Month: May 2019

US Supreme Court Upholds Indiana Abortion Law on Fetal Remains

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  The Supreme Court is upholding an Indiana law that requires abortion providers to dispose of aborted fetuses in the same way as human remains. But the justices are staying out of the debate over a broader, blocked provision that would prevent a woman in Indiana from having an abortion based on gender, race or disability. The court split 7-2 in allowing Indiana to enforce the fetal remains measure that had been blocked by a federal appeals court. The justices said in an unsigned opinion that the case does not involve limits on abortion rights. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. Ginsburg said in a short opinion that she believes that the issue does implicate a woman’s right to an abortion “without undue interference from the state.” The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago had blocked both provisions of a law signed by Vice President Mike Pence in 2016 when he was Indiana’s governor. The court’s action Tuesday keeps it out of an election-year review of the Indiana law amid a flurry of new state laws that go the very heart of abortion rights. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey this month signed a law that would ban…

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Commentary: John Brennan’s Mysterious High-Level Russian Source

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by George Rasley   In a bombshell report, former CIA Director John O. Brennan claims the need for secrecy was so great that he hand-delivered information from a critical informant close to Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Barack Obama and required the envelope to be returned after the President read it. Daniel Chaitin and Jerry Dunleavy of The Washington Examiner report that now, one day after President Trump gave Attorney General William Barr “full and complete authority to declassify information” related to the origins of the federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, the New York Times reports this source is in jeopardy. Specifically, write Chaitin and Dunleavy, this informant was the U.S. intelligence community’s source in determining that Putin personally “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election” to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in favor of Trump. Obama made this public before he left office. The informant is described by Chaitin and Dunleavy as being a long-nurtured source who rose up the Russian ranks. Believed to still be alive, the well-being of the informant is one concern as Barr digs into the earliest days of the Russia investigation. Former…

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Republican Says Minnesota Gov. Walz’s ‘Inexperience’ and ‘Incompetence’ Forced Special Session

Anthony Gockowski

  Gov. Tim Walz called a special session for the Minnesota Legislature so it could finish passing some of the state’s major budget bills, but some Republicans think a special session could have been avoided. The Legislature officially adjourned on Monday, May 20 at midnight after Walz and party leaders had spent most of the prior week in closed-door meetings hashing out their disagreements. Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), however, said “there was nothing in the last-hour agreement” that Walz couldn’t have had a week earlier. “By demanding so much, he lost so much more. As of the Monday deadline, the Democrats had not achieved a single one of their top ten goals,” he added. Drazkowski thinks that if Walz “had pivoted a week earlier, he could have succeeded.” “But he just dug in his heels and lost everything,” he continued, calling Walz “the big loser of the year when the 2019 legislative session crashed to a halt.” He said legislators didn’t stand a chance of passing bills on time since “no general targets were set until Sunday evening,” the night before the final day of the session. “It is unsurprising that Governor Walz could not negotiate against experienced legislators,” Drazkowski…

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Deadly Tornadoes Hit Ohio, Trotwood Suburb Badly Damaged

Beth Lear

  TROTWOOD, Ohio – A series of storms tore through Ohio Memorial Day evening, spawning multiple tornadoes and leaving at least one person dead. The death occurred in Celina, north of Dayton, when a car was thrown into 81-year-old Melvin Dale Hannah’s home, killing him while he slept.  The EF3 that hit Celina destroyed or severely damaged at least 40 homes.  An EF3 has winds in excess of 135 mph. Seventy-five miles south one of Ohio’s largest cities, Dayton, was struck with at least two EF3 tornadoes in Trotwood and Beavercreek.  The twin twisters occurred just 30 minutes apart.  Both mayors declared a state of emergency in their suburbs.  Widespread power outages will take days to repair, according to Dayton Power & Light, and Montgomery County citizens are being asked to conserve water since one of their main treatment plants has lost electricity. Businesses and homes were hit hard.  One bystander seen surveying the debris declared he would not be working for awhile since the building where he was employed had no power and was significantly damaged.  His co-worker’s situation was worse; he’s out of work until the building is repaired and lost his home in nearby Brookville.  That same twister…

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Meghan McCain Blasts Presidential Candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar for Dishing on Sen. John McCain ‘Reciting the Names of Dictators’ at Trump Inaugural 

Zachery Schmidt

  Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar revealed an unusual detail about what deceased Arizona Senator John McCain said during President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration. Klobuchar told an Iowa crowd Saturday that McCain kept saying dictator names to her during Trump’s 2017 inauguration speech, according to CNN. This conversation happened while Klobuchar sat between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and John McCain, according to the Huffington Post. “I sat on that stage between Bernie and John McCain, and John McCain kept reciting to me names of dictators during that speech because he knew more than any of us what we were facing as a nation,” Klobuchar said. “He understood it. He knew because he knew this man more than any of us did.” McCain played an important role in spreading the fake Steele Dossier, which claimed the Russian government had damaging information about Trump. The Daily Caller reported that David Kramer, a former associate of McCain, provided the dossier to reporters from several media outlets. In unsealed court filings, Kramer said McCain gave a copy of the dossier to former FBI Director Jim Comey. “I think they felt a senior Republican was better to be the recipient of this rather than a…

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The ‘Other’ Work of the Ohio General Assembly

Maggie Leigh Thurber

  Should Dunkleosteus terrelli be Ohio’s official fossil fish? Should the sugar cookie be the official cookie of the state? What about the Monarch Butterfly?  Should it become the official butterfly for Ohio? The Ohio Senate believes the answer to the first question is yes. Senate Bill 123 was unanimously passed in the Senate and is now pending in the House. And it’s looking pretty favorable for the sugar cookie and Monarch Butterfly — unless some other cookie or butterfly lovers object. These are just three of the questions facing the Ohio General Assembly this year, in what some consider to be part of the “other” work that representatives and senators do. Amidst the bills on more serious matters, like the state budget and drug sentencing reform, are a host of miscellaneous measures: naming sections of roads, designating special license plates, or declaring a month/week/day in recognition of a person or illness.  In fact, such bills are 14 percent of the total in the House and 12 percent of the total in the Senate. Naming a section of a road in Ohio is usually done for person who has died, like a law enforcement officer or member of the military. Sometimes,…

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Liberal Mayor Javier Perea Targets We Build the Wall with Cease-and-Desist Shutdown Order While City Prepares for ‘Amnesty Week’

