Month: May 2019

Fetal Heartbeat Bill Summer Study Schedule Set

Laura Baigert

  The schedule for the Senate Judiciary Committee summer study of the Heartbeat Bill was announced Thursday via email to committee members and staff. The scheduled dates just announced – Monday and Tuesday, August 12 and 13 – are changed from the original dates set during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on April 9 when the bill was sent to summer study. Originally, the dates set by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville) for the summer study were Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and 14. However, those dates created a conflict with the 46th American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) 2019 Annual Meeting scheduled for August 14 through 16 in Austin, Texas, which is attended by many members of the Tennessee General Assembly. The email, sent by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Research Analyst stated that the summer study meeting on SB 1236 has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, August 12, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Tuesday, August 13, although it may go into the afternoon if more time is needed.  A specific location, while assumed to be within the Cordell Hull Building, was not identified. The Fetal Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits abortions…

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Work Resumes on Private Border Wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico

Jason M. Reynolds

  Construction has resumed on the three-quarters of a mile private border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico, according to KOB. Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea backtracked on Thursday on his claim the wall violated city law and that it was too high. “Upon further investigation, we have determined this is under and M-2, which is industrial zoning and does allow up to 35 feet, as we understand at this moment,” Perea said of the 18-foot-high fence. Construction is expected to be completed in the next several weeks. The city claimed We Build the Wall did not have a building permit and denied city officials access to the site. We Build the Wall strongly denied both charges, Battleground State News said. The wall is being built on private land owned by American Eagle Brick Company. Perea said he and his family received death threats, KVIA said. He also confirmed work on the border barrier has resumed even though City officials “issued permits in error” prematurely for the lights and fence. We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage said it has 10 more projects ready but would not provide details about locations, KFOX 14 said. Kris Kobach, the legal counsel, said the…

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Commentary: The Case for Prosecuting Comey and Brennan

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by Adam Mill   Twenty-five years ago, the Arnold Schwarzenegger action hit “True Lies” depicted a jealous husband abusing his access to powerful tools intended to fight terrorism to discover whether his wife was having an affair. The character played by Tom Arnold lamely warns Schwarzenegger’s Harry Tasker that using government surveillance to spy on his wife is a crime (which is true) and that abusing these tools could land them both in prison. Tasker retorts that they violate the law all the time. Once you have a person’s search history, access to her emails, text messages, and listen to her phone calls, it’s not hard to construct a blackmail scenario. But that could never happen in real life, right? Wrong. In 2013, almost 20 years after the movie, Reuters reported that at least a dozen U.S. National Security Agency employees were caught using secret government surveillance tools to spy on the emails or phone calls of current or former spouses and lovers. The NSA has repeatedly promised to reform its procedures as the database it keeps on Americans continues to grow in scope and reach. When you talk to your spouse, your child, or your lover in the presence…

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Kris Kobach at Thursday’s We Build the Wall News Conference in Sunland Park, New Mexico

Julie Carr

The We Build the Wall team held a news conference in Sunland Park, New Mexico Thursday afternoon to explain the details behind the resumption of work on the one mile section of wall that will connect the 20 mile border wall that stretches across El Paso, Texas and another 20 mile segment that stretches from the western edge of Sunland Park into the New Mexico desert. Here’s a complete transcript of the comments of Kris Kobach, general counsel of We Build the Wall, at that news conference: BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: It was approximately a 36-hour delay in our work. Roughly at about four o’clock day before yesterday is when we received the stop work order from the city and then we got things going at six am his morning the stop work order was lifted by the city yesterday at four o’clock but since we didn’t have any of the machinery on site at that point we decided to wait till this morning to stop. The relevant work permits were issued by the city this morning at approximately ten am. Just to give you a little bit of background, we actually applied for permits last week and we were told that…

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Freshman Congressman John Rose Supports President Trump in 100 Percent of Votes

Laura Baigert

  In a press release issued Wednesday, freshman Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06) announced the report that, of the votes taken since he took his office in January, 100 percent were in support of President Donald Trump. The score came from the FiveThirtyEight website, known for its polling analysis as well as blogs on politics, economics and sports. FiveThirtyEight scored all legislators of the 116th Congress as to how often they voted in line with President Trump’s position. The scorecard also considered the legislator’s predicted score when factoring in Trump’s share of the vote in the 2016 presidential election in the member’s district minus the share of the vote that went to Hillary Clinton. Congressman Rose’s 100 percent “Trump score” slightly exceeded FiveThirtyEight’s predicted score for him, which was 98.2 percent. “I am proud that my voting record is ranked the highest possible when it comes to supporting our President,” responded Rose. Expanding on his voting history that supported President Trump’s agenda, Rose said, “I have voted to finish the wall, support the President’s constitutional authority, and fully fund our national security efforts.” Rose says his vote “reflects my commitment to you, the voters who elected me. I count it a…

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Trump Says He Had No Knowledge of ‘Well-Meaning’ Attempts to Cover USS McCain

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by Shelby Talcott   President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday morning that he had no knowledge of a “well-meaning” request to keep the USS John McCain out of view during his recent trip to Japan. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that a White House official asked the U.S. Navy to move the USS McCain “out of sight” before Trump’s visit to Japan. A May 15 email from a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official to U.S. Navy and Air Force officials outlined plans for Trump’s Japan visit, including a request saying that the “USS John McCain needs to be out of sight,” WSJ reported. “I don’t know what happened,” Trump said in a reply to reporters Thursday morning. “I wasn’t involved, I would not have done that.” “Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him [late Arizona Sen. John McCain],” Trump added. “Okay, and they were well-meaning, I will say. I didn’t know anything about it. I would never have done that.” Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan denied knowing anything about the reported request while talking to reporters Thursday en route to Indonesia. He said that he will investigate the reports. “What I read this morning was the first…

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Lousiana House Overwhelmingly Passes Fetal Heartbeat Ban – Dem Gov Expected to Sign

