Day: May 30, 2019

‘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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