Day: March 18, 2021

Following Governor Lee’s Legislation to Bar Confucius Institute in Tennessee, Reports Surface That CCP-Backed Institute Has Been Rebranding

Corinne Murdock

Governor Bill Lee’s newly-proposed legislation wants to prohibit Confucius Institutes in Tennessee – but what if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rebrands and repackages it? A new report surfaced detailing the Confucius Institute’s quiet rebranding of their K-12 Confucius Classrooms under the name “Chinese Language Partner Network.” The change occurred around August or September of last year, according to archived screenshots of the affiliated Asia Society webpage. It coincided with previous President Donald Trump’s policy for Confucius Institute transparency – which President Joe Biden revoked quietly days after inauguration. As of this report, the webpage still lists the existing Confucius classrooms under the rebranded name.

Lee’s proposed legislation, the Transparency in Foreign Investment Act, only deals with Hanban – an abbreviation for the CCP Ministry of Education’s Office of Chinese Language Council International, also known as the Confucius Institute Headquarters. The act doesn’t address Hanban’s close affiliation and, arguably, biggest assistant in expanding their reach: the Asia Society, a New York-based nonprofit that works with both the CCP and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to expand Chinese language courses in American schools. Since establishing its Confucius Classroom Network in 2010, the Asia Society has worked with Hanban to expand Confucius Classrooms.

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Commentary: Biden Administration Chooses Political Purges over National Defense

Admin

“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment,” said West Point superintendent John Schofield in 1879, condemning leaders who issue unreasonable and abusive orders. America’s military today is at risk of a different sort of tyranny: the purging of unauthorized political views.

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Biden: Cuomo Should Resign If Sexual Misconduct Allegations Are Confirmed

Admin

President Joe Biden said that Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if sexual misconduct allegations against him are confirmed to be true.

The president discussed the slew of allegations against the governor with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview Tuesday. The embattled governor is being investigated by both the state attorney general’s office for allegations of workplace sexual misconduct and by the Department of Justice for his role in knowingly undercounting the deaths of New York nursing home patients.

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Biden Admin Won’t Expel Migrant Minors Despite Running out of Places to Hold Them

Admin

The Biden administration won’t expel unaccompanied minor migrants despite holding facilities rapidly running out of room to house them, a Homeland Security Department official said Tuesday.

The U.S. is on track to see a record number of migrants at the southern border this year and officials are expelling most single adults and family units but allowing unaccompanied minors to remain in government facilities, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. Over 9,400 unaccompanied minors were apprehended in February and nearly 30,000 have been encountered since October 2020, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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Trump Tells Supporters Who Don’t Want the Coronavirus Vaccine That It’s Safe and Effective

Admin

Former President Donald Trump urged Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine Tuesday evening, touting the treatments as safe and effective in fighting the virus.

“I would recommend it,” Trump said during a Fox News interview. “And I would recommend it to a lot of people who don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.”

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Tennessee Firearms Association Warns One State Senate Bill Does Not Comply with Second Amendment

Chris Butler

Members of the Nashville-based Tennessee Firearms Association on Wednesday said members of the Tennessee General Assembly are considering three permit-less carry bills, but one of them does not fully comply with the Second Amendment. TFA Executive Director John Harris told followers by email that the bill to which he refers, Senate Bill 765, is scheduled to make its way to the Tennessee State Senate floor Thursday. The Tennessee General Assembly’s website identifies the sponsor as State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin).

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Judge in Chauvin Trial Threatens to Boot Media for ‘Irresponsible’ Reporting

Peter D'Abrosca

Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the high-profile trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, had strong words for the members of the media inside his courtroom Wednesday. 

“It’s been brought to the court’s attention that the media has been reporting specific details trying to look at counsels’ – the documents, computers, post-it notes – on counsel tables,” Cahill said. “That’s absolutely inappropriate. Any media who are in this room will refrain from even attempting to look at what is on counsel tables, either for the state or for the defense.”

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Convicted Democratic Fund-Raiser Had Secret Ties to U.S. Intelligence

Admin

Imaad Zuberi hobnobbed for two decades among America’s political elite, raising millions for Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton, texting with kings, princes, presidents and prime ministers and jet-setting with Republican senators like Lindsey Graham and John McCain.

Then Zuberi resisted pressure to cooperate in the investigation of then-President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, and the California millionaire’s world came crashing down. Late last year, he pleaded guilty to what federal prosecutors said was a “mercenary” scheme to funnel large sums of foreign money into U.S. campaign coffers so Zuberi could gain political influence and build his global business empire.

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DHS Chief Mayorkas Refuses to Call Border Surge a ‘Crisis’

Admin

Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary for homeland security, refused to call the situation at the southern U.S. border a “crisis” during a House hearing on Wednesday, even though he acknowledged earlier this week that border apprehensions are on pace to reach levels not seen in 20 years.

“Mr. Ranking Member, I’m not spending any time on the language that we use,” Mayorkas told Republican Rep. John Katko during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing when asked if the surge should be characterized as a crisis.

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Biden Leaves Key Immigration Posts Vacant Amid Border Surge

RealClearWire

There was no break-in period for the new Department of Homeland Security secretary.

Alejandro Mayorkas went from his confirmation hearing in the Senate to confronting a surge of migrants along the southern border almost immediately, and while the new DHS chief won’t call the current situation a crisis, he did announce Tuesday that the nation is on track to record the highest number of apprehensions in over two decades.