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   The Louisiana House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday banning abortions after the child’s heartbeat can be detected. The bill overwhelmingly passed the Louisiana House of Representative with a vote of 79-23 and would “prohibit the abortion of an unborn human being with a detectable heartbeat,” according to CNN. The House rejected an amendment to the bill Wednesday that would have made an exception for abortions in cases of rape or incest, NBC reports. The Louisiana Senate also approved the bill and added amendments requiring ultrasounds and making an exception for “medically futile” pregnancies. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has described himself as a “pro-life candidate” has said he will sign the bill into law. However, the ban will only go into effect if the Mississippi heartbeat bill passes the federal appeals court. Obama appointed Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the Mississippi abortion bill Friday. “As I prepare to sign this bill, I call on the overwhelming bipartisan majority of legislators who voted for it to join me in continuing to build a better Louisiana that cares for the least among us and provides more opportunity for everyone,” Edwards said in a statement on Wednesday…

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Illinois GOP Lawmakers Want to Cut off Chicago, Create New State

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by Carmel Kookogey   A group of Illinois Republicans is sponsoring legislation that would split the state in two: Chicago, and everywhere else. State Rep. Brad Halbrook, a Republican representing Shelbyville, Illinois, spoke with The Daily Signal about the effort to win better representation for the people of rural Illinois, whose traditional and economic values are affected by policies favored by Chicago’s metropolitan population. “There’s definitely an attack on our family values,” Halbrook told The Daily Signal. “We believe in traditional values. We are pro-life, we have a Second Amendment right to defend ourselves, but [Democrats in Chicago and Cook County] want to restrict that.” Halbrook’s sponsorship of the resolution called HR0101 is joined by seven of the 44 Republican lawmakers in the state House who represent rural “downstate” districts: Chris Miller, Dan Caulkins, Darren Bailey, Tony McCombie, C. D. Davidsmeyer, Blaine Wilhour, and Randy E. Frese. The proposal “urges the United States Congress to declare the City of Chicago the 51st state of the United States of America and separate it from the rest of Illinois.” Is this possible? Halbrook says yes, and points to the Constitution. “Article IV Section 3 in the U.S. Constitution allows us to separate,”…

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Border Agents Just Made the Biggest Migrant Apprehension Ever: Report

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by Jason Hopkins   The U.S. Border Patrol reportedly apprehended the largest single group of illegal immigrants in history, more than doubling the previous record. Border Patrol agents nabbed 1,036 migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday morning, according to a report by NBC News, citing two U.S. officials and a document. The number marks the biggest group ever apprehended by law enforcement, with the previous record being 424. The demographics of the caravan closely matched what’s been seen at the border in recent time. Of the 1,036 who were apprehended, 934 were part of a family unit, 63 were unaccompanied minors, and 39 were either single adults or not yet identified. All of the individuals were from the three Northern Triangle countries of Central America — 515 people from Guatemala, 135 people from Honduras and another 76 from El Salvador. The record-smashing apprehension comes as more and more migrants are reaching the U.S. southern border, igniting a crisis that is breaking immigration enforcement resources. Migrant encounters have increased every month since January. March and April — the most recent months Customs and Border Protection has on record — marked two consecutive months where migrant…

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Wife of Hamilton County Superintendent Takes $90,000 a Year Job Working for Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke

Chris Butler

  The wife of Hamilton County Superintendent Bryan Johnson has taken a $90,000 a year position as a senior advisor to Democratic Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. This, according to Berke’s spokeswoman Richel Albright, who said Candy Johnson joined Berke’s administration as one of his senior advisors. Johnson took the job last week, Albright told The Tennessee Star. Chattanooga City Council member Chip Henderson said Thursday that no one from Berke’s administration had formally introduced Johnson to the council, as is customary. “I will tell you we have not been briefed on the hire,” Henderson said. This, despite The Chattanoogan reporting Council member Demetrus Coonrod welcomed Johnson at Tuesday’s City Council Agenda Session. “Stacy Richardson, the mayor’s chief of staff, said she would discuss with council members ‘offline’ the role of Ms. Johnson at the mayor’s office,” The Chattanoogan reported. Albright said several people have advised Berke since 2013, most recently Hames McKissic, who left in 2018. “Mayor Berke is the final decision maker on positions in his office,” Albright said in an emailed statement to The Star. On her LinkedIn page, Johnson describes herself as an independent consultant. She also was the lead education policy contact for the Nashville Area…

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Federal Agencies Push Back on Claim They Sanctioned Private Border Wall Construction

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by Andrew Kerr   The founder of the nonprofit group that built a half-mile border wall over Memorial Day weekend said the Trump administration sanctioned the project, but two federal agencies disputed his claim Wednesday. Triple amputee and Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage said Wednesday that the Trump administration called the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and authorized the construction on private property near El Paso, Texas. He also said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the venture. However, a spokeswoman for the IBWC told The Daily Caller News Foundation it received no such call from the Trump administration regarding We Build The Wall, which is funded by the viral $20 million GoFundMe fundraising campaign Kolfage launched in December. https://twitter.com/BrianKolfage/status/1133696190514642944 “We are not aware of any call from the administration, and there would be no reason for our authorization because it’s on private land,” said the spokeswoman for the U.S. section of the IBWC, Lori Kuczmanski. Kolfage hinted on Twitter that he had evidence of the Trump administration’s authorization, but said he was “saving it for the media to break.” We Build The Wall did not return a request for comment. Kolfage’s tweet came one day after…

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Longtime Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran Dead at 81

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by Henry Rodgers   Former Republican Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran died early Thursday morning in Oxford, Miss., at age 81. Cochran was first elected to the Senate in 1978, making him the first Republican to win a statewide election in Mississippi in over 100 years. The Mississippi Republican also served in the House of Representatives for three terms before running for Senate, the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported. Cochran resigned from the Senate in April 2018. In a statement from his successor, Republican Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s office said, Cochran “passed away peacefully early Thursday morning in Oxford,” saying “Cochran’s family extends its gratitude for the support shown to the Senator by Mississippians over the years. The University Of Mississippi, where Cochran graduated from college, sent out a tweet after the news broke, saying “The Ole Miss Family has lost a legend with the passing of a great Mississippian and UM alumnus in former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. His unwavering service and contributions to the university and the state are part of the lasting legacy he leaves behind.” The Ole Miss Family has lost a legend with the passing of a great Mississippian and UM alumnus in former U.S. Sen. Thad…

