeration. Washington coach Ron Rivera gets asked about his quarterback room more than anyone. But Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden isnt far behind.

He has one of two ways to go,'' said Gruden, the former WFT head coach when Haskins was selected (though not by Gruden or any of Washington's other football people). "He can either learn from this and rebound and take advantage of the next opportunity and work his tail off or not. ... The next opportunity he gets, Im sure hell be ready to go.

In Washington, the view might be that Gruden's comments are nothing but political correctness.On Monday, Washington released 2019 first-rounder Haskins, a player chosen by WFT owner Dan Snyder against the wishes of then-head coach Gruden.

READ MORE:Vomit & 3 Better Choices: Inside The Washington Football Team Drafting Of Haskins

Hes a good quarterback,'' Gruden said. "Hes a first-round draft pick and unfortunately it hasnt worked out the way anybody really thought, including myself. I never thought hed be released this early in his career.

Certainly not. But his inconsistency and apparent disregard for protocols as a leader that ultimately made the decision for Rivera.

Haskins wentunclaimed via waiversand now becomes a free agent. Gruden agrees with our view (see below) that the young QB will get a second chance.

READ MORE:The 3 Reasons Washington Football Team Ex Haskins Will Get A Second Chance

Yeah,'' Gruden said. "Big quarterbacks that can rip it are hard to find. I think theres a lot of things he needs to work on obviously as all young quarterbacks do if he continues to work in the offseason and work on his mental and physical approach to the game diligently like pro quarterbacks are supposed to do, then sure, he can do it.

That is obviously an insinuation from Gruden that Dwayne Haskins failed to do that during Gruden's time in Washington ... and during Rivera's time as well.

Read more from John Shipley on the Jaguars at SI here.

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Gruden Reveals Thoughts On WFT Ex Haskins - Sports Illustrated

Good riddance to the old year, many of us likely are saying. Unless youre older than 60 and can remember 1968 or if youre one of the few surviving World War III veterans, 2020 was the year that set the standard for turmoil, anxiety and fear, a year dominated by life-changing factors: COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and a turbulent, endless election season.

It was the year that masking up, social distancing, and cancel culture became dominant new terms in our dynamic linguistic landscape. While cancel culture typically refers to the online ostracism of a person who ventures too far against political correctness, I like to apply it to the virus that canceled culture this year, from concerts to plays to festivals and sporting events.

I am writing this on Thanksgiving Day, the quietest T-day for me since my Army days half a century ago. Just Jeanne and I munching turkey and dressing, nobody else, out of COVID caution. But the quiet made it easier to focus on what Im thankful for: enough to eat, a roof over my head, and friends and family, even if I havent seen many of them for nine months. Thankful too, if you havent yet had the COVID, thankful for friends who have survived it. Thankful for all the front-line workers in health care and assisted living, in grocery stores, in mail trucks and delivery trucks and garbage trucks, in convenience stores and day care centers. Thankful that we can apparently still do a peaceful transition of power in this country.

Death dont have no mercy in this land

So sang the Rev. Gary Davis in 1961, and certainly the virus had no mercy on the families and friends of its numerous victims (not to mention the so-called long-haulers who survive but struggle with lingering after effects). In addition, Greater Mankato lost some real luminaries in 2020. Let me start with Kevin Oldridge. Kevin wasnt a politician or city official or prominent artist. But he was the Neighbor of the Year, as I called him in my July column. Hell be chuckling from wherever he is now, saying, I bet you guys miss me! when the first big snowfall hits. Because he always, without anybody asking, would spend hours clearing out the alley in our neighborhood, then the sidewalks and driveways of at least five or six neighbors. I will miss not only his endless cheeriness, but also the sound of his snowblower firing up at 6 a.m.

Steve Murphy sold insurance by day and played music at night. And did he ever quit smiling? Oh man, that guy could play guitar. And he loved to fix guitars too. I would take my guitars to him for repairs and adjustments, and there would be cheery conversation, and when I returned to pick one up, he would always under charge me. A true music Hall-of-Famer.

Speaking of musicians, Ralph Bailey was a superb guitarist, songwriter, musicologist and gentle historian. The trio, Steiner, Bailey and Knauff was the predecessor of my brothers City Mouse band. Ralph also co-founded the Maple River Band, along with other musical endeavors.

It was impossible to suppress a smile when Dixie Johnson was in the room. Mentor to hundreds of young women during her years as director of Bretts Teen Board and as church youth group leader, she always sparkled.

We lost Jim Buckley at 92. Born on the Fourth of July, he became an All-American citizen in our town: 19 years as YMCA executive director and co-founder of the Mah-kato PowWow, or Wacipi, which endeavored to overcome the sins of 1862.

We lost my friend Ted, a proud veteran who was coy about telling anyone that he, from little old Mankato, was a key member of the small group that planned one of the most controversial military moves ordered by Nixon and Kissinger during the Vietnam War: the mining of Haiphong Harbor in 1972.

Bob Galloway was one of my favorite business people. Shrewd but folksy, he was never above sharing a cup of coffee with an ordinary guy at the Wagon Wheel. How many good jobs did he save for Mankato? And his tenure with Ridley will linger, symbolized in the dramatic altering of the downtown skyline in recent years.

There are too many names of those weve lost to list in this small space; forgive me for my oversights.

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Quick, random question: Do you, too, regret you didnt invest in Zoom llast March? How many Zoom gatherings did you take part in over the holidays?

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Despite the trials of the past year, theres an unusual amount of optimism heading into our coldest month, chiefly because new vaccines mean we might finally subdue the worst effects of COVID and get our economy back to normal. Its a good bet that most of us would welcome a year with less drama. So hail the new, ye lads and lasses, and a Happy 2021 to all!

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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From the valley: Fast away the old year passes - Mankato Free Press

As millions of people have had their Christmas hopes dashed or face the prospect of going without food, homes or vital healthcare, the UK government is busy trying to divert attention from its bungling. It also seeks to channel the anger and scorn it might expect to receive over its mishandling of the pandemic towards foreigners, minorities or overstretched public services. With the prospect of yet more needless suffering and death ahead, we should not let it succeed.

The spread of the coronavirus has posed tough challenges to the authorities across the world. But Boris Johnson and his crew have handled it extraordinarily badly. The new strain of Covid-19 makes matters worse but viruses can be expected to mutate, especially if they spread among large numbers of people. And the choices the cabinet made allowed this to happen.

