Commentary: Meet the Democrats’ Newest Strategist

Her name is Vicky Osterweil. It’s a pity that she is only emerging on the scene now. Had her ideas enjoyed broad circulation even a month ago, she could have made a major and clarifying contribution to the Democratic Party’s platform.

Many commentators, from the Left as well as the Right, grumbled that the Democrats’ convention lacked a clear policy agenda. Sure, we all knew in general outline what they were about – they were “against racism,” “against white supremacism,” above all, they were “against Trump.” 

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College Towns Growing Alarmed Over Outbreaks Among Students

As waves of schools and businesses around the country are cleared to reopen, college towns are moving toward renewed shutdowns because of too many parties and too many COVID-19 infections among students.

With more than 300 students at the University of Missouri testing positive for the coronavirus and an alarming 44% positivity rate for the surrounding county, the local health director Friday ordered bars to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close by 10 p.m.

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Jeff Bezos’ Net Worth Reaches $200 Billion

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, solidified his status as the world’s wealthiest man after his net worth reached the $200 billion mark, according to the Daily Caller.

Bezos reached the astounding milestone on Wednesday, with the Caller noting that he is not alone in expanding his wealth during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, which has significantly increased business for Amazon due to the rise in online shopping. Two other prominent CEOs who saw their net worths reach significant landmarks are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who both reached $100 billion.

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Coronavirus Worries Force Election Officials to Get Creative

The coronavirus has upended everyday life in ways big and small. What happens when those disruptions overlap with voting? Thousands of state and local election officials across the U.S are sharing ideas and making accommodations to try to ensure that voters and polling places are safe amid an unprecedented pandemic.

Some are finding ways to expand access to voter registration and ballot request forms. Others are testing new products, installing special equipment or scouting outdoor voting locations.

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Martha Boneta Commentary: It Is Time to Declare Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

When it comes to Fentanyl, it is hard for us to think beyond the sheer human tragedy. 

It is hard for us to think beyond the 32,000 lost to overdoses from this drug in 2018 – up from 28,000 the year before.  

It is hard for us to think beyond the suffering James Rauh of Cleveland has endured. His son, Thomas, injured himself in a roller-blading accident and was prescribed opioids to deal with the pain. The son became addicted, turned to heroin and died when unbeknownst to him, he injected a dose of pure fentanyl that was provided by the drug dealer.   

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Minnesota Will Receive $300 Weekly in Unemployment Benefits Under FEMA Grant

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved for Minnesotans to receive $300 in weekly unemployment benefits this fall. FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor issued the grant through the Lost Wages Supplemental Payment Assistance program.

The approval comes one day after Governor Tim Walz announced his decision to apply for additional unemployment payments. Walz explained this was a necessary decision based on the continued COVID-19 mandates. 

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Minneapolis Police Officer Falls to the Ground After Being Struck in the Head with Garbage Can Lid

A Minneapolis police officer dropped to the ground after a metal trash can lid struck him in the head during a resurgence of rioting and looting in the city Wednesday.

The attack, which was reportedly broadcast on Facebook Live, showed a cop trying to open his driver’s-side door before the metal disk whizzed through the air and connected with the back of the unsuspecting officer’s head, according to the New York Post. The uniformed officer dropped to the ground and appeared to be rolling in pain, as fellow law enforcement in riot gear made their way to him, the Post’s video showed.

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Minneapolis Mayor Exempted NAACP from Curfew Riot Curfews, Emails Show

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey gave National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) “staff and volunteers” permission to disobey curfew orders amid riots in his city.

Emails acquired by Alpha News as part of a larger public document dump related to the Minneapolis riots show that Frey “granted an exemption to NAACP from the 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew in Minneapolis for the dates of Friday, May 29 and Saturday May 30, 2020.” The document dump which unearthed these emails was prompted by a data practices request filed by Crime Watch Minneapolis.

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Legacy Media Outlet Brushes Aside Dozens of Rescued Children to Politicize ‘Save the Children’ Event

The Columbus Dispatch published an article casting a local “Save the Children” event as a Trojan Horse for “QAnon” beliefs. Before the event even takes place, the article depicts it as mobilization for potential violence by conspiracy theory supporters.

