Month: August 2022

Trump Calls for Release of Full Affidavit Used for FBI’s Mar-a-Lago Raid

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Former President Trump is calling for the full release of the affidavit submitted with the warrant allowing the FBI to raid his Mar-a-Lago estate – after the Justice Department asked the document to remain sealed.

“There is no way to justify the unannounced RAID of Mar-a-Lago, the home of the 45th President of the United States … by a very large number of gun toting FBI Agents, and the Department of ‘Justice’ but, in the interest of TRANSPARENCY, I call for the immediate release of the completely Unredacted Affidavit pertaining to this horrible and shocking BREAK-IN,” Trump wrote late Monday evening on his platform Truth Social.

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Governor Bill Lee: Tennessee Has Not Approved Any School Education Savings Accounts for Families

Susan Berry, PhD

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) said Friday the state has not yet approved any school Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for families seeking to choose education options outside of public schools.

“There are about 250 families that have actually applied (but) those approvals have not been made yet,” Lee said according to an updated report Saturday from the Associated Press (AP). “The process is underway.”

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TikTok’s Ties to Chinese Propaganda Machine Revealed

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Three hundred employees at the parent company of ubiquitous social media app TikTok list Chinese state media outlets in their employment histories, a Forbes investigation of public LinkedIn profile information revealed Thursday.

The investigation may reveal Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ties to ByteDance, a Chinese technology company that operates several popular social media apps, through Chinese media organizations that generate CCP propaganda, according to Forbes. The profiles include 23 current directors of ByteDance responsible for “content partnerships, public affairs, corporate social responsibility and media cooperation,” and 15 who may still hold employment status with certain Chinese state-run media outlets, though it’s possible that the LinkedIn profiles were not updated after a change of job status.

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Analysis: The Reason Big Oil Is Backing Dems’ Climate Bill

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Large oil and gas producers are lauding the Senate Democrats’ climate bill due to its green incentives and regulations on fossil fuels; however, smaller producers argue that the new taxes and fees included in the bill will kill their operations.

Big oil is hailing the $369 billion climate bill for its steps to regulate the fossil fuel industry and promote green energy, according to Bloomberg. However, smaller, independent oil and gas companies are arguing that the bill’s numerous, costly regulations will threaten their industry’s development, according to an industry letter that was sent Tuesday night to the House Ways & Means Committee.

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Rulemaking Approval Process Advances for New Tennessee School Funding Formula

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Tennessee’s new public school funding program, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, continues to move forward and soon rulemaking for the program will begin a review by Tennessee’s Attorney General before publication for 90 days on the Secretary of State’s website.

While many details of TISA were spelled out in legislation passed in April and signed into law in May by Gov. Bill Lee, rulemaking is required to give more detailed specifics on how the funding formula will operate. Those rules passed the Tennessee State Board of Education’s review before moving on to the Attorney General review.

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Commentary: The FBI Is Now the ‘Federal Bureau of Intimidation’

RealClearWire

Nothing symbolizes the decline of the American republic better than the weaponization of justice that we saw last week when the FBI raided the home of former President Trump.

And nothing better represents the divide that now exists between Democrats and Republicans than the fact that some people still have faith in the FBI.

Aren’t they paying attention? Heck, that’s like a citizen of the old Soviet Union saying they had faith in the KGB – yeah, to crush dissent and lock up opponents of the regime in a Siberian gulag.

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Boston Children’s Hospital Gender Psychologist Asserts Many Children Know They Are Transgender ‘As Early as Seemingly from the Womb’

Susan Berry, PhD

A psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) states in a video titled “Caring for Young Transgender Kids” that many children know they are transgender “as early as seemingly from the womb.”

“A good portion of children do know as early as seemingly from the womb,” says Kerry McGregor, PsyD in a Boston Children’s Hospital video from May 2021. “And they will usually express their gender identity as very young children, some as soon as they can talk. They may say phrases such as ‘I’m a girl,’ or ‘I’m a boy,’ or ‘I’m going to be a woman,’ ‘I’m going to be a mom.’”

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Blackburn Hammers DOJ, Says It’s Targeting Conservatives

Peter D'Abrosca

A U.S. Senator from Tennessee has been hammering the Department of Justice (DOJ) for nearly a week after news broke that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. 

