Month: February 2022

Virginia Senate Kill Key House Republican Bills, but Some Policies Have a Chance in the Budget

Eric Burk

Democrat-controlled Senate committees have been killing House Republican bills, blocking policy changes on elections, guns, and the environment. More bills on education, abortion, and taxes are set to be heard in committees that have already killed similar Senate bills. However, even if those bills are killed, some of them still have a chance to be included in the budget.

“There’s still a lot of time left, we got the budget document we’re working on. A lot of our funding opportunities are in the budget,” House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) told The Virginia Star. “A lot of these bills that we’re talking about are in the budget. We took out RGGI [Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative] in our budget.”

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Timken Endorsers Silent on Her Alleged Mismanagement of Ohio Republican Party Funds

Peter D'Abrosca
Jane Timken For U.S. Senate

Three U.S. Senators who this week endorsed Ohio Republican candidate Jane Timken for U.S. Senate are silent after The Ohio Star reached out to ask about Timken’s alleged mismanagement of Ohio Republican Party (ORP) funds. 

Tuesday, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) endorsed Timken in the hotly contested primary race that includes candidates J.D. Vance, Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel. 

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Picks Democrat-Favored Congressional Map

Bradley Vasoli

Democrats celebrated and Republicans demurred Wednesday after the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania Supreme Court selected the state’s new congressional map.

In so doing, the court overturned a decision earlier this month by Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia A. McCullough (R) to allow implementation of a redistricting plan passed by the GOP-led General Assembly but vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf (D). The initial version of the legislature-approved map was drawn by a private citizen, Amanda Holt of Lehigh County, though legislators modified her plan somewhat.

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Wisconsin Assembly Approves Multiple Education-Focused Bills

Cooper Moran

The Wisconsin Assembly approved multiple pieces of legislation focused on education-related issues, sending the bills to the Wisconsin Senate for full legislative approval.

One of the bills is a “parental bill of rights” that would establish certain legal rights for parents throughout the state, like maintaining a voice surrounding education curriculum taught to their child or choice in medical decisions. 

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Senate Budget Amendment Would Block Richmond’s Second Attempt to Get a Casino

Eric Burk

The Senate Finance Committee killed a bill that would have blocked the City of Richmond from holding another casino referendum, after voters voted against a casino proposal in 2021. The bill would have granted the opportunity to build the casino to nearby Petersburg instead, and some committee members expressed a desire to study the potential implications of a Petersburg casino. The February 10 vote against the bill left the door open for Richmond to try again, and take the last of five casino licenses in Virginia. Now, Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) is pushing to block Richmond through a budget amendment.

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Michigan Democrat Representative Elissa Slotkin Commands a Substantial Financial Advantage in the Race for State’s 7th Congressional District

Aaron Gulbransen

NRCC targeted Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin has a towering financial advantage in the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District seat.

Slotkin has raised $3,476,331.42 for the 2022 election cycle and is currently sitting on $4,508,719.04 cash on hand. Republican state Senator and U.S. Army veteran Tom Barrett has raised $311,971.14 with $254,171.87 cash on hand. Barrett declared for the race in November of 2021.

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Prosecutors’ Union in Landslide Vote Says Soros-Backed Los Angeles District Attorney Should Be Recalled

Admin

The Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA), a union which represents the vast majority of Los Angeles County prosecutors, voted overwhelmingly to support the recall of District Attorney George Gascon.

Gascon, who received over $2 million in financial backing from left-wing financier George Soros according to The Los Angeles Times, is currently facing a recall petition spurred by backlash to his perceived lenient stance on crime.

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Taxpayer-Funded Federal Program Trains Teachers in Critical Race Theory

The Center Square

Newly uncovered federal grant documents show that the U.S. Department of Education awarded roughly $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars to a Florida-based education program that trains future teachers and other professionals in, among other things, critical race theory.

The funding came through two grants, one in 2017 and another in 2021. Both grants went to faculty at Florida State University, which has partnered with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

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Commentary: Critical Thinking Crumbles in the Case of COVID

Admin

According to Hans Rosling “Critical thinking is always difficult, but it’s almost impossible when we are scared. There’s no room for facts when our minds are occupied by fear.” The American Psychological Association indicates the use of fear to influence behavior is effective, especially among women. For fear to be a successful change agent, it must be viewed as a legitimate warning about what will happen if behavior does or does not occur.

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‘We Need to Be Honest’: Biden Suggests U.S. Gas Prices Will Increase Because of His Russian Sanctions

Admin

President Joe Biden suggested that Americans may be negatively impacted at the pump as a result of a sanctions package targeting Russia he unveiled Tuesday.