The lockdown delay and other policy decisions in March, when the prime minister set an appalling example of ignoring scientific advice, resulted in soaring deaths. That pattern of delays and dangerous recklessness, so that the virus spread and eventual restrictions were tighter than they might have been otherwise, would continue. Incredibly, in parts of England recently plunged into tier 4, just days earlier ministers had threatened legal action to force schools to stay open. This would have left some pupils self-isolating over Christmas while others unwittingly infected their grandparents.

In ministers eagerness to stuff money into the pockets of private sector giants, testing and tracing were also botched. Local public health teams who could have handled this far better were pushed to the sidelines, though often worked hard to avoid even more catastrophic consequences.

Against this background of failure likely to get worse as Brexit bites ministers have been busy trying to stir up culture wars. Presumably they hope that those voters who are not part of the ruling class but backed them a year ago will not realise how badly they have been betrayed.

Liz Trusss speech was one recent example, clumsier than that of Kemi Badenoch. Women and equalities minister Truss argued for an approach led by facts not by fashion that takes on board economic inequality, without mentioning that her party had blocked a law tackling this and had widened the gap. The shocking death rate among working class people in general, with even higher levels for those who are black and minority ethnic, disabled or both, reflects the type of country this government has helped to create.

As hospitals fill up and quality of life for most people goes down, any claim that the nations most serious problems include too much political correctness will be rightly dismissed by much of the population. A supposedly divisive approach to tackling racism, homophobia and transphobia is not what led to this crisis.

'Pretty clear' tighter restrictions are needed, says SAGE adviser

Yet scapegoating can take hold amidst chaos, along with rivalry among the oppressed for scarce resources and opportunities. Also attempts to further privatise the NHS and other public services and take away democratic rights will continue.

What can we do to keep tackling discrimination of all kinds while not letting this government off the hook?

I believe we should keep drawing attention to its lethal bungling during the pandemic and the human cost and the hollowness of its claims to champion anyone other than itself and a few cronies.

We should also resist attempts to divide and rule, for instance challenging prejudice in ways that recognise that nobody is perfect and allow for forgiveness. Mutual care among those of us who are minority ethnic, LGBT+ and/or disabled is vital but we need to reach out to achieve sustained change.

Space should be created for listening, sharing stories and explaining, in human terms, concepts which may be unfamiliar or confusing. Amidst such (largely avoidable) suffering and loss, compassion alongside clear thinking and commitment to justice is not a source of weakness but rather a great strength.

Originally posted here:

The public shouldnt take the fall for the governments bungling - The Independent

Killeen-area residents are starting the year with a piece of big news: Fort Hoods name will be changing in the near future.

Thanks to Fridays Senate override of President Donald Trumps veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the clock is ticking on removing the names of Confederate leaders from U.S. military installations. That includes Fort Hood, which was named for Confederate General John Bell Hood.

Both houses of Congress agreed to put the name-change language in the NDAA last summer, and President Trump vetoed the bill, partly because of his objection to the mandate. But now that Congress has overridden the presidents Dec. 23 veto, the move to rename the post is moving forward.

The renaming wont happen overnight, of course. The language calls for the secretary of Defense to make the change within the next three years.

Before that takes place, a series of events will have to play out.

The NDAA establishes an eight-member commission to work on the issue, setting up procedures for removing the names and proposing a process for renaming the bases.

Within 60 days of the bills passage, the commission must hold its first meeting, with its initial briefing mandated by October.

It is likely to be a drawn-out process, but then again, it should be.

Our local military post has carried the name of Hood since it was first established here as Camp Hood in 1942 nearly 80 years ago.

In the intervening years, thousands of our service members have called it home returning to our community after seeing combat in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.

Others have deployed from Fort Hood but have not returned from the field of battle, making the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. Fort Hood mourns and honors their loss, as do all of us in this community.

Fort Hood and the local region forged a strong bond over the past eight decades, and many Army commanders have commented on the tremendous level of support they experienced while serving here, at what is often called The Great Place.

Changing the posts name wont change that dynamic, nor should it.

Nor should renaming Fort Hood erase the decades of honorable service rendered by the brave men and women who have marched under its guidons.

Certainly, there are legitimate reasons for removing the names of military leaders whose cause was associated with racism and slavery.

But in erasing those names, we must be careful not to diminish the historical significance of these military installations or the contributions of those who served under their flags.

Several former Fort Hood commanders have expressed an openness to renaming the post, with the name of the late Gen. Richard Cavazos suggested as a possibility for the installations new identity.

Certainly, Cavazos, a III Corps and Fort Hood commanding general from 1980 to 1982, had a distinguished career and was well respected in the ranks.

His bravery during Korea and Vietnam earned Cavazos two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Silver Star Medal, two Legion of Merit awards, five Bronze Star Medals for Valor, a Purple Heart Medal, a Combat Infantry Badge and a Parachutist Badge.

Cavazos, who died in 2017, was also the Armys first Hispanic four-star general so naming the post in his honor would be acknowledgement of the military branchs diversity.

Of course, renaming Fort Hood has its drawbacks as well.

Thousands of service members have served at Fort Hood, and for many, it represents a significant part of their military careers.

In addition, dozens of businesses have included Fort Hood in their names, including Fort Hood National Bank, Fort Hood Harley Davidson and Fort Hood Area Association of Realtors.

Theres also the issue of renaming Fort Hood Street in western Killeen, a major thoroughfare that runs from the eastern entrance to the post to Killeens southern city limit.

Another major name change would be required for Killeen Fort Hood Regional Airport.

Needless to say, it will take some time to get accustomed to the posts new identity and all the corresponding changes that will take place in our community.

But the impending rebranding which may come sooner than three years if President-elect Joe Biden decides to move up the timeline should not be viewed merely as history and tradition giving way to political correctness.

To do so would diminish both the pain caused by perpetuating the Confederate legacy and the distinction with which our posts soldiers have served over the past 81 years.

Instead, the name change should be received with the same open-mindedness that Fort Hoods leadership showed when presented with the recent independent review of the post in the wake of Spc. Vanessa Guillens disappearance and death last spring.

The three-month review, commissioned by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, provided nine findings and 70 recommendations on improving Fort Hoods command climate and its impact on soldiers safety and welfare.

In committing to move forward with implementation of those recommendations, Fort Hoods commanders began the important process of better protecting the men and women entrusted to their care.

Certainly, change can be difficult especially when it is dictated from the outside.

However, the committee charged with renaming our military installations has the opportunity to rebrand our Central Texas post with a name that both lives up to its proud heritage and better reflects the values of our community.

In doing so, they can take a symbolic step toward making The Great Place an even better one.

