Month: February 2021

Gov. DeSantis Says Flags in Florida Will be Lowered to Half-Staff to Honor Rush Limbaugh

Admin

During a press conference Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that flags in Florida will be lowered to half-staff for conservative talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh once his funeral arrangements are made.

“I know they’re still figuring out the arrangements but what we do when there’s things of this magnitude, once the date of internment for Rush is announced, we’re going to be lowering the flags to half-staff,” the governor said. Limbaugh, who resided at his “Southern Command” oasis in Palm Beach Florida for the past ten years, died on Ash Wednesday after a year-long bout with  stage IV lung cancer. He was 70.

Read the full story

NASA Releases Perseverance Rover’s First Photos of Mars

Admin

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration released the first photos taken by its Perseverance rover on Mars after it became just the fifth rover to ever successfully complete the landing.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) photos released Saturday showed Mars’s vast landscape and rocky terrain. On Thursday, Perseverance successfully completed its landing on the Red Planet after a nearly seven-month flight from Earth.

Read the full story

Trump National Security Official Says Evidence for Wuhan Lab Error ‘Far Outweighs’ Other Theories

Admin

Matt Pottinger, who served as deputy national security adviser under former President Donald Trump, said Sunday that the evidence that the coronavirus resulted from human error in a Chinese lab “far outweighs” other theories about the origins of the pandemic.

“If you weigh the circumstantial evidence, the ledger on the side of an explanation that says that this resulted from some kind of human error, it far outweighs the side of the scale that says this was some natural outbreak,” Pottinger said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Read the full story

New York Legislature ‘Inching Toward’ Impeachment Probe of Cuomo, Democratic Assemblyman Says

Admin

A Democratic state assemblyman in New York says that lawmakers are “inching toward” opening an impeachment probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his handling of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.

In an interview on the “Skullduggery” podcast, Ronald Kim, a Queens assemblyman, also said he is willing to cooperate with federal investigators in an ongoing probe of the Cuomo administration.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Libertarian Party Delivers Wins to Anti-Liberty Democrats and There Is No Principle in That

Admin

If you want to find a Libertarian Party organization that has achieved relevance, look no further than Georgia. That’s where Shane Hazel, running for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian, garnered 2.3 percent of the vote in November. Hazel’s showing may have been insignificant, but the Republican candidate, David Perdue, only needed 0.3 percent more votes to have avoided a runoff, where he lost.

America’s political system today, with rare exceptions, is a two party system. All that Perdue needed was for one in seven of Hazel’s voters to choose him instead, and the GOP would still control the U.S. Senate. In a two party system, it doesn’t take much to be relevant. Hazel now intends to run as a Libertarian for governor in Georgia in 2022.

Read the full story

‘Comprehensive’ Methane Rule in Sight Under Biden Administration, Experts Say

The Center Square

Environmental experts said Thursday momentum behind the new presidential administration brings the promise of a comprehensive methane rule in sight – a move that would have a significant impact on Pennsylvania, one of the top natural gas-producing states.

Dan Grossman, senior director of advocacy for the Environmental Defense Fund, said controlling methane emissions from the oil and gas sector remains an important component of lowering greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which contribute to one quarter of the climate effects witnessed across the globe over the last decade, he said.

Read the full story

Virginia Poised to Mandate ‘Cultural Competency’ Evaluation, Black History Training for Teachers

Admin

A pair of bills that recently cleared the Virginia state legislature will mandate that all teachers in the state undergo “cultural competency” training, with history and social science teachers required to undertake additional training regarding African-American history.

The bills, one in the state House of Delegates and one in the Senate, would add “cultural competency” evaluations to the standard slate of regular evaluations to which teachers in the commonwealth are subject and require “each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the [state Board of Education] to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years.”

Read the full story

Commentary: The Corruption of ‘Politically Correct’ Language Puts Us All Under the Curse of Babel

Admin

In C.S. Lewis’s novel about totalitarianism, That Hideous Strength, we find this line, “Qui verbum Dei contempserunt, eis auferetur etiam verbum hominis,” which translates, “They that have despised the word of God, from them shall the word of man also be taken away.”

This line occurs in a passage during which an elite who dreamed of making themselves masters of mankind find themselves under the “curse of Babel,” unable to speak anything other than gibberish.

Read the full story

Feds Threaten to Remove Work Requirement from Georgia’s Partial Medicaid Expansion

The Center Square

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could decide in a matter of weeks whether it will remove the work or activity requirement in Georgia’s partial Medicaid expansion plan.