“There are plenty of great people who work for the FBI and have worked for the FBI, but there is a cabal within the FBI that has politicized the agency, and they did this from the time Donald Trump came down the escalator and announced his campaign – they have been after him,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Fox News. “So in some way, shape or form they cooked up this raid – they had [FBI Director] Christopher Wray agree with the raid – and of course [U.S. Attorney General] Merrick Garland signed off on this.”

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To Avoid Sanctions, Countries Are Ditching the U.S. Dollar

Admin

Russia, China and other countries have escalated efforts to ditch transactions made with U.S. dollars in 2022, helping them bypass Western sanctions and keep their economies afloat.

Since Western countries levied heavy sanctions on Russia in punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, India has increased its imports of Russian coal and natural gas, paying in Chinese yuan, United Arab Emirates dirham, Hong Kong dollar, and euro, Reuters reported Wednesday. Turkey and Iran have also forged agreements with Russia to base bilateral commerce on the Russian ruble, an effort to divest from dependence on the “toxic” U.S. dollar while easing the effect of sanctions on the Russian economy.

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Petition Filed to Stop Harpeth Hall from Admitting Boys

Peter D'Abrosca

After an elite all-girls school in Nashville decided that it would admit and retain any boy that identifies as a girl, a group of school community members have started circulating a petition in hopes that the school will reconsider. 

“We are writing to you today on behalf of a significant number of current parents, former parents, and alumnae … Adopting a policy that invites application to Harpeth Hall by anyone other than females is a critical change in the structure of the school, and by extension, has a major impact on our daughters,” the petitioners said. 

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Governor Bill Lee Announces New Governor’s Office Appointments

Aaron Gulbransen

In a statement issued on Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced new appointments to the Office of the Governor, including the appointments of Erin Merrick to succeed Jonathan Skrmetti as Chief Legal Counsel, effective September 1, and Casey Black Sellers to succeed Laine Arnold as Director of Communications, effective September 2.

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced last week that Skrmetti will assume the role of Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter, succeeding outgoing Attorney General Herb Slatery who did not seek re-appointment to the role.

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Homicides Among Young African-Americans Soared in 2020, New Data Reveals

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Recently released statistics by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a massive increase in youth homicides in 2020, of which African-American youth made up the largest margin.

Youth homicides were up 47% across the nation, the CDC reported Monday. The homicide rate among African-American youth was nearly 15 times higher than that of white Americans and five times the rate of Hispanics. Between 2019 and 2020, the homicide rate for African-Americans between the ages of 15-19 increased by 37.38%, according to CDC data.

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Ohio, Kentucky Officials Again Ask for Funding for Brent Spence Bridge Project

The Center Square

Ohio and Kentucky made a second request to a second federal grant program to cover the $1.66 billion needed to replace an Ohio River bridge that connects the two states at Cincinnati.

The second ask follows a May request for the 8-mile Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project from the Western Hills Viaduct in the Cincinnati area of Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky. The May request is still pending.

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Allan Domb Resigns from Philadelphia City Council, Anticipating Mayoral Run

Bradley Vasoli

Philadelphia City Councilman Allan Domb (D-At Large) announced this week he will leave his seat Tuesday as he considers a potential 2023 mayoral campaign. 

The luxury real-estate executive submitted his letter of resignation to Council President Darrell Clarke (D-5) on Monday. Therein, he celebrated what he considered his successes while on the city’s legislative board, including wage and corporate tax reduction, fiscal waste mitigation and increased public-education funding. Yet, he lamented, the City of Brotherly Love has further strides to make particularly concerning public safety. 

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Minneapolis-Area Pride Celebration Billed as ‘Family-Friendly’ Featured Drag Queens Accepting Cash Tips, Condom Giveaways

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The city of Bloomington’s second annual “Pride Celebration” — billed as a family-friendly event — saw drag queens receiving cash tips from young children and a giveaway of condoms and “Plan B” pills.

Minnesota photojournalist Rebecca Brannon posted to Twitter several pictures from the Saturday event, including three pictures showing kids tipping drag performers with cash.

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Rep. Brandtjen Turns Focus to Speaker Vos, Wisconsin Elections Commission

The Center Square

Now that Wisconsin’s special election investigator has been fired, one of the Republican lawmakers who led the investigation into the 2020 election wants to know what will happen with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Monday said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos needs to be as tough on the Commission as he was on former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman.

