Commentary: Time to Confront the U.S. Capitol Police About Its January 6 Lies

The body of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick wasn’t even cold before his employer leveraged his untimely death to stoke more outrage about the events in the nation’s capital on January 6.

“At approximately 9:30 p.m. this evening . . . United States Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty,” read a press release issued January 7. “Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots [and] was injured while physically engaging with protesters.  He returned to his division office and collapsed.  He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The death of Officer Sicknick will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, the USCP, and our federal partners.”

The agency intentionally included the word “homicide” to suggest Sicknick was killed by homicidal Trump supporters. The next day, the New York Times, citing two anonymous law enforcement officials, claimed “pro-Trump rioters . . . overpowered Mr. Sicknick, 42, and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher.”

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Florida Ends Federal Pandemic Unemployment Benefits

Help wanted sign

Amid an ongoing labor shortage that has hit the service industry particularly hard, Florida has become the twenty-third state to reject the federal government’s supplemental $300 per week in COVID-19 unemployment benefits. 

“Florida will end its participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, the $300 per week supplemental FPUC payment, effective June 26, 2021, as part of DEO’s ‘Return to Work’ initiative,” the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) said in a Monday press release. 

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Georgia Election Official Gabriel Sterling Complains ‘Trump Supporter-ish Kind of People’ Behind Fulton County Vote Audit

One of Georgia’s top election officials said “Trump supporter-ish kind of people” prompted the audit of Fulton County’s absentee ballots, and he also suggested those individuals are biased and cannot inspect ballots in an honest manner. That man, Gabriel Sterling, is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s chief operating officer.

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St. Cloud Bishop Requires Vaccine for Those Participating in Church Camps, Programs

Bishop Donald J. Kettler

A St. Cloud Catholic bishop is requiring participants, including children, who attend church camps to be fully vaccinated.

Bishop Donald Kettler of the Diocese of St. Cloud sent a letter to pastors last week outlining his requirements for day camps, overnight gatherings, and similar events.

The bishop is requiring all “staff, volunteers, and participants attending these programs to be fully vaccinated as a condition of participation.” Proof of vaccination will also be required.

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Gov. Kemp Bans Vaccine Passports in Georgia

Passport

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order on Tuesday banning the use of vaccine passports throughout the state. 

The order explicitly states that no state agency, provider of state services, or state property is allowed to implement any vaccine passport program or require proof of vaccination in order to enter the premises of a location or conduct business. Additionally, vaccination will not be required to enter the state of Georgia.

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Former Trump Appointee Declares Candidacy for State Representative in Ohio’s 85th District

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Republican Nick Davis announced his State Representative candidacy for Ohio District 85 Monday.

Davis is a former Trump appointee seeking to fill a seat that will be vacated by Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) who will term out at the end of 2022. Representatives serve two-year terms and may serve no more than four consecutive terms – Vitale assumed office in 2015.

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FSU Announces Richard McCullough as New President

Earlier this week, Florida State University (FSU) announced the Board of Trustees unanimously voted for Richard McCullough to be the next president. The Florida Board of Governors still has to approve the verdict.

McCullough currently serves as Vice Provost at Harvard University, as well as being the strategic developer for the university’s research initiatives. Specifically, the university’s website dictates his role as to ““encourage, cultivate, and coordinate high impact academic research across all of Harvard’s schools and affiliated institutions.”

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Youngkin, Miyares, and Sears Call on Northam to End State of Emergency, Relax COVID-19 Business Requirements

Governor Ralph Northam has rescinded most mask requirements for fully-vaccinated people and is expected to end all social distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, but Virginia’s GOP candidates for governor, attorney general, and lieutenant governor are calling for an end to the state of emergency and COVID-19 workplace safety regulations.

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Nashville DA Refuses to Enforce Tennessee’s Transgender Bathroom Sign Law

Nashville’s District Attorney Glenn Funk won’t enforce Tennessee’s new transgender bathroom signage law, posing a direct challenge to the state legislature and Governor Bill Lee. The governor signed the bill into law last week; it will go into effect on July 1. In a statement shared with The Tennessee Star, Funk asserted that the law represents hate.

“I believe every person is welcome and valued in Nashville,” asserted Funk. “Enforcement of transphobic or homophobic laws is contrary to those values. My office will not promote hate.”

