Day: August 6, 2022

Commentary: Talking Back to the LGBT Lobby

Admin

The Hill was recently in a great huff because Twitter would not remove statements by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) referring disrespectfully to gender reassignment surgery and calling Admiral Rachel Levine by her former male name. Although I’m not recommending disrespectful language, I’m also not sure that I see the reason for this indignant outburst. The Hill supposedly supports the right of letting dissenting (non-leftist) voices into the public discussion. Why is Greene not allowed to oppose gender reassignment surgery, a critical position that millions of Americans openly and passionately hold? Have we reached the point where we can no longer criticize the woke agenda without running the risk of being canceled by Twitter, at the urging of The Hill and other supposedly non-leftist websites? 

Read the full story

California School District Uses Planned Parenthood Lesson to Teach Sexual Health

Admin

A California school district is using a Planned Parenthood lesson plan on “sexual health and education” to push gender identity concepts, according to public school documents.

San Diego Unified School District partnered with Planned Parenthood on a K-12 sexual health curriculum that focuses on sexual orientation and breaking down “gender norms,” according to public school documents. The teacher training talks about sexual anatomy and how to address different questions about sexuality with students.

Read the full story

Democrats Ask SCOTUS to Allow Harvard to Continue Race-Based Admissions

Admin

The chairman of a top House education committee along with 64 Democrats are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to maintain “race-conscious admission policies” at Harvard University and University of North Carolina, according to a brief.

Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a non-profit that fights race-based policies, petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to overturn Grutter v. Bollinger, a ruling that kept race-conscious admissions polices in place at higher education institutions. U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott of Virginia filed an amicus brief asking SCOTUS to uphold affirmative action and dismiss the cases next term.

Read the full story

Tennessee Department of Education Invites School Districts to Apply for ‘Innovative School Models’ Grants

Peter D'Abrosca

School districts in Tennessee can now apply for Innovative School Model Grants that focus on job training for students. 

“Through reimagining the middle or high school experience, students will have a variety of opportunities to gain real-world experience, explore various industries and available jobs, and choose a pathway best suited to their skillset,” said Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “I thank Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly who passed this historic opportunity, all districts interested in applying for this funding, and those who helped us celebrate throughout the month.” 

Read the full story

DOJ Workers Want Paid Travel for Out-Of-State Abortions

Admin

Some Department of Justice (DOJ) workers want to be paid if they take leave and travel to more permissive states to have abortions, according to CNN.

The employee-run DOJ Gender Equality Network sent an Aug. 4 letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other high-ranking officials calling for the Biden administration to provide paid time off and fully cover travel expenses for staff going across state lines for “abortion care,” the outlet reported.

Read the full story

Teachers’ Union Boss Randi Weingarten Says Conservatives Are Working to ‘Undermine’ Teachers

Susan Berry, PhD

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten said Wednesday at a union conference that conservatives are “working consistently” to undermine teachers.

“Conservatives are working consistently to undermine educators in this country,” Weingarten said at the New York State United Teachers conference this week. “They’re in the same race as we are between fear and hope, aspiration and despair, democracy and autocracy. And they’re doing this because our members worked so hard during COVID.”

Read the full story

Virginia to Require Schools to Alert Parents of ‘Sexually Explicit Content’ in the Classroom

Admin

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is finishing model policies for school districts to give parents notice about lessons featuring “sexually explicit content,” according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

VDOE policy requires schools to post all “sexually explicit content,” including all materials used for the lessons and curriculum, on the school’s website and also requires parents to be alerted at least 30 days before the lessons take place. The policy says it is designed to help parents make decisions for their children “in accordance with their customs, faith and values.”

Read the full story

Pittsburgh Loosens Residency Requirement for Firefighters

The Center Square

Union disputes in Pittsburgh over residency requirements for city workers have weakened requirements for police and firefighters to live in the city proper.

A policy brief from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy detailed the shift away from residency requirements. Pittsburgh voters approved an amendment to the home rule charter in 2013 to require city residency for all municipal workers. However, a union grievance weakened that requirement for firefighters.