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OPINION: Changing name of Fort Hood cannot erase its proud history - The Killeen Daily Herald

During the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, December 8, 2020 at 5:30 p.m., Mr. Bo Asmar, property owner of unkempt, uncleaned property located in the vicinity of 8th, 9th Ave., disputed with the councilperson of Ward 2 and all city council members that this particular area was not unkempt or unsightly and/or hazardous; and furthermore told the City that he was not going to clean it and the City should ignore complaints!!!

REALLY??? IGNORE COMPLAINTS, CODES AND ORDINANCES???

This attitude is very wrong and the property owner should be in compliance with city codes and ordinances. As long as Mr. Asmar lives in the city limits of Laurel and owns many properties for residential housing, etc., he should comply with all the codes, even if its about zoning, unkempt/unsightly property, building permits, sign regulations, yearly assessments for tax evaluation. He should not be treated differently from anyone else living in the Laurel City Limits.

And, furthermore ... other citizens that are renovating, repairing property in the City of Laurel, especially property in the designated Historic District boundaries should comply with city codes and ordinances. There are certain regulations for our designated Historic District to issue a certificate of appropriateness if the exterior property features are being removed, changed or added. Chapter 10.1, Historic Preservation Ordinance of the code manual, completely defines and regulates all changes and renovations to the inventory of structures in the Historic District. WHY THEN do these folks think that they can dismiss the codes and not turn an application in for review and consideration to obtain a certificate of appropriateness???? Their property, their repairs are no different than the next property owner in the Historic District and/or the Tri-Park Overlay District.

Several calls and complaints have been turned in for several properties in the Historic District since the first of the year, 2020, and no one will require this process to be reviewed not the Inspection Department, the mayors office, or the city council members. WHY?????

In other words city services for government action are not being addressed!!! AND, if the Laurel City Code of Ordinance manual is not being fully used, then just throw the chapters, the manual away!!! The codes, the chapters have no meaning and are not being used on daily activities and complaints.

WHAT A GOVERNMENTAL MESS EVEN HERE IN LAUREL AT THE GRASSROOTS OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. No wonder our top government agencies in our county, our state and federal government are prone to irregularities and mishandling the management of codes, ordinances.

BTW ... ONE MORE THING!!!!

New Years Eve and New Years Day are this week ... Thursday, December 31, and Friday, January 1, 2021. Dont forget that fireworks are illegal in the city limits!!! We dont need another round of loud noises like a war zone, destruction of buildings, frighten pets and debris like July 4, 2020, with the destruction of the historic Wisner Building.

If you must spend your money on frivolous fireworks and make alot of noise, go somewhere in the county!!! Fireworks are illegal in the Laurel City limits in accordance with Chapter 27 of the Laurel Code of Ordinance Manual!!

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Responding to fireworks in meeting, neighborhoods | Letters to the Editor - leader-call.com

As we look forward to the new year, may we look back for a moment and thank the many good people who we have encountered over the past year who have inspired us with their faith, hope, courage, generosity, compassion, hard work, small daily kindnesses and simple common courtesy. To you we say: May your light continue to shine, and may abundant blessings come your way.

Happy New Year!

Michael Traynor, Burlingame

Good riddance, 45

It is now 2021. Trump, never again.

Jerry Blair, Walnut Creek

Reflections on 2020

For my New Years reassessment of a 2020 political enigma, President Trumps cult followers seem more like an angry, ignored, marginalized culture, poking elites in the eye, than Jonestown disciples who drank the Kool-Aid. For 2021, whats sorely needed is a wider expansion and definition of self-worth, success and what constitutes pathways to the American dream. At one time or another, all of us have been populist troublemakers, steadfastly obstinate with our own righteous beliefs and indignation of disempowerment.

Fortunately, American democracy affords multidirectional policy. We can walk and chew gum, and print money, at the same time.

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Howard Wong, San Francisco

Why they stay away

Regarding SFO quiet unlike much of the nation (Business Report, Dec. 30): The decrease in passenger traffic might be (1) Bay Area virus cases or (2) Bay Area resident adherence to public health recommendations, as you suggest. But I think both explanations are likely wrong.

The prevalence of the virus in the Bay Area is well under the national average of about 55 cases per 100,000 per day, so the Bay Area is safer than most other places in the United States. And theres no evidence that Bay Area citizens are more law-abiding than anywhere else. The more logical explanation is that fewer people from outside the Bay Area are coming to visit because restrictions in the Bay Area are so stringent.

Shanin Specter, San Francisco

Save the Cliff House

Regarding the Cliff House: I dont understand. Doesnt the Cliff House have historic building status? If it doesnt, it should. Perhaps this will keep its name and restaurant status in the city and county of San Francisco, rather than the Park Service.

Marty Miner, San Francisco

History in perspective

Regarding No one is perfect (Letters, Dec. 30): What a well-crafted and well-thought-out response to the politically correct wing of our society. The idea that, in order to be even remembered in our society a person must be Mother Teresa, is wrong. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it has been mentioned, had a few affairs. Bill Clinton has had some as well. These two individuals are well-respected by the left and yet I dont see anyone from the left condemning them. The letter writer was right on target with her remarks regarding Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson. This country would look a hell of a lot different if these men never existed. If we allow for political correctness to take over our country, then we all better get used to the words of Mother Teresa because its going to be the only name that can be slapped onto any school or public building.

And, by the way, I am a very liberal, MAGA-hating Democrat always have been and always will be but I dont want all these aforementioned individuals to be forgotten over something that today, in hindsight, society now condemns. We should learn and understand that our leaders were flawed, but they also shaped our country.

Roger Lema, Hayward

Follow Fauci? No way

For almost a year now, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been telling us how to protect ourselves and stop the spread of the dreaded coronavirus by: wearing a mask, social distancing, washing hands, not touching your face, sneezing and coughing into your elbow and not shaking hands. And close schools and restaurants, dont travel, cancel Thanksgiving and Christmas with your family, isolate, etc.

So, if Faucis recommendations hold any credence, why did he need to jump to the front of the line to get the vaccine? Is he more essential than the rest of us?

Fact is, after telling the rest of us to jump through hoops, this virus in at an all-time high. Fauci and the rest of the hypocritical politicians should all butt out and let We the People take the precautions we deem necessary.

John Mullany, Monterey

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Letters to the Editor: Celebrate the arrival of a fresh start in 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle

Several people, including a prominent faith leader, are calling for the resignation of the citys recently-elected alderman.

At the latest meeting of the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Mt. Zion Baptist Church Pastor Elmore Torbert Jr. firmly called for either the resignation or removal of the freshman alderman after recent social media posts caused controversy.