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Gov. Bill Lee Signs Bill Banning Critical Race Theory Teachings

Tennessee joined several other states on Monday in banning the teachings of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public schools throughout the state. 

The legislation, a section of a larger education bill, prohibits the teaching that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously” according to the bill. 

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Hillsdale College Launching Nashville Internship Program

Group of people talking at an internship panel

Hillsdale College, a premier conservative liberal arts institution, told The Tennessee Star that they’re launching an internship program in Nashville. According to plans shared with The Star, the college aims for these internships to be full-time and paid arrangements for freshmen, sophomores, and some juniors. Additionally, the college is arranging affordable housing, social and educational events, and transportation. Hillsdale College aims to launch the program by next summer.

Ken Koopmans, Hillsdale College’s Executive Director of Career Services, explained to The Star that the growing number of Hillsdale College graduates and opportunities in Nashville inspired the program. Nashville recently landed a top-ten ranking as one of the best-performing cities based on job growth, wage growth, high-tech GDP growth, housing affordability, and household broadband access.

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Commentary: Military, Science, and the Law Are Losing the Trust of Middle America

two individuals holding an American flag on a bridge to honor Sun Prairie’s fallen firefighter as the procession passed underneath.

Americans mostly have given up on familiar institutions for entertainment, guidance, or reassurance. What now do Hollywood, network news, the media in general, Silicon Valley, the NBA, NFL, MLB, or higher education all have in common? 

A propensity to lecture Americans on their moral inferiorities, a general ethical decline in their own disciplines, and a strange obsession to acquire great wealth while living in contrast to what they advocate for others. Add also incompetence. Movies are mostly bad now. The network news is blow-dried groupthink. There is no “paper of record” anywhere. Twitter and Facebook no longer even try to hide their politicized contortions of warped rules and twisted protocols. 

Professional athletes are now reminders of why no one ever wants to be “enlightened” by multimillionaire quarter-educated narcissists. The public a half-century ago lost faith in academia. It wasn’t just that most new bad ideas could be traced to the campus or that hothouse professors increasingly seemed both ignorant and arrogant, but rather their product—educating students—was defective. No one believes anymore a BA is synonymous with knowledge. More likely, it is a euphemism for incurring $100,000 in debt. 

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Top Economists Expect Inflation to ‘Accelerate Strongly’ in Coming Weeks

Woman shopping

Economists expect inflation to “accelerate strongly” in the coming weeks and months, but said consumer prices would eventually moderate.

The consumer price index (CPI), a common measure for inflation, is expected to rise 2.8% in 2021 and 2.3% in 2022 compared to the 1.2% increase that occurred in 2020, according to economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE).

The projection, released Monday, reflected the Federal Reserve consensus that inflation will heat up by the end of the year before cooling down as the economic recovery continues.

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Senate Republicans Expand Investigation into ‘Woke Mission Creep’ of Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve

Senate Banking Committee Republicans have expanded an investigation into regional Federal Reserve banks over their alleged “woke mission creep.”

Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee sent letters to regional Federal Reserve banks in Minneapolis, Boston and Atlanta demanding a briefing with leaders and documents related to a recent “Racism and the Economy” initiative, GOP staffers said during a press briefing Monday morning. Engaging in political advocacy is out of the Fed’s purview, the letters said.

“Of course, racism is abhorrent and has no place in our society…. I recognize the interest in studying economic disparities along demographic lines, such as race and gender,” Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey wrote in the letters sent Sunday.

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‘I Still Felt Incomplete’: Detransitioned Men, Women Describe How Frighteningly Easy it Was to Get Trans Surgeries, Hormones

Doctors room with surgeons

Multiple men and women who have detransitioned described how easy it was for them to get transgender surgeries and hormones in a new CBS segment — and how the surgeries or treatment negatively impacted them.

As lawmakers across the country introduce and pass bills focused on gender transitions, Lesley Stahl interviewed multiple medical experts and former or current transgender people who expressed fear that transgender surgeries and hormone treatments, often irreversible, are too easily attainable.

The CBS host said that the program “interviewed more than 30 detransitioners, who say they also had experienced regret, including these four, who hadn’t met before now.”

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Morgan Wallen Wins Three Awards at Billboard Music Awards, Despite Being Banned from Attending and Suspended from Label

Morgan Wallen holding guitar.

