Tennessee Senate Killed ‘Anti-Riot’ Bill Protecting Drivers Who Unintentionally Hit Protestors Blocking Roads

After passage in the House, the Tennessee Senate killed a bill protecting drivers who hit protestors unintentionally and heightening charges for protestors blocking roads. The Senate deferred the bill to summer study last Tuesday. Prior to that, the legislation struggled to move forward in the Senate after action was deferred or delayed several times in committee.

The Tennessee Star reported in early March that State Representative Ron Gant (R-Rossville), the bill sponsor, called the legislation an “anti-riot” bill.

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FDLE Ends Investigation of Mike Bloomberg $16 Million Donation

Mike Bloomberg

After months of controversy regarding voter fraud allegations and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg during the 2020 presidential election, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) ended its investigation regarding the $16 million donation made by Bloomberg to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) in September 2020.

The investigation was requested by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody along with other elected officials in Florida to expose what they thought was an illegal attempt to persuade people whose voting rights were restored through the FRRC to vote Democrat in the presidential election.

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Commentary: The U.S. Military Is Just Another Woke Institution

The backsides of American soldiers in uniform

Tucker Carlson spurred a much-needed reexamination of the military in March. His monologue criticizing the military’s political correctness drew a more furious response from top brass than any foreign threat is likely to do. The generals’ response only affirmed Tucker’s points about the degraded state of our armed forces. Why do generals—both current and retired—feel the need to condemn civilians who question the wisdom of putting women in combat?

The answer is that the military, along with the entire national security establishment, is at one with the Democrat-Media complex. The image we have of generals and senior officers as defenders of tradition is wildly out of step with reality.

This fact is underscored by its contrast with a letter issued in France last week. The letter—signed by 20 retired generals, 80 officers, and 1,000 lower-ranking soldiers—was stridently right-wing. “The hour is late, France is in peril, threatened by several mortal dangers,” the letter states. Though retired, we remain soldiers of France, and cannot, under the present circumstances, remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.”

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Metro Nashville Council Adopted Legislation to Preserve Local Music Venues

Crowd at a live concert

The Metro Nashville City Council adopted a resolution to inventory all of Nashville’s music venues in order to preserve and support them. The council took less than a week to adopt the resolution after its initial introduction – no council members voted against it. Nashville Mayor John Cooper approved the resolution on Thursday.

The sale of the historic music venue Exit/In largely prompted creation of the resolution. As The Tennessee Star reported, the current Exit/In owners are skeptical about the purchasers’ promises to preserve the venue.

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Disney Pushes ‘Critical Race Theory’ in Employee Training Materials

Walt Disney Cinderella's castle

A new report claims the Walt Disney Company is pushing “critical race theory” on its employees as part of an internal training program, teaching them “race consciousness” and other concepts to address “systemic racism” in the U.S.

Manhattan Institute fellow Christopher Rufo on Friday published what he says are a “trove of whistleblower documents” detailing a program titled “Reimagine Tomorrow.”

Rudo also provides in his report what he says are primary-source documents that appear to be pages of a training manual.

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West Point Probed for Allegations It’s Pushing Critical Race Theory on Cadets

West Point Military Academy

A U.S. congressman is seeking transparency from West Point Military Academy after hearing complaints regarding elements of critical race theory present in its training curriculum.

Rep. Mike Waltz, a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to West Point leaders requesting copies of teaching materials provided at West Point after receiving complaints from various families and cadets.

In a phone interview with The College Fix, the Florida Republican explained that many families of West Point cadets come from military or law enforcement backgrounds, saying “they found it incredibly divisive.”

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Conservative Hispanic Leaders Explain Why Texas Voters Are Shifting Republican

The Republican party in Texas is drawing Hispanic voters disillusioned by the Democratic party’s extreme values, two female Hispanic Republican leaders with Democratic backgrounds told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

South Texas saw both a liberal decline and a conservative surge during the 2020 election, the New York Times reported, a surge that has emboldened Republicans hoping to win in Latino communities throughout the United States. Hispanic female Republicans are stepping up to the plate, the publication reported.