Torbert delivered a prepared statement, which he also sent to City Administrator Jennifer Moody to be added to the official record of the meeting, calling Amachers social media actions a blight on Tullahoma.

Torbert said he has been leading his church for more than 13 years and has experienced the best of Tullahoma, such as his churchs partnership with a local couple to provide free hams and turkeys to families in need prior to Christmas.

However, he said, Tullahoma has a blight that boards on windows cant contain.

The blight is to have a person sitting on our board of aldermen for this fine city engrossed in racist rhetoric and humiliating racist actions, Torbert said. I dont know about you but I believe Tullahoma does not have time for a city representative or alderperson to be a social media star or comedienne. In fact, thats the last thing that we need in this critical stage of life.

Torbert then called for Amacher to resign or be removed from the city board.

So it is of no consequence and with no negotiation that we demand, request and require that Ms. Jenna Amacher resign and/or be removed from the board of city aldermen, because, clearly, when they were giving American history lessons, she showed up for the years 1861 through 1865 but skipped the classes when they instructor covered 1620 through 1908, which was the last recorded government-sanctioned slave auction or action on indigenous African people.

Clearly, she missed the second semester of Jim Crow laws and the plight of systemic racism and the word the N word that were used to control a population. Clearly, she missed the pains of being a Black woman, so she can readily identify as one and think it is cute. No, it is not cute; its blatant racism, and it should not and will not be tolerated for someone who has been elected to represent all people.

Torbert referenced other social media posts from Amacher that have circulated around social media, including a video of her allegedly using a racial epithet against Black people, a Facebook comment where she also used the epithet and another Facebook comment where she stated she identified as being a Black woman.

We dont think its social and culturally acceptable to decry falsely a narrative, lynching some people with her actions, words and philosophical musings, he said. To see her use the N word with no reflex of remorse or an oops, and being a person with a jurisprudence background, it should have alerted her that her conversations would be captured and supervised. Yet, however, her reckless, cavalier attitude proves that she is not fit to represent all Tullahomans.

Torbert then called for Amacher to acknowledge her error by stepping down and resigning within the next 30 days or citizens would be ready to step in and take matters into their own hands by putting pressure and moving forward to seeing a resignation or a resolve of this matter.

We are mobilized and ready to see that she is no longer representing the beauty and the best of Tullahoma by spreading what is historically the worst of America. And, oh yes, I approve this message, he said in closing.

Another citizen, Marie Desilets, also called for Amacher to resign during the meeting, calling her online conduct unethical, unprofessional and uncivil.

She asked whether or not there had ever been this much of a stink for a Tullahoma aldermen. Desilets also said the community was embarrassed by Amachers online presence.

Tullahomas embarrassed by her unethical behavior, she said. Not only has she been biased to anyone besides her fellow Republicans, but [she] has also blocked more than half of her fellow constituents from her social media, which is, by law, illegal. Shes not supposed to censor the public.

Jenna blatantly spews racist and unethical comments, such as, Liberalism is a mental disorder, daily on her social media. Mental illness is not a term that should be used to create parallels of fuel for your arguments. Its a serious topic, and statements like those only worsen the stigma that surrounds it.

Desilets said it concerns her to have a representative who shows such lack of empathy towards mental health, people of color and individuals who practice different religions and/or political practices than herself.

It concerns me that someone who holds such a high political position in my community constantly posts unprofessional, uncivil posts on her social media, she added. She does not represent me or the greater good of Tullahoma, and I am asking that she either resign or be removed from her position.

In addition to these comments made during the meeting, a Facebook event scheduled for Dec. 22 and a Facebook group both revolved around Amachers removal from office.

According to Desilets, she created the Facebook event about a month ago in the hopes that she wasnt the only citizen who felt embarrassed at Amachers social media actions.

I knew that if I felt this way there had to be more people as well, so I started reaching out, she said.

Since she created the event, Desilets said she has received hundreds of comments from friends, family members and strangers expressing similar embarrassment at Amacher.

It just goes to show that there is a problem here, she said. There are thousands of people right now in Tullahoma that feel the same way that I do. Jenna needs to be removed as Alderman because she does not take her job seriously. Shes not qualified and incompetent. Shes using this as a spotlight just to feed her own ego.

Desilets added she feels Amacher should have thought about being judged as a political figure before running for her seat.

She doesnt feel as though her constituents should have their own opinions and should not be judging her for her political correctness, hence the reason why she blocks everybody from her Facebook, which is a censorship that is not supposed to be used by government officials on their social media.

Desilets clarified that she was not calling Amacher racist, as she does not personally know the alderman.

I am not attacking her because her values and beliefs are different from mine, she said. Its okay to have different political views than others, and it is okay to agree to disagree. We are all different. Im sure my culture, values, morals and beliefs are probably different from yours, and that is okay.

If Amacher will not step down, as she has repeatedly said she will not, Desilets, Torbert and more are preparing to look into the power of recall to have her removed from office.

According to the Tullahoma city charter, the people of the city may recall any elected local official and may exercise this power by filing a petition for recall.

Per state law, at least one registered voter in the city or county where the recall is sought is required to file the proper form of petition and the text of the question posed in the petition with the county election commission. The election commission then has 30 days to certify that petition. During this time, the petitioner(s) have 15 days to correct any errors in documentation. The election commission then has five days from receipt of revisions to determine whether or not the revised documentation will be certified.

If the petition is certified by the county election commission and the candidate whose removal is sought resigns within 10 days after the certification and notice to the city board, no recall election will be held.

According to state law, at least one specific reason for removal must be listed on the petition. The Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 6-53-108 states any petition required to be filed under a municipal charter in order to cause a recall election shall contain one or more specific grounds for removal.

State law also dictates that at least 15% of the registered voters in the municipality or county sign the petition for recall. As of Dec. 23, there were 11,839 registered voters in the city of Tullahoma. In order to reach the 15% threshold of the Tullahoma electorate, at least 1,776 Tullahomans would need to sign the petition.

A recall petition would need to be filed with the election commission with at least the 15% of registered voters signatures within 75 days from its original certification, per state law. The election commission would then have another 30 days to determine if the petition meets all state requirements for recall petitions.

Those requirements include:

The petition must be filed at least 60 days prior to a general municipal or county election, per state law.

According to the city charter, should a recall election happen for the removal of an elected official, the question must read: Shall [name of elected official] be removed from office?

The two options for that question, then are listed as either Fore the recall of [name of elected official] or Against the recall of [name of elected official].

