Commentary: Reagan’s Farewell Warning Was Ignored (And Now We Are Paying the Price)

In his 1989 farewell address, President Reagan asked the rhetorical question, “Are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?”

He followed up with the answer: 

Our spirit is back, but we haven’t reinstitutionalized it. We’ve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise – and freedom is special and rare. It’s fragile; it needs protection.

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Counselor in Texas School District Shares List of Marxist Literature as ‘Tool’

A lengthy email from a counselor in Plano Independent School District (PISD) sent to colleagues contained three attachments including, among other things, a list of overtly Marxist media for use in classrooms, and a study guide for those “trying to become better allies.”

The attachments highlight materials like The 1619 Project (which claims America’s history is based on racism and slavery), talking points concerning the deaths of George Floyd; Breonna Taylor; and Ahmaud Arbery; and suggested reading lists including Marxist and Communist literature.

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Treasury Department: States, Local Governments Spend Only 25 Percent of CARES Act Subsidies

As deliberations continue in Congress over how to allocate another $1 trillion worth of stimulus money, governors and mayors say they need more than the $139 billion already allocated to their states in March to cover revenue shortfalls.

A total of $150 billion was allocated to help state, local and tribal governments with specific COVID-19 response programs.

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Dianne Feinstein Says China, Which Is Putting Muslims in Camps, Is ‘Growing into a Respectable Nation’

Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein praised China Thursday as a country “growing into a respectable nation” and cautioned against holding the country accountable for the coronavirus pandemic.

“We hold China as a potential trading partner, as a country that has pulled tens of millions of people out of poverty in a short period of time, and as a country growing into a respectable nation amongst other nations. I deeply believe that,” Feinstein said during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

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Tennessee Supreme Court Hears Case Concerning Availability of Absentee Ballots for All Tennesseans

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday concerning the citizens’ right to vote via absentee ballot.

The cases presented (Earle J. Fisher et al. v. Tre Hargett et al. and Benjamin Lay et al. v. Mark Goins et al.) have become the focal point of the ongoing debate surrounding the efficacy of absentee and mail-in ballots and voters’ rights to absentee and mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sen. Rand Paul in Knoxville for Dr. Manny Sethi: ‘I Have Never Seen a More Sincere Opponent of Obamacare’

Sen. Rand Paul, who was in Knoxville Saturday for a town hall event in support of Dr. Manny Sethi for U.S. Senate, said he has never seen a more sincere opponent of Obamacare.

“I guess that’s what sort of bothers me is that people would lie about that,” said Paul. “Obamacare has really messed up healthcare. I think it’s been a disaster for the country.”

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Federal Unemployment Benefits Expiring as Democratic Leaders Demand Non-COVID-19 Related Policies

The additional $600 weekly federal unemployment benefits expire Friday after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected a White House offer to temporarily extend them.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that, “Senate Republicans tried several ways to extend the expiring unemployment assistance. Democrats blocked them all and refused another dime for COVID-19 relief unless they get to pass a bill that includes an unrelated tax cut for rich people in blue states.”

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Survey: Private, Charter Schools More Likely to Provide Meaningful Education During Shutdowns

Several reports and national surveys indicate that private and charter schools provided more meaningful educational services during state shutdowns than public schools did, and more parents are choosing nontraditional educational options this fall.

A nationally representative survey conducted by Education Next found that while there was “a lot of lost ground on learning” during coronavirus shutdowns in the spring semester, there was “a more robust response in the charter school sector and in the private school sector” among respondents.

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Ohio House Democrats Introduce Bill Aimed at Repealing House Bill 6

Ohio House Democrats introduced a new bill this week that would repeal House Bill (HB) 6, which bailed out nuclear power plants in the state. HB 6 was at the heart of the $60 million corruption scandal that led to state Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford) being stripped of his House speakership position.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested Householder and four other people on July 21 for allegedly having “worked to corruptly ensure that HB 6 went into effect by defeating a ballot initiative to overturn the legislation,” according to the DOJ press release.

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Michigan SNAP Rolls Surged $126M from February to May During COVID-19 Pandemic

Many of the costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t easily visible, such as Michigan’s 2,000 COVID-19 nursing home residents’ deaths, the increasing number of opioid overdoses, and the bankrupted businesses due to government-mandated restrictions and less consumer demand.

More than 2 million people lost their jobs within months after Michigan’s first case of the virus, pushing hundreds of thousands of people onto federally bankrolled food assistance programs, spiking costs by nearly $60 million over two months.

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Ohio Introduces New Coronavirus Guidelines as the State Sees the Number of COVID-19 Cases Go Over 90,000

Governor Mike DeWine has issued several new recommendations in the wake of an uptick in coronavirus cases.

The number of coronavirus cases in Ohio has recently gone over 90,000 and almost 3,500 people have died, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Thirteen Ohio counties are under the Level Three Public Health Emergency. Level Three means that a county has “very high expose and spread” of the coronavirus.

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Scott DesJarlais’ Chief of Staff Explains Congressman’s Vote on Bill That Gun Owners of America Denounced

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) said the congressman is solidly pro-gun despite voting for a proposed law that Gun Owners of America said would confiscate guns from members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

As The Tennessee Star reported Saturday, members of the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives passed that bill, H.R. 6395, late last month. The vote was 295 to 125, according to the House website, with 108 Republicans saying yes to it — with three of them, including DesJarlais, representing Tennessee.

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