“I am starting to see this need to connect with the Hispanic community and let them know nationwide that it’s the Republican party that offers opportunities,” Adrienne Pena-Garza, chair of the Hidalgo County Republican Party, told the DCNF.

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South Carolina, Montana to Stop Providing Pandemic-Related Welfare

"Come in, we're open" business sign

The states of South Carolina and Montana have both decided in recent days to put an end to their handouts of federal unemployment benefits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in an effort to encourage residents to return to the workforce, as per CNN.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) said in his announcement that “incentives matter, and the vast expansion of federal unemployment benefits is now doing more harm than good. We need to incentivize Montanans to return to the workforce.” Instead, Governor Gianforte announced that the state government will be providing $1,200 checks as bonuses to every citizen who returns to work, using the state’s share of the recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package to pay for it.

In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) announced on Thursday that the state would be ending their share of federal unemployment benefits, since “what was intended to be a short-term financial assistance for the vulnerable and displaced during the height of the pandemic has turned into a dangerous federal entitlement, incentivizing and paying workers to stay at home rather than encouraging them to return to the workplace.”

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Adjunct Professor Berated Student After Student Suggested That Police Officers Are Heroes

Student Braden Ellis with adjunct professor on Zoom

An adjunct professor berated a student in her class after he expressed support for law enforcement.

Cypress College student Braden Ellis delivered a presentation about cancel culture during a Zoom communications class. In a phone interview with Campus Reform, Ellis affirmed The Daily Wire’s report that he had been discussing the attempted cancellation of “Paw Patrol” during the presentation.

“So you brought up the police in your speech a few times. So, what is your main concern?” asked the adjunct professor. “Since, I mean, honestly… the issue is systemic. Because the whole reason we have police departments in the first place, where does it stem from? What’s our history? Going back to what [another classmate] was talking about, what does it stem from? It stems from people in the south wanting to capture runaway slaves.”

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Baltimore’s Top Prosecutor Asks FCC Investigate Fox Affiliate Over Negative Coverage, Tucker Carlson’s Show

Marilyn Mosby

Baltimore’s top prosecutor requested a federal investigation into a Fox affiliate for being critical of her and having ties to Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” among other allegations.

Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office accused Fox affiliate WBFF-TV of dishonesty, bias and racism in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday. Mosby’s office argued that language included in the outlet’s coverage of the city attorney is “inflammatory against the safety of an elected official” and therefore violates federal statute.

“There appears to be an intentional crusade against State’s Attorney Mosby, which given today’s politically charged and divisive environment, is extremely dangerous,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office Communications Director Zy Richardson wrote in the letter addressed to Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

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Commentary: The Death Spiral of Academia

Library with several people at library tables, working.

On March 1, Eric Kaufmann published a remarkably detailed and comprehensive study of bias in academia, “Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship.” Kaufmann’s writing is a product of California’s Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, a small think tank set up to do research forbidden in today’s Academy. His research uncovering rampant leftist political bias in publication, employment, and promotion in the academy—and discrimination against anything right-of-center—qualifies as that kind of work.

In the academy, the free interchange of competing ideas creates knowledge through cooperation, disagreement, debate, and dissent. Kaufmann finds that the last three are severely suppressed and punished. This repression’s pervasiveness may be a death sentence for science, free inquiry, and the advancement of knowledge in our universities.

I am led to that dire conclusion because there doesn’t appear to be any way for universities to prevent it. No solution can arise from within the academy, as it self-selects lifetime faculty that are largely left-wing, making promotion of dissidents highly unlikely. Kaufmann demonstrates profoundly systemic discrimination by leftist faculty against their colleagues who disagree with them politically.

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Wyoming Becomes Latest State to Ban Vaccine Passports

People walking in airport

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday issued a directive blocking state agencies from using vaccine passports.

The directive requires state agencies, boards and commissions to “provide full access to state spaces and state services, regardless of a constituent’s COVID-19 vaccination status.”

The directive also urges local governments and private businesses to align their policies and practices with the state.