Should the majority of the votes cast in the recall election be against the removal of the official, that person shall continue in office. If the majority of votes cast are for the removal of the elected official, the city board is required to announce that seat as vacant at its next regularly scheduled board meeting and fill the vacancy in accordance with the charter provisions.

An elected official thus removed is not eligible to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term, the charter states.

There are limits on recall elections, however, According to the city charter, recall petitions cannot be filed within six months of an elected official taking office. Additionally, no elected official can be subject to more than one recall election during a term of office.

As it relates to Amacher, she is covered by the six-month restriction, as she only took office in August. Those looking to remove her from office via recall will have to wait until at least Feb. 6, which will be six months from when Amacher took office.

Per the city charter, should the recall effort fail, Amacher would not be subject to another recall effort during her first term, which will expire in August of 2023.

Continue reading here:

Citizens call for recall following Amacher antics | Local News - Tullahoma News and Guardian

[Disclaimer: The views expressed in opinion pieces on the PrescotteNews website are solely those of the authors. These opinions do not necessarily represent those of the staff of Prescott eNews or its publisher.]

Theres an idea of a Joe Biden but no real person. He is the president-elect, but he seems almost irrelevant even before he takes office. Does he even know who will be in charge? Just this week, he called Kamala Harris president-elect.

His campaign offered nothing new. The Atlantic described his victory this way:

He won while giving the same speeches, and telling literally the same stories, that he had for years. . . . He was established enough not to seem a revolutionary in a year of politics stretched between poles, but still offered enough of a contrast to win progressives support if only as a tool to remove Trump. Throughout, he was boosted by voters sense of his personality, from the people who cried in the arms of a man they felt could ease their pain to all the union guys who saw their stories in his Norman Rockwell tales of Scranton.

Who came up with that image? Who let the candidate of BLM channel Norman Rockwell?

Joe Biden didnt run a real campaign. Journalists mostly protected him from negative stories while repeatedly attacking President Trump. Social media banned President Trumps voters on major platforms. Whatever President Donald Trumps faults, his supporters turned out in large numbers for mass rallies, cheering their champion. Only handfuls showed up for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He ran the 21st-century equivalent of a front porch campaign, and won because of favorable media.

When dissident reporters broke stories that threatened the candidates image, mainly about Hunter Biden and a sexual assault on a woman who worked for the then-senator, the major media buried them. It was after the election that we learned the federal government is investigating Hunters business dealings in China. If this had been known before November 3, that alone might have tipped the election. While President Trump barnstormed furiously, Joe Biden seemed almost a bystander to his own campaign. Outside forces shoved him over the finish line.

It is Donald Trumps supporters, not Republican supporters, who will march on Washington on January 6. Donald Trump may not even realize it, but he represents something bigger than himself. For better or worse, President Trump became an avatar of American nationalism and implicit white identity.

His failures ironically show the potential of such a movement. He inspires fanatical loyalty, even though he didnt stop mass immigration, protect his supporters, drain the swamp, destroy political correctness, or really put America First. Paradoxically, its because President Trump is so unimpressive that we can see how powerful the ideas he represents really are. If a champion emerged who could do what President Trump merely talked about, he could change history. He could re-direct this nations fate as dramatically as an Augustus or a Constantine. President Trump aroused something visceral and real. All we need is a real leader to arouse the same thing.

What did Joe Biden arouse? What is Joe Biden except the goofy, gaffe-prone white sidekick, the Homer Simpson of television and film. The satirical newspaper The Onion made Biden out to be a harmless oaf during the Obama Administration. In the age of Black Lives Matter and Critical Race Theory, a weak and almost comical white man is the ideal leader for a progressive movement. Nave whites feel they can vote for him because they cant see him truly believing nonsense about transgenderism, reparations, or abolishing the police.

He may say he wants to fight for transgender and gender-nonconforming people, but it rings as false as Kamala Harriss childhood Kwanzaa memories. This was a strength for Mr. Biden in the election. He was able to win over just enough older white voters to stop President Trump. Mr. Bidens own words were: Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Perhaps not. However, his vice president, of whom we would never have heard if she were white, was promoting a bail fund for BLM protesters.

To quote Mr. Biden again, he is a transition candidate. He says the transition will be to a country that is no longer divided, but what unity is possible with people who despise our identity and history? Mr. Biden represents the transition to a post-white, post-American age. The pose of Joe from Scranton, American everyman, will fade quickly once we see who and what he has unleashed.

But does he care? There are very few stances on which Joe Biden has not reversed himself, but he is constant in one way: He is a politician, almost a caricature of the Beltway Establishment. His hair plugs and cosmetic surgery symbolize his willingness to do anything, say anything, or be anything so long as he can be the face of the System. Mr. Biden represents the white men who would give away their country if it meant they could stay on top, not caring that le deluge would follow.

Joe Biden probably couldnt be hired at a Taco Bell today because of his past. Earlier this week, the New York Times helped humiliate a white teenager because of a three-year-old, four-second Snapchat video, even though the young woman was a Black Lives Matter supporter. Joe Biden has officially and repeatedly taken stances and made associations that could get any of you reading this fired.

Even by the standards of his time, Mr. Biden was never a progressive on race. In 1972, he sounded far more like a white nationalist than Donald Trump ever did. He called school busing a phony issue which allows the white liberals to sit in suburbia, confident that they are not going to have to live next to a black. (Even black liberals today dont want to live next to a black). In 1975, Joe Biden dismissed what we would now call white privilege and affirmative action:

I do not buy the concept, popular in the 60s, which said, We have suppressed the black man for 300 years and the white man is now far ahead in the race for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back, to even the race. I dont buy that.

This concept now rules the media, schools, and entertainment.

If there is one slogan that defines our current political and cultural regime, it is Diversity Is Our Strength. Its not, and Jared Taylor has explained why. So did President-Elect Biden. He scoffed at the idea that if a heterogeneous society becomes a totally homogeneous society that somehow were going to solve our social ills, adding:

I think the concept of busing, which implicit in that concept is the question you just asked or the statement within the question you just asked, that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride, is a rejection of the entire black awareness concept where black is beautiful, black culture should be studied, and the cultural awareness of the importance of their own identity, their own individuality. And I think thats a healthy, solid proposal.

In this 1975 interview, Mr. Biden faulted liberals for rejecting things out of hand because if George Wallace is for it, it must be bad (in this case, opposition to busing). The same could be said about the way liberals act towards Donald Trump today.

