Month: February 2022

Former Brigadier General Kurt Winstead Formally Announces Candidacy for TN-5, Joining a Crowded GOP Field

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Brigadier General Kurt Winstead has formally announced his candidacy for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, entering the Republican primary.

Winstead formally joins the Republican field that includes former Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell, businessman Baxter Lee, Natisha Brooks, California native Robby Starbuck, and recent Tennessee immigrant and former State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus. Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles has not yet announced whether his will enter the race or not.

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Argues at Supreme Court Defending Public Charge Rule Regarding Green Cards and Welfare

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich led a lawsuit with 12 other attorneys general against the Biden administration for dropping the Public Charge rule implemented in 2018 underneath the Trump administration, which ended up at the Supreme Court on Wednesday for oral arguments. The Public Charge rule made noncitizens ineligible for green cards if they are receiving public assistance, which was U.S. policy for over 100 years. 

“The United States is indeed the land of the free and of industrious immigrants, but it is not a welfare state,” said Brnovich in a statement about Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco. “The Biden Administration has once again caved to far-left groups attempting to erase a common-sense law that we’ve had in various forms for more than 100 years.”

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Ruling Prompts Pennsylvania Senate Legislation to Limit Court’s Redistricting Power

Bradley Vasoli
Senator David G. Argall

One day after Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision imposing a Democrat-favored congressional map, state Senator David Argall (R-Mahanoy City) is legislating to limit similar future rulings.

Argall, who chairs the Senate State Government Committee, has asked colleagues to cosponsor a measure disallowing any congressional-district plan ordered by a court to remain in effect after the election cycle for which it was enacted.

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Commentary: U.S.-Bound Migrants in Southern Mexico Are Counseled on Controversial ‘Repressed Memories’

Admin

by James Varney   Two United Nations-sponsored groups in southern Mexico are reportedly coaching immigrants arriving there on “repressed memories” that would allow them to gain asylum cards in Mexico for passage northward and then illegal entry into the United States. Both the Jesuit Society of Refugees and an outfit called Fray Matias de Cordova, based in the Mexican city of Tapachula near the border with Guatemala, are advertising “psychological” help in store windows there, according to Todd Bensman, a security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors greater restrictions on immigration. At these sessions, in which thousands of immigrants have reportedly participated, people are helped to recover memories of alleged trauma they suffered in their home countries, Enrique Vidal of Fray Matias de Cordova told Bensman during a visit to the southern region last month. By claiming they are victims of such abuses, immigrants can qualify for asylum in Mexico even if, as in many cases, their initial application on economic hardship grounds has been rejected. “With their newfound memories of more eligible claims,” Bensman wrote for his organization’s website, “the immigrants get asylum (a term many use interchangeably with refugee status) and Mexican residency cards, which many then promptly use to…

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Free at Last: Jailed Minnesota Bistro Owner Lisa Hanson Tells The Minnesota Sun Why She Launched State Senate Run

Neil W. McCabe

The owner of the now-closed Interchange Wine and Coffee Bistro told The Minnesota Sun why she is running for state Senate after serving 90 days in the Freeborn County jail for violating Democratic Governor Timothy J. Walz’s ban on indoor dining service.

“The reaction to my declaration of my run for Senate has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Melissa “Lisa” Hanson in an exclusive interview.

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State Sen. Chase Presents Data About 2020 Election to Virginia Attorney General Miyares’ Office; Republicans and Democrats Kill Her Effort to Fund a Full Forensic Audit of the Election

Eric Burk

Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) told senators Thursday that she had delivered information about the 2020 election to Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office on Tuesday. She pushed several budget amendment that would have spent millions of dollars on investigations both into the 2020 election and on future elections, but her amendments received vigorous opposition from Democrats and feeble support from Republicans.

“We presented quite a bit of data and information, our team did, to the attorney general’s office the day before yesterday, and one of their comments was that they need more time and more resources to do that investigation,” Chase said during debate over budget amendments.

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Awards $25 Million in Milwaukee-Area ‘Neighborhood Investment Fund Grants’

Cooper Moran

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Thursday announced a new grant for Milwaukee and Milwaukee County that will award approximately $25 million to the region.

The money, which was awarded to the state through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will go to affordable housing and other issues in the region. For example, child care services and libraries will see a boost in funding.

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School District Funds Paid for Employees to Attend Equality Florida Conference

Steve Stewart

Expense records indicate that school district funds were used to pay for a Leon County school district employees to attend the “All Together Now” (ATN) conference sponsored by Equality Florida.

