Day: April 2, 2019

N.C. Association of Educators Uses Communist-Inspired Red Fist Logo to Promote May Day Strike

Jason M. Reynolds

The North Carolina Association of Educators is showing its true (Red) colors by using communist logos in promoting a May Day strike, which is also communist-inspired, says Pete Kaliner of News Radio 570. Kaliner posted an investigative report on the topic on Monday. He said the association has long said it is not a union and is not operated by “leftists.” But the upcoming May 1st demonstration leaves little doubt who is running that organization. Kaliner referenced Twitter posts with photos showing the group using a logo of a red fist, such as this one by The Chad Adams Show:“It’s one thing for folks to THINK you’re a communist organization, quite another when you adopt a communist symbol to represent your group.  BAD CHOICE of the week @ncae for choosing Soviet Era CCCP logo as theirs! @TimBoyumTV @wuzzardo @RaleighReporter @TravisFain @PeteKaliner” It's one thing for folks to THINK you're a communist organization, quite another when you adopt a communist symbol to represent your group. BAD CHOICE of the week @ncae for choosing Soviet Era CCCP logo as theirs! @TimBoyumTV @wuzzardo @RaleighReporter @TravisFain @PeteKaliner pic.twitter.com/B77AEJfzhQ — The Chad Adams Perspective (@Chad_Adams) March 29, 2019 Kaliner also quoted Longleaf Politics, which reports…

Read the full story

Muslims Urged to Pack Sullivan County School Board Meeting to Advocate for Textbook That Says Allah and God Are the Same

Jason M. Reynolds

One Sullivan County School Board member is opposing the body’s planned adoption tonight of a social studies textbook that says the God of Christianity is the same as Islam’s Allah, while CAIR is calling on Muslims to pack the board room. Jane Thomas told the Kingsport Times-News that the seventh-grade “My World” book is full of “incorrect statements” also present in the earlier version and will confuse students. The book equates Allah with God. “We (Christians and Muslims) do not worship the same god. Allah is not God,” Thomas said. “It presents Allah as the same god as Almighty God.” She said the Islamic holy book, the Koran, should not be presented on the same level as the Holy Bible, the Christian word of God with a New Testament including words of Jesus Christ. She also decried the inclusion of the Five Pillars of Islam in the text. Board member Matthew Spivey said, “We can’t promote any one religion over another,” according to the Times-News. An earlier version of the book also drew opposition. Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Muslims to attend the Sullivan County Board of Education meeting to oppose “Islamophobic opposition from at least one board member.”…

Read the full story

Commentary: Mr. President, Close the Border

Admin

by CHQ Staff   We have said on a number of occasions that the Constitution is not a suicide pact and that a dysfunctional or politically gridlocked Congress should not be able to use specious separation of powers arguments to put the sovereignty of the United States and the lives and property of its citizens in jeopardy. That is why we believe that the President Trump’s Article II duty to enforce the laws of the United States and defend its Constitution trumps the appropriations clause of Article I and empowers the President to reprograms funds to secure the border in the absence of congressional action to stop the ongoing invasion of our country. But stopping the invasion is not a one solution problem – there are many actions the President can and should take to prevent millions more illegal aliens from entering the United States. One of the simplest and most effective actions he could take is to close the border with Mexico, and it seems like President Trump is inching toward the decision to do so. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that President Donald Trump is serious about possibly closing the U.S.-Mexico border this week. “It certainly…

Read the full story

Trump Continues to Hammer Health Care Messaging, Ropes Four Senators Into His Fight

Admin

by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump continued with criticism of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and touted four Republican senators he said will fix the ACA, colloquially known as Obamacare, in a tweet Monday. “The cost of ObamaCare is far too high for our great citizens. The deductibles, in many cases way over $7000, make it almost worthless or unusable. Good things are going to happen!” Trump wrote on Twitter. He also tagged the Twitter accounts for Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. The cost of ObamaCare is far too high for our great citizens. The deductibles, in many cases way over $7000, make it almost worthless or unusable. Good things are going to happen! @SenRickScott @senatemajldr @SenJohnBarrasso @SenBillCassidy — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2019 It’s not the first time Trump has made this claim. His administration made news March 25 when the Department of Justice announced it sided with a December 2018 district court ruling that found the ACA violated the Constitution. Trump had tweeted that “[t]he DEDUCTIBLE which comes with ObamaCare is so high that it is practically not even useable” on Dec. 17.…