Jason M. Reynolds

  The City of Sunland Park, New Mexico on Tuesday waged a legal and PR attack against the private builders of the border wall, trying to shut them down with a cease and desist order. As The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday, We Build the Wall is nearing completion of just less than a mile of border fencing in New Mexico. That did not sit well with officials in Sunland Park, who claimed the builders did not have a permit. The city on Tuesday afternoon issued a cease and desist order on construction at the site, KVIA said. We Build the Wall shot back, KVIA said. ”We Build The Wall has done everything they need to do to be in compliance with all regulations. We’ve had members from Sunland Park city government out to inspect the site and to witness the first concrete pour. We believe this is a last ditch effort to intimidate us from completing this historic project by a local government with a long history of corruption problems.” The cease-and-desist order came at the end of the work day. Attorneys for Build the Wall Inc. are expected to file a request for a stay of the cease and desist…

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Tennessee Native Al Gore to Lecture Australia About Climate Change, at Taxpayer Expense

Chris Butler
Tennessee Star

  Tennessee’s “favorite son” Al Gore is reportedly traveling to Australia to preach to the locals about climate change — at Australian taxpayers’ expense. The British Daily Mail this week reported Gore is scheduled to lead a three-day climate change lecture in Queensland June 5 through June 7 at the Minister’s Climate Change event in Brisbane. “The cost of the event has seen Queensland Government fork out about $142K,” according to The Daily Mail. “The event comes at a cost to taxpayers with the Brisbane Convention Centre hire and one project co-ordinator costing about $142,000 and being charged to the Queensland Government. State Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Queensland Government was supporting the climate leadership training by providing funding for the venue and a Brisbane-based Climate Reality Project manager.” According to the publication, the Queensland government will not pay Gore. Gore at one time commanded a $100,000 speaking fee. The event will reportedly feature an appearance by Labor leader Bill Shorten. Gore, meanwhile, opposes the Adani coal mine, which is due to operate in Queensland. Gore reportedly told one publication “the Adani mine doesn’t have its financing, I hope it never gets its financing.” Gore went on to say “it’s not my…

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The History and Results of America’s Disastrous Public School System, Part I

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by Mike Margeson and Justin Spears   While it’s almost universally understood that the American school system is underperforming, “reform,” too, is almost universally prescribed as the solution. Yet in other walks of life, bad ideas are not reformed – they are eliminated and replaced with better ones. Our school system is rarely identified as a bad idea. The system is reflexively left alone while the methods are the bad ideas that get cycled in and out: open concept schools, multiple intelligences, project-based learning, universal design for learning, merit-based pay, vouchers, charters, and most recently, educational neuroscience. Every decade or so we are told by the pedagogic experts that they have found an answer to our school’s problems. The trouble is, they’re looking right past the problem. Schooling Monopoly The problem is the monopoly that schooling has gained over education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 97 percent of kids go through traditional schooling (as opposed to homeschooling or unschooling), and just over 90 percent of those attend government schools. That is to say, there is basically one accepted way to educate kids today: school them. Given the relatively poor performance of American students on international achievement tests, you would think schooling might…

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Commentary: Trump, Barr Fight Back Against the Judicial Overreach of ‘Nationwide Injunctions’ by Obama-Era Judges

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by Richard McCarty   Through the use of nationwide injunctions, a group of liberal federal district judges are fighting to maintain Obama-era policies until President Donald Trump leaves office. And now, President Donald Trump is fighting back as his administration seeks a case to be brought in federal court against the practice. These judges’ actions are an attack on our system of government undermining the value of voting and the public’s trust in the impartiality of the judicial branch. These injunctions must be halted, either by the Supreme Court or by legislation. Nationwide injunctions, which are also called universal or national injunctions, are issued by federal district judges and prohibit the federal government from enforcing laws or policies against anyone, not just the plaintiffs in the case. There have now been 37 nationwide injunctions issued against the Trump Administration, which is significantly more than were issued in the entire 2oth century. In contrast, there were only two nationwide injunctions during the first two years of the Obama Administration; and there were no nationwide injunctions issued during the first 175 years of our Republic. Recently, U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr gave a speech attacking nationwide injunctions, saying that the bar for getting one…

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Report Lists the Top 10 Tennessee Agencies That Took the Most Federal Taxpayer Money in 2018

Chris Butler

  Ten Tennessee government agencies accepted more than $13 billion in federal taxpayer money in 2018, according to a document Tennessee Comptrollers released last week. The report examined how state agencies handled the money that Washington, D.C. bureaucrats bestowed upon Tennessee. Some of those state agencies plan to take less federal money in the future — but some plan to take even more. As The Tennessee Star reported, the Tennessee Department of Health Care Finance and Administration took in more federal taxpayer money than any other state agency in 2018, a sum of $7.2 billion. The Tennessee Department of Human Services ranked second, taking in more than $2 billion of federal taxpayer money. Human Services spokesman Sky Arnold said in an emailed statement the agency took in slightly more federal taxpayer money the year prior. That amount was $2.1 billion. “Federal Assistance is largely dependent on the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program caseload, which is currently declining. For this reason, the Department of Human Services is likely to have an overall decrease in federal assistance for the foreseeable future,” Arnold said. “It’s important to recognize the real impact Tennessee’s improving economy is having on our programs like SNAP.  Nearly 914 thousand individuals were receiving benefits…

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Study: Cell-for-Cell, a Human Body is 57 Percent Microbes and Other Non-Human Organisms

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by Elizabeth Lee   New discoveries about what is inside the body are making scientists rethink what makes a person human and what makes people sick or healthy. Less than half of the cells in the body are human. The rest belong to microorganisms that affect the health, mood and whether certain people respond better to certain medications. “So to our 30 trillion human cells, we have on average about 39 trillion microbial cells. So by that measure, we’re only about 43% human,” said Rob Knight, director of the University of California San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation and professor of pediatrics and computer science and engineering. Microbes affecting health It is common knowledge that bacteria, or even viruses and fungi, exist in areas of our body, including the mouth, skin and gut. However, it is only in recent years that scientists have discovered that each person’s gut bacteria is unique, and the collection of microbes can greatly impact a person’s health — such as their weight and whether they will develop ailments such as heart disease. Microbes in the gut can even affect mood. Researchers are studying whether conditions such as autism, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease are linked to…

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Trump’s ATF Pick Chuck Canterbury: ‘I Take a Back Seat to No One in My Reverence for the 2nd Amendment’

