Day: June 20, 2019

Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis Holds Formal Hearing on Slavery Reparations

Chris Butler

  U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) is pressing forward with his platform demanding the federal government use taxpayer money to give reparations to African-Americans because of slavery, which ended more than 150 years ago. Cohen this week chaired a hearing on H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. Cohen said he chose Wednesday, June 19, to hold the hearing because it is Emancipation Day — or the date in history that Union troops freed the last enslaved Americans. “H.R. 40 isn’t about advancing any one agenda on if and how reparations should be provided; it’s about suspending our personal policy preferences and making way for a commission that can seriously consider the issue and draft appropriate proposals,” Cohen said in an article on CNN.com According to The Associated Press, witnesses at the hearing included actor and activist Danny Glover, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democratic presidential candidate. Booker, who testified first, said the U.S has “yet to truly acknowledge and grapple with the racism and white supremacy that tainted this country’s founding and continues to cause persistent and deep racial disparities and inequality.” Rep. Mike Johnson of…

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Commentary: Trump Announces Reelection

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by George Rasley, CHQ Editor   One of the greatest and most enduring mysteries of the Trump movement was on full display during the President’s huge reelection kick-off rally in Orlando, Florida last night: Donald Trump gave a great conservative speech, without once ever uttering the word conservative or talking about conservatism as an alternative to the socialism of the Democrats. Instead, the President spoke of his presidency and the themes of his reelection campaign in terms of conservative ideas, conservative values and conservative policies as simply being American. Trump’s conscious or unconscious decision to equate conservative ideas, policies and values with Americanism, in contrast to the Democrats’ radical socialism, may be his most enduring contribution to American political discourse. It is certain that the core ideas that the Democratic Party has now embraced have no precedent in American constitutional liberty and only Donald Trump would be unafraid to call them un-American. Trump mocked and disparaged Democrats, calling them the leaders of an “angry, left-wing mob” and declaring that the 2020 election will be a “verdict on the un-American conduct of those who tried to undermine our great democracy, undermine you.”* “Our political opponents look down with hatred on our…

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Trump Raises ‘Record Breaking’ Amount Only 24 Hours After His Campaign Kickoff, GOP Chairwoman Says

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by Molly Prince   President Donald Trump raised nearly $25 million in less than one day after he officially launched his 2020 campaign, according to Republican National Committee officials Wednesday. “[Trump] has raised a record breaking $24.8M in less than 24 hours for his re-election,” said Ronna McDaniel, RNC chairwoman. “The enthusiasm across the country for this President is unmatched and unlike anything we’ve ever seen!” @realDonaldTrump has raised a record breaking $24.8M in less than 24 hours for his re-election. The enthusiasm across the country for this President is unmatched and unlike anything we’ve ever seen! #trump2020 #KeepAmericaGreat — Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 19, 2019 The president brought in more money in one day than any of the Democratic presidential hopefuls raised during the entire first quarter, according to officials. Former Vice President Joe Biden led the other 2020 Democrats in first-day contributions with $6.3 million, followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who came in second place with $6.1 million. “This shatters every fundraising record! By comparison, Biden raised $6 million… the top 5 Democrats COMBINED only raised $14 million,” tweeted Eric Trump. “The excitement for [Trump] last night was off the charts! #Winning“ Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders…

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Climate Change, Open Borders Top Priorities in Klobuchar’s Plan for First 100 Days

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by Kyle Hooten   Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar’s campaign posted an agenda to Medium Tuesday for her first 100 days in office, should she win the 2020 presidential election. Several measures to relax immigration law rank among her top priorities. The Minnesota Senator stated she would also rejoin the Paris Agreement, ban “assault weapons,” raise the minimum wage and promote socialized medicine. Last February, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the immigration crisis. In doing so, he “used authority provided by Congress to access up to $3.6 billion in military construction funds provided by Congress” to secure the southern border, according to a White House release. “Senator Klobuchar will rescind [Trump’s] national emergency declaration,” and bar the use of military construction funds on the southern border, her Medium post states. In addition to diverting money away from border security, Klobuchar hopes to actively increase refugee intake. “Under President Trump, the State Department has dramatically lowered the annual cap on the number of refugees that can be resettled in the United States. Senator Klobuchar will direct the State Department to restore the cap to at least its pre-Trump Administration level,” her agenda reads. She further vows to “put…

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Commentary: Why Wasn’t Everyone Looking for Hillary’s Missing Emails?