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Connecticut Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Leora Levy: Sen. Richard Blumenthal ‘Laughs Off’ Concern over Biden’s Creation of 87,000 New IRS Agents to Target Americans

Susan Berry, PhD

Connecticut GOP U.S. Senate candidate Leora Levy observed Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) mockery of Americans expressing concern over Joe Biden’s creation of 87,000 new IRS Agents in his legislation that will increase taxes on middle-income Americans and will do nothing to reduce inflation.

“I think the IRS is going to target the highest income Americans,” Blumenthal minimized concern over the Inflation Reduction Act on CNN’s State of the Union recently. “As the saying goes, that’s where the money is. That’s where they’re going to look to collect. The idea that there’s going to be this army of IRS agents defending descending on the average American is just preposterous.”

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Report: Michigan Among the Top Three Best ‘Free Speech’ States in the Union

The Center Square

Three Midwestern states scored best in the nation in analysis of laws restricting speech about government. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa outranked every other state by wide margins.

That’s the conclusion of a report issued by the Institute for Free Speech, a national nonprofit research facility that focuses on First Amendment rights. Wisconsin’s score of 86% out of a possible 100% was followed by Michigan (77%) and Iowa (75%).

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Report: Virginia Agencies Ignored Lessons from 2018 Snow Storm that Could Have Helped with January’s I-95 Traffic Jam

Eric Burk

A new report on the January 2022 I-95 snow incident says that Virginia agencies failed to apply lessons from a December 2018 snow incident on I-81.

“VDOT needs to improve on applying what is learned from prior events and ensure it is applied to future events,” the Office of the State Inspector General (OSIG) recommended in an August report. “Lessons learned from the 2018 I-81 Snow Incident, as well as those from the 2022 I-95 Snow Incident, should be analyzed and incorporated into each agency’s policies and procedures.”

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Reggie Gaffney Dominates Democratic Fundraising, Outraising Every Other State Senate Candidate and Officeholder in Florida

The Center Square

Florida Democratic State Senate candidates and officeholders have raised $3.8 million during the 2022 election cycle. Among state senators and candidates, Reggie Gaffney has raised more than any other Democrat.

Gaffney is running to represent Florida State Senate District 5 in 2022. Gaffney raised $582,744 and spent $252,856 between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. According to Florida Department of State reports, the following individual donors and PACs gave the most money to Gaffney.

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U.S. Senate Hopeful Blake Masters: Mark Kelly Should Go Back to Space

Neil Jones

PHOENIX, Arizona – Arizona Senate Republican nominee Blake Masters spoke at the recent “Unite and Win” rally in Phoenix, hosted by Turning Point Action, telling Arizonans it is time to get Mark Kelly (D-AZ) out of office.

“You know what, hey, we can respect that he [Mark Kelly] used to be an astronaut,” Masters said. “I’m sure he was really great at it. Doing all the experiments in space or whatever it is that astronauts do nowadays. Let him do that. Because here on earth, he’s failing. Here on earth, we have some big problems. Here on earth, we have massive inflation. Here on earth, in Arizona, there’s an invasion at our southern border.”

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Charlie Kirk Calls Arizona the ‘Battleground That Can Determine the Future of America’

Neil Jones

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk spoke at an Arizona rally Sunday, telling the people that this is the battleground state that can determine the future of America.

“You live in the state that is now the battleground, 50-50, hundreds of millions of Democrat dollars are coming into this state because as Arizona goes, America goes,” Kirk said. “You live in the place where everything you do matters. You live in the state, where if America is going to survive as a Constitutional Republic, separation of powers, independent judiciary, respect for the unborn, protection of our children. It’s all going to happen here.”

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GA-7 Nominee Mark Gonsalves Rejects Expansion of IRS, Calls for More Border Patrol Agents

Addison Basurto

Republican nominee Mark Gonsalves (R-GA-07) called the proposition for IRS expansion made by the Biden administration “the definition of runaway democracy” and criticized his opponent, Lucy McBath, for her support of the incumbent president.

“Tuesday Trivia fact that’s real, believe it or not. Under Joe Biden, the IRS staff will be larger than the combined totals of the FBI, the Pentagon, the Border Patrol, and the State Department. That is the definition of runaway democracy,” Gonsalves said in reference the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

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Rep. Paul Gosar Slams Biden on One-Year Anniversary of Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Neil Jones

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar released a statement slamming President Joe Biden’s botched operation to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan on the first anniversary of the incident.