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Controversial Democratic Party Chairman in Shelby County Retains His Position, Despite Effort to Oust Him

Chris Butler

  Members of the Shelby County Democratic Party have reportedly chosen to continue to retain Michael Harris as chairman, despite his reported sketchy history with the law. This, after party members, met at a closed-door meeting Tuesday, according to The Daily Memphian. The website also reported Harris himself called for the meeting to settle once and for all the controversy over whether he should continue in that position. The vote to retain Harris was 18-9. “The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Harris’ law license in 2017 for five years retroactive to 2015,” according to The Daily Memphian. “His law license was suspended after he agreed to ethics charges brought by the state’s Board of Professional Responsibility that included lack of diligence and communication, excessive fees, improper termination, failure to expedite litigation, failure to perform services he was paid for, unauthorized practice of law, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Harris was also ordered to pay nine former clients a total of $22,975 in restitution.” But, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal, “the movement to oust Harris is still alive.” This, according to Executive Committee member Julie Byrd Ashworth, who reportedly filed a grievance against Harris alongside two other…

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Ohio House Approves Controversial Nuclear Bailout Bill

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by Todd DeFeo   The Ohio House approved a controversial bill that proponents say will preserve carbon-free energy production and that opponents say is a bailout of the nuclear industry in the state. If it becomes law, House Bill 6 would create a new Ohio Clean Air Program to subsidize power plants fueled by nuclear and solar power. Beginning January 1, 2020, consumers would fund the program through a dedicated monthly charge – including 50 cents per month in 2020 and $1 per month in 2021 through 2026 for residential customers. The move comes after Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions announced its intentions to close Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor near Toledo and Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry. The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2018. “I know this issue is difficult because there are so many Ohioans affected and so many parties interested in the outcome,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement following the voted 53-43 vote Wednesday in favor of the bailout. “As I have previously stated, Ohio needs to maintain carbon-free nuclear energy generation as part of our energy portfolio. In addition, these energy jobs are vital to Ohio’s economy. I look forward to this…

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Commentary: Justice Clarence Thomas Is the Moral Center of the Supreme Court

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by George Rasley   Is it possible to construct a lasting and healthy society upon a legal foundation that not only protects but encourages infanticide, a deep and profoundly immoral act? We do not believe it is, and the door opened by Roe v. Wade has led American society into a darkness that can only end in the eugenic and racist nightmare of the Nazi Third Reich and other cultures that have allowed humans to be culled like livestock or killed when they become inconvenient. The battle lines in this great moral debate were set out in stark terms by Justices Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsberg in the Supreme Court’s recent holding in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. As the writers for The Economist explained, Box concerns Indiana’s HEA 1337, which Mike Pence, now the vice-president, signed into law in 2016 when he was governor of the state. In a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year, two of the law’s provisions were deemed unconstitutional: a requirement that fetal remains from abortions be buried or cremated; and a bar on abortions motivated solely by the fetus’s race, sex or diagnosed disability such as Down syndrome.…

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Brian Kolfage at Thursday’s We Build the Wall News Conference in Sunland Park, New Mexico

Julie Carr

The We Build the Wall team held a news conference in Sunland Park, New Mexico Thursday afternoon to explain the details behind the resumption of work on the one mile section of wall that will connect the 20 mile border wall that stretches across El Paso, Texas and another 20 mile segment that stretches from the western edge of Sunland Park into the New Mexico desert. Here’s a complete transcript of the comments of Brian Kolfage, founder of We Build the Wall, at that news conference: BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: First of all, thank you all for coming out today and witnessing this project. This is a project that was started by the American people who all believed in border security and who believed there is a crisis down here. A lot of people ask about how did we get here today? How did we find this land over here? How did we identify this exact spot where we’re building? Over the last 57 days is when we started this project. From the time I set foot here, I actually rolled across into Mexico and rolled back in my wheelchair. And at that point, I knew this was a bad area. And…

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Veteran in Michigan’s Third District Poses Real Threat to Justin Amash

Anthony Gockowski

  It took just 48 hours for a fellow Republican to jump on the opportunity to run against Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI-03) after he tweeted out of the blue that President Donald Trump “has engaged in impeachable conduct.” Or at least that’s the story that our national media told. Amash, in fact, has actually had a primary opponent since April in Republican Tom Norton, whose campaign was built less in reaction to “Twitter comments,” and more so on a “careful consideration of Justin Amash’s record and ineffectiveness as a congressman,” as Norton’s campaign manager, Ivan Assenov, put it. One area where Norton believes his opponent has been particularly ineffective is in helping veterans, and Michigan’s Third Congressional District has a lot of them. “Amash’s record shows a lack of concern for veterans issues. In a district with 50,000-plus veterans and 22 a day committing suicide nationally, this is simply unacceptable,” Assenov told The Ohio Star. “Tom Norton has volunteered his time, knowledge, and experience to help Amash’s office with veterans issues after they came to Tom because their congressman turned them away. Tom was also turned away.” Norton himself is a veteran, and served in Afghanistan during his six-year career…

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Drag 101 Class Canceled at Delaware County Library Branch, Reason Given Was ‘Threats’ but May Be Just ‘Crying Wolf’?

Beth Lear

  DELAWARE, Ohio – The Drag 101 class sponsored by the Delaware County District Library that was to be held Wednesday, June 5th, has been ‘canceled.’  Kyle Gale, the drag queen known as Selena T. West and a former Miss Gay Ohio America, was being paid by the library to provide the class to teens.  At a press conference given Wednesday, May 29th at the Orange Township Branch where the class was to be held, Library Director George Needham announced the cancellation by reading a prepared statement. Director Needham claimed the cancellation was due to ‘threats’.  After stating “Hundreds of people expressed their support or concern”, he said: However, there were also some hostile and angry messages.  A small number of those messages appeared to threaten the safety of our staff, our patrons, ‘Selena’ and the teens and caregivers for whom we strive to provide a safe space. Notably, Needham’s prepared remarks distributed to media beforehand, however, did not mention the threat to West/Gayle. Information about the Drag 101 class began filtering into the community a couple of weeks before when at least one local school district sent home the information with students.  That information was shared with a local mom’s…

