Day: January 26, 2021

Businessman Pete Snyder Enters Race for Virginia Governor

Eric Burk

Virginia 30 Day Fund founder Pete Snyder announced Tuesday that he is running for governor. Snyder is experienced as a social media entrepreneur, investor, and political operative. He’s positioning himself as the answer to problems caused in 2020 by Governor Ralph Northam and the Democrat-led General Assembly.

“We have faced the biggest crisis that we’ve seen in over 100 years, and our leadership in Richmond has absolutely failed us,” Snyder told The Virginia Star.

Failing businesses, closed schools, criminal justice reforms, and a loss of First and Second Amendment rights are the issues the entrepreneur said are fueling his campaign in 2021.

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Tennessee Democrats Ask Biden Administration to Reverse Medicaid Block Grant Waiver

The Center Square

Tennessee Democrats have made multiple pleas to President Joe Biden’s administration, seeking to rescind federal approval for Tennessee’s Medicaid block grant waiver, which is set to allow the state to receive Medicaid funding in a lump sum.

Under the new funding mechanism known as a block grant, Tennessee would receive federal money for the state Medicaid program, TennCare, all at once instead of periodically.

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Commentary: The Coming ‘Reset’ of Memory and Truth Is Not Just Politics, But a Effort to Redefine America

Admin

Riotous rogue Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol on January 6 were properly and widely condemned by conservatives. They were somewhat reminiscent of the mobs of fanatic leftists and union members that a decade ago stormed the Wisconsin state capitol at Madison, or the unpunished hundreds of rioters who created havoc on Washington, D.C. streets during the Trump 2016 inauguration. We expect the Capitol stormers will be punished, and not in the lax fashion of the latter two groups that were not. 

Within a few days, the talking points were finalized that all of Donald Trump’s supporters deserved blame for the violence. That riot, the Trump defeat, and the loss of the Senate have greenlighted left-wing talk of “deprogramming,” “de-Baathification,” “re-educating,” and “reprogramming” half the country to ensure they think correctly and act properly from now on—the exact methodology of such brain rinsing apparently to be announced later. 

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Parents, Educators and Activists Fight Back Against Radical School Curriculums: Trend

Admin

Parents, educators and activists are taking on left-leaning school curriculums in a variety of ways, from speaking out and filing lawsuits to crowdsourcing solutions and creating alternative educational resources.

In California, for example, a group called “Educators for Excellence in Ethnic Studies” has banded together to lobby for the removal of critical race theory from the state’s ethnic studies model curriculum.

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New Evidence Implicates FBI Higher-Ups in Dishonesty of Anti-Trump Lawyer

Admin

For the past year, defenders of the FBI have consistently downplayed the significance of an FBI staff lawyer falsifying evidence in the government’s investigation into Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia. They argue Kevin Clinesmith’s crime of altering a CIA document to obscure the fact that former Trump campaign aide Carter Page worked for U.S., not Russian, intelligence was a rare lapse in judgment by an overworked bureaucrat. It was not, his apologists say, part of any broader conspiracy to conceal exculpatory information from surveillance court judges, who never learned of Page’s history with the CIA before approving FBI warrants to wiretap him as a suspected Russian agent.

But such explanations are challenged by new revelations from court papers filed in the case, which some civil libertarians call the most egregious violation and abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) since it was enacted more than 40 years ago.

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Nashville Attorney’s License Suspended for Four Years After Advising How to Get Away with Murder on Social Media

Corinne Murdock

A Nashville attorney received one year active suspension and three years’ probation for offering advice on how to get away with murder. Judge Holly Kirby of the Tennessee Supreme Court issued the ruling against attorney Winston Bradshaw Sitton last Friday, calling it a “cautionary tale on the ethical problems that can befall lawyers on social media.”

Sitton had posted the comment in question on a 2017 Facebook post from a woman, Lauren Houston, who was trying to leave an allegedly abusive relationship. At the time, the two had been friends on the site for about a year. The contested comments appeared on a post in which Houston asked whether it was legal to carry a firearm in her car without paying for a permit.

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Memphis Launches ‘Group Violence Intervention Program’ to Curb Explosion of Gun Violence

Corinne Murdock

Memphis launched its Group Violence Intervention Program (GVIP) in an effort to reduce violent crimes – namely, gun violence. Officials described it as a “proactive, holistic plan” that adopted models that had purportedly been successful in other cities, though it didn’t specify which ones.

According to the plan, the GVIP will have a czar overseeing three separate branches: a “focused deterrence” coordinator that works with organizations such as the police and social service agencies; a data, policy, community action coordinator that arranges volunteers for various community events; and an intervention coordinator that oversees the outreach workers and violence interrupters. 

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Commentary: The Coalition Forming to Topple California’s Newsom Offers Hope to the Nation

Admin

Gavin Newsom may not be the worst governor in the history of the United States, but he is a figurehead for what is definitely the worst ruling class this nation has ever seen. The elites who prop up hapless tyrants like Gavin Newsom are utterly self-serving, filthy rich, and concerned only with appearances and power.

California is a political and financial stronghold for the progressive oligarchy that controls America. But California also has some unique characteristics that could result in it becoming a center of opposition to this progressive oligarchy.

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Christian University Takes Apart Claims that Christianity Is a ‘Platform for White Supremacy’ in Scathing Rebuke

Admin

Grand Canyon University stood up against a “racial reconciliation workshop” on campus that portrayed Christianity as a “platform for white supremacy.”