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by Julie Kelly   Just like in 2016, President Trump appears ready to make Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails an election issue in 2020. “Just compare how they came after us for three years, with everything they have, versus the free pass they gave to Hillary and her aides after they set up an illegal server, destroyed evidence, deleted and acid-washed 33,000 emails, exposed classified information,” Trump told a raucous crowd in Orlando on Tuesday night. “Thirty-three thousand emails! But let’s see what happens.” Even if the media and Democrats are poised to dismiss the missing cache as old news, Trump sure isn’t. Perhaps his renewed attention to the scandal will jigger long-dormant curiosity for why Clinton continues to escape any responsibility for erasing thousands of emails that the public, federal officials, and investigators have never seen. The Media’s Dumb Play One of the weirdest attacks against President Trump, going back to 2016, asserts that he asked the Russians to help find the thousands of emails Hillary Clinton deleted from her personal server the month before she announced her candidacy for president. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said during…

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Ilhan Omar Says Trump Uses Term ‘Alien’ to Dehumanize Immigrants

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by Jason Hopkins   Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said no individual is an “alien,” and that President Donald Trump uses the word to justify human rights abuses. “No one is an ‘alien.’ This is family separation on a massive scale,” Omar tweeted Tuesday. “Dehumanizing immigrants and tearing apart families will not make us any stronger. It will only destroy lives, traumatize children, and make our country less safe.” In response to massive online criticism, the first-term Democratic lawmaker doubled down on her remarks. “To the trolls: Trump uses dehumanizing language like ‘aliens’ ‘illegals’ or even ‘animals’ to justify horrific human rights abuses against migrants. The DOJ now mandates that public officials only use the term ‘illegal aliens.’ This is straight out of the demagogue’s playbook,” she wrote. No one is an "alien." This is family separation on a massive scale. Dehumanizing immigrants and tearing apart families will not make us any stronger. It will only destroy lives, traumatize children, and make our country less safe. https://t.co/a8q9YV3AGX — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 18, 2019 To the trolls: Trump uses dehumanizing language like "aliens" "illegals" or even "animals" to justify horrific human rights abuses against migrants. The DOJ now mandates that…

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Study: The US Is No Longer the Top Destination for Refugees

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by Jason Hopkins   The United States is no longer the top destination for the world’s refugees, falling from its number one position for the first time in nearly 40 years. In what appears to be a historical turnaround, Canada surpassed the U.S. in the number of refugees it accepted into its country in 2018, according to a newly released study from the Pew Research Center. Canada resettled a total of 28,000 refugees in 2018. In comparison, the U.S. resettled only 23,000 — a substantial decrease from the 33,000 that were accepted in 2017. “Until 2017, the U.S. resettled more refugees each year than the rest of the world’s countries combined,” the study noted, using data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The once-unwavering trend began when the U.S. first established the Refugee Act of 1980. However, this trend was broken when President Donald Trump chose to drastically lower the amount of refugees allowed into the U.S. The Trump administration set the 2018 refugee cap at 45,000 — nearly half of the 85,000 cap former President Barack Obama set for the 2016 fiscal year. The new threshold, according to the Pew Study, was not even close to being…

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Ocasio-Cortez’s Wealthy Chief of Staff Avoids Disclosing His Finances

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by Andrew Kerr   Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s wealthy chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, did not file a disclosure revealing his net worth and outside income earned in 2018, despite the congresswoman having the legal means to compel him to do so. Chakrabarti cofounded two PACs — Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats — that were instrumental to the New York Democrat’s electoral rise. The political action committees funneled over $1 million to an LLC Chakrabarti controlled during the 2018 midterms. A complaint filed in March with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) called the operation “an elaborate scheme to avoid proper disclosure of campaign expenditures.” Ocasio-Cortez announced in February that she was capping her staff salaries at $80,000, meaning that nobody on her payroll, including Chakrabarti, would earn the senior pay rate of $126,000 that requires congressional staffers to publicly disclose their finances, the Washington Examiner previously reported. But the House Ethics Committee requires every representative to have at least one staffer file a financial disclosure. Members such as Ocasio-Cortez that don’t pay any of their employees at the senior pay rate must designate at least one so-called principal assistant who is required to disclose their finances. Representatives have broad latitude…

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Sen. Marsha Blackburn Encourages Conservative College Students to Stay Strong Against Leftist Attacks

Chris Butler

  U.S. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee says conservative college students should feel encouraged as they contend with hostile leftist professors and leftist classmates on campus. “Be encouraged. Be grateful you are someone who does not fall in line with the liberal dictate of the day,” Blackburn told CampusReform.org this week. “That you know who you are and what you stand for and don’t ever ever ever let anybody sit down and tell you to shut up.” As The Tennessee Star reported, Blackburn has sponsored a resolution to encourage free speech and inclusive debate on college campuses. Blackburn said universities are stifling conservative speech. “Imagine how you would feel if you were on a college campus and you were not encouraged to be inquisitive and to learn. You were discouraged from exploring other opinions or reading a variety of work. I always feel as though my conservative viewpoints and principles have been strengthened by reading works from our founders,” Blackburn told Campus Reform. “Reading works about our nation’s history. Looking at the people and their lives that were so involved at different, crucial times of our nation’s history. Challenging myself. I will periodically read something with which I know…

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Trump Issues Disaster Declaration for 10 Ohio Counties

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by Todd DeFeo   President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for 10 counties in Ohio affected by severe weather last month. The declaration “will help those working to rebuild their homes and their lives,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. It also opens the door for state officials to determine how much federal aid Ohioans may need. The action applies to 10 counties hit by severe storms, including tornadoes, on May 27 and May 28. The weather killed one and injured at least 385. “When I spoke with President Trump after these tornadoes, he vowed to provide any assistance he could, and I am grateful that he followed through today on that promise to help those impacted by these storms,” said DeWine. The governor sent a letter to Trump last week asking the president to issue the declaration. The action opens up several federal programs for residents, including low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). With the declaration, the state can apply to the federal government for crisis counseling assistance, disaster unemployment assistance and disaster case management help. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not released a total amount of how much federal…