It is the latest in a growing trend with media to downplay or dismiss child sex-trafficking awareness events as covers for other, darker political intentions. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that President Trump is secretly battling powerful and wealthy Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

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Roger Stone Warns Tennessee Churchgoers to Prep for the Fight for Western Civilization

  MOUNT JULIET, Tennessee — Under a large pitched tent and in sweltering heat, Roger Stone, a 40-year confidante of U.S. President Donald Trump, shared his personal testimony Sunday and said he’s “living proof prayer works” despite seemingly insurmountable odds. But Stone’s testimony also came with a warning. “We are in the most dangerous time ever in America,” Stone told members of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet. “This is an epic struggle between dark and light, between good and evil, between the godly and the godless, and this is also a fight for the struggle of Western Civilization as we know it.” As reported, Trump last month commuted Stone’s prison sentence. Officials sentenced Stone to three years and four months on counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. But Stone adamantly maintained his innocence and told churchgoers Sunday that law enforcement had no evidence to prove his alleged crimes. Stone spoke of a private meeting he had with the Rev. Franklin Graham. “I told him [Graham] that I was up against an implacable enemy with deep pockets and no morals and no rules,”…

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State GOP to Take Up House District 18 Primary Challenge Wednesday, Votes to Charge Candidates a Fee to Run as a Republican

At Saturday’s meeting of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) State Executive Committee, the majority voted to charge candidates for certain offices a fee to run as a Republican and won’t take up the issue of the House District 18 primary challenge until Wednesday.

TRP Chairman Scott Golden told The Tennessee Star he wasn’t sure why some people thought that the challenge to the House District 18 primary results would be taken up at Saturday’s meeting and said it wasn’t “because it’s against the law.”

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NFIB Survey: 1 in 5 Small Business Owners Say They Will Close If Economic Conditions Don’t Improve Within Six Months

More than 20 percent of small business owners said they will have to close permanently if current economic conditions do not improve within the next six months, according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The largest small business association in the U.S., headquartered in Nashville, conducted the survey to assess the financial health of small businesses.

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Mitch McConnell Campaign Hires Covington Catholic Student Nick Sandmann as Grassroots Director

The reelection campaign of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell announced on Friday that it had hired as a grassroots director Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky teen who was catapulted into national prominence last year due to an incident at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. 

Sandmann was among the teen students from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, KY, who in January of 2019 were videotaped in what initially appeared to be an aggressive confrontation of an elderly Native American man, Nathan Phillips, at the Lincoln Memorial.

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UAE Formally Ends Israel Boycott Amid US-Brokered Deal

The ruler of the United Arab Emirates issued a decree Saturday formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries.

The announcement now allows trade and commerce between the UAE, home to oil-rich Abu Dhabi and skyscraper-studded Dubai, and Israel, home to a thriving diamond trade, pharmaceutical companies and tech start-ups.

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Minnesota College Student Pleads Guilty to Offering Support to Terrorists

Minneapolis college student Tnuza Jamal Hassan pleaded guilty to attempting to provide support to the foreign terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and court documents, Hassan, while a student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, drafted and anonymously delivered a letter encouraging two other students to join al-Qaeda.

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New Poll Shows Trump Overtaking Biden in Michigan

President Donald Trump is leading former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the November election in the battleground state of Michigan, according to a Republican-leaning poll published Friday.

The president carries a narrow 46-45 lead Biden in the state, a poll published by the Trafalgar Group shows. The poll, conducted between Aug. 14 and Aug. 23, comes a day after Trump wrapped up the Republican National Convention, and less than a week after the Democratic National Convention.

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Over 100 Former Staffers Under Bush 43, McCain and Romney Endorse Biden for President

Over 100 former staffers for former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president Thursday, Politico reported.

“What unites us now is a deep conviction that four more years of a Trump presidency will morally bankrupt this country, irreparably damage our democracy, and permanently transform the Republican party into a toxic personality cult,” Romney Alumni for Biden said in an open letter.

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Three-Quarters of Democratic Voters Still Believe Trump Campaign Colluded with Russia

Three-quarters of Democratic voters believe that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to steal the 2016 election, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

Asked whether it was more likely that Trump colluded with Russia in 2016 or that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign that year, 73% of Democrats said the Russia collusion theory was more likely to have occurred.  

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AP Source: Big Ten Working on Multiple Options for Football

Big Ten coaches, athletic directors and medical personnel are working on multiple plans for staging a football season — including one that would have the league kicking off as soon as Thanksgiving weekend.

The conference is in the early stages of a complicated process that also involves broadcast partners and possible neutral site venues, a person with direct knowledge of the conference’s discussions told The Associated Press.

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Ohio Lawmakers Demand Action on Nuclear Bailout Bill Amid Corruption Scandal

Democrats want lawmakers to take action on House Bill 6, a ratepayer-funded bailout of nuclear power plants in Ohio, when the state House convenes next week, but one Republican says any replacement must prioritize nuclear energy.

The bill faces new scrutiny after a federal grand jury indicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and four others as part of a $60 million “public corruption racketeering conspiracy” to pass the legislation.

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Lawsuit Filed Over Ballot Language in Ongoing Battle Over Amendment 1 Redistricting

Virginia Lieutenant Governor candidate Paul Goldman filed a lawsuit Thursday against the State Board of Elections in the ongoing controversy over Amendment 1 redistricting. The suit says that the ballot question on the amendment uses misleading language to unfairly skew voter perception.

Goldman says people will assume they have a fair summary before them. However, he argues this is not the case.