On January 4, the university released a statement declaring that “Christianity is absolutely NOT a platform for White supremacy or White privilege,” stating that “the teachings of Jesus Christ are clearly the exact opposite.”

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Online Sports Betting, Marijuana Legalization Unlikely for Minnesota in 2021

Admin

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states are turning to new revenue sources in an attempt to avoid raising taxes while filling a projected gaping budget deficit.

For Minnesota, that number is a $1.3 billion projected shortfall for fiscal year 2022-2023.

But top lawmakers say two revenue sources that have been popular in other states are unlikely to be signed into law this year; namely, the legalization of recreational marijuana and online sports betting.

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Ohio Governor Orders Millions More in Cuts to State Agencies

Admin

Saying immediate actions are necessary to keep the state’s budget balanced, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state agencies.

“In the springtime, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, and Ohio’s revenue, was dire. With this, reductions were made to the state biennial budget,” DeWine said. “With this executive order, we are finalizing current year budget reductions at $390 million across all agencies, which is less than the cuts implemented last year.”

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Two Churches File Another Lawsuit Against Governor Ralph Northam Over Executive Order 72

Eric Burk

Two pastors are suing Governor Ralph Northam over Executive Order 72 (EO 72), saying that the order places restrictions on churches that aren’t placed on educational institutions or essential businesses. Pastor Jeff Light and Reverend Jon Heddleston are being represented in the Rappahanock Circuit Court by lawyer Mike Sharman, who is also representing churches in Madison and Culpeper in two other lawsuits against Northam.

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Georgia Tech Awards Dr. Fauci ‘Social Courage’ Award

Peter D'Abrosca

A state funded Georgia university has awarded Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has presided over the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an award for “social courage.” 

“Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, one of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts and a steadfast voice of science, facts, and medical best practice during one of the most significant public health challenges in U.S. history, is this year’s recipient of the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage,” Georgia Tech University said in a statement. 

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Fencing Installed Around Lee Statue to Prepare for Removal

Jacob Taylor

With significant law enforcement presence in the immediate area, workers installed fencing around the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond on Monday morning as part of the Virginia Department of General Services (DGS) plans to remove the controversial statue from its prominent location.

The temporary fencing, which completely encircles the monument grounds, was erected to ensure the safety of visitors and workers as DGS prepares the site for the eventual removal of the statue, according to a news release from the agency published Monday.

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Rob Portman Will Not Seek a Re-Election to the U.S. Senate

Jack Windsor

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) will not seek a third term representing Ohio in Washington. “Today, I am announcing that I have made a decision not to run again in 2022,” said the institutional Republican in a Monday morning press statement.

“This doesn’t mean I’m leaving now – I still have two more years in my term and I intend to use that time to get a lot done.” He said he looks forward to being able to focus all his energy during the remainder of his term on legislation and challenges facing America instead of dividing his efforts to raise money and campaign.

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Georgia House Rep Reintroducing In-State Tuition Bill for DACA Recipients

Peter D'Abrosca

One member of Georgia’s General Assembly is attempting to reignite an effort to give in-state college tuition to Georgia residents who came to the United States illegally. 

“State Rep. Kasey Carpenter said Monday that he will reintroduce legislation this week that would allow young immigrants who have been granted a reprieve from deportation to pay in-state tuition at Georgia colleges and universities,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

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Georgia State Legislators Who Fought for Election Integrity Can’t Promise that Colleagues will Reform System

Chris Butler

Two Georgia state legislators who lost their chairmanships after they questioned the results of the last presidential election can’t say if their colleagues have enough willpower to fix the state’s alleged election integrity problems. State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) and State Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) talked to The Georgia Star News Monday. Both men said they’ve noticed that some of the same state leaders who stifled their efforts to have a special session to address voter irregularities late last year have now proposed their own reforms.

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Virginia Senate Passes Bill Repealing Witness Signature Requirement for Absentee Ballots

Jacob Taylor

The Virginia state Senate on Monday passed legislation that would repeal the witness signature requirement when people in the Commonwealth use absentee ballots to vote in elections.

Introduced by Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington), Senate Bill 1097 passed the body by a 21-18 straight party-line vote, with all Republican members opposing the legislation.

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Michigan Dems Make List of Demands, Including Convicting Trump

Peter D'Abrosca

The Democratic Party of Michigan started off its week with a list of demands, which it posted to its Twitter account Monday morning. 

“Today, the Senate will receive the Articles of Impeachment. They must swiftly move to convict Trump and hold him fully accountable for the violent attack our democracy,” the group said. “This comes in addition to passing more COVID relief and confirming President [Joe Biden’s] cabinet nominees.”

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University of Tennessee Chattanooga Hosts ‘White Allies and Accountability’ Lecture

Corinne Murdock

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) is kicking off their spring semester focus on social justice with a discussion of white allyship and accountability. The virtual session, titled, “Moving Forward Together: White Allies and Accountability,” is part of Moving Our Campus (MOC) Forward, a series of events and talks focused on equity and inclusion. Facilitators mentioned that this first session falls within the overarching theme for their 2020-2021 schedule: dismantling racism.

The event host, Dr. Beth Douthirt-Cohen, is a facilitator at the Social Justice Training Institute (SJTI) and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Executive Director at Frederick Community College.

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