Read the full story

Report: Wisconsin Democrat Spent Tax Dollars on Security Despite Hammering Police

Admin

Wisconsin’s Democratic lieutenant governor, who is also running for U.S. Senate, spent hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars for a police security detail despite criticizing law enforcement in the past, Fox News reported.

Mandela Barnes, who is viewed as a heavy favorite to win his Senate primary, shelled out more than $587,000 for a state police detail between Jan. 7, 2019 and Nov. 6, 2021, according to records obtained by Fox News. The sum paid for roughly 8,800 hours of police protection, 4,900 hours for overtime protection and over 200 hours of holiday protection, the outlet reported.

Read the full story

Ohio’s Largest School District Gives 10-Day Strike Notice

The Center Square

A little more than two weeks from the first day of school for students, teachers in Ohio’s largest school district voted late Thursday night to authorize a 10-day strike notice.

With contract negotiations stalled, the Columbus Education Association voted to give its strike notice. This allows it to file that notice with the State Employment Relations Board at any time. Students are scheduled to start school Aug. 24.

Read the full story

Taxpayer Funded Incentives Unknown in Georgia’s New $80 Million Manufacturing Plant

The Center Square

A global manufacturer of pet food ingredients plans to invest more than $79 million in a new Columbus facility.

AFB International plans to create more than 100 new jobs over the next five years. The St. Charles, Missouri-based company develops, manufactures and sells palatant ingredients that make pet foods and supplements taste better, helping ensure pets receive needed nutrients.

Read the full story

Border Patrol Regularly Stopping Cubans off of Florida Coast

The Center Square

While the overwhelming majority of foreign nationals entering the U.S. illegally do so through the southern border, Miami Sector Border Patrol agents are regularly interdicting Cubans and others attempting to reach Florida, often arriving on small makeshift boats. Law enforcement officers also are regularly confiscating drugs that wash up on shore.

Last weekend, “Good Samaritans” found 126 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $2 million that had washed up on the beach at Ocean Pointe Pool Beach Marina in Tavernier, the Monroe County Sheriff’s office said. That is as Miami Border Patrol Sector agents apprehend and take into custody mostly Cuban men making landfall off the Florida coast on a near daily basis.

Read the full story

Republicans Look to November as Concerns Linger over Ballot Tabulation Delays in Arizona

Rachel Alexander

Although Arizona’s primary election was Tuesday, not all of the ballots have been counted yet, leaving the Arizona gubernatorial primary race for Republicans uncalled until Thursday evening. The Associated Press finally declared Trump-endorsed Kari Lake the winner, after Lake’s victory increased to 20,000, 46.78 percent to Karrin Taylor Robson’s 44.03 percent. By 1 p.m. on Thursday, there were still at least 242,414 outstanding ballots statewide. 

Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room: Pandemic Wednesday evening to discuss the slow results. At that time, only 82 percent of the ballots had been counted. Ward blamed incompetence by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. “France can count millions of ballots within hours of their election,” she pointed out, calling him a “disgrace.” (She retweeted the information about France) Ward said his office announced they would have more results to announce at 7 p.m. from the 125,000 outstanding ballots left from people who had dropped their ballots off at polling locations, but never did.

Read the full story

U.S. July Job Gains More than Double What Economists Had Projected

Admin

The U.S. economy added 528,000 jobs in June, according to Department of Labor (DOL) data released Friday, more than double economists’ projections of 250,000 new jobs.

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5%, according to the DOL’s report, which was also below economists’ predictions of 3.6%, according to The Wall Street Journal. The economy outperformed last month’s high job growth of 372,000, which had itself outpaced expectations, indicating that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate have not begun to cool off the economy.

Read the full story

Republican Senators, Manchin Revive Trump-Era Energy Reform

Admin

The Senate voted to reinstate rules helping expedite the construction of energy infrastructure that persisted under former President Donald Trump, eliminating a final rule that was previously imposed by the Biden administration.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined a united Republican caucus to pass a Resolution of Disapproval in a 50-47 vote by using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Biden administration’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, according to Senate logs. The move will accelerate federal permitting for the development of crucial future energy, mining, and infrastructure projects.

Read the full story