Day: May 13, 2022

Tennessee AG Herbert H. Slatery III: ‘We Have No Intention of Withdrawing from NAAG’

Aaron Gulbransen

In a statement released on Twitter, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced that he “has no intention of withdrawing” Tennessee from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). 

“If you’re looking for bipartisan, effective cooperation on issues that affect Americans across the country, it’s happening at the state level among attorneys general. The National Association of Attorneys General plays a critical role in fostering that cooperation,” he said. “Tennessee has worked with other attorneys general across the country and ‘across the aisle,’ including those who have left the Association. All of those relationships are important to us. We have no intention of withdrawing from the Association and working with other AG Offices.”

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Senate Fails to Advance Democrat Bill That Would Have Forced Doctors to Perform Abortions Against Their Faith Beliefs

Susan Berry, PhD

A bill Democrats pushed to shut down state pro-life laws and force doctors throughout the country to perform abortions, even if doing so violates their faith beliefs, failed to advance in the Senate Wednesday.

Desperate to appeal to his party’s radical leftist supporters in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the vote was “urgent” to prevent states from restricting abortions within their borders.

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Naomi Judd Cause of Death Was a Self-Inflicted Firearm Wound, Family Reveals

Cooper Moran

Naomi Judd, the legendary country music singer, died of a self-inflicted firearm wound, the musician’s family revealed.

The matriarch of the Judd family battled with depression and mental illness, as her daughter Ashley noted in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” that it is “important to make the distinction between the loved one and the disease.”

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Complaint: 586 Duplicate Registrants on Minnesota Voter Rolls

Admin

An election integrity law firm has filed a complaint against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon after discovering that nearly 600 duplicate registrants appear on state voter rolls.

With the assistance of the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) has requested a hearing on the duplicate registrants at the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings in St. Paul.

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Trump Slams Republicans Supporting Kemp in Re-Election Bid

Peter D'Abrosca

Former President Donald J. Trump is taking out his frustrations as current and former governors from across the country continue to support Gov. Brian Kemp (R), a political enemy of the former president, for reelection in Georgia. 

“Today, the worst ‘election integrity’ Governor in the country, Brian Kemp, loaded the great state of Georgia up with RINOs. That’s right, he had them all,” Trump said in Wednesday statement. “Chris Christie, Doug Ducey from Arizona, and Pete Ricketts from Nebraska. That tells you all you need to know about what you are getting in Georgia—just a continuation of bad elections and a real RINO if you vote for Brian Kemp.”

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Former Connecticut Public Health Commissioner Sues over 2020 Firing

Bradley Vasoli

Connecticut’s former Public Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell filed a lawsuit this week against the state and the Department of Public Health, for Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) decision to fire her in 2020.

Her lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut, alleges that Gov. Ned Lamont (D) dismissed her “simply on the basis that he did not prefer to have an older, African American female in the public eye as the individual leading the State in the fight against COVID-19.” The complaint argues that she is entitled to compensatory damages for violations of the anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination components of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act.

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Corman Withdraws from Pennsylvania Governor’s Race, Endorses Barletta; Santorum Adds His Support

Bradley Vasoli

Lou Barletta picked up two high-profile endorsements in his campaign for Pennsylvania governor on Thursday: newly withdrawn gubernatorial candidate Jake Corman and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). 

Corman, who serves as state Senate President Pro Tempore and represents a district that includes State College, polled consistently in the single digits throughout the Republican gubernatorial primary. Despite his ending his bid, his name will remain on the ballot as the deadline has passed for removing it. 

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Michigan Audit: Long-Term Care Advocates Didn’t Visit Most Homes for 31 Months

The Center Square

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan’s Long-Term-Care Ombudsman Program failed to visit most facilities in person, an auditor general report found.

MLTCOP, housed within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, advocates for more than 100,000 long-term care residents statewide, investigates complaints and supports improved policies.

