Day: November 7, 2021

National Constitution Bee Winner Braeden Farley Appears on Fox and Friends Weekend

Cooper Moran

Braeden Farley, winner of the 2021 National Constitution Bee, on Sunday appeared on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends Weekend Edition.

Farley, a homeschooled senior from Spring Hill, Tennessee, discussed the specifics of the competition and key details of how he was successful.

“So the Constitution Bee is centric on the idea of having students who understand the Constitution and can speak about it in a knowledgeable way. We had a textbook that we had to study, and obviously, you read the Constitution a few times yourself. And you had to be familiar with a lot of that content. That’s the main idea of the Constitution Bee,” the student explained to the hosts.

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Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Requests $59M Increase in Next Year’s Budget

The Center Square
Gov. Bill Lee

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation requested a $59 million budget increase in its budget hearing this week with Gov. Bill Lee and advisers.

The request includes $24.9 million for a career path initiative that will assist with recruitment and retention of staff, an issue many government agencies cited in hearings this week.

TBI’s proposal also included requests for $11.7 million for one-time training and equipment and $10.2 million to hire forensic services positions, including $5.65 million in recurring expenses and $4.5 million in one-time expenses.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: 2021 Lessons for Republicans

Admin
Man in camo holding an American flag

The 2021 elections are filled with key lessons for Republicans.

Vice President Kamala Harris had already warned in a Virginia visit late in the campaign that “what happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens in 2022, 2024 and on.”

If Republicans learn the lessons of 2021 – and apply them to 2022 and 2024 – they can prove Harris was truly prophetic.

It is already clear that the Democrats’ power structure in Washington has learned nothing. In 2009, after losing Virginia and New Jersey, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through Obamacare four days later. Remember, she said cheerfully “Congress [has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” 

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Texas Officials Have Arrested over 8,500 Illegal Migrants Since Gov. Abbott Launched Operation Lone Star

Admin

Texas law enforcement officials have made more than 8,520 criminal arrests of illegal migrants since Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday.

Around 1,600 of the arrests were for criminal trespassing and about 6,800 felony charges were filed against illegal migrants from the time Abbott’s directive was issued through Oct. 28, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Press Secretary Ericka Miller told the DCNF.

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Commentary: Financial Stability Is Key to Being Able to Leave Job for Refusing Vaccine Mandate

Admin
Joshua Mawhorter

Until recently, I was a California teacher working in two charter schools, one as a full-time classroom teacher of Government/Economics and sometimes U.S. History, and the other as a part-time independent study teacher who assists families with a program primarily based around homeschooling. I have taught for about five years and love teaching.

Last week, I was fired from one school and put on unpaid administrative leave at the other because of my refusal either to take and demonstrate proof of the COVID-19 vaccine or test weekly. I even filed a religious exemption stating the following that was rejected:

“As a committed follower of Christ, I religiously and philosophically cannot submit to either a government vaccine mandate or weekly testing.

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Coronavirus Is Fading as the Top Issue on Americans’ Minds, Polls Show

Admin

COVID-19 is taking a back seat when it comes to the economy, education and more, recent polls show.

In a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, only about 12% of American adults surveyed said they would list public health issues, which include COVID-19, as a top priority, below economic issues like the job market and inflation. The poll also showed 73% of respondents saying political leaders should focus on growing jobs and the economy and two-thirds of voters, including a majority of both Republicans and Democrats, agreeing that “inflation is a very big concern for me.”

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Republicans Vow to Fight White House Plan to Pay Migrants Who Entered Country Illegally

The Center Square
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the McAllen station encounter large group after large group of family units in Los Ebanos, Texas, on Friday June 15. This group well in excess of 100 family units turned themselves into the U.S. Border Patrol, after crossing the border illegally and walking through the town of Los Ebanos.

Congressional Republicans say they will fight a White House plan to pay up to $450,000 in reparations to migrants separated from their families under the Trump administration after entering the country illegally.

After The Wall Street Journal reported on the plan earlier this week, President Joe Biden called the report “garbage,” only to be corrected by his spokesperson the next day.

At issue is former President Donald Trump’s policy of prosecuting all adults who entered the country illegally, in accordance with federal immigration law, including those with children. The Biden administration rescinded the policy, along with many other immigration enforcement efforts.

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James O’Keefe Speaks Out After FBI Raids Homes of Project Veritas Journalists

Admin

On November 4, the FBI raided the apartments and houses of Project Veritas Journalists and former journalists, Veritas founder James O’Keefe announced in a video online Friday. [The FBI raided O’Keefe’s apartment early Saturday morning. See update below].

Project Veritas is a non-profit journalism enterprise that “investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions” in an effort to hold the powerful to account and achieve a more ethical society.

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Job Creators Network Calls for Reversal of Biden Vaccine Mandate Following Judicial Ruling

Cooper Moran

The Job Creators Network (JCN) on Saturday called for a complete reversal of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, after members of the federal judiciary blocked the measure.

A three judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a temporary stay against the broad mandate, citing “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate”

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Virginia Attorney General-Elect Commits to Investigating Sexual Assaults in Loudoun Schools

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Virginia’s Republican Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares said during a press conference Thursday that he plans to investigate Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) and the recent sexual assaults that took place on its campuses.

“Do you plan to investigate Loudoun County Public Schools and the recent sexual assaults that have happened there?” a journalist asked during the press conference.