Country music star Morgan Wallen took home three awards at the Billboard Music Awards (BBMA), despite cancellation over a security camera tape recording of him uttering a racial slur. Not only was Wallen banned from attending BBMA – he was banned from the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM) and Country Music Awards (CMA). This, on top of his current indefinite suspension by his record label and removal from streaming playlists.

Wallen took home awards for Top Country Album, Top Country Artist, and Top Country Male Artist. Although, Wallen could’ve potentially won more – he received six nominations for his work. In order to earn his awards, Wallen topped chart performance from other leading artists: Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt, Chris Stapleton, and Carrie Underwood. 

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Medical Experts Raise Alarm Over Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in Children, Pregnant Women, and Those Who Already Have Antibodies

Screen capture from Fox News

Two prominent medical professionals are raising red flags over the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in children, in pregnant women, and in those who have previously caught the coronavirus and now have antibodies.  There are alarming reports in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) of healthy children dying shortly after being vaccinated, the doctors say.

Also, multiple studies are showing higher rates of adverse effects in people who have recovered from the virus, and the vaccine is not proven to be safe for pregnant women, especially those in their first trimester, according to the doctors.

Dr. Peter McCullough, an American professor of epidemiology at Baylor University, and Dr. Harvey Risch, professor at the Yale School of Public Health appeared on Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle” Thursday night to voice their concerns regarding these issues.

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Students and Parents of Columbia Prep School Decry New ‘Porn Literacy’ Class

Group of students reading

The Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City is facing widespread backlash from both students and parents after it rolled out a bizarre new class on “porn literacy,” the New York Post reports.

Junior year students at the Manhattan-based school had to attend a “health and sexuality workshop,” expecting it to be a generic sexual education class. However, the class was revealed to be officially known as “Pornography Literacy: An intersectional focus on mainstream porn,” taught by the Director of Health and Wellness at the Dalton School, Justine Fonte. The class was made mandatory, and neither students nor parents were informed about the class’s contents ahead of time, or given the option to withdraw from the class.

Fonte’s presentation to the class of roughly 120 students included explicit photos in order to determine “what is porn and what is art,” as well as a list of the most-searched keywords in porn in 2019, and the most popular sub-genres of pornography.

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Commentary: The Future We Are Leaving for Millions of Americans

Man working outside with hard hat on

It’s a joyous time of the year for millions of young Americans as they graduate high school and move on to another phase of their lives. 

But as the crisis at our southern border intensifies—thousands of illegal immigrants are flowing into the country each and every day—we need to ask ourselves what this onslaught will mean to average U.S. citizens for generations to come.

Every year about 4 million American youngsters move on from high school. On average just over 80 percent of them graduate and the others, around 760,000 each and every year, just move on. Unfortunately, the economic futures of those who don’t obtain a high school diploma are rather bleak. They are made bleaker in that this cohort of individuals will, in all likelihood, be competing for jobs against millions of illegal immigrants who are willing to work for far below market wages. 

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Over 20 Million Hold Concealed Carry Permits as Supreme Court Test Case Looms

Person shooting a hand gun in a shooting range

More than 20 million Americans currently hold a permit to carry a concealed weapon, a historically high number that comes ahead of what will likely be a landmark Supreme Court ruling regarding carry rights under the Second Amendment.

The court last month said it would take up an appeal by two U.S. gun owners on the question of whether or not the Second Amendment protects an American’s right to carry a concealed firearm. Previous court rulings have affirmed that the amendment protects the individual right of American citizens to own guns.

The concealed carry question has eluded constitutional scrutiny thus far, even as the number of Americans possessing concealed permits has soared to historic levels.

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Biden Clears Way for Russian Gas Line After Nixing Keystone XL

Joe Biden waving

Following a Biden administration move to lift U.S. sanctions blocking completion of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, critics are charging that the new president — who canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office — is more concerned about Russian energy jobs and independence than he is about America’s own.

“President BIden, if [you] can’t put America First, can you at least not put Russia first?” form Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted.

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Legal Group Intervenes After University Bars Christian Student from Classes over Refusal to Take Vaccines

Girl with mask on

A Christian nonprofit legal group has sent a letter to the University of Alabama-Birmingham after the public university blocked a student from registering for classes because she would not take vaccines.

The letter from First Liberty Institute asks university officials to follow the religious exemption it granted Jackie Gale for her first year at school. The university does not currently mandate the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Due to Ms. Gale’s religious beliefs, she cannot receive the childhood immunizations UAB requires under its immunization policy,” Christine Pratt, counsel for First Liberty, wrote in a May 13 demand letter.