“As we respond, my administration is using every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers from rising prices at the pump,” the president remarked at the White House on Tuesday. “As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that.”

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‘Squad’ Member Rashida Tlaib Will Give Rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union

Admin

Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib will deliver a response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Tuesday on behalf of the left-wing Working Families’ Party.

News of her speech, first reported by Politico, comes weeks after Democratic moderates have slowed much of Biden’s domestic agenda, much to the chagrin of their colleagues further to the left. According to a summary of the remarks obtained by the outlet, Tlaib is expected to hammer the moderates responsible for the obstruction, which all but killed Biden’s plan to boost domestic spending and fight climate change.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs Bipartisan Bills to Reduce Prescription Drug Prices

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed into law three bills aiming to reduce the price of prescription drugs.

“I am proud to sign this bipartisan legislation that helps us lower the cost of prescription drugs,” Whitmer said in a statement. “For too long, unlicensed pharmacy benefit managers have been able to engage in practices that drive up costs for Michiganders whose lives and health depend on critical prescription drugs like insulin. This bill brings much-needed transparency to our healthcare system and is a testament to what we can do when we put Michiganders first.”

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Election Watchdog: ‘Not Ready for 2024’ Elections, ‘Still Have Many of the Same Problems’ from 2020

Admin

Election integrity issues from the 2020 presidential election have yet to be resolved, “so we are not ready for 2024,” Phill Kline, Director of the Amistad Project, warned on Monday.

Kline was asked by “Just the News, Not Noise” TV show cohosts John Solomon and Amanda Head if election integrity issues had been solved after the 2020 election. “No, we still have many of the same problems,” he replied, explaining that this is “because the legislatures have not taken the time to understand the problem.”

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Mortgage Applications Plummet as Housing Prices Surged to Record High

Admin

Mortgage applications plummeted to their lowest level in three years as rates continued to edge higher, hitting home buyers and refinancers.

Mortgage applications decreased 13.1% in the week ending Feb. 18, the lowest level since December 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey. The survey, which measures mortgage loan application volume, found refinancing activity decreased 15% on a weekly basis and was 56% lower than the same period one year prior.

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Former Trump Cabinet Member Ric Grenell Endorses Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, Pulling Prior Robby Starbuck Endorsement

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Director of National Intelligence and the first openly gay cabinet member in U.S. History, Ric Grenell, has endorsed Morgan Ortagus for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district seat.

Prior to redistricting, Grenell had endorsed Robby Starbuck but he has pulled that endorsement. Both the Ortagus campaign and the Starbuck campaign have confirmed that Grenell’s previous endorsement of Starbuck was pulled.

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Bannon’s WarRoom Discusses ‘Super Neo-Con’ Morgan Ortagus’ Upcoming D.C. Fundraiser ‘Filled with Trump Adversaries’

Admin

The Tennessee Star’s Aaron Gulbransen appeared on Bannon’s War Room Wednesday to discuss his report on Morgan Ortagus’ upcoming fundraiser in Washington, D.C., where the congressional hopeful will be hosted by a former Trump administration State Department staffer who was fired for tweeting that President Trump was unfit for office, as well as several NeverTrumpers.

War Room host Steve Bannon began, “Morgan Ortagus – have you heard her name? She worked for Pompeo in the State Department – a super neo-con. She’s announced. She went district shopping in to run for Congress. She found it in the great state of Tennessee.”

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Pompeo Endorses Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, But Dodges Questions on Her Carpetbagger Status

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has endorsed Morgan Ortagus in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Tennessee Star reached out to Secretary Pompeo’s team for comment on his endorsement of Ortagus and Secretary Pompeo’s team dodged the issue of her recent immigration to Tennessee.

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Vanderbilt Concerned After Uptick in Suicide Among Medical Students

Peter D'Abrosca
Woman in lab coat looking through microscope

Vanderbilt University is concerned after four of its medical school students have committed suicide in less than two years. 

“Vanderbilt University is committed to a culture of caring in which the well-being of all community members—our extraordinary students, the faculty who teach them, and the staff who play an immeasurable role in the success of this remarkable university—is enhanced and supported,” Vanderbilt said in a statement. “We strive to foster a culture of openness through brave dialogue, honest self-reflection, and willingness to invest in this incredible university by investing first in the mental health and wholeness of every member of the Vanderbilt family.”

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NRA and Tennessee Firearms Association Call for Action Against Two Tennessee General Assembly Bills

Aaron Gulbransen

The NRA Institute for Legislative Action has weighed in on several firearms-related bills being considered by various Tennessee General Assembly committees and subcommittees this week.