Read the full story

Consumer Sentiment and New-Home Sales Post Gains

Admin

The final March results from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumer Sentiment show overall consumer sentiment improved from the February result. Consumer sentiment increased to 98.4 in March, up from 93.8 in February, a 4.9 percent gain. From a year ago, the index is off 3.0 percent. Despite the slight decline from a year ago, sentiment is holding at very favorable levels (see chart). The two sub-indexes had healthy gains in March. First, the current-economic-conditions index rose to 113.3 from 108.5 in February (see top chart). That is a 4.4 percent gain for the month but still a 6.5 percent decrease from March 2018. The March result is also on par with the 113.5 peak reading from the prior expansion. The second sub-index — that of consumer expectations, one of the AIER leading indicators — increased 5.2 percent for the month, to 88.8 (see top chart), the same level as in March 2018. Consumer sentiment remained at broadly favorable levels in March, with respondents pointing to income gains and favorable growth prospects for the overall economy as significant drivers. Sales of new single-family homes rose 4.9 percent in February to a 667,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate (see bottom chart).…

Read the full story

The Tennessee Star Report: Jim Larew Gives His Take on the Democratic Field From Iowa and the Road to the White House

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’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 – Gill and Leahy talked to good friend, attorney Jim Larew direct from Iowa with the inside scoop on the twenty twenty presidential candidate playing field and what he thinks will determine the road to the White House. Towards the end of the segment, the men touched upon whether or not the recent allegations against Joe Biden would hinder his run. Leahy: We are joined by my very good friend Jim Larew direct from Iowa. Jim and I many years ago when I was a Democrat, hadn’t seen the light yet. Jim and I were summer roommates in Washington, D.C.  Welcome to The Tennessee Star Report Jim! Larew: Well thanks so much and good morning to you. Leahy: So tell us what’s going on. You have been tracking everything happening with the presidential candidates out in Iowa. What is the latest? Larew: Well I have not made a choice myself yet, sort of observing and I think that’s what a lot of Iowans, it’s almost a moveable feast, large crowds, enthusiastic…

Read the full story

Facebook Reveals How It Ranks Items in the News Feed

Admin

Reuters   Facebook is lifting the lid on the algorithm that decides which posts appear in its news feed, as part of a drive to be more transparent and offer greater control to users. The feature “Why am I seeing this post?”, being rolled out from Monday, offers some insight into the tens of thousands of inputs used by the social network to rank stories, photos and video in the news feed, the foundation of the platform. “The basic thing that this tool does is let people see why they are seeing a particular post in their news feed, and it helps them access the actions they might want to take if they want to change that,” Facebook’s Head of News Feed John Hegeman told reporters on Monday. After a series of privacy scandals, Facebook needs to regain users’ trust as it prepares to roll out a single messaging service combining Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram that could make it even more central to users’ communications. The new news feed feature will show users the data that connect them to a particular type of post, Hegeman said, for example that they are friends with the poster and they’ve liked their…

Read the full story

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Gets Indictments for Decatur Police Officer Charged with Wrongdoing

Chris Butler

Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have obtained indictments for a former Decatur police officer accused of misconduct on duty, according a TBI press release this week. TBI agents began to investigate an alleged incident in December involving Eobard Thawne while he served as a Decatur police officer. TBI agents did so at the request of Ninth District Attorney General Russell Johnson, according to the TBI. “Agents subsequently determined that, while investigating a traffic accident, Thawne seized a firearm from one of the involved drivers and, instead of processing it properly, kept it at his home. Thawne resigned from the department in January,” the TBI press release said. On Monday, the Meigs County Grand Jury returned indictments, charging Thawne, 28, with one count of official misconduct and one count of theft, according to the press release. “On Saturday evening, officers from the Athens Police Department attempted to arrest Thawne at his home on Eastanallee Avenue, during which he barricaded himself,” according to the TBI press release. “After several hours of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Thawne, Decatur SWAT officers subsequently gained entry into the home and arrested him, later charging him with additional offenses and booking him into the McMinn County…

Read the full story

Pro-Life Movie ‘Unplanned’ Posts Strong Opening Weekend, Knocks ‘Captain Marvel’ Out Of Top Three

Admin

by Grace Carr   The pro-life movie “Unplanned,” which tells the story of a former abortion worker whose pro-choice stance changed after working at a clinic, brought in nearly triple the expected box office numbers at the weekend’s close. The movie hit theaters Friday and brought in over $6.1 million at the weekend’s conclusion over an expected $2-3 million, according to The Washington Times. The film came in third for screen earnings, putting up an average of $5,770 per screening, following “Dumbo” and “Us” with averages of $10,566 and $8,978 respectively. “Unplanned” beat out “Captain Marvel” which averaged $5,144 per screening. “Unplanned” played on only 1,060 screens. It ranks fifth in total earnings at Sunday’s close, according to Box Office Mojo. “Dumbo” grossed $45,000,000 and “Us” grossed $33,605,000. “Captain Marvel” made $20,500,000 by the weekend’s close. The movie tells the story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas, until 2009. She left the organization after assisting in an ultrasound-guided abortion of a 13-week-old unborn baby. Johnson was Planned Parenthood’s youngest director of a clinic in the nation. “I could not be more thrilled with the debut of Unplanned and reports of healing and conversion nationwide,” Johnson said,…

