President Trump’s Executive Order Freezing Federal Pay Saves Taxpayers from Double-Digit Pay Increases

US Capitol

by Rachel Greszler   President Donald Trump issued an executive order effectively freezing federal pay for 2019 at current 2018 levels. Had the president not issued this executive order (and lacking congressional action on federal pay), federal workers would have received a 2.1 percent across-the-board pay increase, as well as a 25 percent increase in locality-based pay. A 2.1 percent across-the-board increase would have cost roughly $5 billion in 2019 while the locality-based increase would have cost a reported $26 billion. That exceptional pay spike would have kicked in had the president not acted and had the default changes specified in the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act kicked in instead. That act provides for annual federal pay increases based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index, which tracks civilian employment costs. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Despite the specified formulaic federal pay increases, federal pay has more recently been set by presidents through their authority to propose an alternative pay schedule. As has become the norm in recent decades, presidents typically set their own pay proposal by Aug. 31 and barring alternative congressional action…

Read the full story

Commentary: Democrat Excess Leads to New and Improved Trump in 2019

Donald Trump

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Predictions. It’s what New Year’s is all about. It goes without saying that 2018 was full of surprises. Heading into this year Republican majorities in both houses of Congress had just passed a massive reorganization of the federal tax code, including a sizeable tax cut for most Americans in the bill language. By January 1, Democrats were already griping about reduced rates for corporations and businesses, claiming, as they always do, that the benefits of the new law would rain down disproportionately on the wealthiest and most powerful taxpayers. Never mind that many, many companies had already announced sizeable end-of-the-year bonuses and raises for employees based on the improved future tax outlook. Nonetheless, Democrats were convinced the popularity of the new law would not improve (especially if they demagogued the matter) over the course of time. Democrats believed they could parlay President Donald Trump’s lukewarm favorability numbers into a “wave” in November. After all, they’d just been eminently successful in stealing a senate seat in deep red Alabama (with a huge assist from the Washington GOP establishment), so the sky was the limit, right? Last month’s election came and went, Democrats gained 40 seats in…

Read the full story

Commentary: Journalists Dropping the Ball to End 2018

by Julie Kelly   This is almost too good to be true: Several American journalists will be in Times Square on Monday night to drop the New Year’s Eve ball and signal the end of 2018. The “esteemed group comprises a broad spectrum of journalists to be honored as the international event celebrates press freedom and journalism,” gloated the official press release. CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota, NBC News host Lester Holt, and Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal are among the prestigious ball-droppers. The symbolism is perfect—but not for the reasons these self-promoters think. After another year of embarrassing and sometimes bizarre behavior, the American news media will shamelessly celebrate themselves as 2018 draws to a close. The irony of people representing media outlets that have polluted our public discourse with some of the most flawed, biased, and conspiratorial news coverage in modern times dropping a ball together in midtown Manhattan is delicious. And their lack of self-awareness makes it even more spectacular. “It is fitting to celebrate free press and free speech as we reflect on where we’ve been during the past year and what it is we value most as a society,” puffed one of the event’s organizers. LOL. So,…

Read the full story

RNC Slams Elizabeth Warren as ‘Total Fraud’ Amid 2020 Presidential Speculation

by Henry Rodgers   Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called Sen. Elizabeth Warren a “total fraud” Monday, the day the Massachusetts Democrat announced she was forming a presidential exploratory committee. In a fiery statement from the RNC, McDaniel called out Warren for her “phony claim to minority status,” referencing Warren’s claims that she is part Native American, also calling her an “extreme far-left obstructionist and a total fraud.” McDaniel also said she is confident President Donald Trump would defeat Warren in 2020 if she decides to run. “Senator Warren couldn’t be more out of touch,” McDaniel said. “With her lack of support from voters – including in her home state – on top of her phony claim to minority status, now that she is formally running Americans will see her for what she is: another extreme far-left obstructionist and a total fraud. Voters know President Trump’s agenda gets results and they will make their voices heard at the ballot box in 2020.” This all comes as Warren announced Monday that she is officially forming a presidential exploratory committee in a bid to run for president in 2020 against Trump. Warren made her first national political move by donating…

Read the full story

White House Aide Blasts Reporter After He Said Trump Was Not Working During Shutdown

by Henry Rodgers   White House aide Hogan Gidley called out a reporter for saying President Donald Trump was not working Monday amid the ninth day of the government shutdown, demanding he “correct the record.” Gidley, Trump’s deputy press secretary, was responding to Playboy’s White House reporter Brian Karem, who tweeted out a photo of the West Wing, saying since there was no Marine present at the doorway, the president was not in the Oval Office. Gidley said he looked into the Oval Office right after seeing the tweet, and saw Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk working, and said Karem did not even call the press team to ask if he was working before sending out the tweet. I just looked into the Oval Office myself, and @POTUS was in fact sitting behind the Resolute Desk working. So, now I’m just waiting for you and the rest of your ilk to either stop jumping to false conclusions, correct the record, or, here’s a thought, call the press team to ask. https://t.co/uzIp0i7Dwo — Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) December 31, 2018 This all comes as President Donald Trump has said he will not budge on the $5 billion requested for a border wall, one of…

Read the full story

There’s a New Product in the Fight Against Fentanyl Overdoses

by Amanda Hagstrom   America’s heroin and cocaine addicts are turning to test strips in the search to combat the increasing rate fatal, fentanyl-induced overdoses. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid potent enough to kill an adult male with just two milligrams, or land someone in the hospital if a fan so much as blows it on them. If a heroin addict unknowingly purchases fentanyl-laced product, he will likely overdose. This reality has lead to massive increases in fatal overdose deaths across the country since 2016, but new test strips can allow addicts and doctors to verify easily that their drugs are free of fentanyl before using, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. “This is an effective way to have people thinking about risks,” Louise Vincent, executive director of the Greensboro, N.C., chapter of the advocacy group Urban Survivors Union, told WSJ. “It’s so important to give people as many tools as we can.” States such as California and Rhode Island have been distributing the tests for nearly two years, with several cities in Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania following suit. The strips work much like pregnancy tests, requiring users to dip them in water mixed with tiny amounts of heroin or…