“One year ago today, Joe Biden, and his incompetent woke military leadership, made the disastrous decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and surrender over $80 billion in equipment to the Taliban,” Gosar said. “I mourn for the thousands of our soldiers who died valiantly in a two decade military campaign that was mishandled from the start by poor leadership.”

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GOP Rep. Jordan: 14 FBI Whistleblowers Have Come Forward Since Trump Raid

Admin

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan on Sunday told Fox News that 14 whistleblowers from within the FBI have come forward with concerns about the Department of Justice’s alleged political bias following the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last week.

“Fourteen FBI agents have come to our office as whistleblowers, and they are good people. There are lots of good people in the FBI. It’s the top that is the problem,” the Ohio Republican told the outlet. “Some of these good agents are coming to us, telling us … what’s going on… the political nature now of the Justice Department,” he added.

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University of Arizona Says Pandemic Is Not Over, Pushes Vaccines

Peter D'Abrosca

The President of the University of Arizona is still pushing COVID-19 precautions, despite the fact that even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has significantly reduced its COVID-19 guidelines. 

“The pandemic is not over … though our situation is much improved over the start of last academic year,” University of Arizona President Robert Robbins said in an interview with the school newspaper. “While transmission of COVID-19 remains persistent around the nation, we have successfully navigated the past two years with continued innovation, support and cooperation from students, faculty and staff. We have the tools to continue our success and we know how to use them.”

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Hobbs Says November Election Choice Between ‘Sanity and Chaos,’ Lake Calls Comparison ‘Laughable’

Peter D'Abrosca

Arizona’s secretary of state and current Democrat nominee for governor says November’s election is a choice between “sanity and chaos,” suggesting that Democrats are the “sane” party.

“First and foremost, this race for governor is, I don’t think, about Democrats or Republicans. It’s really a choice between sanity or chaos,” Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) said on Sunday. “I’m someone who’s battle-tested as a statewide leader, with a track record of working across the aisle to get the job done for Arizonans.”

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Commentary: It’s Time to Rediscover Our Roots as a Nation Founded as a Giant Middle Finger to Tyranny

Admin

Growing up in our house, Election Night was like the Super Bowl. We would stay up late into the night watching the returns. The 2020 election was no different. That night, I watched Donald Trump take state after state with ease. Then I watched as votes started to fluctuate, barely trickled in, and then, with only a handful of states to go, I watched as counting was halted altogether. A sinking feeling crept over me as I witnessed things I had never seen in my life.

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Report Finds That Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Have Taken Over the University of Tennessee

Aaron Gulbransen

As part of a statement released on Tuesday, The National Association of Scholars (NAS) released a new report examining the implementation of the Diversity Action Plans at the University of Tennessee (UT).

The Anatomy of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Takeover: A Case Study of the University of Tennessee “finds that the University of Tennessee’s series of plans further entrench the dominance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, espousing an ideology that makes narrow identity categories a central learning objective.”

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DOJ Admits ‘Mistakenly’ Taking Trump’s Passports, Offers to Return Them

Admin

In an acknowledgment the FBI over-collected evidence during the Mar-a-Lago raid, the Justice Department informed Donald Trump’s team Monday that agents seized the former president’s passports and are obligated to return them, Just the News has learned,

DOJ was making plans Monday evening to return the passports and have also alerted defense lawyers the FBI may have obtained materials covered by various privileges that will be returned in the next two weeks, two sources told Just the News.

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Commentary: It’s Time to Take Down the Cult of Climate Change for Good

Admin

When you look at climate alarmists, there are really only two options: they either don’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re lying.

The “Little Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf’”-like cries of “existential threats” brought on by climate change would be hilarious, if it wasn’t for the disastrous impact from misguided actions to “fix” the problem. However, the fable about a youngster fabricating an emergency time and again isn’t that far off from today’s climate-change evangelists; they both need to recognize their stories are quickly losing credibility.

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Teachers’ Union Suggests Summer Reading About Kneeling for the National Anthem

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The country’s largest teachers’ union suggested a book about kneeling for the national anthem as part of its August 2022 summer reading list, according to its website.

The National Education Association (NEA) listed the book “Why We Fly” by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, which features marijuana use and tells of two girls on the cheerleading squad who take a knee for the national anthem after being inspired by a football star protesting in the media, according to the website. Discussion questions and related resources on athlete activism are also provided by the NEA to pair with the reading.

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