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Mexico Ratifies Trump’s Trade Agreement

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by Shelby Talcott   The Mexican Senate overwhelmingly voted to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Wednesday, making it the first country to do so. U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the deal Nov. 30, 2018, but it was not ratified by any country until Wednesday. Trump helped make and sign the agreement in 2018. USMCA includes rules that call for about 40% of automobile parts be produced by workers who earn a minimum of $16 an hour and more requirements that the parts be made in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, The Washington Post reported. Trump replaced NAFTA with USMCA in an effort to get better deals for U.S. workers. Mexican senators voted 114-4 to ratify USMCA. The treaty only needed a simple majority to pass, according to WaPo. Trudeau also wants to move forward with decisions on the trade deal, but will probably wait until the Trump administration agrees on a deal with Democrats, WaPo reported. The United States is having the most difficult time out of the three countries, as Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t given a date for the vote. House Democrats are also pushing…

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Rep. Jay Reedy Joins Crowded Field in Running for State House Speaker

Jason M. Reynolds

  State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-TN-74) told his House colleagues in a letter that he would run for Speaker. The other announced candidates for Speaker are Reps. Mike Carter (R-TN-29) of Ooltewah, Matthew Hill (R-TN-07) of Jonesborough, and Curtis Johnson of Clarksville (R-TN-68) as announced candidates for speaker, according to a story by The Tennessee Journal: On the Hill. Possible candidates include Reps. Cameron Sexton (R-TN-25) of Crossville, Ryan Williams (R-TN-42) of Cookeville, and Jerry Sexton (R-TN-35) of Bean Station. The Erin, Tennessee, representative’s letter to his House colleagues read: The Eyes of Tennessee are upon us! Things are forgotten from one generation to the next, which should not be. It seems that we have forgotten God, Country, and Family. We hold to self-indulgence and moral corruption that goes against Gods (sic) Laws. We turn our backs on our country and family when we come to Capitol Hill and forget why we are elected. The reason that I fought to be elected to HD 74 was to continue my service to God and Country, as I had as an enlisted U.S. Army Soldier and later as a U.S. Army Reserve Officer. Respect and responsibility require much trust! The trust that…

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Trump’s EPA Finalizes Plan to Repeal And Replace Obama-Era Coal Plant Regulations

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by  Michael Bastasch   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its plan to repeal and replace an Obama-era regulation that critics said would cost thousands of coal industry jobs. EPA will repeal the Clean Power Plan, which the U.S. Supreme Court stayed and it never went into effect. EPA’s replacement plan, called the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, asks states to improve coal plant efficiency. “ACE is an important step towards realigning EPA actions so they are consistent with the rule of law and the original mission of the agency,” Mandy Gunasekara, a former Trump EPA official who worked on ACE, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “While it’s well known that the political team believes this to be the case, it’s not as well known that there are many career officials who are equally relieved with returning to EPA’s traditional approach of regulating under this part of the Clean Air Act,” Gunasekara said. It’s a massive shift from the Obama administration’s effort to cut power plant greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change. The Obama EPA required states to make deep cuts to power sector emissions, including by using more natural gas and renewables. “We think that goes beyond…

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Tim Ryan Thinks ‘Every Aspect of Society’ Should Be Focused on Curbing Climate Change

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) said that if he’s elected president he would make sure “every aspect of society” is focused on curbing climate change. Ryan recently sat down with The New York Times for its “Meet the Candidates” series where he answered a number of questions about his presidential platform. “I do. Yes. We have to marshal every aspect of our society, our government, our free enterprise system, our educational institutions, our venture capital—all has to be pointing in the direction of reversing climate change,” Ryan said in response to whether he thinks it’s possible for the next president to stop climate change. “I think if we do it right, if we engage the free enterprise system, if we align the environmental incentives with the financial incentives, that we can actually do it a lot quick than most people think,” he added. On the issue of health care, Ryan reiterated his belief that the country needs to “move towards a single-payer system.” “We need to move towards a single-payer system,” he told The Times. “I think the natural next step is to have some public option for people to be able to buy affordable, accessible, quality health care. We…

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Rep. Green Votes No on $1 Trillion Spending Bill Full of ‘Partisan Garbage’

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) voted “no” Wednesday on a bill he said was full of “partisan garbage” that included funding for Planned Parenthood. The House passed the H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020. Green tweeted, “Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. I voted NO.” Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. I voted NO. pic.twitter.com/h7odAZljWw — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) June 19, 2019 Green explained his no vote in a press release. “Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. If passed into law, this minibus would force taxpayers to pay for abortions in the U.S. and even overseas, continue funding Planned Parenthood, pay for an earmark program, and send half a billion dollars in aid to foreign countries most responsible for illegal crossings and trafficking on our border. Democrats opted to include these programs at the expense of Department of Defense funding and border wall funding, falling short of President Trump’s budget request. “Moreover, I…

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