The CMS said the plan, which was approved by former President Donald Trump’s administration in October, does not “promote the objectives of the Medicaid program” and would be impossible to accomplish because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story

Former State Rep Who Brought Impeachment Against DeWine Announces Run for Ohio GOP Chair

Jack Windsor

Friday, former Ohio lawmaker John Becker, who represented Ohioans from House District 65 between 2013-2020, announced his candidacy for Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party (ORP).

The top spot in the Ohio GOP is open after former Chairwoman Jane Timken announced her resignation on February 5 to run for the U.S. Senate.

The Southwestern Ohio Republican declared his candidacy in a letter to the ORP State Central Committee that contained his resume.

Read the full story

New Georgia Bill Would Demand More Detailed Vote Reporting System from Secretary of State

Chris Butler

Georgia legislators have submitted a bill that would require the secretary of state create a far more detailed election reporting system for general primaries, general elections, and runoffs from general primaries and general elections. “Such system shall provide for the entry of the number of ballots cast by type in each precinct, the results of state and federal races by precinct, the number of absentee ballots issued and returned, the number of absentee ballots certified, the number of absentee ballots rejected, the number of provisional ballots cast, and such other information which the Secretary of State deems relevant and useful to the citizens of this state,” according to the language of the bill.

Read the full story

Senator Amanda Chase Still Dominates Virginia Gubernatorial Conversation as Other Candidates Announce New Policy Plans, Make Campaign Stops

Eric Burk

More gubernatorial polls this week show most voters are undecided, allowing contest leaders to continue to claim front-runner status while allowing everybody else to claim theoretical wins. But there’s more gubernatorial news than that — this week’s campaign news features new policy announcements, major endorsements, messaging controversy, and a late-night television mention.

First, the poll: 49 percent of Democratic voters and 55 percent of Republican voters are undecided, according to a Christoper Newport University/Wason Center Poll. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe leads Democrats with 26 percent, while Senator Amanda Chase leads Republicans with 17 percent.

Read the full story

Harlan Hill Commentary: With ‘Republicans’ Like Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Who Needs Democrats?

Admin

by Harlan Hill   Due to their Republican leadership, many great states like Florida are open for business while successfully managing and mitigating the COVID-19 crisis. The same cannot be said for Ohio: you’d be forgiven for mistaking its leadership as Liberal. Ohio is not open, as its Republican-in-name-only Governor Mike DeWine has shut the state to small businesses, restaurants, family celebrations, and more. In doing so, the already precarious state economy is faltering. And Republicans should especially worry: the GOP’s hold on the state looks likely to suffer as a result. Please don’t just take my word for it; look at the data. Recent polling reveals DeWine is massively underwater with Republican voters. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the “RINO,” but it’s remarkably worse than ever before. In this survey of likely Ohio Republican primary voters from December 2020, just 14 percent of voters say Ohio is on the right track, while an eye-watering 72 percent say Ohio is heading in the wrong direction. And who is to blame? Mike DeWine. A mere 16 percent of Ohio Republicans approve of DeWine’s handling of COVID-19. And his approval rating – an abysmal 17 percent is barely better. Therefore, less than one in five people approve of DeWine…

Read the full story

General Assembly Passes Bill to Study Gold Mining, but Removes Gold Mine Moratorium

Eric Burk

The General Assembly passed HB 2213, Delegate Elizabeth Guzman’s (D-Prince William) bill to create a work group of scientists, local representatives, activists and state officials to study the impacts of gold mining. Although the bill originally included a two-year moratorium on permits for new gold mines bigger than 10 acres, the Senate removed that clause before passing the bill Tuesday 23 to 16. The House passed the amended version Thursday 56 to 43, sending it to the Governor for final approval.

Read the full story

Home Schooling in Minnesota Skyrocketed 50% Amid School Closures

Admin
Homeschoolers

A Friday report from the Minnesota Department of Education confirmed what many have suspected all along: parents are opting to take their children out of public schools.

Overall public-school enrollment decreased by 2% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, MDE said in its report, which translates to a net loss of about 17,000 students. This decrease was driven largely by a 9% drop in public kindergarten enrollment, according to the MDE.

Read the full story

Chances for Ohio Death Penalty Repeal Appear to be Growing

Admin

The biggest-ever bipartisan coalition on Thursday announced a renewed effort to repeal the death penalty in Ohio.