Equality Florida is a left-wing progressive group that advocates for LGBTQ issues and was recently in the news for attacking Governor Ron DeSantis via television advertisements. The group is registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is also affiliated with the Equality Florida Action PAC . The PAC is touted as the “largest organization in Florida devoted to electing pro-equality candidates to all levels of government.”

The PAC also endorses candidates which are  overwhelmingly Democrats. For example, during the 2020 election cycle the Equality Florida PAC endorsed 14 Democrats and no Republicans in Florida U.S House races.

One of the methods used by Equality Florida to promote their mission and influence school district policy is through the “All Together Now Conference”. Equality Florida states that ATN provides “dynamic programming that includes sessions such as a superintendent’s roundtable discussion, family acceptance panels, GSA workshops, and legal expert testimonials.”

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COVID-19 Whistleblowers Warn Alpharetta Audience About Corruption Within Medical and Pharmaceutical Industries

Chris Butler

ALPHARETTA — Whistleblowers, some of whom have testified on Capitol Hill, told an audience in Alpharetta Thursday that the medical and pharmaceutical industries that treat COVID-19 have been corrupted. Organizers held this conference, COVID-19 Pharma Corruption: Your Life, Health, and Job, at Alpharetta’s Phase Family Learning Center.

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Virginia House of Delegates, Senate Pass Budget Bills with Competing Tax Policy

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – The House of Delegates and the Senate have passed their separate budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023. Both chambers debated floor amendments to the bills on Thursday before passing them, but the final versions are broadly similar to the proposals announced earlier this week. Each chamber’s proposal is based on former Governor Ralph Northam’s budget proposal, but the money committees made significant amendments before sending them to be passed out of the House and Senate. The Senate bill contains fewer tax cuts than the House bill, allowing for more spending, while the House bill is closer to the tax policy Governor Glenn Youngkin has called for. The two chambers now enter a process of working to a compromise.

Senate Finance Chair Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) told the Senate that the proposal fulfilled promises made amid spending cuts during earlier hard times.

“In this budget we’ve done that, by making significant investments in education, natural resources,  public safety, and human services. We’re also chipping away a funding cap on support positions for K-12 education over both years of the biennium, embracing increased teacher and state employee pay, and adding to those compensation increases a one-time bonuses for teachers and state employees,” Howell said.

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Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District Partisan Makeup Barely Affected by Redistricting

Aaron Gulbransen

Redistricting has been finalized in Pennsylvania and the partisan makeup for the 8th Congressional District has barely changed.

Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight gave PA-8 a partisan rating of R+9 prior to redistricting and currently gives it a R+8 rating. The Cook Political Report says that the race is a Toss Up. President Trump beat Biden under the old 8th District map by 4.4% in 2020.

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Minneapolis Middle School Newspaper Publishes Black Lives Matter Protest Guide

Peter D'Abrosca

A Minneapolis middle school, which teaches children as young as age 11, published in its school newspaper a guide for Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesting. 

“After the murder of Amir Locke at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday February 2nd, many of us are–and have been–taking to the streets to protest this injustice,” the February 15 edition of Justice Page Middle School’s paper The Rhino Report says. “This (nowhere near complete) guide on protest etiquette and tips is a combination of personal experience, advice from online circles of local activists, and just general common sense.”

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Crime Task Forces, Bus System Among Issues Discussed at Connecticut Budget Appropriations Meeting

The Center Square

The efficacy of crime task forces, status of CTtransit bus lines and issuance of non-driver IDs were among the wide ranging issues Connecticut lawmakers dug into with state officials at a recent hearing looking into the back half of Gov. Ned Lamont’s biennium budget.

Members in both chambers of the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee held a hearing Feb. 18 with state officials serving on transportation, regulation and protection agencies.

James Rovella, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, addressed how Lamont’s fiscal year 2023 budget will assist with a number of initiatives, including several targeted task forces aimed at such issues as violent crimes and stolen vehicles.

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Gas Prices Set to Skyrocket After Oil Soars Beyond $100 for the First Time Since 2014

Admin

The worldwide price of crude oil skyrocketed to more than $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014 as Russia launched a full-scale offensive against Ukraine.

The Brent crude index, the global oil benchmark, hit $101.66 per barrel Thursday morning, surging more than 4% overnight. The U.S. WTI index skyrocketed nearly 7% to $98.69 per barrel Thursday, its highest level since 2014.