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Amy Klobuchar Defies Meghan McCain Request, Talks About John McCain Story on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Zachery Schmidt

  Amy Klobuchar addressed the controversial story about John McCain mentioning dictator names during President Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Jimmy Kimmel Live. During her Tuesday late-night show appearance, Kimmel asked the Minnesota Senator about McCain story she told last weekend. “Now you told a story at one of these rallies this weekend that I found so interesting about the late Senator John McCain,” Kimmel said. Klobuchar said McCain was referencing parts of the speech and mentioning dictator’s speeches during the inauguration. In addition, McCain referenced these dictators because he was concerned “about what this meant with this president,” according to the presidential candidate. She would not mention what dictator names the late Senator repeated to her and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. “I think the point of the story was that John McCain was a student of history and so he knew what was coming,” Klobuchar said. “He knew these cries for isolationism, what that meant if we don’t stand with our allies, what that meant for America’s standing in the world. And that’s what he was doing. He had said things similar to this publicly as well.” As the Minnesota Sun reported earlier this week, McCain’s daughter and View co-host…

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Ohio Democrats Negative on New NAFTA Deal Known as USMCA

Jason M. Reynolds

  President Donald Trump’s Administration is expected to speed up the procedural steps necessary for a Congressional vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), media outlets report. Trump should issue a “statement of administrative action” soon, Reuters reported. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that was “not a positive step,” Reuters said, adding she wanted more time for lawmakers to review the agreement. The Republican National Committee has questioned why Democrats under the leadership of Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are holding up USMCA. Pelosi said Mexico must change its labor laws, while Schumer said there are “outstanding issues.” Several Ohio Democrats have posed roadblocks as well. In February, in response to Trump’s State of the Union mention of USMCA, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) said: “While I continue to be supportive of renegotiating NAFTA, what I have seen so far does not do enough to protect the hardworking men and women of my district.” “For far too long, I have seen firsthand how unfair trade agreements have harmed our manufacturing industry in Ohio and across the United States. Just this week the GM plant in my district started its first round of layoffs. I join with my…

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Ethics Committee Legal Counsel Disputes Claims by Rep. Mike Carter Regarding Ethics Meetings

Steve Gill

  Earlier this month Representative Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) complained about a series of meetings held with individual members of the House Ethics Committee, Chaired by Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesboro), on Monday May 13.  The meetings were held in an effort to develop an approved advisory opinion regarding certain facts surrounding alleged actions of House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin). Chairman Hill later indicated that the meetings with individual members of the Ethics Committee were necessary in view of the quickly developing story and the need to get input from members within a timeline that did not permit a full meeting. Carter claimed the development of an advisory opinion that had been requested by Casada was part of an attempt by Casada, through Hill, to protect his speakership. Carter said of his meeting with Hill and two of the Committee’s legal counsel: “my concern with the meeting is that it shows a heart for misrepresentation and political maneuvering to save the requestor’s office even at a loss of reputation and integrity of the House Ethics Committee. This is the most egregious act I have been made aware of.” Carter also implied that Casada was attempting to “rig and predetermine” action by the…

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‘It Takes a Village’ Mindset Prompts Hamilton County Government Schools to Possibly Raise Property Taxes

Chris Butler

  At least one Hamilton County School Board member who favors a plan to hire 350 more school employees says government-run schools can do a better job than certain parents tending to a child’s social and emotional needs. As The Tennessee Star reported, many of these proposed new positions pertain to social and administrative work. Most school board members voted for a budget that includes these new positions. County commissioners must approve the plan. They may have to raise property taxes to fund it. School Board member Kathy Lennon said many children in the county live in single-parent homes, while children from two-parent families have it easier. Arguing on behalf of money for these new positions, she told The Star this week these children “are victims of their circumstances.” “So, yes, we (the school district) are their support system. We have to give them what they need. It is our responsibility as educators, as a community, to provide them with the resources they need in order to succeed,” Lennon said. “Some children don’t know how to go to school. They don’t get to come to school with a full belly. They don’t get to come to school with packs of paper and…

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Commentary: Jurisprudence and the Failed Coup

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by Stephen B. Presser   The indispensable Victor Davis Hanson recently noted, “Real coups against democracies rarely are pulled off by jack-booted thugs in sunglasses or fanatical mobs storming the presidential palace. More often, they are the insidious work of supercilious bureaucrats, bought intellectuals, toady journalists, and political activists who falsely project that their target might at some future date do precisely what they are currently planning and doing—and that they are noble patriots, risking their lives, careers, and reputations for all of us, and thus must strike first.” He was discussing what we are now beginning to understand was the attempt to oust Donald Trump begun by officials in the Obama Administration, including certainly former FBI Director James Comey, assistant director Andrew McCabe, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI counterintelligence chief Peter Strzok, former FBI attorney Lisa Page, and quite possibly President Obama himself. This will, in the long light of history, be regarded as the greatest misuse of governmental power ever to appear in our politics, and yet there has been very little attention paid to how this could occur and why at this…

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Volkswagen Chattanooga Employee Releases Testimonial Against the UAW

Chris Butler

  This week, Southern Momentum, a grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers, released the first in a series of worker testimonial videos regarding the upcoming election at the facility. “It’s time for the attacks to stop,” says Carol Gruber, a team leader at Volkswagen Chattanooga. “It’s time to build that quality car that gives us a paycheck in our bank account every two weeks. It’s time to stop so we can move forward and build the quality car that we know we can build. I am Volkswagen. And when you’re attacking Volkswagen, you’re attacking me, my friends, and my family.” Gruber has worked at Volkswagen for eight years, according to a press release. “I’ve worked a lot around all the areas, so I see how some are concerned about the union coming in. They are making promises that, unfortunately, it’s not really a promise. It’s, ‘We can possible get you this,’ or, ‘possibly get you that.’ Unfortunately, everything that we’re offered comes in one pile and something’s going to get taken away – your leased vehicle or less pay for different benefits. If it wasn’t for Volkswagen, I wouldn’t have what I have today.…

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Commentary: Can Americans ‘Handle the Truth’ About Individual Achievement Differences?