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by Whitney Tipton   President Donald Trump announced Friday plans to nominate Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Canterbury has been Fraternity Order of Police (FOP) president for 16 years, having previously spent 26 years in the Horry County, South Carolina, Police Department’s patrol, criminal and training divisions, according to the White House statement. “Chuck is one of the most honorable people I’ve ever worked with and if he is selected, I can’t think of a finer person to take the position,” said Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association. Thompson made the remarks to POLITICO in Nov. 2018, when Canterbury’s name was first floated for the position. Fraternal Order of Police President, Chuck Canterbury, demands off-duty cops be allowed carry guns at NFL gameshttps://t.co/pwOHP7ZaNu — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) December 2, 2015 Trump worked closely with Canterbury on sentencing reform legislation passed Nov. 2018. The measure, which granted leniency on minimum sentencing rules for some drug offenses and expanded rehabilitation programs, enjoyed rare bipartisan support and was backed by the ACLU, according to Politico. Canterbury has been vocal in his Second Amendment support, testifying July 2009 before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support…

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Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party Is ‘Clear Winner’ In UK European Parliament Elections

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by Evie Fordham   Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party snagged 29 of the United Kingdom’s European Parliament seats in Sunday’s election just days after Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation. The Brexit Party was the “clear winner” of the UK’s European elections according to BBC, especially when compared with May’s Tories, which earned only four seats. “With a big, simple message — which is we’ve been badly let down by two parties who have broken their promises — we have topped the poll in a fairly dramatic style,” Farage told BBC Radio 4 on the “Today” program. “The two party system now serves nothing but itself. I think they are an obstruction to the modernizing of politics… and we are going to take them on.” The Brexit Party will stun everybody again if the UK does not leave the EU by 31st October. pic.twitter.com/n5DnVxkkQ7 — Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) May 27, 2019 Members of the Brexit Party want to leave the European Union (EU), but the party with the next biggest chunk of votes, the Liberal Democrats, want to remain. The Lib Dems took 16 seats, according to BBC. Labour took 10, Greens seven, Tories four, the Scottish National Party three and…

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Analysis: Abortion Debate Shows How Media Deploys Language Gymnastics to Serve Left-Wing Goals

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by Jarrett Stepman   “Pregnancy Kills. Abortion Saves Lives.” That was the headline on an absurd opinion article in The New York Times, deploying Orwellian language to turn the abortion debate on pro-lifers and comfort those who support abortion on demand. While the conversation over Alabama’s new abortion law has drawn out some wild arguments from the left, it’s easy to miss the less obvious ways the media reinforce the pro-abortion side. The media, cleverly and often subtly, use rhetorical adjustments to reinforce left-wing ideas under the guise of objectivity. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] It’s not just on the abortion issue that the media kowtow to the left in the terminology they use in charged public debates. For instance, The Guardian, a British outlet, recently updated its style guide to reinforce the idea that challenging prevailing left-wing ideas about man-made climate change is fundamentally illegitimate. The Guardian is updating our style guide to accurately reflect the nature of the environmental crisis. “Climate change” —> “climate emergency, crisis or breakdown” “Global warming” —> “global heating” “Climate skeptic” —> “climate science denier”https://t.co/ags5nyz3Pe — Julia Carrie…

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Fiat Chrysler Proposes Merger with France’s Renault

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  Fiat Chrysler proposed a 50-50 percent merger Monday with Renault, a union that would create the world’s third biggest automaker. The merger, if it happens, would vault the new company, with annual sales of 8.7 million vehicles, into a position ahead of General Motors and behind only Volkswagen and Toyota, both of which sell about 10.6 million. The merger could give the combined companies a better chance in the battle among auto manufacturers to build new electric and autonomous vehicles. Investors in both companies showed their initial approval of the announcement, with Renault’s shares jumping 15 percent in afternoon trading in Paris and Fiat Chrysler stock up more than 10 percent in Milan. The proposal calls for shareholders to split ownership of the new company. Fiat Chrysler said the deal would save the combined companies $5.6 billion annually with shared payments for research, purchasing and other expenses. The deal does not call for closure of any manufacturing plants but the companies did not say whether any employees would lose their jobs. The deal would give Fiat access to Renault’s electric car technologies, allowing it to meet the strict carbon dioxide emission standards the European Commission is enacting. For its…

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Senator Lindsey Graham: Obama Officials Worried About Being ‘Exposed’ by Declassification

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by Chuck Ross   Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham asserted Sunday that the former government officials opposing declassification of Russia probe documents “are worried about being exposed.” In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace, Graham also argued Democrats are unconcerned with whether the FBI misled the federal surveillance court in order to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.   “I want all the documents around the FISA warrant application released. I want to find out exactly how the counterintelligence operation began,” Graham said. “I think transparency is good for the American people. Not one Democrat seems to care.” “I wish some Democrat would come forward to find out if the FISA court was defrauded by the FBI and the Department of Justice.” On Thursday, President Trump granted Attorney General William Barr the authority to declassify documents from the Russia probe. He also instructed the heads of several federal agencies, including the CIA and FBI, to provide documents to Barr as part of his review of the origins of the investigation. Barr is looking into the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation, as well as the surveillance activities carried out by the FBI…

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Commentary: The Colluders, Obstructionists, and Leakers Project Onto ‘Trump World’ What They, Themselves Do

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by Victor Davis Hanson   Before the defeat of Hillary Clinton, the idea that the Russians or anyone else could warp or tamper with our elections in any serious manner was laughed off by President Obama. “There is no serious person out there who would suggest that you could even rig America’s elections,” Obama said in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Obama was anxious that the sure-to-be-sore-loser Trump would not blame his defeat on voting impropriety in a fashion that might call into question Clinton’s victory. After Clinton’s stunning defeat, Russian “collusion” – thanks initially to efforts by Obama holdover Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to go after Michael Flynn and the successful attempts of the CIA and FBI to seed the bogus Steele dossier among the government elite – became a club to destroy the incoming Trump Administration. Colluders, Inc. How ironic that Russian “collusion” was used as a preemptive charge from those who actually had colluded with Russians for all sorts for financial and careerist advantages. The entire so-called Uranium One caper had hinged on ex-President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and their Clinton Foundation uniting with Russian or Russian-affiliated oligarchs to ease…

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Michigan House, Senate Pass Auto Insurance Reform, Governor Whitmer Expected to Sign

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by Tyler Arnold   The Michigan House and Senate passed auto insurance reform Friday with substantial bipartisan support after the House Republicans, Senate Republicans and Democratic governor struck a deal. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the bill into law. The legislation will eliminate a mandate that required all drivers to purchase unlimited, lifetime personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. The unlimited PIP coverage mandate is unique to Michigan and caused the state’s average rates to be nearly double the national average. Detroit drivers paid nearly four times the national average. The PIP coverage accounts for nearly half of a driver’s insurance bill. After Whitmer signs the legislation, drivers will be able to choose from five PIP rate options and insurance companies will be required to lower their rates accordingly. A driver could choose to get rid of all of their PIP coverage, but only if he or she has private health insurance that covers auto accident injuries for the entire family, or the driver is an older person on Medicaid. They would save 100 percent on their PIP rates. Drivers could also choose to opt into $50,000 worth of coverage, which will be accompanied by a 45 percent rate…