State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, hosted a virtual press conference to announce that they and three other Republican and four Democratic senators so far have said they will co-sponsor the repeal legislation. The measure also has bipartisan support in the House.

Read the full story

Community Pressures Tennessee State University President into Backing Out of CoreCivic Board

Corinne Murdock

After backlash from the community, Tennessee State University (TSU) President Dr. Glenda Glover reversed her decision to join CoreCivic’s board. Glover tweeted about the change suddenly, less than a day after CoreCivic had announced her appointment. Glover was expected to assume her position on March 1. In that press release, Glover had only positive things to say about the private prison company.

“Every single day, CoreCivic engages with thousands of individuals in educational programs who have the opportunity to positively change their lives,” stated Glover. “As I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the company, it’s clear to me that there is a genuine commitment to progress through innovative reentry programs, strong corporate governance, active public policy support and transparent ESG reporting. I look forward to being an inside voice that can help CoreCivic realize the full potential of its purpose of helping people prepare for the next step in their lives.”

Read the full story

YouTube Removes New Interview with President Trump, Citing ‘Presidential Election Integrity Policy’

Admin

YouTube this week censored a recent interview with former President Donald Trump, claiming the video violated its new standards regarding allegations of election fraud.

The interview, conducted by Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly, included claims by Trump that he himself was the rightful winner of the 2020 election. Trump has repeatedly insisted that widespread voter fraud and vote-rigging tipped the scales in favor of Joe Biden during the race.

Read the full story

Retired General Honoré, Chosen by Pelosi to Head ‘Independent Review’ of Capitol Hill Riots, Under Fire for Bigoted, Partisan and Profane Remarks

Admin

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to be trying to rig an “independent security review” of the January 6th Capitol riots by appointing an extreme left-wing partisan to lead the investigation, and Republicans are starting to cry foul.

Retired Lt. General Russel Honoré, hand-picked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month to oversee the “9/11-style” commission, is under increased scrutiny after numerous crude, extreme, and profoundly partisan tweets and comments have come to light.

Read the full story

January Border Arrests Reach Highest Level in a Decade as Some Migrants Expect Softer Treatment Under Biden

Admin

Over 75,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended for crossing the border into the U.S. last month, breaking record numbers for the highest number of January apprehensions in over a decade, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The majority of illegal immigrants who were apprehended in January 2021 were single adults, though Border Patrol agents detained 7,260 migrants traveling as family units, nearly 3,000 more than in December 2020, the WSJ reported. Some of the migrants said they are illegally crossing the border with the hope that the Biden administration will be more forgiving than the Trump administration.

Read the full story

Political Donor Who Cozied up to Biden Is Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Admin

Imaad Zuberi, a Pakistani-American venture capitalist who cultivated connections with Joe Biden when he served as vice president, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday on foreign lobbying and campaign finance charges.

Zuberi peddled influence at the highest levels of the U.S. government, meeting with both President Barack Obama and Biden during their administration. He also developed connections to prominent senators and House members of both political parties, which he leveraged to drum up overseas business deals.

Read the full story

30 Capitol Police Officers Under Investigation, and Six Suspended, for Roles in the Capitol Protests

Admin

The United States Capitol Police (USCP) announced on Thursday that the department is currently investigating 29 officers, and has suspended six, for their actions during the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, according to CNN.

A department spokesman said that “Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has directed that any member of her department whose behavior is not keeping in line with the Department’s Rules of Conduct will face appropriate discipline.” The six who were suspended will still be receiving pay, and the 29 total officers under investigation is nearly three times the amount of officers who were previously announced as being under investigation back in January.

Read the full story

Planned Parenthood Abortion Numbers Hit 15-Year-High, Pro-Life Group Says

Admin

Data from Planned Parenthood’s annual report shows that the organization’s abortion numbers hit a 15-year-high, according to the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

Between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019, Planned Parenthood performed 354,871 abortions among other services, such as STI testing and treatment, contraceptive services, cancer screenings and prevention, and other services, according to the organization’s recently-released annual report.

Read the full story

Judge Temporarily Blocks South Carolina Abortion Ban

Admin

A federal judge temporarily blocked South Carolina’s near total abortion ban Friday barely a day after the governor signed it into law.

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act into law Thursday after it overwhelmingly passed the state’s house Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis put a 14-day temporary restraining order on the law Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Read the full story

Bill to Ban Guns Near Polling Places Heads to Virginia Gov. Northam’s Desk

The Center Square

Legislation that would prohibit most people from possessing guns near a polling place passed the Virginia Senate on Thursday and is heading to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk for his signature.