The Tennessee Star has previously reported that the Tennessee Firearms Association has weighed in on firearms-related legislation. The Tennessee Firearms Association and the NRA agree on opposition to two bills in particular.

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Abortion Funding Groups Admitting to Violating Texas Heartbeat Act to Face Depositions

Susan Berry, PhD

Two litigation firms have filed petitions against organizations that have admitted to paying for abortions in Texas after detection of a fetal heartbeat, a violation of the Texas Heartbeat Act.

Attorneys from both America First Legal and the Thomas More Society filed petitions for discovery against the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity and the Texas Equal Access Fund, both of which have admitted in court that their organizations paid for at least one abortion of an unborn baby in Texas who had a detectable heartbeat.

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Commentary: In 2022, Voters Must Stand Up to America’s Uniparty Empire

Admin

If we follow the conventional political thinking, Republicans can anticipate an electoral shift during the November midterm elections and appear likely to recapture the White House in 2024. A grassroots revolt is already showing signs that the Democrats should expect to be punished for politicizing education and mismanaging COVID policy.

If we follow the conventional thinking even further, this will spell success for a usual cast of Republican-leaning characters in leadership and consulting roles. Karl Rove is likely already updating his fee structure. Veterans of the two Bush Administrations will send their résumés east in hopes of retaining old posts so they can steer contracts and favors back to their allies and former employers.

Right, Left, Right, Left, the hypnotic rhythm drums on—briefly interrupted only by an aberrational Trump Administration or popular uprising—but it all returns to the statists’ status quo in the end. The uniparty simply shifts its weight from its left foot to its right while business proceeds as usual.

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Commentary: What Happens in New York Doesn’t Stay in New York

Admin

It seems like every day America is becoming more anti-American than the day before. The Biden administration just keeps shooting for the “how can we out-do ourselves in pushing our Marxist policies” prize, and blue states are in lockstep. The American people keep getting whacked day in and day out, and the media is complicit. No one is safe these days in Biden’s America.

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Texas Attorney General Declares Puberty Blockers and Gender Transition Surgeries ‘Child Abuse’

Susan Berry, PhD
Doctors performing surgery

The performance of surgical and chemical procedures on children for the purpose of gender transition “can legally constitute child abuse” under Texas law, declared Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Friday in a formal attorney general opinion.

Paxton responded to questions from State Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth), chair of the Texas House Committee on General Investigating, who asked whether “sex change” surgeries performed on children, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty, vaginoplasty, mastectomies, and removal of otherwise healthy body parts, constitute child abuse.

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Initiative Modeled After Federal HR 1, ‘Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections,’ Seeks to Get on Ballot

Rachel Alexander

A consortium of Left-leaning groups is seeking to add an initiative on the Arizona ballot that is very similar to the federal HR 1. “Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections” rolls back recent election integrity laws passed by the Arizona Legislature, makes it easier for people to vote without proving citizenship, and removes standard election fraud safeguards like requiring registering to vote in advance of elections. 

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club called the initiative “a leftist wish list of election law changes.” AFEC contends, “[T]heir federal takeover of elections has been held up in the U.S. Senate for months, so they have moved to ‘Plan B ’— taking over the election process in Arizona.”

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Two Incumbent Democrats Vie for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, Leave the 10th Congressional District a Seat Open

Aaron Gulbransen

Democratic U.S. Representatives Andy Levin and Haley Stevens have announced their plans to run in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, setting up an incumbent-versus-incumbent primary. This leaves Michigan’s 10th Congressional District seat open.

Redistricting changed the district lines and numbering, significantly affected Michigan’s 10th and 11th Congressional Districts, and likely led to Levin and Stevens running against each other in a Democrat primary. The new district lines, drawn by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, took MI-11 from an R+2 partisan rating to a D+15, according to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.

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Fiscal Office Chief: Pennsylvanians Leaving for Low-Tax Southern States

Bradley Vasoli

On Tuesday, at the first Pennsylvania Senate hearing on next fiscal year’s budget, lawmakers considered the state’s slow economic recovery—and the state’s failure to attract new residents.

Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) Director Matthew Knittel testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding the state’s fiscal, economic and demographic outlook. Particularly in that last category, the Keystone State doesn’t boast an envious position.