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State Senator Says Cutting Tax Breaks for Small Businesses Would Be ‘a Mistake’ for Ohio

Anthony Gockowski

  State Sen. Lou Terhar (R-Cincinnati) said it would be “a mistake” for the Ohio Senate to support a decrease to the tax breaks small businesses receive in the state. “There are a range of issues with the House budget that concern us in the Senate. The first would be the cut of the small business tax, which we believe is a mistake,” Terhar said. “Once we take a position on how small businesses should be treated, we should stick with that position,” he added. Terhar said that if “you’re going to encourage small businesses” by giving them a tax cut “and then take that away,” it will make business owners wonder if they “really want to invest in Ohio.” Under the House’s version of the budget bill, Ohio’s Business Investment Income Deduction would be lowered to $100,000. As of now, small businesses don’t pay taxes on the first $250,000 of income, but that figure would drop down to $100,000 under House Bill 166. Terhar’s comments came during a recent forum on the state budget hosted by Ohio’s Future Foundation and its chairman, former Congressman Jim Renacci. “One of the concerns is we still do not have a state that’s…

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Dean Phillips Agrees With Jake Tapper That Trump Is ‘Daring’ Dems to Impeach

Anthony Gockowski

  During an appearance on CNN last week, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN-03) said President Trump’s impromptu Rose Garden speech showed a “woeful lack of leadership.” Trump apparently left a meeting with Democratic leadership after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he was engaging in a “cover-up,” and instead went to the Rose Garden to speak with reporters. He said he would refuse work with Democrats on legislation until they “get these phony investigations over with.” “There’s no question whatsoever that the president is making it awfully difficult for us to do our jobs, which is to provide oversight over the executive branch,” Phillips said in response. “Whatever prompted his change of heart today in the Rose Garden, I’m not sure, but if that’s all it took, that’s a woeful lack of leadership.” “Do you think President Trump is daring House Democrats to impeach him?” host Jake Tapper then asked. “I got to tell you, Jake, it’s appearing increasingly evident that he may be doing just that,” Phillips replied. “It is our job to provide oversight. I think we’ve been methodical, we’ve been principled, and we’ve been awfully patient, but that patience has its limits. We surely are reaching that limit. If…

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Tim Ryan Leads the Pack in Missed Votes, Third Most Absent Member in the House

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) has missed 70 votes since the start of the 116th Congress, putting him near the top of the pack in this category among his fellow 2020 Democratic contenders. According to a project from ProPublica, Ryan missed 31.6 percent of all votes in the House as of last week, making him the third most absent member of the House. For comparison, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15) has missed 48 votes, or 22.1 percent, while Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-02) has missed 18.9 percent at 41 votes skipped. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) leads the field among 2020 Democrats in the Senate. The New Jersey senator has missed 37 votes, which is 31.9 percent of all votes. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has missed 27 votes, or 23.3 percent of all votes in the Senate. ProPublica points out that Ryan has cast zero votes against party lines during this Congress. Out of the 433 members of Congress, Ryan ranks at 373 in bipartisanship. “It’s no secret that Ryan has long been angling to leave his constituents behind with musings for higher office,” Mandi Merritt, Ohio spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, told The Ohio Star.…

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Michigan’s Rep. Tlaib Says House Democrats Will ‘Demand’ Move Towards Impeachment

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by Henry Rogers   Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Democrats are moving toward demanding President Donald Trump be impeached on Sunday. Tlaib appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and was asked about impeachment by host Chuck Todd and specifically why she could not get the majority of House Democrats to defend calls for impeachment. Tlaib responded by saying, “I think it is moving toward that. It’s going to demand that.” The Michigan Democrat came under fire just hours after being sworn into Congress in January for telling a group of left-wing supporters she would help Democrats “impeach the motherf****r,” referencing Trump. Tlaib also said “this is not about the 2020 election, it’s about doing what’s right now for our country. This is going to be a precedent that we set when we don’t hold this president accountable to the rule of the law and to the United States Constitution.” In early May, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump is “goading” Democrats to impeach him from office because he thinks it will help him fire up his base. “Don’t tell anybody I told you this: Trump is goading us to impeach him,” Pelosi said during an event hosted by Cornell University in New York City. “That’s what he’s doing. Every…

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We Build the Wall Builds First Half-Mile Section of Border Wall in New Mexico – in Four Days

Jason M. Reynolds

  The group We Build the Wall announced Monday it has completed construction of a large section of wall spanning between a half-mile and a mile along an open area of the Southern border previously believed to be unbuildable. According to a story by The Washington Times, the wall section is along the southern border in New Mexico, and the organization says that is a first in the history of the border. The wall is made of 18-foot steel bollard like what the Border Patrol uses, the Times said. Just late last week, a federal judge ordered a halt to part of President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration and shifting of money within the Pentagon to make up for Congress’s refusal to fund the wall, the Times said. The new section closes a gap that was between the end of the El Paso, Texas border wall and Mount Cristo Rey, across from the City of Juarez, The Gateway Pundit said. Kris Kobach (pictured with builder Tommy Fisher, right) of We Build the Wall spoke to the Pundit about the former gap. “The gap is a half mile wide corridor and it’s literally a parking lot on the Mexican side and then you…

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Volkswagen’s Chattanooga Workers Speak Out Against UAW

Chris Butler

  A grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers spoke out this week against the union’s efforts to set up shop at their factory. The group, Southern Momentum, released the following statement in response to an advertisement paid for by the Center for VW Facts that appeared in The Chattanooga Times Free Press last week. The Center for VW facts was created by a UAW member and Michigan political consultant, according to a press release. “Thousands of Chattanooga families depend on the success of Volkswagen Chattanooga and our suppliers, and by tearing down the company, the UAW and its cronies are showing yet again that they do not care about our future,” said CB Bitten, a team leader at Volkswagen Chattanooga. “The disgusting public attacks and increasing intimidation and harassment are desperate and sickening but not at all surprising given the UAW’s track record.” Southern Momentum first formed ahead of the 2014 election at the Volkswagen Chattanooga facility, which the UAW lost by a vote of 712 to 626. As The Tennessee Star reported, this time around, UAW officials are seeking outside help to set a foothold in Chattanooga. When asked about this, a spokesman for the…