Jared Taylor says racial solidarity is natural; so did the former Joe Biden. Black kids dont want to come to your school any more than you want to come to their school, then-Senator Biden told an audience of white schoolchildren in 1976.

Jared Taylor tells us diversity leads to tension and even violence. So did then-Senator Biden: Unless we do something about this [integration policy], my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it is going to explode at some point. USA Today tried to explain this away, even to the point of denying he ever talked about a racial jungle.

When Joe Biden said racial tensions were going to explode he was right. Id say it happened last year. To see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal, said Enoch Powell, perhaps the last Great Briton to serve in government. If thats true, how much worse is it to see, to speak, and then do nothing? Senator Biden later called for unrelenting immigration, non-stop and said that white European stock becoming an absolute minority would be a source of our strength.

Joe Biden worked with segregationist Senator James Eastland to defeat forced busing, and spoke fondly of the senator. Today, Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff is saying Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler is campaigning with a Klansman because she appeared in a picture with alleged former Klan leader Chester Doles. She obviously had no idea who he was and immediately denounced him. President-Elect Biden will be campaigning in Georgia for Mr. Ossoff this weekend, though he clearly cant meet Mr. Ossoffs standards for morality.

Near the beginning of his political career, Joe Biden opposed reparations for slavery and said he would be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago. However, accepting responsibility is precisely what the white privilege conspiracy theory is all about. To say you do not feel responsible is white fragility.

This isnt a fringe doctrine; its probably part of your childs curriculum in public schools. In fact, high on the agenda of President-Elect Bidens incoming Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, is bringing back the Obama-era guidance on school discipline. This policy ordered an end to racial disparities in school discipline because disparities can be caused only by racism. Thus, whatever he once said or may secretly believe, Mr. Bidens Administration will act otherwise.

It would be one thing if Joe Biden simply said a few things back in 1975. However, hes been fairly conservative on race, crime, and even education for decades. In 1984, he and Senator Strom Thurmond expanded civil asset forfeiture to punish drug dealers. In 1989, Senator Biden attacked then-President George H.W. Bush from the right on crime, drugs, and border security. We have no more police in the streets of our major cities than we had 10 years ago, he complained.

hat same year, Senator Biden said that there was no answer for drug addicts committing crimes except to put them in jail permanently. In 1991, he said his plan on drugs was much tougher than the Presidents [George H.W. Bush] and had more ways to apply the death penalty. In 1993, he blasted predators on our streets. In 1994, celebrating the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, he took credit for converting the government to a tough-on-crime approach:

Every major crime bill since 1976 thats come out of this Congress, every minor crime bill, has had the name of the Democratic senator from the State of Delaware: Joe Biden.

Joe Bidens plan for criminals? Lock the S.O.B.s up. The 1990s version of Joe Biden was tougher than President Trump in 2020, who was bragging about criminal justice reform.

Mr. Biden has a long record of, shall we say, politically incorrect statements. He saw Barack Obamas potential. [Obama was] the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, he said. However indelicate, this shows Mr. Biden was shrewd, knowing that Americans want to believe in integration and are looking for the correct package. The fact that this is cynical doesnt mean its not true.

You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent, he told us in 2006. Im not joking. Recently, leftists successfully purged the character Apu, a convenience store owner, from The Simpsons.

In 2007, he told blacks:

I spent last summer going through the black sections of my town, holding rallies in parks, trying to get black men to understand it is not unmanly to wear a condom, getting women to understand they can say no, getting people in the position where testing matters. I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack got tested for AIDS.

It is very hard to imagine Joe Biden or any other white man wandering through the black sections preaching about condoms, but it shows that he knows the truth about blacks and AIDS.

Once again, this isnt American Renaissance saying it. Its the president-elect, a man who won the Democrat nomination because blacks backed Biden. If you have a problem figuring out if youre for me or Trump, then you aint black, he said in 2020. Blacks deserve this condescension because Mr. Biden knew they would vote for him. Thats how I get elected every single time, he said in the same 2020 interview.

The issue is not just that Joe Biden once said sensible things and now doesnt. Its certainly not that hes the real racist. Its that the next president of the United States is being held to a lower standard than the teenager who had her life ruined because of a single word. He is exempt from a terrifying cultural movement that is costing careers, reputations, and lives.

Egalitarianism is, as the immortal Sam Francis explained, a political weapon. Whether Mr. Biden believes in it if indeed he believes in anything is irrelevant. He uses it cynically to punish ordinary whites who do not have his wealth, political connections, and media support. In its effects, it shows the hate that lies behind the platitudes about love.

Joe Biden campaigned on restoring decency to the White House. Leave aside the plagiarism that ended his 1988 presidential campaign. Leave aside Hunters antics. Leave aside whether Joe Bidens family profited from his government position. Leave aside the accusations that Mr. Bidens current marriage (an enduring love story according to Oprah magazine) began by destroying someone elses marriage. One thing even the liberal press admits is that for years, Joe Biden spread a false claim that a drunk driver killed his first wife and baby daughter. The other driver was sober and blameless. Mr. Biden repeatedly made the claim despite the drivers family asking that he stop.

The crazed, angry faces illuminated by torches. The chants echoing the same anti-Semitic bile heard across Europe in the 1930s. The neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and white supremacists emerging from dark rooms and remote fields and the anonymity of the web into the bright light of day on the streets of a historically significant American city.

An independent report found that city authorities egged on violence. President Trumps predictions that what began with General Lee would culminate with destruction of George Washington has come true. And Charlottesville is nothing compared to the violence unleashed by the BLM movement.

A President Biden will punish whites. Hell push for that unrelenting stream of immigration. Hell impose more gun control. He wants to eliminate racial disparities in incarceration impossible unless blacks suddenly stop committing crime or go unpunished. Hell also unleash Kamala Harris, whose plan for combatting violent hate is to muzzle pro-white speech. Hell throw the book at whites who have said far milder things than he has. Hell be the national version of Virginias Governor Ralph Northam, who collectively punished Virginias conservatives to atone for having once been in black face.

To quote Enoch Powell again, every political career, unless cut off at a happy juncture, ends in failure. That may not be true of Joe Biden. He has pursued the White House for longer than Ive been alive. To what end? To get there, he abandoned every accomplishment he once championed. Our cities are decaying, our patriotism is scorned, our national unity is gone. He will preside over further decline. Hell be president because this system needs collaborators, and Joe Biden is happy to play the kapo.

It doesnt matter to me whether this embarrassing puppet really won the election. Hes the crab that somehow got out of the bucket. His career shows that whites have no stake in propping up a system that enables someone like him to win public office. Joe Biden has been in office for most of the long American decline from 1965. Its fitting he will now preside over the denouement.