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by George Leef   In the 1992 movie A Few Good Men, there is a courtroom scene where the prosecuting attorney (played by Tom Cruise) tells the defendant Marine officer Nathan Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) that he wants the truth. To that, Jessup shouts back, “You can’t handle the truth.” What brings that to mind is the recent revelation that the College Board (CB) has begun calculating an “adversity score” for each student who takes its aptitude test, the SAT. Apparently, the people running the CB don’t believe that we can handle the truth that individual students vary in their academic abilities, and therefore their actual SAT scores must be adjusted (“put in context”) to supposedly reflect the circumstances of the test taker. Schools will receive adversity scores that boost the actual scores of students to the degree that the CB thinks they have faced adversity in their lives. How well students are actually prepared for academic work will now be hidden behind an egalitarian gauze that is supposed to make things fairer. Strangely, the news about this change in the SAT was not trumpeted by the CB itself but rather was revealed in the Wall Street Journal. Author…

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Avenatti Pleads Not Guilty to Extorting Nike, Ripping Off Stormy Daniels

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  Lawyer Michael Avenatti pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he extorted Nike Inc, just hours after entering a not guilty plea to defrauding porn star Stormy Daniels, the client who propelled him to fame as an outspoken adversary of U.S. President Donald Trump. “I am now facing the fight of my life against the ultimate Goliath, the Trump administration,” Avenatti, 48, told reporters after leaving the courthouse, reiterating previous assertions that he is being targeted for political reasons. “I am confident that when a jury of my peers passes judgment on my conduct, justice will be done and I will be fully exonerated.” Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Richard Berman’s office, which is prosecuting the cases, declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Avenatti entered his pleas to extortion, communication with intent to extort and two counts of conspiracy in connection with Nike at an afternoon hearing in federal court in Manhattan. As U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe read each of the four counts, the lawyer responded four times, “100 percent not guilty.” Earlier in the day, public defender Sylvie Levine entered a not guilty plea for…

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Ilhan Omar Suggests Latinos Would Not Be Competitive in ‘Merit Based’ Immigration System and Ted Cruz Fires Back

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar suggested on Tuesday that individuals from Latin America would not be competitive if the U.S. immigration system was based on merit. “A ‘merit-based’ immigration policy is fueled toward the Latinx community,” Omar said in a now-deleted tweet. “Our immigration policies shouldn’t be based on discrimination, fear, or bigotry.” “We should welcome immigrants to our country and offer a simple pathway to citizenship,” she added. Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz fired back at Omar for implying that people immigrating from Central and South America were not as smart or skilled as people immigrating from other countries. “As the son of a Cuban immigrant whose Dad came to get a math degree & become a computer programmer, I’m troubled that Dems seem to believe Hispanic immigrants can’t qualify for skills-based legal immigration,” Cruz said. “Bringing in more scientists, engineers & doctors is good for US jobs.” Omar is America’s first Muslim congresswoman and her time in office has been embroiled in allegations of anti-Semitism and anti-American sentiments. Cruz, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, has been a vocal critic of Omar’s repeated anti-Semitic rhetoric. The Texas senator is often considered one of…

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The Governor of Colorado Just Made It Harder for ICE to Apprehend Illegal Migrants

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by Jason Hopkins   Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that makes it more difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to apprehend suspected illegal immigrants. Polis signed House Bill 1124 on Tuesday. It bars local law enforcement from arresting or detaining a suspected illegal alien solely on the basis of an ICE request. The legislation also prohibits officers from providing a suspected illegal immigrant’s personal information to ICE, and it requires Colorado police to read illegal migrants their Miranda rights when coordinating an ICE interview, the Denver Post reported. The law serves as a major setback for federal immigration authorities operating in Colorado. ICE detainers are requests made by agents to local law enforcement, asking them to detain inmates for up to 48 hours longer than their release date if the individual is suspected to be living in the country illegally. The extra two days gives authorities time to decide if the person should be deported or not. Immigration rights advocates and other supporters celebrated the signing of the bill. “Thank you to all of the people who helped to make this a reality and advocate for our immigrant community,” wrote Colorado Democratic state Rep. Adrienne Benavidez,…

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High-Ranking FBI Official Leaked Sealed Information to Journalists, Accepted Gifts From Reporter

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by Chuck Ross   A former FBI official accepted gifts from the media and leaked sealed court information to reporters, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog found. According to a summary of a DOJ inspector general’s report released on Wednesday, the former official, who served as a deputy assistant director, accepted a $225 ticket from a reporter to a media-sponsored event. The official, who is not identified, also allegedly provided law enforcement sensitive information to reporters on “multiple” occasions without authorization of the bureau. The official “had dozens of official contacts with the media” in violation of FBI policy, the report alleges. The inspector general also found that the former official may have been in contempt of court by allegedly disclosing the existence of information that was under a court seal. The Justice Department declined prosecution of the official. The investigation is cited in a June 2018 inspector general’s report on the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general (IG), said in the previous report that investigators found that “dozens” of FBI employees had contacts with the press. “The large number of FBI employees who were in contact with journalists during…

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Nadler Responds to Mueller: ‘Falls to Congress to Respond to the Crimes’

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by Henry Rodgers   House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler responded to special counsel Robert Mueller’s first public remarks Wednesday since his report was released, saying it is up to Congress to investigate the findings in the Mueller report. In a statement released by Nadler after Mueller’s press conference at the Department Of Justice, Nadler thanked Mueller for his service and said that “although Department of Justice policy prevented the Special Counsel from bringing criminal charges against the President, the Special Counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying about the Special Counsel’s findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the Special Counsel’s report, and is lying in saying that the Special Counsel found no obstruction and no collusion,” saying it is now Congress’ responsibility to act. “We would like to thank Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his service to our nation over the past two years. In his statement this morning, Special Counsel Mueller reaffirmed his report, which found substantial evidence that Russia attacked our political system and that the President sought to obstruct Mueller’s investigation over and over again. He also confirmed three central points: he did not exonerate the President of the United States of…

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Cartel Control, Carrizo Cane, Fake Families and More: Eight Factors Enabling Illegal Border-Crossers at the Laredo, Texas-Mexico Border