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Commentary: Mainstream Media’s Agitprop Distorts Trump’s Actions to Help Protect Trillions in Crony Globalist Status Quo

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by Edward Ring   Competing investigations and alternative analyses offer partisans on both sides ample fodder to feed their biases, but a presumption that guilt can be manufactured if it doesn’t exist is the common thread pushing them. Just as the Soviets knew in Stalinist Russia, if you look at anyone long enough, you’re going to find something to use against them. Instead of dispatching political opponents with bullets to the back of the head, however, we Americans fight with politicized investigations, attorneys, and political grandstanding. And on the side of America’s anti-Trump shadow government, deep state, establishment bureaucracy, the media closes ranks and takes every opportunity to distort the truth in favor of an agenda. Recent reporting provides yet another example of the establishment media’s Stalinesque anti-Trump bias. President Trump on Wednesday canceled a meeting to discuss infrastructure legislation with House leadership, because immediately prior to the meeting, he was blindsided by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holding a meeting with pro-impeachment lawmakers, where she “emphasized that the White House is engaging in a ‘cover-up’.” Some news accounts suggest that Trump planned to cancel the meeting and hold a press conference instead, based on the fact that a “no collusion, no obstruction” sign had been…

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Sen. Graham: Democrats Face Political Peril if They Pursue Trump’s Impeachment

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  A top U.S. Republican lawmaker predicted Sunday that if opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives try to impeach President Donald Trump, the president will be re-elected next year and Republicans will retake control of the House. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ally of Trump’s, told “Fox News Sunday” that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled lower chamber, permits an impeachment inquiry to start, “it would be suicide for the Democratic Party.” Graham said Pelosi’s “job is very much on the line,” depending on whether she eventually relents on allowing an impeachment hearing to open. About three dozen Democrats and a lone Republican in the 435-member House have called for impeachment hearings to start against Trump, to consider whether he obstructed justice by trying to thwart special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian intrusion in the 2016 U.S. presidential election that Trump won. Even if the House were to impeach Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate is highly unlikely to remove him from office. So far, Pelosi has resisted calls to start an impeachment inquiry, instead opting to continue several House committee investigations of Trump’s finances, taxes and actions he took during his 28-month presidency to…

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Arizona’s Tucson Border Chief Villareal: Drug Traffickers Using Migrant Crisis to Import Illicit Narcotics

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by Jason Hopkins   Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief Roy Villareal broke down how drug traffickers are taking advantage of the immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border, a situation he said will continue without help from Congress. “This appears to be a growing trend — something that we experienced before, but we abated it through cooperative effort with our federal law enforcement partners, but it seems to be on the rise again,” Villareal said Sunday on “Fox and Friends,” referring to the amount of drugs crossing through the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re focused on the migrant caravan, the overwhelming numbers of aliens that are showing up, and this is opportunistic from the perspective that narcotic traffickers realize there is an opportunity and they are going to utilize it to import illicit narcotics,” Villareal continued. Customs and Border Patrol agents across the country have seized 138,610 pounds of marijuana, 32,951 pounds of cocaine, 32,814 pounds of meth, and 2,708 pounds of heroin since the beginning of this fiscal year. Villareal said that the enormous number of family units and unaccompanied minors reaching the border has forced agents to increasingly take on a caretaker role, resulting in fewer resources going towards immigration and border security. The situation, he claimed, cannot continue…

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Trump Reaches Deal with Lawmakers to Temporarily Stay Subpoenas for His Tax Returns

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by Chris White   President Donald Trump’s attorneys have reached a deal with House lawmakers to temporarily hold off on enforcing the subpoenas for the president’s financial records, CNN reported Saturday, citing court documents. The agreement, forged with the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees Saturday, allows for an expedited appeal schedule for Trump, who is trying to stave off Congress’ attempts to obtain his financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One. “The parties have reached an agreement regarding compliance with and enforcement of the subpoenas during the pendency of Plaintiff’s appeal,” a court document filed Saturday reads. Judge Edgardo Ramos refused Wednesday to block the subpoenas, triggering a one-week clock for the president to find a way to delay the subpoenas. The White House confirmed the report. “I can confirm that an agreement has been reached with the House regarding a stay of the subpoenas pending appeal. It has now been filed with the court,” White House lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement. Trump and his attorneys argue the subpoenas were unlawful and motivated strictly by bitter politics. Ramos’s decision came the same day the New York State Legislature passed legislation allowing the state to hand over the president’s state tax returns to Congress. –…

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‘Rolling Thunder’ Roars into DC, Trump Says it Will be Back Next Year

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  President Donald Trump is indicating that hundreds of thousands of “Rolling Thunder” motorcycles will be back next year to participate in the Memorial Day observance in Washington, after organizers said Sunday would be the last such ride. “The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!,” Trump said on Twitter. The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 Rolling Thunder Executive Director Artie Muller said he had grown frustrated with dealing with the Pentagon in coordinating the annual Ride for Freedom on Memorial Day and that Sunday would be the last time the ride would be held. He said sponsors,…

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FAKE NEWS: Time Columnist Ian Bremmer Admits He Made Up Viral Trump Quote ‘Kim Jong Un Is Smarter and Would Make a Better President than Sleepy Joe Biden’

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by Peter Hasson   Time Magazine columnist Ian Bremmer on Sunday tweeted a quote from President Donald Trump about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un that quickly went viral — but it wasn’t real. “President Trump in Tokyo: ‘Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.’” Bremmer wrote on Twitter. While Trump did praise the North Korean dictator’s insult of former Vice President Joe Biden, the president never said what Bremmer quoted him saying – because Bremmer made it up. UPDATE: @ianbremmer has now admitted that he fabricated this viral Trump quote. And yet it is being shared by journalists and congressmen as if it is real. pic.twitter.com/QgNd9DnN8g — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) May 26, 2019 Bremmer left the false post up for several hours before conceding he made up the quote and deleting the tweet, which he defended as “plausible.” “This is objectively a completely ludicrous quote. And yet kinda plausible. Especially on twitter, where people automatically support whatever political position they have. That’s the point.” Bremmer wrote in a since-deleted correction. Bremmer’s tweet went viral among Trump critics before he took it down. “Don’t shrug your shoulders. Don’t get used to this insanity,” wrote CNN contributor Ana Navarro.…

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Commentary: Why I’m Celebrating Memorial Day Differently This Year