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Opinion: White Renegade of the Year 2020 - Prescott eNews

January

4 Winners of five Costa category awards announced.8 The Father released Florian Zeller directs an adaptation of his own play, starring Anthony Hopkins.11 TS Eliot prize for poetry.19 Centenary of the birth of Patricia Highsmith, queen of psychological suspense.22 Netflix adaptation of Aravind Adigas Booker winner The White Tiger.Release of film Chaos Walking, based on first book of Patrick Nesss eponymous trilogy.26 Costa awards ceremony, with book of the year announced.

Fiction

Luster by Raven Leilani (Picador)In the years buzziest debut, a black American millennial tackles the difficulties of work, love, sex and being seen for who you really are.

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan (Chatto & Windus)A family grapples with mortality while Australia burns, in a magical realist fable about extinction and Anthropocene despair from the Booker-winning author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Memorial by Bryan Washington (Atlantic)His story collection Lot won last years Dylan Thomas prize; this deft debut novel explores the complications of family and a gay relationship on the rocks.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar (Scribner)Three lives entangle in contemporary India, in a debut about class and aspiration that has been a sensation in the US.

The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin (John Murray)Debut novel about a woman rebuilding her marriage, from the celebrated Irish short story writer.

A River Called Time by Courttia Newland (Canongate)Ambitious speculative epic set in an alternate London where slavery and colonialism never happened.

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd (Mantle)Smart, gobble-at-a-sitting thriller about life as a yummy mummy influencer and the dark side of Instagram.

Girl A by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins)Incendiary, beautifully written thriller debut about siblings living with the emotional legacy of childhood abuse in a House of Horrors.

The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell (Bantam)Pratchettesque romp set around a Manchester newspaper dedicated to the paranormal whose reporters get sucked into a battle between good and evil.

Childrens and teen

Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston (Egmont)Film rights have been snapped up for the first in a new supernatural adventure series with a black heroine.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (Walker)From the US YA sensation, this hard-hitting prequel to the award-winning The Hate U Give focuses on Starrs father as a young man.

Poetry

Living Weapon by Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Faber)The award-winning American essayist and poets first collection to be published in the UK combines civic awareness with an interrogation of language and self.

Nonfiction

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)The Booker-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo considers the art of fiction through seven classic Russian short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy and Gogol.

Francis Bacon: Revelations by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan (William Collins)A definitive biography, written with the full cooperation of the Bacon estate and with unrivalled access to the artists personal papers.

Begin Again: James Baldwins America by Eddie S Glaude Jr (Chatto & Windus)Exemplifying the resurgence of interest in Baldwin, this blend of biography, criticism and memoir with the novelist at its heart is an indictment of racial injustice in Trumps America.

Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera (Viking)One of a new wave of books on British imperialism, this study, from the likable journalist and author of The Boy With the Topknot, looks at the legacy of empire from the NHS to Brexit and Covid.

Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic by Rachel Clarke (Little, Brown)The palliative care doctor who scored a hit with her book Dear Life gives an insider account of hospital life as Covid-19 changed everything.

Saving Justice by James Comey (Macmillan)The former FBI director and author of A Higher Loyalty looks into how institutions of justice in the US were eroded during the Trump presidency.

The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell (Canongate)The remarkable story of how a British student with Aspergers became obsessed with Robin Hood following the global financial crash, and began to rob banks.

4 Centenary of the birth of Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique.23 Bicentenary of the death of John Keats in Rome.

Fiction

Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (Faber)The author of Golden Hill imagines the lost futures of children killed in the blitz, in a sparkling, humane panorama of miraculous everyday life.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (Bloomsbury)Following her acclaimed comic memoir Priestdaddy, a fast and furious debut novel about being embedded deep in the digital world.

Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander (Picador)Outrageous comedy about identity politics and family ties centred on the Cannibal-American Seltzer clan.

We Are Not in the World by Conor OCallaghan (Transworld)Delayed from 2020, the examination of a father-daughter relationship by a rising Irish star.

Maxwells Demon by Steven Hall (Canongate)Long-awaited follow-up to ultra-inventive cult hit The Raw Shark Texts features a man being stalked by a fictional character.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking)Black British artists fall in love in an intense, elegant debut.

Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated by Marilyn Booth (Oneworld)In a war-torn country, six characters share their secrets, in this international prize for Arabic fiction winner.

Childrens and teen

How to Change Everything by Naomi Klein with Rebecca Stefoff (Penguin)A guide to climate change billed as the young humans guide to protecting the planet and each other.

Nonfiction

Fall by John Preston (Viking)The author of A Very English Scandal turns his attention to the last days of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell.

What Does Jeremy Think? by Suzanne Heywood (William Collins)A set of revealing insider political accounts, written up by the author after conversations with her husband, the former cabinet secretary Lord Heywood, who died of cancer aged 56 in 2018.

Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora, translated by Natasha Lehrer (HarperCollins)The memoir, by the director of one of Frances leading publishing houses, of her sexual relationship as a teenager with a leading writer.

Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (Faber)The national poet of Scotland has written a new introduction to her study of the American blues singer, whom she idolised as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow.

Keats by Lucasta Miller (Cape)A new biography in nine poems and an epitaph by the author of The Bront Myth, to coincide with the bicentenary of the poets death.

Brown Baby by Nikesh Shukla (Bluebird) A memoir from the Bristol-based editor of The Good Immigrant, which is also an exploration of how to raise a brown baby in an increasingly horrible world.

Karachi Vice by Samira Shackle (Granta) An impressive account of the inner workings of the Pakistani city, as exposed by the stories of five individuals.

The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster)The biographer of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a book about Crispr, the revolutionary tool that can edit DNA.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (Allen Lane)The co-founder of Microsoft discusses the tools needed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Raceless by Georgina Lawton (Sphere)Reflections on identity along with recollections of growing up as a mixed-race girl raised by two white parents who pursued the untruth that the authors darker skin was the product of a so-called throwback gene.

Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu (Sceptre)A descendant of Ashanti royalty recounts growing up without a mother, travelling from country to country and feeling an absence of home her experience told through the metaphor of earthquakes.

19 Bicentenary of the birth of the explorer, linguist and author Richard Burton, who translated The One Thousand and One Nights and the Kama Sutra into English.

Fiction

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber)An Artificial Friend considers humanity and the meaning of love in Ishiguros first novel since winning the Nobel literature prize.