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by Fred Lucas   LAREDO, Texas – Guarding this sector of the southern border involves a set of challenges that is quite different than nearby stations in the Lone Star State. I learned this during a tour of the border last week that included this city of about 250,000 across from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, just a few hours away across the Rio Grande Valley station. I traveled along the 171-mile stretch of the border as a reporter for The Daily Signal, and here’s some of what I learned firsthand from Border Patrol agents who guard it. 1. Cartel Control The violent Cartel del Noreste controls and profits from illegal immigration across the southern border. “The Laredo sector is unique compared to our bordering neighbors to the left and to the right of us, up river and down river, in that we sit right across the border from the headquarters of the Cartel del Noreste, formerly known [as] the Zetas Cartel,” Joel Martinez, deputy chief of the Border Patrol for the Laredo sector, told me during an interview. “They are the main reason we are not getting the massive humanity coming at us,” Martinez said of the drug cartel, “because they…

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Far-Left Group ‘Gender Justice’ Sues Minnesota to Further Loosen Abortion Restrictions

Zachery Schmidt

  As the nation sees many states make laws restricting abortion, a lawsuit in Minnesota tries to do the exact opposite. Gender Justice and the Lawyering Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of abortion rights advocates in the Ramsey County District Court where the plaintiffs are targeting laws which they deem restrictive. The lawsuit is targeting certain laws such as requiring a 24-hour waiting period and letting parents of patients under 18 known of the procedure. In addition, the lawsuit wants to eliminate the law requiring fetal remains to be cremated or buried. “Minnesota abortion laws are not only outdated, but they are harmful. Far too often they prevent people from getting the care they need when they need it,” Gender Justice Executive Director Megan J. Peterson said. Peterson went on to add that these laws serve no medical purpose and reflected “outdated, patriarchal views of women.” The lawsuit cites the 1995 Doe v. Gomez case, where the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the state’s constitution allows for abortions in Minnesota and the right to decide to have an abortion without government interference. “We know too well that women and people who can get pregnant can never be equal in society…

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Minnesota Teens Are Working Less, But Older Residents Are Working More

Anthony Gockowski

  Minnesota teens are working less, while older Minnesotans are working more. That’s an alarming trend, according to Center of the American Experiment economist John Phelan. Phelan notes in a recent article that the labor force participation rate for Minnesotans aged 16 to 19 fell 19.1 percentage points between 1999 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the participation rate increased by 9.6 percent among Minnesotans aged 55 to 64 between the same years. “Not all youth absolutely need jobs, so they’re very sensitive to market conditions,” Oriane Casale, assistant director of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s labor market information office told MinnPost. “Basically, if they see their friends working and they can easily find a job, then they’ll work. Otherwise, they might not even look for a job,” she added. Phelan points out that these trends are expected to continue, according to the Minnesota State Demographic Center’s predictions. They suggest that the participation rate for those aged 16 to 19 is forecast to drop by another nine percent between 2020 and 2045, but will increase for all age groups above 45. “This doesn’t just pose a problem for Minnesota by exacerbating the participation…

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Ohio Gov. DeWine Declares State of Emergency in Three Counties Amid Tornado Wreckage

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by Tyler Arnold   Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in three counties in the western half of the state after a swarm of tornadoes killed at least one person and injured at least 130 others late Sunday in Ohio and Indiana. The deceased has been identified as 81-year-old Melvin Dale Hannah of Celina, Ohio. He was killed when tornado winds blew a parked car into his home. The state of emergency declaration allows “agencies to provide resources and support beyond their normal authority, under the direction of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA),” according to a news release. It also allows the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to suspend normal purchasing requirements to allow necessary spending for recovery efforts and resources, such as water or generators. The three Ohio counties included in the state of emergency are Greene, Mercer and Montgomery. The City of Dayton in Montgomery County sustained heavy damage. Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine’s office, told The Center Square that the cost estimate for the damage will come in about a week or so, and that it is far too early to estimate. Although reports are still coming in, dozens of buildings have…

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Ohio’s Future Foundation Pushes Pro-Business Policies to Help All Residents Prosper

Beth Lear

  YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Former Congressman Jim Renacci and Ohio’s Future Foundation (OHFF) were hosted by the Mahoning County Republican Party Tuesday evening.  The GOP group held a social for OHFF in their meeting room in Youngstown. Rick Barron, the Mahoning County Leader, announced that, ‘Tom (Weyand – OHFF’s Outreach Director) asked me to head up OHFF in Mahoning County, and we turned two blue seats red!’  Republicans gained a State Representative and a State Senator in an area which, prior to President Trump, was overwhelmingly Democratic. Next spoke Executive Director Jeff Anthony.  Republicans, he shared, were the party most likely to support their plans of making Ohio prosperous again by changing laws that inhibit business growth.  ‘For thirty years politicians have been telling us what they will do.  We want to tell them what they need to do,’ he exclaimed. The program turned to John Fadol, their researcher, who took a ‘deep dive into policy’. He discussed House Bill 6, an energy bill to bailout the nuclear power plants, and House Bill 166, the state biennium budget. “House Bill 6 began as a placeholder bill, an empty 63 pages,” stated Fadol.  “However the bill has now been updated.” It…

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Ohio Tea Party Leader Does Not Buy Into Robert Mueller’s Press Conference

Zachery Schmidt

  A local Ohio Tea Party leader believes Robert Mueller’s statements today were an attempt by the “Deep State” to help House Democrats push for impeachment after efforts to oust President Trump through the Special Counsel’s office failed. Tom Zawistowski, the President of We the People Convention, thinks it was not happenstance that Mueller’s press conference was the same day as former FBI Director James Comey’s op-ed appears in the Washington Post. “Today, wasn’t it a coincidence, that out of nowhere, Robert Mueller pops up on my TV at 11:00 AM to make a statement about his infamous ‘Mueller Report?’ Just happens to be the same day that Jim Comey has an op-ed in the Washington Post attacking the Barr investigation. Just happens that Attorney General Bill Barr is in Alaska and not part of this event,” the grassroots leader wrote in a statement. Mueller appeared in-person to deliver remarks Wednesday to address on-going concerns about his two-year-long investigation. He defended his investigation and reiterated that “insufficient evidence” existed to charge a “broader conspiracy.” Even though the Special Counsel defended his investigation, he did not fully clear President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing – although such a declaration would be well beyond the…