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Report: Hospital ERs Swamped with People Reporting Blood Clots, Heart Problems, Tingling Arms

Admin

Hospitals worldwide are being swamped with patients suffering from serious illnesses that are not believed to be COVID-related. Health officials say that the phenomenon is due to people avoiding visits to the doctor during the pandemic, and paying for it later. Others say that emergency rooms are filling up with people with vaccine injuries.

Mark McGowan, the premier of Western Australia said in a recent interview that the country is seeing a huge uptick in hospitalizations, and no one knows why.

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North Carolina Adopts New Congressional Map That Favors Republicans

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The North Carolina General Assembly on Thursday finalized the state’s new U.S. House map that gives Republicans a distinct advantage over Democrats.

The map creates 10 safe Republican seats, three safe Democratic seats and one competitive seat, up from the current 8-5 map now. North Carolina is the only state where the legislature has full control over the redistricting process, meaning that the new lines can skirt what would be an all but certain veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and go into effect.

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Report: Trump to Attend Masters Fundraiser, Joins Arizona GOP Senate Primary Fight

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump is expected to attend a November 10 fundraiser for Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters at the president’s Palm Springs, Florida, Mar-A-Largo resort, according to media reports.

Trump has not made an endorsement yet in the race, but the president’s attendance at the event hosted by billionaire Peter A. Thiel is a clear sign an endorsement is in the offering.

Masters is a Thiel protégé and the chief financial officer of the Thiel Capital, the German-born PayPal co-founder’s family investing vehicle.

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Republicans, Democrats Still at Odds over Ohio Congressional Maps

The Center Square
Thomas West and Rob McColley

Ohio’s effort to redraw congressional districts bounced back to the General Assembly, where Democrats are calling the Republican proposal heavily gerrymandered and against the wishes of Ohioans who voted for reform in 2018.

State Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, however, said the Republican proposal meets state constitutional requirements.

“It is the product of a deliberate effort to draw compact districts, while keeping Ohio’s largest cities whole,” McColley said in sponsor testimony.

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Minnesota Lawmakers to Push for Legalized Sports Betting Next Session

The Center Square

Surrounded by states that have legalized sports betting, some Minnesota lawmakers will push to create additional tax revenue and entertainment next session.

Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, held a press conference to announce his plan to pursue legalized sports betting.

“Minnesotans deserve the chance to engage in safe and legal sports betting right here in Minnesota,” Stephenson said. “That is why I am announcing I will lead an effort to legalize sports betting during the next regular session of the Legislature.”

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International Visitors to Flood Arizona After Borders Reopen

The Center Square
Arizona-Mexico border

Arizona’s businesses are soon to get a shot in the arm from COVID-19 vaccinated international visitors as the U.S. reopens its borders to leisure travel. 

The Biden administration will reopen the country’s borders Monday for nonessential travel. The opening marks 18 months of borders closed to nonessential travel because of COVID-19 restrictions. 

The decision was announced in October. It does not apply to illegal border crossings.

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Minnesota Teachers Union Wants State Holiday to Vaccinate Kids

Admin

Education Minnesota, the state’s far-left teachers union, wants lawmakers in St. Paul to “consider a state holiday for vaccinating students.”

Denise Specht, president of the union, thinks all eligible children should be vaccinated unless they have a “rare and legitimate medical reason” for not getting the shot.

“State and local leaders must be bold in their efforts to make this vaccine available to every student, no matter where they live or how much money they have,” she said.

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Tenure Proposal Raises Concerns with Florida’s Public Universities

Casey Owens

A proposal that threatens employment protections for tenured professors is becoming a concern as it circulates throughout Florida’s public universities. 

If the proposal is approved, it would make the process of dismissing veteran faculty members easier by establishing a “comprehensive review process” for professors every five years that ultimately puts their employment in the hands of a university provost.

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Michigan Redistricting Committee Ignores Lawyer’s Advice, Votes to ‘Interpret’ Map Rules

The Center Square
Citizens gather for a meeting to draw out Congressional maps

The Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) ignored advice from its lawyer when it voted Thursday to limit when commissioners can submit individual maps.

It’s unclear if the vote conflicts with its Constitutional amendment.

Commissioners argued for more than an hour about Constitutional requirements before approving several motions as they pushed proposed collaborative maps.

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Minnesota High School Threatens Suspension for Students Participating in Walkout Opposing Sexual Abuse of Students

Hayley Feland

A high school in Zimmerman, Minnesota threatened students with suspension who participated in a walk out on Friday opposing the sexual abuse of students. Sarah Ronchak, with Open Schools USA, told The Minnesota Sun that the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault was allowed back into the classroom during his trial. Two girls that he abused now have to see him in the hallways every day.

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Voters in Mathews, Middlesex, and Nottoway Vote to Keep Confederate Monuments

Eric Burk

Three Virginia counties voted against referenda to remove local confederate monuments, continuing a pattern begun in 2020 when voters in six counties also voted to keep their monuments. Mathews County voted resoundingly against removal, 80.06 percent to 19.94 percent. Middlesex County voted 77.31 percent against removal, and Nottoway County voted 67.84 percent against removal.

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Sumner County Using Redistricting to Make Unprecedented Changes to County Commission Structure

Laura Baigert
Sumner County schools virtual meeting

The Sumner County Board of Commissioners is using redistricting required every 10 years following completion of the U.S. census in 2020 to potentially make significant and unprecedented changes to the county commission districts.

Sumner County currently has 12 county commission districts with two commissioners per district, but redistricting has opened the door to making 24 districts with one commissioner per district.

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