If signed into law, House Bill 2081, sponsored by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, would prohibit knowingly possessing firearms within 40 feet of the locations beginning one hour before polls are open and an hour after they close. Violation would be a Class 1 misdemeanor if convicted, which is punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine up to $2,500 or both.

Read the full story

Embattled Whitmer Declares State of Emergency During Michigan Cold Snap

Peter D'Abrosca
Whitmer MI Capitol overcast

Embattled Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), known for her strict and sometimes unconstitutional COVID-19 lockdown measures, signed an emergency order Saturday reducing commercial trucking regulations while the state faces severe winter weather. 

“As many states have been experiencing consistent extreme cold temperatures, the demand for energy has increased significantly, which has put a strain on the nation’s energy infrastructure,” a press release from Whitmer’s office said. “Michigan has experienced an abnormally high demand for propane from in-state and regional consumers, causing longer lines at propane distribution centers. In an effort to reduce this strain and ensure a consistent flow of energy, the executive order temporarily suspends restrictions on commercial driver hours to allow the immediate delivery of energy to homes and businesses.”

Read the full story

PPP Loan Tax Exemption Bills Go into Conference in Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

The General Assembly has so far failed to find middle ground for tax breaks on forgiven Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, and will now form a committee of three senators and three delegates to reconcile differences between the two chambers.

While a Senate bill calls for a $100,000 cap on income deductions claimed under PPP expenditures, the House of Delegates bill calls for only a $25,000 cap. When the two chambers considered each other’s bills, the House modified SB 1146 to a $25,000 cap, while the Senate amended HB 1935 to a $100,000 cap. After passing the modified versions, both chambers then rejected the modified versions of their original bills. On Friday, the two chambers agreed to form a conference committee to work together to create a bill that can pass both chambers.

Read the full story

As High School Football Begins, Northam Allows up to 250 Spectators at Outdoor Sports

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam released an amended Executive Order 72 that allows outdoor sports to have up to 250 spectators or 30 percent of venue capacity, whichever is less, effective Monday. The February 17 amendment modifies language that previously allowed just two guests per player, up to 30 percent of venue capacity. Indoor sports are still limited to 25 persons per field.

Read the full story

Cincinnati Border Patrol Seizes Cocaine Covered ‘Frosted Flakes’

Peter D'Abrosca

Law enforcement in Cincinnati intercepted a creatively designed ploy to smuggle drugs into the country, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release. 

“On February 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati intercepted smuggled narcotics in a shipment of cereal originating from South America,” the release said. “The shipment contained about 44 pounds of cocaine coated corn flakes, which could have a street value of up to $2,822,400.”

Read the full story

Shelby County Schools Pushes for Expanded Role of African-American History to Counter ‘Continuous and Systemic Murder’ by Police

Corinne Murdock

Members of the Shelby County School Board want to create an expanded version of African-American studies for K-12 curriculum districtwide. The proposal came from board member Stephanie Love, the District 3 representative. It argued that current curriculum has failed to remedy the negative impacts students face from the “continuous and systemic murder of African-Americans by law enforcement” and the county’s high homicide rates.

The proposal also stated that current curriculum only covers slavery and limits its scope to certain, bigger historical figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If passed, the resolution would draft an expansive K-12 curriculum by June and implement the curriculum in the fall.

Read the full story

Proposed Tennessee Valley Authority Transmission Line to Service New Facebook Data Center and Economic Development in Gallatin Will Impact Hundreds of Residential Property Owners’ Values and Raises Safety Concerns

Laura Baigert

A Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) proposed transmission line that will service the new Facebook data center and support future economic development in Gallatin will impact as many as 165 property owners representing about 225 parcels, lowering their property values and raising their concerns for safety.

TVA notified property owners affected by the proposed transmission via letters dated in mid-January, which invited them to access a virtual open house between January 21 and February 22 for further information and the opportunity comment on the project.

Read the full story

U.S. Retail Sales Jump in January in Positive Sign for Economy

Admin

The U.S. retail sales were much higher than economists projected in January, ending a multi-month streak of underperformance, according to the Commerce Department.

Retail sales increased 5.3% and totaled $568.2 billion in January, according to the Department of Commerce report released Wednesday. Economists had predicted retail sales to increase by 1.2%, The New York Times reported.

Read the full story