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Florida Judge Set to Block DeSantis’ Congressional Maps

Grant Holcomb

Congressional maps proposed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and pushed through the Florida Legislature during the 2022 Special Session are set to be blocked by a Florida judge. Leon County Circuit Judge Layne Smith said he would make the order official either Thursday or Friday.

Smith said he would order the construction of new maps since, he said, the DeSantis-proposed maps were discriminatory against black voters in Congressional District 5, in North Florida.

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Vance Reacts to Ryan’s Vote to Send $40 Billion to Ukraine

Peter D'Abrosca

Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee Thursday raised against a bill that will send $40 billion to Ukraine, citing problems that the United States has domestically. 

“I don’t think we should be spending any more money, unless it’s on America’s problems here at home,” J.D. Vance said Thursday. “I would make any additional aid for the Ukrainians conditional on sending money to the American southern border, on actually trying to fix this terrible shortage of baby formula and hospital supplies.”

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Catholic Advocacy Organization Calls on Pennsylvania Catholics to Vote for Kathy Barnette in Republican U.S. Senate Primary Race

Susan Berry, PhD

Faith advocacy group CatholicVote is urging Pennsylvania Catholics to vote for Kathy Barnette in the Republican U.S. Senate primary race, specifically citing Barnette’s strong pro-life views as “crucial” to the state’s reported three million Catholics, of which 537,000 are of voting age, the group states. 

The largest grassroots Catholic organization in the country, Madison, Wisconsin-based CatholicVote announced Tuesday its endorsement of Barnette, a pro-life advocate who has shared her own personal story about having been conceived in rape.

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Virginia’s April Revenues Up, Budget Compromise Expected by End of May

Eric Burk

A new April revenue report shows that Virginia’s revenues have again exceeded forecasts. Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office published the report Thursday. He highlighted the good news to help make the case for a budget that includes broad tax relief and some additional spending, with behind-the-scenes budget negotiations ongoing.

“Virginia’s economy continues to show encouraging signs of growth. We’re growing jobs, growing paychecks, and more people are joining the workforce,” Youngkin said in a press release.

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Biggs, Lesko Slam Biden for Ending American Oil Lease Sales

Peter D'Abrosca

Amid surging gas prices and 40-year high inflation, a congressman Thursday reacted to the news that the Biden Administration has canceled domestic oil and gas lease sales. 

“Biden just canceled massive oil and gas lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico amid historic gas prices. Just wait for him to blame Putin for all of this!” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) said on Twitter.

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Guy Ciarrocchi Blasts PA-6 Democrat Incumbent Chrissy Houlahan

Aaron Gulbransen

Guy Ciarrocchi, a Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District race, blasted incumbent Democrat U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), saying “She let us down.”

Ciarrocchi explained how Houlahan’s actions in the U.S. House have disappointed the PA-6 community and how she’s been a rubber stamp for the Biden agenda, which is in direct contradiction to what she promised the voters in the previous election.

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Judiciary Committee Letter Says Garland’s FBI Mobilized Against Parent Protestors

Peter D'Abrosca

In a lengthy letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the House Judiciary Committee accuses the nation’s top attorney of lying under oath, and claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was deployed to monitor parents who have been protesting school board meetings nationwide. 

“It appears that the Biden Administration did in fact mobilize FBI counterterrorism resources to investigate parents for expressing protected political speech at school board meetings. This directly contradicts AG Merrick Garland’s sworn testimony,” said Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit group that advocates for parents rights. 

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Commentary: States Can Make the Difference on an Unjust Teacher Pay Gap

RealClearWire

The seemingly-omnipresent call to raise teacher pay is sounding even louder this year, as rising inflation threatens to render moot any raises made in previous years. Yet even before that became apparent, state pay raises for teachers were heading toward a crescendo. There were numerous historic raises in March 2022 alone: Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves signed a pay bump of roughly 10 percent, New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a base salary increase average of 20 percent, and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $800 million in additional funds to raise teachers’ starting salaries. In April 2022, Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey approved raises that range from 4 to 21 percent depending on teachers’ experience levels.

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