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Commentary: Michigan Attorney General Nessel Abandoned Victims in Favor of the Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline

Admin

Public officials have a horrible habit of diverting money away from victims.  Consider how state Attorneys General used the state opioid settlement with McKinsey, the consulting powerhouse, to send $15 million to their own National Association of Attorneys General.  Or think of how these same Attorneys General hand out lucrative public contracts to prominent trial lawyers under the guise of consumer protection, contracts that are often missing basic protections (including basic ethics protections) and help propel millions in highly partisan political giving.

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Commentary: Biden Is Stalling His Pick for New Supreme Court Justice Due to Conservative Majority on Court for the Foreseeable Future

Admin

It doesn’t take a genius or even a veteran political watcher to conclude that Americans don’t have long attention spans.

Perhaps the lack of retention is due to the establishment news media’s fondness for sensationalizing every little tidbit of information whether the hysteria is warranted or not. How many times have we seen “Breaking News” flash across a screen to describe an occurrence that normally wouldn’t prompt much mention at all, such as a press secretary leaving vice president Kamala “no one gets out of my hemisphere happy” Harris or yet another House Democrat retiring rather than risking being humiliated and summarily booted out of office because of senile president Joe Biden’s abysmal job approval ratings or his or her district was reassembled in a manner that made a return trip to Washington too arduous.

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Over 200,000 Illegal Aliens Have Avoided Border Patrol Since October

Admin

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that well over 200,000 illegal aliens coming across the southern border have managed to completely evade Border Patrol and other border authorities since October.

The New York Post reports that an anonymous DHS official reported as many as 220,000 “gotaways” over the last four months, illegals who were never even stopped by Border Patrol. The official noted that the unusually high number came even during the winter season, which usually sees a slowdown of border crossings due to harsh weather conditions.

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Ed Commissioner Penny Schwinn Launch Student-Centered Funding Approach for Public School Students

Susan Berry, PhD

Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) and Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn presented details Thursday of the legislation for the new student-based funding formula, known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula (TISA).

During a livestream presentation, the governor said that, following input from people all over the state, they now have “a piece of legislation and a funding formula that Tennesseans can understand, that parents can understand, that teachers and districts can understand.”

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Former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell Announces Candidacy for GOP Nomination in TN-5 Congressional District Race

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Tennessee Speaker of the House of Representatives Beth Harwell announced Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy her candidacy for the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district.

Harwell, a Tennessee resident for more than thirty years, was the first woman to serve as the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

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At Least 40 Killed, Including Civilians, amid Russian Airstrikes in Ukraine

Admin

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has already left at least 40 Russian soldiers and “a few” Ukrainian civilians dead as of Thursday, multiple sources reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine early Thursday as air strike sirens rang in Kyiv and Russian missiles reportedly struck multiple cities across the country.

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Country Music Star John Rich Testifies Before Tennessee House Criminal Justice Committee on Pornographic Material in Schools

Laura Baigert

Country music singer-songwriter and Nashvillian John Rich testified before the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee Wednesday regarding legislation dealing with pornographic and obscene material in K-12 Tennessee schools.

According to the sponsor of HB1944, Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka), alluding to the turmoil expressed across the state, the bill creates a process to deal with such materials that have found their way into classrooms and libraries.

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House Sponsor of Residency Requirement Legislation Affecting Federal Campaigns Punts Subcommittee Consideration Back a Week

Aaron Gulbransen

Representative Dave Wright, the Tennessee House sponsor of legislation that would establish three-year residency requirements for Congressional and Senate candidates running in Tennessee, motioned to roll his bill back for consideration by one week in the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee.

Wright said that he intends to amend the bill to have the three-year residency requirements, an effective date of one day after this year’s November general election, and an exemption for incumbents at the next scheduled subcommittee meeting.

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Metro Nashville Public School Board Member Drops ‘F Bomb’ in Board Meeting

Peter D'Abrosca

In a Metro Nashville School Board (MNSB) meeting that turned heated Tuesday night, one of the school board members directed a curse towards parents. 

Parents who attended the meeting – but were not allowed to speak – cheered when the board voted seven to one in favor of ending the school system’s mask mandate on March 21, when students return from their spring break.