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by John Elliot   Paul Ellsworth says that he used to resent Memorial Day. Writing in Medium, he notes that by celebrating this holiday he felt he was somehow putting down other countries. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” particularly irritated him. But now Ellsworth has changed his mind. One line of Greenwood’s hit song played a role in that: And I won’t forget the men who died Who gave that right to me Ellsworth explains: This was the year that it hit me the most. I guess because I have a lot of hope for my life. My writing is starting to get some attention. My sons and I are starting to connect on a deeper level. I am making connections with friends and family in a way that I haven’t made in years. I am working at a job that I absolutely love. All of these are privileges that I get to have because someone sacrificed those same blessings. American soldiers gave up all of these things — family, friends, and career — so that Ellsworth, and each of us, could enjoy them. Recognizing this, Ellsworth writes: Thank you, soldiers, who have died. Thank you, families, who have…

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Commentary: Tariff Hawks Got It All Wrong When They Predicted ‘Another Great Depression’ from Trump’s America-First Trade Policies

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Donald Trump

by Robert Romano   In 2016, when President Donald Trump ran on his America first trade agenda, much of the conventional wisdom was that, if implemented, his tariffs would wreck the U.S. economy. It would have the same impact as the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act, and so the prediction goes, lead to another Great Depression. “Trump trade plans could cause global recession: Experts,” read one confident headline on CNBC in May 2016. “If you take (Trump’s) position as real, that we would do this, then it would take the world down the road that we saw in the 1930s that we saw with the Smoot–Hawley Tariff,” Caroline Freund of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said. “The world would definitely fall into a recession.” The Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson wrote in June 2018, “The ghost of Smoot-Hawley seems to haunt Trump,” after Trump levied tariffs on steel and aluminum. Samuelson suggested, “What’s eerie is that Trump’s embrace of protectionism is now assuming the same role as Smoot-Hawley in the 1930s. By slowing economic growth, it darkens the outlook and reduces the ability of debtors to repay their lenders. So much for the lessons of history.” Other predictions have suggested, besides slowing economic growth or perhaps…

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Experts Debate Impact of Sports Wagering Proposal on Ohio

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by Todd DeFeo   Legalizing sports wagering in Ohio could generate $7 million in tax revenue for the state in the first year, a number that could increase to $9 million in the second year. That is on top of $1.3 million in license fees in the first year of operations, and between $300,000 and $500,000 in license fees in subsequent years, according to an estimate from the Legislative Budget Office. House Bill 194 would grant the Ohio Lottery Commission the authority to allow sports gaming in Ohio and effectively bring into the open an existing industry. The move has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry – including Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts International – to push legislators to proceed with the initiative. “Illegal sports wagering has continued to flourish across all mediums – in person, over the Internet, and most recently through sophisticated mobile applications,” Ayesha Molino, senior vice president of federal government affairs for MGM Resorts International, said in testimony to the House Finance Committee. “Ohio residents currently have convenient access to illegal, unregulated mobile sports wagering sites,” Molino said. “But they lack a legal, properly regulated alternative. And restricting a legal mobile market will not compel people…

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Milwaukee Transit Union Proposes to Arm Bus Drivers with Concealed-Carry Permits

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by Whitney Tipton   Milwaukee transit union leaders are asking that bus drivers and mechanics be able to carry guns if they have concealed carry permits, citing security concerns and recent attacks by passengers. Union representatives representing the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 made the request Thursday that drivers and mechanics be allowed to arm themselves if they hold a concealed weapon (CCW) permit, a change to the current rules, according to CBS affiliate WDJT. “We’re one of the highest crime places in the United States,” said union president James Macon, “It’s way overdue.” If approved in contract negotiations, a union proposal would allow some Milwaukee bus drivers to be armed.https://t.co/2qpjZAilCj — NBC26 News (@NBC26) May 23, 2019   Drivers were attacked 15 times last year, according to a statement from the ATU obtained by CBS58. A driver suffered a laceration May 15 when passenger Betty Roberts, 24, stabbed him with a knife after being told she must pay the fare of $2.25, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The woman was charged with battery to a public transit operator and use of a dangerous weapon. The union has been in negotiations with the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) for over one year, and have yet to agree on…

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Minnesota’s Presidential Hopeful Klobuchar Campaign Called 3 Percent Polling Number ‘Huge News’ in Fundraising Pitch

Anthony Gockowski

  Sen. Amy Klobuchar jumped from one percent to three percent between April and May in Monmouth University’s monthly polling, which her campaign called “huge news.” “There’s huge news in a new Monmouth poll. As more people learn more about Amy, her bold plans for our country, and how she’ll address the problems Americans face, they’re putting their support behind her,” a recent fundraising email from Klobuchar’s campaign said. “Polls go up and down, but this new Monmouth data confirms what we’re seeing on the ground: big crowds, great enthusiasm, and a surge of grassroots donations from Americans who want Amy to be our next president,” the email added. The poll, conducted by Monmouth University’s Polling Institute between May 16 and May 20, had Klobuchar polling at three percent overall. The poll, however, did show significant gains for female candidates, who received a combined 27 percent of support among Democratic voters, up from the 16 percent they received in April. “Women are commanding a larger slice of Democratic support than they were a few weeks ago and we are seeing bumps in their individual voter ratings,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “We can’t parse out…

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Anti-Smoking Groups Actually Testified Against Ohio Gov. DeWine’s Proposal to Raise Minimum Age to 21

Anthony Gockowski

  Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, a proposal that’s included in Ohio’s biennial budget bill. But anti-smoking groups in the state have actually testified against the proposal. These groups believe that the proposal would mostly punish youth for underage sales but would do little to punish retailers for illegal sales. “Those of us who work on this issue every day in venues around the country recognize this bill as unacceptable by today’s standards,” said Wendy Hyde of the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. “Simply changing ‘18’ to ‘21’ without changing the structure of licensure and enforcement would be meaningless.” During a May 5 testimony on House Bill 166, Hyde said that “penalties for illegal sales to persons under age 21 should be placed on the retail owner who makes a profit from illegally selling harmful and deadly products rather than on the clerk or the youth.” “Penalties for repeated violations must result in meaningful fines and be followed up with license suspension for those few retailers who refuse to comply. Penalizing youth is not an an effective strategy for reducing youth smoking,” she said. She went on to…

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Bill Gates Backs 17 Percent Hamilton County Property Tax Hike For Education, While School Board Member Questions Need for 350 New Non-Teaching Positions