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Georgia Representative Jody Hice Launches Statewide Tour in Athens About Georgia’s Election Integrity Issues

Chris Butler

ATHENS, Georgia – Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10), currently running to replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, launched a statewide tour in Athens on Tuesday to address Georgia’s election integrity issues. And, during the stop, Jessica Fore, a Democrat running for Hice’s 10th Congressional seat, challenged Hice on Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

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Minnesota Democrats Introduce $13 Million Plan for Meeting Demand for Police Officers with Strong Moral Character

The Center Square
Group of people walking outside on a sunny day

Democrats announced a plan Monday to promote police officer recruitment that mirrors proposals of Gov. Tim Walz and Republicans.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler authored the bill, HF 3581, which was developed in consultation with the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, and Minnesota Department of Public Safety. He said at a news conference announcing the bill that law enforcement leaders want to recruit officers who reflect the community, have a high social-emotional set of skills and are committed to community services, but they’re struggling to do that.

“[The bill] is built on the premise that Minnesota can recruit, can hire, can train and can retain the kinds of police officers who reflect our communities’ values,” Winkler said.

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Senate Privileges and Elections Committee Kills Most House Elections Reforms Bills

Eric Burk
Person voting in poll booth

Delegate Lee Ware (R-Powhatan) sponsored HB 46, which would have reintroduced a photo identification requirement, repealed the permanent absentee voter list, shortened early voting, and required representatives from each political party to verify the absentee ballot cure process.

“About photo ID, there is wide public polling that shows that support for [photo id] this crosses every demographic group, every partisan group,” Ware said.

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Florida Governor DeSantis Announces Millions for More Rural Infrastructure

Grant Holcomb

Earlier this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced $11 million will be going to supporting rural infrastructure in three counties: Madison, Suwannee, and Putnam. He made the announcement from Madison, Fla., as the money will come from the Community Development Block Grant program administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).

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Arizona Congressman Says Government Should Impound Trucks If Freedom Convoy Spreads to America

Peter D'Abrosca

In response to a report that American truckers could follow the lead of their Canadian counterparts and clog parts of the I-95 Beltway near Washington, D.C., a Democrat congressman from Arizona has a solution for the potential peaceful protest. 

“Perfect time to impound and give the trucks to small trucking companies looking to expand their business,” Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07). 

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Kalamazoo Deputy Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Knife-Wielding Man

Peter D'Abrosca

A police officer in Kalamazoo County who shot and killed a knife-wielding suspect in a gas station parking lot has been cleared of any wrongdoing after a standard post-shooting investigation, as officials say he acted lawfully in self-defense. 

“The events of Oct. 4 were incredibly tragic,” Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting reportedly said Tuesday. “They forever changed the lives of those personally involved, their families and loved ones, our law enforcement officers, and our community.”

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Virginia Husband and Wife Realtor Team Plead Guilty to Federal Wire Fraud Charge, Now Await Sentencing

Kaitlin Housler

A husband and wife realtor team from Abingdon, Virginia, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal wire fraud charges related to their scheme to create fake residential sales contracts in order to obtain advance sales commissions to which they were not entitled, according to a press release by the Western District of Virginia U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich Signs Letter to Demand Resignation from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Cooper Moran
Alejandro Mayorkas and Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich signed a letter, led by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, to urge Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign.

The letter, signed by 13 other states and sent directly to Mayorkas, accused him of abandoning his oath of office and putting Americans at risk.

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Ohio Senate Candidate J.D. Vance Slams Proponents of Intervention in Ukraine

Peter D'Abrosca

Noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “an evil man,” U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance Tuesday slammed proponents of U.S. intervention in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

“The media and political elites are seething at me because I uttered aloud what everyone deep down knows is true: that the Russia-Ukraine border dispute has nothing to do with our national security, no American interest is served by our intervention, and that the obsession with Ukraine from our idiot leaders serves no function except to distract us from our actual problems,” Vance said in a press release. 

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Senate Majority Leader Saslaw Spars with Secretary of Finance Cummings over Administration Analysis That Virginia Is Lagging Economically

Eric Burk

Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings told the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that while General Fund revenues are performing well, there is an overall lack of economic growth in Virginia. That’s similar to the message from a letter Governor Glenn Youngkin sent to the Senate Finance and House Appropriations chairs last Friday. Tuesday’s discussion between Democratic senators and Cummings illustrated the policy divide on finance between the administration and the Senate.

Cummings said that January 2022 was the sixth consecutive month of revenues exceeding the prior year by more than 15 percent. “So, pretty remarkable times,” Cummings said.

“Obviously, the extraordinary level of revenues for the government is great, but that does not indicate success in our economy,” Cummings said. “It’s the result of external factors, and in our opinion, taxes that are too high.”

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