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Congressman Burchett: Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal ‘Gave Vladimir Putin the Green Light to Invade Ukraine’

Cooper Moran

Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) on Tuesday argued that President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal laid the foundation for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has reached a boiling point amid weeks of increasing tensions. In an address to Russian citizens, Putin recognized the “independence” of two regions in Ukraine. Following the speech, he ordered troops into the regions to keep “peace.”

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Study: More Than One in Three Children in Early Elementary Grades Unlikely to Read on Grade Level by End of School Year

Susan Berry, PhD

A study released last week has found more than one in three children in grades K-3 are unlikely to be reading on grade level by the end of the current school year unless they receive major remedial help.

Curriculum and assessment company Amplify analyzed data from more than 400,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and found that, while students have begun to rebound from the learning loss suffered during school closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, considerable gaps remain in basic reading skills, Education Week reported.

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Commentary: For Decades Biden Promised He Could Handle Putin

RealClearWire

There is always a tweet, so says the online aphorism, developed during the chaotic Trump years, that now seems to hold true across administrations and perhaps even with increased significance after a Russian strongman decided to invade an eastern European neighbor over the holiday weekend.

The Russian in question is Vladimir Putin. The country invaded, Ukraine, or more specifically the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics that Russia recently recognized diplomatically. And the tweet, well, that came from Joe Biden.

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Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper Wants Democrats to Seek Out More Rural Voters

Chris Butler

Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) told CBS News this week that it’s in Democrats’ best interests to befriend rural voters.“There are other things we could do for rural voters, but primarily it is a values question, Senator [Daniel Patrick] Moynahan said ‘The central conservative truth is that culture trumps politics. The central liberal truth is that politics eventually can change culture,’” Cooper told the network.

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Lawsuit Alleges Michigan Secretary of State Allowed Facebook to Sway 2020 Election

Peter D'Abrosca

A conservative group in Michigan is duking it out in court with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) claiming that the elected official allowed money from Silicon Valley titan Facebook to have a partisan impact on the state’s 2020 elections. 

“This is what happened in 2020,” co-founder of the Michigan Conservative Coalition Marian Sheridan said in a press release.  “Zuck Bucks, which is private money, was used by elected officials through public entities to promote voting, but only promoted among selected potential voter groups.  Not to all citizens.  Every voter should have received the benefit of a fair portion of the funds unfairly used by elected officials.  They cannot selectively promote anything.”

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Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Still Polling Higher Than All Other GOP Candidates in the Race Combined

Rachel Alexander

A new poll in the Arizona gubernatorial race shows Trump-endorsed Kari Lake still far ahead of other Republican candidates in the race, and the only Republican beating the Democratic frontrunner, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, in the general election. Arizona-based pollster Data Orbital found that Lake has 36.5% of the support of Republicans, with her nearest competitor Matt Salmon at 13%. 

“President Trump knows how to pick winners, and new polling proves the President was correct, once again,” Lake said in a statement. She told the Arizona Sun Times, “This is a huge poll. These fools have been saying I can’t win in the general election, when this poll shows THEY can’t win. First poll released that shows general election match ups.”

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LGBTQ Advocates Choose Florida Teachers, School Officials over Parental Involvement When Addressing Gender Issues

Steve Stewart

A proposed amendment requiring parental involvement when gender and sexuality issues arise at schools was withdrawn after LGBTQ advocates argued that informing parents would be dangerous to students.

The amendment, sponsored by Republican Representative Joe Harding, required school officials to facilitate a meeting between a student and parents to disclose child-specific information.

The amendment states that the “school principal or his or her designee shall develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within six weeks after the decision to withhold such information from the parent.”

Florida Representative Carlos Smith (D – Orlando), an outspoken LGBTQ advocate, said the amendment would “make it even more dangerous for vulnerable kids with a STATE-MANDATED outing of LGBTQ students to parents, specifically in cases of abuse, abandonment + neglect. This will have devastating consequences for our youth..”

This position – that parents should not be notified when these issues arise – has been adopted through policies in many school districts throughout Florida via LGBTQ guides. 

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Minnesota College Cancels Appreciation Lunch for Non-White Staff Following Civil Rights Complaint

Admin

A small liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota, has canceled a de facto non-whites-only appreciation lunch following a federal civil rights complaint and a report by Alpha News.

Gustavus Adolphus College intended to hold its “People of Color & International Faculty and Staff Appreciation Lunch” on Friday, Feb. 25, but Mark Perry, a man who has filed civil rights complaints against more than 400 colleges and universities since 2018, caught wind of the event and took swift action against it.

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