Double Blind by Edward St Aubyn (Harvill Secker)The author of the Patrick Melrose books investigates themes of inheritance, knowledge and freedom through the connections between three friends over one tumultuous year.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Viking)This follow-up to her debut Homegoing, focusing on an immigrant Ghanaian family in the American South, has been a huge hit in the US.

Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore (MacLehose)The French author took the Wellcome science prize for her bravura novel about a heart transplant, Mend the Living; this new book is set in the world of trompe lil painting.

Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley (John Murray)Her debut Elmet made the Booker shortlist; this followup tackles money and class through the inhabitants of Londons Soho.

Kitchenly 434 by Alan Warner (White Rabbit)The Sopranos authors tale of a rock stars butler at the fag end of the 1970s promises to be Remains of the Day with cocaine and amplifiers.

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Corsair)In the sequel to Pulitzer winner The Sympathizer, that novels conflicted spy finds himself in the underworld of 80s Paris.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Michael Joseph)From the New Zealand writer, a propulsive parallel-worlds fantasy epic about the power of stories and storytelling.

The Mysterious Correspondent by Marcel Proust, translated by Charlotte Mandell (Oneworld)Nine previously unseen stories illuminate a young writers development.

Names of the Women by Jeet Thayil (Cape)From Mary of Magdala to Susanna the Barren, women whose stories were suppressed in the New Testament.

Redder Days by Sue Rainsford (Doubleday)Twins in an abandoned commune prepare for apocalypse, in the follow-up to her standout debut Follow Me to Ground.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Viper)A woman believes she has found the monster who snatched her younger sister as a child Full of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge.

Childrens and teen

The Wild Before by Piers Torday (Quercus)Can one hare change the world? A prequel to the Guardian prize-winning The Last Wild.

Poetry

Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different, edited by Maisie Lawrence and Rishi Dastidar (Corsair)An anthology celebrating 20 years of writers collective Malikas Poetry Kitchen, featuring work by now well-known alumni including Warsan Shire, Inua Ellams, Roger Robinson and Malika Booker herself.

Nonfiction

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson (Allen Lane)Having spent a year in rehab, the controversial Canadian psychologist, self-styled professor against political correctness follows up his global bestseller 12 Rules for Life.

Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert (Bodley Head)The Pulitzer prize-winning writer of The Sixth Extinction meets scientists and researchers and asks: can we change nature, this time to save it?

The Soul of a Woman: Rebel Girls, Impatient Love, and Long Life by Isabel Allende (Bloomsbury)An autobiographical meditation from the bestselling novelist on feminism and what women want.

New Yorkers by Craig Taylor (John Murray) The sequel to Taylors bestselling Londoners is another work of oral history, 10 years in the writing and drawing on hundreds of interviews.

The Diaries of Chips Channon, Volume 1: 1918-1938 edited by Simon Heffer (Hutchinson)The unexpurgated version of the often-quoted diaries of Henry Channon, social climber and Tory MP, who liked to gossip about politics and London society.

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib (Allen Lane)From Josephine Baker to Beyonc reflections on black performance from the author of a superb book on A Tribe Called Quest.

Inventory of a Life Mislaid by Marina Warner (William Collins)A memoir from the writer known for her books on feminism, myth and fairytales, which is structured around objects, from her mothers wedding ring to a 1952 film cylinder.

Friends by Robin Dunbar (Little, Brown)An exploration of friendship by the anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist known for the Dunbar Number, his theory that we can have meaningful relationships with only 150 people.

The Gun, the Ship and the Pen by Linda Colley (Profile) The historian best known for Britons retells modern history by considering the spread of written constitutions.

Failures of State by Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnot (Mudlark) Investigative journalists explore all the things the British government got wrong over Covid.

9 Bicentenary of the birth of the influential French poet, translator and critic Charles Baudelaire, author of Les Fleurs du Mal.

Fiction

Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor (4th Estate)An inquiry into the meaning of courage in the aftermath of a disastrous Antarctic research expedition, following the Costa-winning Reservoir 13.

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley (Granta)Fearless, darkly witty novel anatomising a toxic mother-daughter relationship.

Civilisations by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor (Harvill Secker)A counterfactual history of the modern world from the author of HHhH, examining the urge for power across time and space.

The High House by Jessie Greengrass (Swift)Sight was shortlisted for the Womens prize in 2018; in Greengrasss second novel, an ordinary family prepares for climate catastrophe.

This One Sky Day by Leone Ross (Faber)Set on a magical archipelago, a big, carnivalesque novel that takes on desire, addiction and postcolonialism, but is also a celebration of food, love and joy.

First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel (Harvill Secker)A new collection of eight stories that play with the boundary between memoir and fiction.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer (4th Estate)A climate change conspiracy thriller about ecoterrorism and extinction.

The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany (Faber)A polyphonic novel about the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

Male Tears by Benjamin Myers (Bloomsbury)Farmers, boxers, ex-cons Short stories about men and masculinity.

Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith (Cape)The US army runs a secret genetics programme in this epic graphic novel from the Marvel and Conan artist, 35 years in the making.

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes (Simon & Schuster) The latest in the thriller series behind Netflix stalker blockbuster You.

Childrens and teen

Weirdo by Zadie Smith and Nick Laird, illustrated by Magenta Fox (Puffin)This first picture book from the husband and wife writers celebrates the quiet power of being different through the story of a guinea pig in a judo suit.

Bone Music by David Almond (Hodder)The Skellig authors new novel focuses on a young girl who moves from Newcastle to rural Northumberland and finds herself rewilded.

Poetry

A God at the Door by Tishani Doshi (Bloodaxe)The witty, wise and clear-eyed novelist, dancer and poet deploys both rage and sharp analysis covering issues from the precarious state of the environment to the treatment of women.

A Blood Condition by Kayo Chingonyi (Chatto & Windus)The second collection from the Dylan Thomas prize-winner explores both the personal and cultural influences of inheritance.

Nonfiction

Philip Roth: The Biography by Blake Bailey (Jonathan Cape)Renowned biographer Bailey was appointed by the American novelist, who died in 2018, and granted independence and complete access to the archive.

Go Big: How To Fix Our World by Ed Miliband (Bodley Head)Inspired by his Reasons to be Cheerful podcast, the shadow cabinet member investigates 20 transformative solutions to problems as intractable as inequality and the climate crisis.

How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance (Jonathan Cape)Tapping into new thinking about animals and our changing perception of them, the FT journalist works in an abattoir, talks to chefs and philosophers and looks to a better future.

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2021 in books: what to look forward to this year - The Guardian