“Vaccine passport programs have the potential to politicize a decision that should not be politicized,” Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement. “They would divide our citizens at a time when unity in fighting the virus is essential, and harm those who are medically unable to receive the vaccine. While I strongly encourage Wyomingites over the age of 16 to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it is a personal choice based upon personal circumstances.”

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Commentary: Cancer Screenings Plummeted in 2020 But the Results Are Grim

Patient receiving cancer screening

At Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Teresa Ruvalcaba was suffering on a cold January night. For months, she had tried to avoid thinking about the inflammation blooming in her chest, but the pain could no longer be ignored. So finally she had asked her 24-year-old son Sergio to drive her to the hospital.

Laying in the emergency room, the 48-year-old factory worker was a frightful sight for doctors.

“[Teresa’s] right breast [had] swollen to nearly twice the size of her left, the skin so thick and dimpled that the doctor examining her would note that it resembled an orange peel,” writes journalist Duaa Eldeib.

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Republicans Debate Breaking up Big Tech After Trump’s Facebook Suspension

Smart phone with Facebook etched out

Many Republicans in Congress have reignited their calls to break up the big tech companies after Facebook announced last week they would maintain the suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account.

A new poll released by Rasmussen Friday found that 59% of likely voters “believe operators of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are politically biased in the decisions they make” with only 26% disagreeing. The rest are unsure.

The poll results went on to say that “a majority of voters now favor ending legal protections for social media companies.” The reported public opinion against the tech giants comes the same week Facebook announced they would keep Trump suspended from their platform, citing his alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

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Jason Miyares Wins Republican Attorney General Nomination by Narrow Margin

Delegate Jason Miyares (R-Virginia Beach) secured the Republican nomination for Attorney General of Virginia late Sunday evening. Miyares narrowly defeated Virginia Beach attorney Chuck Smith in a convention ballot that went for three rounds. Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Member Leslie Haley was eliminated in the first round, followed by Northern Virginia attorney Jack White in the second round.

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Facebook Permanently Blacklists LifeSite News

The pro-life news website LifeSiteNews has been removed from Facebook accusing the group of violating policies regarding COVID-19.

According to reports Facebook permanently blacklisted the LifeSite’s page over “false information about COVID-19” and “vaccine discouraging information.”

Via LifeSite News:

In a quick series of notices and emails to LifeSiteNews’ marketing department, Facebook delivered the shocking news, accusing LifeSite of publishing “false information about COVID-19 that could contribute to physical harm.”

Facebook also said that they deplatform Facebook pages that publish “vaccine discouraging information on the platform.”

Facebook cited an article posted on April 10, 2021, headlined “COVID vaccines can be deadly for some.”

“Much like when LifeSite was removed from YouTube, this comes with little surprise,” noted LifeSiteNews Marketing Director Rebekah Roberts. “We have known this day was coming for months now.”

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Governor DeSantis Signs Bill Raising Smoking, Vaping Age

Jackie Toledo

On Friday, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that will establish a regulatory framework for the sale of electronic cigarettes. The bill (SB 1080), which will take effect Oct. 1, will also raise the state’s legal age to vape and smoke tobacco to 21. In 2019, Congress passed legislation raising the federal age limit to 21.

House sponsor Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, said during the debate over the bill that it is aimed at preventing minors from using electronic cigarettes.

“This bill is necessary to stop youth vaping,” Toledo said. “This legislation is a step in the right direction, demonstrating Florida’s commitment to work with regulators and stakeholders to combat underage use.”

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Minnesota School District Adopts Black Lives Matter Slogan as Privileged ‘Government Speech’

BLM protest

Many schools promote racial justice slogans such as Black Lives Matter. But one district in Minnesota has gone a step further, adopting several slogans as uniquely privileged “official government speech” tacitly exempt from challenge by dissenting opinion ordinarily protected under the First Amendment.

Rochester Public Schools board members unanimously approved a sweeping resolution that authorizes the superintendent to promote the slogans Black Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter, Indigenous Lives Matter, All Are Welcome Here, and Stop Asian Hate.

The official is directed to take all actions “that further the objectives” of the resolution, including by approving “messaging, signage, and visuals” for the slogans. The district also adopted the six-color “pride flag” as government speech to support “a message of inclusion” within schools.