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We Build the Wall to Hold Rally Today in Sunland Park, New Mexico, Where Liberal Mayor’s Cease and Desist Order Has Temporarily Halted Construction

Jason M. Reynolds

  We Build the Wall plans to hold a rally today for the wall it is building in New Mexico to gather support against the city that is trying to shut them down. Meanwhile, construction is halted while the builders work on the fight with the city, Kris Kobach, general counsel for We Build the Wall, was quoted as saying by The Washington Times. Brian Kolfage, founder, of We Build the Wall, on Wednesday afternoon tweeted, “WE are having a MASSIVE wall rally tomorrow at We The Peoples Wall, in Sunland Park, WATCH HISTORY TAKE PLACE!  We want all country loving patriots to get down here ASAP! Contact @TheAmandaShea @DustinStockton if you plan to come.” https://twitter.com/BrianKolfage/status/1133809031825547265 Registration for today’s 4 p.m. rally is here. The location is the headquarters of American Eagle Brick Company at 1000 Brickland Road in Sunland Park, New Mexico, which is about one mile north of the approximately three-quarters mile section of wall that was built in just five days on land the company owns. Another one-quarter mile section of the wall, which would have been almost completed by now,  remains to be built after the City of Sunland Park’s Mayor Javier Perea, a 2016 Bernie…

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Live From Sunland Park, New Mexico, OANN’s Neil McCabe Tells The Tennessee Star Report the We Build the Wall Team Is ‘Going Back to City Hall Today’

Julie Carr

  On Wednesday’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 One America News Network’s Neil McCabe, a regular guest on the show, live from Sunland Park, New Mexico. McCabe is at the border reporting on the recent cease and desist order from  Mayor Javier Perea which was hand delivered yesterday to the We Build the Wall crew by local police. Leahy asked McCabe to give Tennessee Star Report listeners the latest news on the efforts of the We Build The Wall team, which has put up about three-fourths of a mile of 18 foot high fencing on the southern border between New Mexico and Mexico in just five days, with another one-fourth of a mile left to close the gap between two existing 20 mile segments of existing border wall. Leahy: Neil what’s going on this morning down in Sunland Park? Bring us up to speed. There was a cease and desist order yesterday afternoon. What’s happened since then. You are on the ground in Sunland Park, New Mexico and the sun is about to…

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller Announces His Resignation, Return to Private Life

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by Masood Farivar   Special counsel Robert Mueller says charging President Donald Trump with a crime was not an option his office could consider under Justice Department guidelines, as he made his first public statement about his 22-month-long investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Mueller concluded his investigation into Russian election meddling in late March, saying he found no evidence of collusion between the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and Moscow. On the question of whether Trump obstructed the investigation, however, Mueller wrote in his 448-page report that while he could not make a charging recommendation, he could not exonerate the president either. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mueller said “If we had confidence that president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”   Attorney General William Barr had told members of Congress that after reviewing Mueller’s report along with other senior Justice Department officials he determined that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of Justice. Barr said he made the determination irrespective of a long standing Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted. However, Mueller in his report cited 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice…

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Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd Won’t Vote to Raise Property Taxes to Fund New School Employees

Chris Butler

  Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd said it isn’t necessary to raise property taxes to enable the county school system to fund 350 new employees. This, even though better overall grades and test scores are among district officials’ main selling points for a plan that would create new counselors and school administrators, among other things. As The Tennessee Star reported, most school board members voted for a budget that includes all these new employees. But county commissioners must approve the plan, and doing so might require raising property taxes to generate enough revenue to pay for it all. Boyd told The Star Tuesday he can’t predict how other commissioners will vote, but he’s certain he’ll vote no. “The reason I am voting no is because this school system has adequate funding compared to neighboring districts in Georgia and Tennessee, and our funding per student in Hamilton County is above the state average for Tennessee and above the average for the states of Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Kentucky,” Boyd said. Boyd said Superintendent Bryan Johnson is moving the school district in a positive direction with the resources it already has. “Let them continue without all these new jobs,”…

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Commentary: Democrats Can’t Win with Impeachment Witch Hunt but Perhaps They Can’t Survive Without It

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by Robert Romano   Fifty-three percent of Democrats say impeaching President Donald Trump should be a “top priority” in the latest Morning Consult-Politico poll, compared with just 28 percent of the nation as a whole who say the same. Overall, 41 percent reject impeaching Trump, including 11 percent of Democrats say there should be no impeachment. In short, Democrats have a big problem. A majority of their party has been fed the now-debunked lie that President Donald Trump and his campaign were Russian agents who helped steal the 2016 election, and they want nothing less than Trump forcibly removed from office. But most of the country is not with them, and a significant portion of their own party are not there. So, where do Democrats go? If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) does not give her party’s political base what they want, they will be angry that their political leaders have sold them a bill of goods. That they’ve been defrauded. This would certainly suppress Democratic turnout in 2020, and might help Trump win reelection. On the other hand, if Pelosi follows through on impeachment without a credible basis for doing so, it might prove Trump’s contention that it was…

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The History and Results of Our Disastrous Public School System, Part II

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by Justin Spears   There is a popular saying that “the proof is in the pudding.” In the first part of this article set, my colleague Mike Margeson spelled out the historical roots of the American schooling system. He clearly laid out the blueprint that men like Horace Mann used to build a system that does anything but “educates.” Factor in that trillions of dollars have been spent on schooling, and it makes it even harder to justify. A Broken System Yet we continue to hear the “Red for Ed” crowd scream for more funding. Here in the state of Indiana, the superintendent of public education is leading an assault on the state legislature for a meager 2 percent increase in state funding. Many educators are characterizing this as a decrease in funding! In no other walk of life would we continue to pour so many resources into a failed system. If you had any doubt about this after reading Part One, let me present you with some facts. In what was one of many fiery speaking engagements, the late John Taylor Gatto delivered a line that has resonated with me as I have studied the effects the public schooling…