Jason M. Reynolds

  Bill Gates says he will continue to pour his foundation’s money into Tennessee education initiatives and he seemed to endorse a proposed 17 percent Hamilton County property tax increase, according to an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The interview is available here. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given more than $2.7 million to education initiatives in the Chattanooga area, the Times Free Press said. Gates told the newspaper his foundation does not take positions on school vouchers. He met with Gov. Lee and other state education officials in Nashville, the Times Free Press reported, to see if the governor and the state had placed a priority on education. As a result of his meeting, he said the foundation will make more investments in the state, having already spent about $34 million in Tennessee. Chattanooga officials hope to receive word of another Gates Foundation grant later this summer. Gates also spoke to the Times Free Press about the proposed property tax increase in Hamilton County. “How else do you get more resources for your school system unless the business community thinks, ‘OK, this is going to pay off for us,’ because they are the ones who are…

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Tennessee Officials Announce New TennCare Fraud Arrests

Chris Butler

  Tennessee officials have announced several TennCare fraud arrests this month. • Authorities arrested a West Memphis, Ark, woman and charged her with TennCare fraud. They said this woman, Deniqueal S. Townsend, 34, falsely reported she was living in Tennessee to obtain healthcare insurance benefits from the program. The Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, announced the arrest. Townsend was charged in an indictment with TennCare fraud and theft of property over $10,000. District Attorney General Amy P. Weirich is prosecuting, according to a press release. • Authorities have ordered a Jefferson County woman to repay the state more than $55,000 after she was charged with TennCare fraud and theft of services. The OIG announced that Consuelo Morales, 44, was sentenced in Jefferson County, where she was accused of enrolling herself and her children in TennCare by falsely reporting her income and rental houses. Factoring in those items would have made her ineligible for TennCare, according to a press release. Morales must repay the state a total of $55,244.61 for benefits she and her family allegedly received while they were on the program. Morales was arrested in January of this year when she was charged…

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Commentary: Treat Others the Way Chick-fil-A Treats You

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by Alexandra Hudson   I sit down on a plush, blue-grey booth seat and admire the freshly cut daisies on the table in front of me. It’s a rainy day in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so the warmth of the spicy crispy chicken sandwich I prepare to sink my teeth into enlivens me. Unthinkingly, I tune in to a conversation happening at a window table to my right. “Here at Chick-fil-A, we treat our colleagues in the back kitchen as well as we treat our customers,” I overhear a supervisor sharing with a new employee. I smile to myself as I consider how this rule helps explain Chick-fil-A’s wild success. The ethos that permeates the restaurant—one where all are treated with equal respect and kindness—must be the reason for the unfailing joy that all employees, from management to servers, embody. It also explains the fierce customer loyalty, a group in which I include myself. “Can I offer you some fresh-ground pepper for your waffle fries?” a middle-aged woman with a bright smile catches my eye and asks me, temporarily suspending my eavesdropping. Intrigued by what I overheard the supervisor saying to the new employee, I decided to dig deeper into the…

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Legislation Would Require Paper Ballots for Future Elections in Ohio

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by Todd DeFoe   An Akron lawmaker wants Ohio to start using paper ballots for its future elections. House Bill 204 would prohibit counties from acquiring so-called direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines or any marking devices or automatic tabulating equipment that does not use a paper ballot. “There are many benefits to switching to paper ballots, and Ohio should consider switching to them,” state Rep. Tavia Galonski, D-Akron, said in testimony to the House State and Local Government Committee. “In a time where there are fears of voting machine hacking, election experts are advocating for off-line voting.” “For one, paper ballots are immune to computer hacking, there is no need for backup ballots to perform audits, and they are much cheaper than computer ballots,” Galonski said. According to Ballotpedia.org, 18 states use paper ballots. Other states used a combination of voting methods, including DRE machines with and without a paper trail. Democrats, in particular, have made election security a priority in the wake of the 2016 election. In an unrelated move, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, joined 37 senators to introduce the Election Security Act, which proponents say aims to combat foreign interference and improve election security. It would,…

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Illegal Immigrant Arrested After Impregnating 11-Year-Old Girl, Likely to be Deported

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by Molly Prince   An illegal immigrant from Guatemala was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, after he allegedly impregnated his 11-year-old girlfriend. Carlos Jacinto Cobo-Perez, 20, admitted to investigators that he had sex with the girl near her elementary school, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Phoenix Police on May 18. Cobo-Perez’s relationship with the girl was revealed after her mother noticed a hickey on her daughter’s neck in Nov. 2018, reported The Arizona Republic. Cobo-Perez confessed the relationship a month later during an interview with police. He acknowledged that he knew her age and that the relationship was wrong. Cobo-Perez subsequently stated that he would end contact with the girl. However, the girl was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital on May 17 where a pregnancy test returned a positive result. “He called me last Friday crying, telling me he got his girlfriend pregnant and I didn’t believe it,” a friend of Cobo-Perez told FOX-5. “She really loved him with all her heart, but her parents would not let her see him.” The girl’s parents provided the Moon Valley Justice Court a letter that Cobo-Perez sent to the girl where he explained that he could go to jail…

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Buttigieg Tells Jewish Leaders That US Should ‘Guide’ Israel Away from ‘Harmful’ Policies

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by Matthew M. Miller   Democratic 2020 candidate and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg told a group of Jewish leaders, Thursday that the U.S. should “guide” Israel away from “harmful” policies. “The right approach comes about when you have an ally or a friend [who] is taking steps that you think are harmful and you put your arm around your friend and try to guide them somewhere else. That’s part of how our alliance works. And I think American leadership is needed, in particular, with respect to our ally Israel at a moment like this” Buttigieg said to a group of more than 40 prominent Jewish religious and political leaders. The event was hosted in the D.C. offices of Jewish communications firm Bluelight Strategies on Thursday. Among those present were prominent Jewish activists, political and community leaders including “former Mideast peace negotiator Amb. Dennis Ross, Executive Director of the Washington Institute Rob Satloff, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Democratic pollster Mark Mellman and Alan Gross, the former USAID contractor who was detained in Cuba for five years,” according to The Times of Israel. During the meeting, Buttigieg reportedly expressed concerns with…

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Judge Stops Mississippi Abortion Law: ‘Smacks of Defiance’

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   Judge Carlton Reeves issued a preliminary injunction stopping the passage of a Mississippi abortion law Friday banning the procedure after a heartbeat can be detected. Reeves, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, reportedly expressed frustration Tuesday over the bill’s lack of exceptions in cases of incest and rape, reported CNN. He said the bill “threatens immediate harm to women’s rights, especially considering most women do not seek abortion services until after 6 weeks,” according to The Hill. “This injury outweighs any interest the state might have in banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat,” he wrote. The judge said the bill banning abortions after a heartbeat can be detected “smacks of defiance,” according to The Hill. Reeves also stopped the passage of a 15-week abortion ban in 2018. The move comes as Missouri, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Ohio enacted restrictive abortion legislation in the past year. Georgia and Alabama passed restrictive abortion legislation in 2019. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a “fetal heartbeat bill” in March that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020, banning most abortions in Georgia after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill makes exceptions in…