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Georgia Passes Bill to Let College Athletes Get Paid for Utilization of ‘Name, Image, or Likeness’

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed legislation that will allow athletes at higher educational institutions to get paid for the utilization of their “name, image, or likeness.”

The bill, which is slated to go into effect on July 1, 2021, states that “participation in intercollegiate athletics should not infringe upon the rights of student athletes to have control over and profit from the commercial use of their name, image, or likeness.”

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Commentary: Chase Concedes, Snyder Confident After RPV Convention

Amanda Chase

State Senator Amanda Chase (I-Chesterfield) is the first of the GOP candidates to concede the gubernatorial contest to Pete Snyder by means of fusillade, threatening a third-party run due to “clear corruption” should the election go Snyder’s way.

Clearly there is a great deal of anger here. And perhaps a confession of sorts that Chase knew she wasn’t going into this convention with either strength or confidence in her ability to turn out.

But it’s not the anger of someone who had something stolen from them. This tweet alone is a violation of the RPV Party Plan. This is someone who refuses to accept any outcome other than the one that anoints them as a victor — Republicans don’t behave like Democrats.

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Business Fairness Act Would Allow Ohio Businesses to Stay Open During Emergencies

Mike DeWine

Ohio businesses would be able to continue to operate during a public health emergency if a bill passed by the Ohio House clears the Senate and is signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

House Bill 215 would require businesses to comply with safety standards from government orders or regulations to stay open, but it does provide an avenue to keep businesses up in running in times of emergency.

“Small business owners had their worlds turned upside down when they were forced to shut down last year,” Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, said. “Getting this bill signed into law will send a strong message that Ohio will remain open for business and keep our economy moving forward.”

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Michigan House Oversight Committee Considers Legislation to Ban Vaccine Passports

Mask on passport Vaccination card on blue background

The Michigan House Oversight Committee convened Thursday to discuss a bill that aims to ban vaccination passports, sparking heated debate on the topic.

The committee specifically focused its discussion on House Bill 4667. Introduced by bill sponsor Rep. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, the bill would prohibit “a governmental entity from producing, issuing or providing an incentive for a COVID-19 vaccination passport.”

However, the meeting also prompted testimony from a variety of guests who defended their personal decisions to not receive any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines. Most cited the Federal Drug Administration’s emergency authorization of the vaccines does not equate to the agency’s explicit approval.

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New Ballot Initiative Law Challenged in Federal Court

One day after Governor DeSantis signed a bill related to ballot initiatives, a federal lawsuit was filed on Saturday seeking to have the new law ruled invalid.

The new law limits individual contributions to groups promoting ballot initiatives to $3,000. The limit is in effect until the Florida Supreme Court approves the placement of an initiative on the ballot. In Florida, voters can change the constitution by getting proposals approved for the ballot and then receiving over 60-percent of support during an election.

Republicans who supported the legislation, argued it was needed to keep special interest money from influencing the initiatives that voters see on the ballot.

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‘Backpack Bill’ Would Offer School-Choice Scholarships to All Ohio Students

Rep. Riordan McClain

Ohio school-choice advocates are applauding a bill introduced in the Ohio House they say empowers families to choose the best education options for their children.

The “Backpack Bill” became part of the debate on a proposed new education funding formula and would ensure each child in Ohio would be eligible for a scholarship to attend the K-12 school or their choice.

“Ohio lawmakers should be focusing on funding teachers and students, not buildings and bureaucrats,” said Aaron Baer, president for the Center of Christian Virtue, formerly known as Citizens for Community Values. “The Backpack Bill will ensure every Ohio student is able to access the education that best meets his or her needs.”

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Rogue Staff at Tennessee Department of Human Resources Goes Woke

Without telling anybody, at least not in a straightforward matter, the Tennessee Department of Human Resources’ (DOHR) leadership staff this year snuck in a diversity and equity council program that they want state agencies to enforce. Gov. Bill Lee, according to the DOHR’s 2020 Annual Report, told Commissioner Juan Williams in June of last year “to build a framework for strengthening efforts around the employee experience in our workplace.”

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