Read the full story

House Democrats Move to Subpoena Mueller Report

Admin

The majority Democrats on a House of Representatives committee are moving this week to subpoena the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and five former White House officials. The House Judiciary Committee had called for full disclosure by Tuesday of the nearly 400-page report and its underlying evidence. Attorney General William Barr said last week that he would release the report by mid-April, “if not sooner,” after confidential material had been redacted. With its Tuesday deadline unlikely to be met, the House panel plans to vote to authorize the subpoenas on Wednesday, allowing the committee’s chairman, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, to actually issue them as he sees fit. The House committee also plans to subpoena some of President Donald Trump’s closest one-time advisers — White House strategist Steve Bannon, communications director Hope Hicks, his first chief of staff Reince Priebus, White House counsel Donald McGahn and McGahn’s chief of staff, Ann Donaldson. The five officials were likely key witnesses during Mueller’s investigation of whether Trump obstructed justice by trying to thwart the prosecutor’s 22-month probe. A week ago, Barr released a four-page summary of the Mueller report, telling top lawmakers…

Read the full story

Commentary: The Tables Turn in Russian Collusion Hunt

Admin

by Victor Davis Hanson   The irony of the entire Russian collusion hoax is that accusers who cried the loudest about leaking, collusion, lying, and obstruction are themselves soon very likely to be accused of just those crimes. Now that Robert Mueller’s 674-day, $30 million investigation is over and has failed to find the original goal of its mandate—evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government to sway the 2016 election—and now that thousands of once-sealed government documents will likely be released in unredacted form, those who eagerly assumed the role of the hunters may become the hunted, due to their own zealous violation of the nation’s trust and its laws. Take Lying  Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimonies cannot be reconciled with those of his own deputy director Andrew McCabe. He falsely testified that the Steele dossier was not the main basis for obtaining FISA court warrants. On at least 245 occasions, Comey swore under oath that he either did not know, or could not remember, when asked direct questions about his conduct at the FBI. He likely lied when he testified that he did not conclude his assessment of the Clinton illegal…

Read the full story

Georgia Democrat Lucy McBath Wasn’t a Resident of Georgia During Election Despite Calling the Claims ‘Baseless’

Admin

by Molly Prince   Democratic Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath was not a permanent Georgia resident when she ran for Congress in 2018, according to a report published Monday. Tax documents uncovered by The Washington Free Beacon and AllOnGeorgia.com reveal that Cobb County, Georgia, does not recognize the freshman congresswoman’s home as her permanent residence, and consequently, the county has revoked the homestead exemptions her family previously received. “Now y’all, I’m just a former county commission chairman,” Handel said during the campaign. “But I thought taking a homestead exemption here while claiming permanent residency there was a pretty big no-no.” McBath and her husband have been writing off the homestead exemption since 2000, however, Cobb County only audits tax filings for the prior three years, so it is not clear if she has been misusing the exemption since then. A spokesperson for McBath provided the following statement to the Free Beacon: The facts are that Lucy moved to Georgia in 1990, while Karen Handel was still living in DC. Lucy raised her son, Jordan, in the sixth district. He attended Marietta High School. Lucy has lived in her home in Marietta in the Sixth District since 2008. During the 2016 presidential cycle, when Lucy was traveling extensively…

Read the full story

Ohio Conference Committee Fails to Reach Deal on Gas Tax, Cancels Monday Meeting

Anthony Gockowski

The Ohio Legislature failed to agree on a transportation budget before its midnight deadline Sunday. While several items were agreed to, a comprise hasn’t yet been reached on the gas tax. As The Ohio Star reported, the Ohio House and Gov. Mike DeWine settled on an 11-cent gas-tax increase, seven cents down from what DeWine initially proposed. “I’m pleased that we have reached an agreement with the Speaker of the House on the transportation budget that will enable the Ohio Department of Transportation to improve and maintain safer roads, bridges, highways, and intersections across Ohio. I am hopeful that the Senate agrees to this plan as well,” DeWine said in a statement after the agreement was announced. But the Ohio Senate is opposed to the 11-cent figure, and previously passed a bill that would institute a six-cent hike. A joint conference committee composed of six members has been meeting since Wednesday, but failed to reach an agreement. Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) has been relatively quiet on the matter, but spoke with reporters Friday about the negotiations. “We will continue conversations and will all be back on Monday or Tuesday of next week. So I think it’s just a matter…