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Border Patrol Creating a New Position to Stymie the Immigration Crisis

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by Jason Hopkins   The U.S. Border Patrol announced that it’s creating a new position specifically tailored to processing and caring for migrants that reach the southern border, allowing agents to refocus their work on enforcement. The “Border Patrol Processing Coordinator” will assume certain responsibilities that have consumed the agency’s time as it deals with a surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release on Tuesday. The new position is meant to bring relief to agents who have long complained that the humanitarian crisis has kept them from performing their main role at the border. Coordinators are to be tasked with feeding, cleaning, transporting and other general tasks for illegal immigrants in Border Patrol custody. Migrants in need of medical care will be transported to hospitals by coordinators, who will also be assigned to watch over migrants as they receive care. “I am committed to providing the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol the resources they need to accomplish their border security mission,” Carla Provost, Chief of the Border Patrol, said in a prepared statement on Tuesday. “Border Patrol Processing Coordinators will take on processing, transportation, and custody responsibilities,…

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Supreme Court Declines Review of Transgender Bathroom Case

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   The United States Supreme Court declined to review a case Tuesday involving a Pennsylvania school district opening up bathrooms to students of the opposite sex without informing students or parents. The Supreme Court declined to take up Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, a lawsuit that alleges that the school violated students’ fundamental right to bodily privacy. The Alliance Defending Freedom and Independence Law Center attorneys who represent the students and their parents asked the Supreme Court to review the case in November after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that the students’ privacy did not merit protection, according to a press release from ADF. The case originated in Boyertown Area School District near Philadelphia when school officials began allowing trans students to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with these students’ stated gender identity. The school officials did not announce the policy change and the policy change has not yet been put into writing. (RELATED: The Supreme Court May Soon Decide On Transgender Bathrooms In Public Schools) The petitioners include students who were dressing in the locker rooms or bathrooms and suddenly realized that a person of the opposite sex…

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2020 Democratic Presidential Debate: Who Qualified And Who Is Struggling?

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by Molly Prince   The crowded 2020 presidential primary field is beginning to shape up as Democratic hopefuls meet the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) threshold for who qualifies to participate in the party’s debates. In order to score one of the debate podiums, candidates must either receive donations from at least 65,000 unique donors (with a minimum of 200 donors in more than 19 states) or receive at least 1 percent support in three DNC-approved polls. With one debate scheduled for June and another for July, and each debate limited to only 10 candidates, the 20 podiums allotted are filling up. Who gets a spot at which debate will be determined by a random draw of the qualifying candidates. In the event that more than 20 Democrats qualify, those who meet both the fundraising and polling threshold will be prioritized. Here is where 2020 presidential hopefuls stand on qualifying for debates: Qualified With Fundraising And Polling Joe Biden, former vice president to Barack Obama Cory Booker, senator from New Jersey Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana= Julián Castro, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary to Barack Obama Tulsi Gabbard, representative from Hawaii Kamala Harris, senator from California Jay Inslee,…

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Trump’s Campaign Considers Creating a New Account on a Conservative Version of Twitter

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by Chris White   President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign may create a profile on what is being called the conservative version of Twitter, Politico reported Tuesday, citing an anonymous source inside the president’s campaign. “It’s something he’s aware of and is checking out,” a senior Trump campaign official told Politico, referring to the president’s social media manager, Brad Parscale. “We don’t currently have a plan to make a big move to the platform.” The official was responding to questions about Parler, a fledgling social media network created in 2018 that caters to conservatives. Parscale and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, both began posting on the site in May. Pundits Gavin McInnes, Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos joined after they were booted from Twitter, a Silicon Valley company some conservatives believe is biased in favor of liberal views. Firebrand Alex Jones, who was permanently banned from Twitter in 2018, has yet to join Parler but is linked up on Gab, another conservative competitor to Twitter. The structure of the Parler app is similar to that of Twitter. User posts are limited to 1,000 characters, which other users can then support by “voting”and “echoing,” as opposed to “liking” and “retweeting.” But…

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Biological Male Wins NCAA Women’s Track Championship

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by Peter Hasson   A biological male who identifies as a transgender woman won an NCAA national championship over Memorial Day weekend. Franklin Pierce University (FPU) runner CeCe Telfer won the DII women’s 400-meter hurdles on Saturday night, besting the second-place finisher by more than a second. “Telfer is the first student-athlete in Franklin Pierce history to collect an individual national title,” the university announced. “It was tough conditions out here with the wind and the heat over the last three days but, as she has over the last six months, CeCe proved herself to be tough enough to handle it,” FPU coach Zach Emerson said in a press release. “Today was a microcosm of her entire season; she was not going to let anything slow her down. I’ve never met anybody as strong as her mentally in my entire life,” Emerson said. Telfer’s victory came less than two hours after taking fifth place in the 100-meter hurdles. OutSports, a pro-LGBT sports website, touted Telfer as “a trans athlete who doesn’t win every time.” Telfer previously ran a variety of events for Franklin Pierce’s men’s team, during most of which time he went by the first name Craig, according to…

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Environmentalists Say Imprisoned Felons Should Be Able to Vote Because of Global Warming

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by Michael Bastasch   Environmentalists joined the far-left campaign to give voting rights to incarcerated felons, arguing felon voting is crucial to fighting global warming. “Until each and every one of them have their voting rights restored, the movement for climate justice — and every progressive cause — will be severely disadvantaged,” Sabelo Narasimhan, digital campaign manager for 350.org, wrote in an email to supporters sent Monday. The group is now part of the effort, championed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, to allow millions of incarcerated felons to vote. Currently, only Maine and Vermont allow imprisoned felons to vote. 350.org is a far-left environmental group founded by activist Bill McKibben, a staunch Sanders supporter who once called former President Barack Obama a “climate denier” for allowing an oil company to explore for Arctic oil. “An assault on our democracy and the right to vote directly affects how we address the current climate crisis. When people can’t vote, fossil fuel billionaires win,” Narasimhan wrote in the email. The email directs supporters to sign onto a letter to Congress, demanding felons be allowed to vote while incarcerated. The online letter is supported by 350.org and other groups, including Common Cause, the Hip…

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