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Commentary: Seven Stats on Per-Pupil Spending in US Schools from the New Census Report

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by Joe Carter   Earlier this week the US Census Bureau released a report that reveals how much US school districts spend per-pupil. Here are seven figures from the report you should know: The amount spent per-pupil for public elementary and secondary education (pre-kindergarten through 12th grade) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia increased by 3.7 percent to $12,201 per pupil during the 2017 fiscal year, compared to $11,763 per-pupil in 2016, according to new tables released today by the US Census Bureau. The top five school systems with the largest enrollment were New York City (984,462), Los Angeles (633, 621), Chicago (378,199), Miami-Dade County, FL (357,249), and Clark County, NV (326,953). Of the 100 largest school systems based on enrollment, the five school systems with the highest spending per pupil in 2017 were New York City School District in New York ($25,199), Boston City Schools in Massachusetts ($22,292), Baltimore City Schools in Maryland ($16,184), Montgomery County School District in Maryland ($16,109), and Howard County School District in Maryland ($15,921) Maryland had four of the top 10 school systems school districts with the highest spending per pupil. The public school systems that received the highest percentage of…

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No Gas Tax Increase for Minnesota

Anthony Gockowski

  An omnibus transportation budget bill is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk without any gas tax increase. After clearing the DFL-controlled House Friday evening, the bill passed out of the Senate later Friday night in a 54-13 vote. It’s official…no gas tax increase in Minnesota. Senate just passed transportation bill after House passed earlier. On its way to the governor. pic.twitter.com/Yk81S8lq3j — Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) May 25, 2019 The transportation bill was one of 13 bills state lawmakers passed during their marathon 21-hour special session that wrapped up Saturday morning just before 7 a.m. “This year we drove down the cost of health care, gave tax relief to the middle class, made historic investments in education, and funded roads and bridges. This is a budget that all Minnesotans can be proud of,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) said Saturday morning. “This year we drove down the cost of healthcare, gave tax relief to the middle class, made historic investments in education, and funded roads and bridges. This is a budget that all Minnesotans can be proud of.” #mnleg pic.twitter.com/IiBzkg1Og0 — Paul Gazelka (@paulgazelka) May 25, 2019 Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), chair of the Senate Transportation Finance…

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North Carolina Governor Under Fire for Proposing Freezing School Voucher Program

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by Joshua Nelson   A billboard campaign in North Carolina is taking aim at Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper after his announcement proposing freezing a scholarship program that has benefited minority students—more than 30 percent of which are African-American. The billboard says the governor is “failing when it comes to helping minority students” and encourages residents to call Cooper to reverse his decision. A group called the Job Creators Network launched the campaign on May 15 following Cooper’s recent budget proposal that included halting the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program, a state voucher system that gives up to $4,200 to children from low-income households to attend a private school of their choice. The Job Creators Network is a nonpartisan organization that educates business owners, entrepreneurs, and employees on government policies they deem harmful to “Main Street America.” As a former benefactor of a school voucher program, Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the group, has been outspoken against Cooper’s decision. “One of our members who lives in North Carolina made me aware of [Cooper’s decision],” Ortiz said in an interview with The Daily Signal. “And again, because it is the kind of a personal thing with something like this where scholarships…

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Rep. Jim Jordan Believes Democrats Want to Stop Trump at Any Cost

Zachery Schmidt

  Ohio Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-4) thinks Democrats will do anything to stop President Donald Trump. Jordan defended the president after Nancy Pelosi and Trump made comments about each other this week, explaining in a Friday Twitter thread how the Democrats are committed to stopping the president at any cost. “Democrats are engaged in presidential obstruction. They’re so desperate to stop the President that they won’t help the country. The President’s had enough! Can’t blame him,” Jordan tweeted. Democrats are engaged in presidential obstruction. They're so desperate to stop the President that they won't help the country. The President's had enough! Can't blame him. (1/7) — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 24, 2019 The Ohio representative explained how the Democrats were trying to stop the President. “Congress has a legitimate constitutional role to conduct oversight of the executive branch. But that’s not what the Democrats are doing. They’re digging into the President’s personal life from BEFORE he was a candidate. There can only be one reason to do this: POLITICS.” Then, Jordan compared how the Republican-controlled Congress acted compared to a Democratic-controlled Congress. Compare that to what the Democrats are doing. They're going after: -The President's PERSONAL tax returns-The President's PERSONAL…

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Tennessee Legislature Addresses Public Records Laws in 2019 Session

Chris Butler

  This week The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government released a list of new public records exemptions and public records laws passed during this year’s legislative session. “Citizens can expect some bills related to public records to re-emerge when the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 14, 2020,” TCOG Executive Director Deborah Fisher wrote. “One of the more significant bills that was delayed, but attracted a lot of attention late in the session, would create a process for an injunction against a public records requester whose behavior was deemed ‘harassment,’ as well as require government entities to post ‘basic government information’ on their websites.” Among the new public records laws, as compiled by the TCOG: • The Tennessee Public Records Act now requires that “any legislation that creates an exception to the open records requirement of § 10-7-503 deeming records of public entities to be open for inspection by the public must be referred to the government operations committee, according to the rules of the house of representatives.” “The House government operations committee then is required to give a positive, neutral or negative recommendation before the legislation would continue its process through the committee system.” • A new exemption makes confidential a person’s home…

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Sens. Blackburn, Kennedy Cosponsor Bill to Create Small Claims Court So Independent Musicians Can Protect Intellectual Property

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) are cosponsoring legislation to protect independent musicians. The senators on Wednesday introduced the Support the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2019. The legislation aims to protect independent musicians and artists from the unauthorized reproduction of their creative content through the creation of small claims copyright courts, Blackburn said in a press release. Kennedy tweeted, “Like Louisiana, the music industry plays an important role in the culture and economy of Tennessee. I’m grateful @MarshaBlackburn has cosponsored my bill, the CASE Act, which makes it easier for artists, musicians and creative designers to protect their intellectual property.” Like Louisiana, the music industry plays an important role in the culture and economy of Tennessee. I’m grateful @MarshaBlackburn has cosponsored my bill, the CASE Act, which makes it easier for artists, musicians and creative designers to protect their intellectual property. — John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) May 22, 2019 In response, Blackburn tweeted, “This is like music to my ears @SenJohnKennedy! Protecting intellectual property is crucial to the creative community. Delighted to be cosponsoring the CASE Act with you so that the music industries in Tennessee and Louisiana continue to thrive!” This is…

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