Read the full story

Tim Walz Spoke at Event Sponsored by Group Accused of Terror Connections

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) spoke Thursday at an event sponsored by Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) at Metropolitan State University. As The Minnesota Sun has reported, CAIR was listed by the Department of Justice as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding millions of dollars to Hamas, a terrorist organization. The United Arab Emirates listed CAIR as a terrorist organization along with al-Qaeda and ISIS. A recent online petition called on Attorney General William Barr to investigative Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) for their ties to CAIR. “There’s no doubt that Tlaib and Omar have close-knit ties with Hamas-affiliated CAIR and we, as concerned citizens, call on Attorney General and U.S. Special Envoy for Antisemitism to investigate these ties,” the petition states. After his Thursday event, Walz specifically thanked CAIR for “putting on this event” on how to “challenge Islamophobia.” Hate and Islamophobia have no place in Minnesota. When our Muslim communities thrive, Minnesota thrives. Thank you to @CAIRMN and @Choose_Metro for putting on this event yesterday to address how to challenge Islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/WCctWr9KCZ — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 29, 2019 “Hate and Islamophobia have no place in Minnesota. When our Muslim communities thrive,…

Read the full story

Trump Declares US Census ‘Meaningless’ Without Citizenship Question

Admin

Reuters   President Donald Trump on Monday injected himself into one of the most consequential cases of the current Supreme Court term, saying the nation’s 2020 census would be “meaningless” without adding a citizenship question to the questionnaire. The comment on Twitter came ahead of an expected ruling from the Supreme Court on whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ decision to add the citizenship question violated federal law. “Can you believe that the Radical Left Democrats want to do our new and very important Census Report without the all important Citizenship Question,” Trump tweeted. “Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions [ridiculous] that it costs to put together!” Can you believe that the Radical Left Democrats want to do our new and very important Census Report without the all important Citizenship Question. Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions (ridiculous) that it costs to put together! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2019 The citizenship question is among a series of White House policies signaling tighter control over immigration. These include Trump’s declaration in February of a national emergency to obtain funds for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and his threat to close…

Read the full story

Following Multi-State Tour, Ohio Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan Mulls 2020 Run

Andrew Shirley

Saturday evening, Ohio Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan made one of his last appearances in a multi-state blitz tour of early presidential primary states. When Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown decided not to run last month, most Ohioans thought that would be it for Ohio politicians entering the 2020 race. Yet Rep. Ryan, despite not announcing his candidacy or forming an exploratory committee, seems to be making all the moves one would expect from a 2020 candidate. The nine-term representative from Ohio’s 13th district (formerly 17th), has been prominently featured at several Iowa events. Saturday, he appeared at the Heartland Forum. The event was organized and sponsored by the Huffington Post, several Iowa state papers, and Open Markets Action. Ryan was joined by declared and potential candidates; “former U.S. HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Rep. John Delaney, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tim Ryan, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.” While he has found positive support at this and most of his campaign events, some of his recent comments seem to clash with the direction of the Democratic party in 2020. At an event in New Hampshire, the potential 2020 candidates said to Fox News: I think we’ve got to be very careful. We come off sometimes as hostile to business……

Read the full story

WCS Director of Teaching, Learning & Assessment Laurette Carle Misinformed Public About ‘White Privilege’ Training at School Board Meeting

Chris Butler

Laurette Carle, executive director of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment for Williamson County Schools, misinformed the public and members of the school board about the “white privilege” Cultural Competency in-service training video series teachers were required to watch during the academic year 2018-2019 at last Monday’s WCS school board meeting. It appears that Carle’s misrepresentation was intentional obfuscation, and that she purposely used examples of planning documents from previous academic years and referenced “eplan” documents that were not on point without ever once showing any evidence that the “white privilege” training, which is the center of the controversy, was either presented to or approved by the Tennessee Department of Education, as required by law. WCS Superintendent Mike Looney asked Carle to explain to the board and the public “about the [professional development] process we use in Williamson County Schools” that culminated in the “white privilege” Cultural Competency series. The Tennessee Star has included a complete transcript of Carle’s statements, along with documented evidence that some of what Ms. Carle said is not supported by the publicly available documents found at the website she referenced in her presentation. Carle, a graduate of Bates College in Maine, has a masters degree from Duke…

Read the full story