Read the full story

2018 Saw a Global Revolt Against Climate Change Policies

by Michael Bastasch   Despite increasingly apocalyptic warnings from U.N. officials, 2018 has seen a number of high-profile defeats for policies aimed at fighting global warming. Politicians and voters pushed back at attempts to raise energy prices as part of the climate crusade. It started in June with election of Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Ontario residents overwhelmingly voted Ford’s conservative coalition into power on a platform that included axing the Canadian province’s cap-and-trade program. Ford said his first priority upon taking office would be to “cancel the Liberal cap-and-trade carbon tax.” Ford then joined a legal challenge led by Saskatchewan against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s policy of a central government-imposed carbon tax on provinces that don’t have their own. Carbon tax opponents called Trudeau’s plan an attempt to “use the new tax to further redistribute income, which will increase the costs of this tax to the economy.” Roughly ten thousand miles away in Australia another revolt was brewing. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saw his power base crumble within days of failing to pass a bill aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Turnbull’s so-called National Energy Guarantee to reduce energy sector emissions was opposed by a group of conservative members of…

Read the full story

China Factory Activity Shrinks for First Time in Two Years

China’s factory activity shrank in December for the first time in more than two years, an official survey showed Monday, intensifying pressure on Beijing to reverse an economic slowdown as it enters trade talks with the Trump administration. The purchasing managers’ index of the National Bureau of Statistics and an industry group, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, fell to 49.4 from November’s 50.0 on a 100-point scale. Any reading below 50 shows that activity is contracting. The December figure was the lowest since February 2016 and the first drop since July 2016. In the quarter that ended in September, China’s economic growth sank to a post-global crisis low of 6.5 percent compared with a year earlier. The slowdown occurred despite government efforts to stem the downturn by ordering banks to lend more and by boosting spending on public works construction. Forecasters expect annual growth of about 6.5 percent, down slightly from 2017’s 6.7 percent. But some industry segments, including auto and real estate sales, have suffered more serious declines. “Downward pressure on the economy is still large,” economist Zhang Liqun said in a statement issued with the PMI. Overall orders and exports both contracted, indicating that Chinese factories…

Read the full story

Ten Laws That Spell Major Changes for Ohio in 2019

In terms of legislation, 2018 may be considered one of Ohio’s most impactful years in recent history. From the approval of the first medicinal marijuana dispensary to new abortion limitations, 2019 will see a dramatic change for many Ohioans. Compiled below are ten of the most significant changes coming to the Buckeye State. Expanded Gun Ownership Rights – House Bill 228 Through an override of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s veto, the Ohio congress passed HB 228, expanding a citizen’s right to self-defense. The bill was originally intended to be a ‘stand your ground’ law but shifted following the significant public controversy. As passed,  the law shifts the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the prosecution. Before passage, Ohio was the only state in America in which a defender had to prove that they were acting in self-defense. Dismemberment Abortion Ban – Senate Bill 145 While Governor Kasich’s received widespread conservative criticism for his veto of the “Heartbeat Abortion Bill,” the Governor did sign one of the most extensive abortion limits in the country. SB 145, signed into law in late December, has banned one of the most commonly used second-trimester abortion procedures currently practiced nationwide. Governor Kasich has signed more than 20 abortion limitations during…

Read the full story

Minnesota’s Trump-Hating Celebrity Chef Cut from Prime Time on Travel Channel, Facing Bad Reviews

Travel Channel has cut celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern from its prime time line up while scathing reviews flood in for his new Minnesota-based “Lucky Cricket” restaurant. Zimmern was rebuked by fellow foodies in early December for making culturally insensitive comments about Midwestern Chinese restaurants, which he called “hores— restaurants masquerading as Chinese food.” The remarks came in an interview with Fast Company about the launch of his “Lucky Cricket” business venture, which opened its first location in St. Louis Park this month. Battleground State News reported in December that Zimmern is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, whom he has called “the personification of ignorance,” “hate fueled,” and “anti-immigrant.” He also said of Ann Coulter that her “head is stuck so far up [her] ass I’m afraid there isn’t a surgeon on earth that can help” her. Page Six now reports that Zimmern’s “Bizarre Foods” and “The Zimmern List” programs on the Travel Channel have been bumped from prime time to a rotation slot on Saturday mornings. Sources told the publication that filming has stopped mid-season for both shows, and isn’t expected to pick back up. “The shows, along with other food content on Travel, will no longer air…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star Report: Bill Lee’s ‘Ten for Tenn’ Contract With Tennesseans Disappears from His Website, Along With 7 of His 10 Campaign Promises

On Monday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the hosts gave a detailed analysis of Bill Lee’s “Ten for Tenn” list of priorities that Governor-Elect Bill Lee posted on his website on July 3, 2018 (which is no longer available to view) and how those priorities seem to have changed after his election win.  This program will air again today, Tuesday, from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. Gill: Trying to figure out the distinction between Bill Lee 2018 and Bill Lee 2019. As a candidate, Bill Lee put out a very specific, very detailed plan for Tennessee that he would follow if he was elected Governor.  He put this out about a month before the election when he was in a fight with Randy Boyd and Diane Black and to some extent, Beth Harwell, to show that he was actually the “conservative.” Randy Boyd was being attacked as a moderate.  Diane Black was being attacked for a gone Washington says one thing but when you looked at what she was actually doing in Washington she was either…

Read the full story