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Despite Concern From Police, Virginia Legislators Cutting Funding, Protection For Law Enforcement Officers

As Virginia legislators push forward with criminal reform bills, police warn that reform will leave officers without enough tools and protections to do their jobs.

Last week, the Senate passed a bill that, if it becomes law, will end mandatory minimum felony sentences for those who assault police. Other measures being considered include bans on choke holds, elimination of no-knock warrants, and an end to qualified immunity.

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OSU Protesters Tackle Big Ten Football Decision

Outrage is growing as Ohio State University remains silent about the Big 10’s decision to postpone football.

In an open letter on the decision, Big 10 Commissioner Kevin Warren said:

“We thoroughly understand and deeply value what sports mean to our student-athletes, their families, our coaches, and our fans. The vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) was overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited.”

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Carol Swain Says Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Tannehill ‘Ill-Informed’ About Race in America

Former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain said Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill doesn’t need anyone to debate him about America’s supposed racism — instead, as far as this topic goes, he needs to get educated.

Swain told The Tennessee Star Saturday that Tannehill “is ill-informed” about history and topics of race.

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Commentary: Trump for the Win

The Republicans have now forced the Democrats to change course and tactics, shed their narcissistic complacency, and recognize that they are in the fight of their lives.

When the history of this astonishing political year is written, there will be amazement that the Democrats ever imagined that they could preserve the entire election as a referendum on Trump based on the question of whether the population is content, and leave the president floundering in blustery self-justification while their nominee fielded soft pre-agreed questions from his home.

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Metro Councilman-at-Large Steve Glover About RNC Watch Party and Protest: We Want to Build Up America, Not Tear Down America

At the conclusion of the Republican National Convention watch party and protest Thursday evening, Metro Councilman-At-Large Steve Glover said of Republicans, “We want to build up America, not tear down America.”

Glover was referring to the hundreds of attendees at the event that was his brainchild on the grounds of Barbara Mandrell’s former estate, Fontanel, in Nashville.

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‘Totally Lawless Situation’: Father of Man Killed in CHOP Files $3 Billion in Claims Against Local Government

The father of a young man killed in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone has filed $3 billion in claims against King County, the city of Seattle, and Washington state.

Horace Anderson filed the lawsuit Thursday over the death of his 19-year-old son, Horace Lorenzo Anderson, alleging that the local government’s “inactions” and actions created a “hazardous, and lawless situation” that resulted in his son’s death, KING 5 news reported from a statement by the law firm representing Anderson.

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Steve Bannon Presents: CCP’s War Against the World

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

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Commentary: It’s Time for the Samuel Adams Option

In 2018, Rod Dreher published The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians Living in a Post-Christian World. In it, he argued that Christians needed to recognize that this is a post-Christian society, and that they should withdraw as much as possible from it and build up private Christian communities. His inspiration for this concept is Saint Benedict of Nursia, who founded 12 different communities for monks, which became repositories of learning and civilization during the barbarism that ensued after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

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Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Longest-Serving Prime Minister, Announces His Resignation

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced his decision to step down from the post Friday, citing the return of a health problem, the Associated Press reported.

“It is gut-wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals,” Abe said during a news conference announcing his decision, mentioning ongoing tensions with North Korea and a border dispute with Russia.

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District Court Blocks Betsy DeVos COVID Rule on Private School Funds

A judge blocked an Education Secretary Betsy DeVos policy on Wednesday that transfers COVID-19 relief funds from public school districts to private schools, Politico reported.

U.S. District Judge James Donato of the U.S. District Court Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction for the plaintiffs, order Thursday, blocking release of additional relief funding to private schools.

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Commentary: Chaos v. Order on the Ballot … Again

Richard J. Daley, the old-school mayor of Chicago, told the city’s superintendent during the riots that followed Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to “shoot to kill any arsonists” and “shoot to maim or cripple anyone looting.”

Another of President Lyndon Johnson’s staunchest allies offered a similarly sanguine prescription to the unrest taking place on campus that same month. “It would have been a wonderful thing,” longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer later testified before a Senate committee about the Columbia University student takeover, “if [Columbia President] Grayson Kirk got mad and got a gun and killed a few.”

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Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court to Require in Person Doctors Appointment for Women Seeking Abortion Pills

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reinstate a requirement that a woman must visit her health care provider to obtain abortion drugs.

“Given that surgical methods of abortion remain widely available, the enforcement of longstanding safety requirements for a medication abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy does not constitute a substantial obstacle to abortion access, even if the COVID-19 pandemic has made obtaining any method of abortion in person somewhat riskier,” acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall said, according to CNN.

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Two Days After Co-Sponsoring Impeachment, Ohio Representative Becomes Target of Investigation

On Monday morning, Representative Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) began the week with a bang – he announced on Facebook the release and his co-sponsorship of articles of impeachment levied against Republican Governor Mike DeWine.

Vitale and three other representatives co-sponsored the articles that outlined 10 offenses the foursome listed as reasons for DeWine to be removed from the state’s top post.

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