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Commentary: Can We Save Our College Students from the Woke Left?

Admin

Recent college graduate Davis Soderberg of St. Charles, MO is sounding the alarm about the extent to which the Left has a stranglehold on college campuses across the country.

“If you were to walk into a college classroom, you could quickly identify which students were the liberals and which students were the conservatives,” explained Soderberg, who recently graduated from a public university in Virginia. “The liberals are always the most outspoken because they know their viewpoint is protected and is always favored. It was favored by a majority of their classmates and the professors, which is really scary because students look to the professor as sort of an intellectual higher being.”

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Dead Missouri Measure to Cut Loathed Personal Property Taxes Revived

The Center Square

The Missouri Senate Monday night rejected a proposed five-year phase-out of the state’s property tax that could have saved state taxpayers nearly $1.5 billion by 2027.

On Thursday, the measure was resurrected as a proposal to make any increases in the personal property tax rate the same percentage as any real property tax rate hikes approved by counties, among a bevy of other provisions.

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Commentary: HR1 Threatens Election Integrity

RealClearWire

Much ink has been spilled warning of the ramifications should Democrats pass their election “reform” package, HR1 — and for good reason, given how the bill would upend our nation’s electoral system. Democrats claim HR1 is aimed at maximizing voter participation and ending corruption in our election systems, but the truth is that the legislation would do neither. Instead, it will only serve to open up our states’ elections to fraud and public mistrust at a time when we need to bolster voter confidence. Let’s look at just a few of the many areas where HR1 would nationalize elections and cancel out state integrity and confidence-building measures.

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Tennessee Construction Industry Opposes Metro Nashville Legislation to ‘Radically Change’ Construction Standards

Corinne Murdock

Metro Nashville City Council is considering the imposition of sweeping regulations over construction, specifically the procurement code and industry standards. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Greater Tennessee Chapter issued a press release formally opposing the legislation. 

In part, the bill would extend direct employment to all temporary workers that are hired onto a Metro Nashville project for at least 30 days. It would also require that all contractors allow Metro-appointed, third-party entities to ensure compliance with the bill. 

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Four Suspects on the FBI’s Terror Watchlist Arrested at the Border Since October

Admin

Since October, four terrorists who are on the FBI’s terror watchlist have been arrested trying to sneak across the southern border, as reported by Fox News.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed the news to Congress on Tuesday, revealing that three of the detained terrorists were from Yemen, while the fourth is from Serbia. This is down slightly from the fiscal year 2018, where six members on the terror watchlist, from Yemen and Bangladesh, were arrested at the border.

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Police Group Urges Minneapolis Leaders to Take Action on Autonomous Zone

Admin

The National Police Association (NPA) is calling on the city of Minneapolis to attend to its residents who live in or near the “autonomous zone” located at George Floyd Square.

“What the neighbors are saying, in the residential area, is that after darkness falls, criminals are using it to freely commit crimes, deal drugs, things like that, and they’re extremely frustrated,” NPA spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired sergeant, said in an interview with Fox News.

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Virginia Gov. Northam Restores Civil Rights to 69,000 Felons

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam announced the restoration of civil rights, including voting rights, to 69,000 felons. In the Tuesday announcement, Northam said would restore the rights for anyone who had been released from incarceration.

“Too many of our laws were written during a time of open racism and discrimination, and they still bear the traces of inequity,” Northam said in a press release.

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Michigan Democrat Falsely Links Georgia Shootings to Anti-Asian Racism

Peter D'Abrosca

A Democrat Congressman from Michigan falsely linked Tuesday’s deadly shootings at three massage parlors in Georgia to anti-Asian racism, a motive specifically ruled out by police Wednesday morning. 

“The surge in anti-Asian hate crimes is horrifying and unacceptable. We all play a role in supporting the [Asian American Pacific Islander] community. I’m glad the House passed a resolution to condemn racism against Asian Americans. The tragedy in Atlanta requires us all to speak out to #StopAsianHate,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI-05) said on Twitter. 

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Ohio’s Joe Blystone Determined to Take on Establishment in Bid for Governor

Jack Windsor

In February, Franklin County farmer Joe Blystone announced his GOP candidacy for Governor of the State of Ohio.

Like South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem, Blystone is a rancher and small business owner who believes in medical freedom and opposed mandatory mask orders during Ohio’s COVID response. Unlike Noem, his bid for governor is his first political contest.

Blystone has given himself the moniker “Constitutional Republican” and calls himself “a man of the people who don’t have a voice anymore.”

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Tennessee House Moves on Gender Transition Bill: Prepubescent Minors Prohibited, Postpubescent Minors Granted with Three Physician Recommendations

Corinne Murdock

Tennessee legislators are moving to ban prepubescent gender transitions, and limit postpubescent minors’ eligibility for gender transitions. The Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted to recommend the bill for passage on Wednesday. State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) introduced the bill.

In addition to prohibiting all gender transitions for prepubescent minors, the bill would allow gender transitions for postpubescent minors only with the consent of their parents and recommendation of three doctors, the third doctor being a child psychiatrist. Exceptions for gender transition treatments would be made for those with any confirmed diagnosis of abnormal genitalia, genetic anomalies, physical disease with life-threatening consequences in the absence of intervention, and an accident irreparably mutilating genitalia. 

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