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Utah Legislature Passes Resolution to Ban Critical Race Theory from Schools

House Speaker Brad Wilson

Republicans in Utah’s state legislature passed a resolution on Wednesday to instruct the state’s schools to ban Critical Race Theory from their curriculum, as reported by Breitbart.

During the vote in the Utah House of Representatives, every single Democrat walked off the floor in protest of the bill, thus allowing the legislation to pass with only Republican votes. The “House Resolution on Critical Race Theory in Public Education” was subsequently passed by the Utah Senate. Because the measure is a resolution rather than a bill, it did not need the signature of Governor Spencer Cox (R-Utah) in order to pass.

House Speaker Brad Wilson (R-Utah) said that with the resolution, the state legislature was “calling on the state school board to look at the curriculum and determine what the right parameters for this discussion to happen.”

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State Sen. Burt Jones Says Fulton County Election Audit May Require Georgia Bureau of Investigation Involvement

Georgia State Senator Burt Jones

If an audit of absentee ballots that Fulton County officials tallied during the 2020 presidential election produces any irregularities then the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) must step in, said one state legislator. State Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) told The Georgia Star News Monday that if the audit proves any irregularities than that means one or more people committed fraud in last year’s election.

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Virginia Congressional Delegation Asks Navy to Keep Ships Homeported in Hampton Roads

Virginia’s congressional delegation, led by Congressman Rob Wittman (R-Virginia-01), is warning the Navy not to forget the East Coast and Norfolk Naval Shipyard as international military and commercial dynamics draw attention to China and Russia.

“As we pivot towards the Indo-Pacific in our global force posture, it comes as no surprise that we’ve bolstered our presence on our Western Seaboard through increases in homeported ships. This increased presence is of such magnitude that San Diego has eclipsed Norfolk in the sheer number of homeported ships,” the delegation wrote in a letter to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday.

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Expanding Broadband Access in Ohio Becomes Law

Gov. Mike DeWine

Advancing broadband access across Ohio became official when Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law a bill that creates a grant program that government and business groups said is critical to economic development.

DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted signed the bill Monday at Middletown’s Amanda Elementary School, along with students, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria and Ohio Development Services Agency Director Lydia Mihalik.

“Reliable high-speed internet is a necessity for all Ohio industries, including manufacturing,” said Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers Association. “The pandemic has illuminated the need for Ohio families and businesses to efficiently access broadband in today’s technology-based economy.”

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Three Children Shot in Minneapolis, Residents Angry Over Government Inaction

As violent crime in Minneapolis continues to skyrocket, three young children were shot over the course of ten days. Prominent government officials have made no official statement regarding the violence that sent La’Davionne (10), Trinity (9), and Aniya (6) to the hospital in critical condition.

Aniya died in the hospital of her injuries on Wednesday, May 19th. The other two remain hospitalized.

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St. Paul Commission Wants City to ‘Rethink’ Police Response

Side of police car while it's raining

A St. Paul public safety committee recently called for a slew of operations to be moved out of the police department and into non-law enforcement divisions.

The St. Paul “Community-First Public Safety Commission” advised the city to “rethink” its response to certain service calls and provided specific measures to implement in traffic-stop scenarios. The commission was appointed by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and is headed by the Citizens League, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization.

The commission’s recommendations call for ending the practice of pulling people over for “motor vehicle repair notices” and “other moving violations.” Instead, police should “utilize a mailed citation,” according to the commission. Repair notices include broken lights, turn-signal malfunctions, and expired tabs, to name a few.

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DeSantis Signs New School Choice Law, Could Make Florida First in Nation

Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed an education bill that allows for greater school choice in his state.

The new law, which streamlines Florida school choice scholarship programs and expands eligibility, was touted by DeSantis at a May 11 news conference at Jacksonville Catholic School.

Children in families of four that earn less than $100,000 will be eligible for a fully funded K-12 education at the school of their choice.

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Ohio to Draw Vaccine Lottery Winner as Legislature Fights Program

Jena Powell

As Ohio readies itself to choose the first winners in its “Vax-a-Million” lottery Monday, one Republican state lawmaker is drafting a bill in opposition to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s plan. 

State Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) is writing legislation that would ban the vaccination lottery, according to multiple reports. She does not think Ohioans should be bribed with taxpayer money. 

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