Month: August 2022

Report: The Gay-Straight Alliance Network Now Operates in More than 4,000 U.S. Schools

Susan Berry, PhD

The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Network, which promotes radical gender theory in elementary, middle, and high schools, now operates over 4,000 “gender and sexuality alliances” under the guise of student “clubs,” reports Christopher Rufo at City Journal.

A senior fellow and director of the Initiative on Critical Race Theory (CRT) at the Manhattan Institute, Rufo explained the GSA Network is a “professionally staffed nonprofit with a multimillion-dollar annual budget. GSA Network serves as an umbrella organization for more than 4,000 “gender and sexuality alliances” across 40 states.”

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California to Ban Any New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035

Admin

In perhaps the most radical push yet for so-called “green energy” alternatives, the state of California has announced plans to ban the sale of any new gas-fueled cars by the year 2035.

On Thursday, as reported by the New York Post, the California Air Resources Board is set to approve a resolution called the Advanced Clean Cars II act, which will initiate a phase-out of gas-powered vehicles across the state of California over the next 12 years.

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Commentary: Student Loan ‘Forgiveness’ Is Another Slight to Blue-Collar Workers

Admin

The Biden administration has announced that the federal government will enact a $10,000 per borrower student loan bailout for those with annual incomes as high as $125,000 (or $250,000 for households). This legally dubious action represents an upward redistribution of wealth from hard-working taxpayers toward the higher-income minority of Americans who have a college degree, all the while doing nothing to solve the ongoing challenge of rising college costs.

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Tennessee Supreme Court Appoints New Reporter to Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced Monday that it appointed a new reporter to the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, Lynn Zehrt, who is currently a professor at Belmont University College of Law.

The previous Reporter to the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure Jeffrey Usman, was recently appointed by Governor Bill Lee to the Court of Appeals.

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Georgia Policy Groups Say Biden Plan to Forgive Student Loan Debt ‘Simply Transfers the Burden to Taxpayers’

The Center Square

President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some federal student loan debt received a lukewarm reaction from some Georgia groups who say the policy is unfair and won’t help ease inflation.

“We’re disappointed to see yet another policy out of Washington that creates more problems than it solves,” Eric Cochling, the chief program officer and general counsel for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said. “In addition to contributing to already runaway inflation, this plan from the White House doesn’t actually forgive debt, it simply transfers the burden to taxpayers.”

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Ohio Senate Candidates Slam Biden’s Handout to Student Debtors

Bradley Vasoli

Both U.S. Senate candidates from Ohio criticized President Joe Biden for forgiving $300 billion in student-loan debt, with Republican J.D. Vance issuing a particularly scathing rebuke for what he called “an elite giveaway on the backs of American workers.”

“Today, in the midst of a historic inflation crisis, Joe Biden supplied a $300 billion giveaway to college graduates – paid for by single moms in the form of higher food prices, by trade workers in the form of higher taxes, and by the next generation of students in the form of higher tuition,” the attorney, venture capitalist and author said in a statement. 

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Another ‘Defund Police’ Group Endorses Katie Hobbs

Peter D'Abrosca

Another group that advocates for defunding the police has endorsed Arizona’s Democrat gubernatorial candidate, in what is becoming a pattern. 

“As Arizonans grapple with an all out ban on abortion that [Kari Lake] has promised to defend, I’m proud to have [NARAL Arizona’s] endorsement. Arizonans deserve a governor who will fight to let them make their own decisions about their lives, families, & futures,” said Secretary of State and Democrat candidate for governor Katie Hobbs. 

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State Prohibits Florida Retirement System from Investing in Funds That Prioritize ESG

The Center Square

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the trustees of the State Board of Administration, CFO Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody passed a resolution Tuesday updating the state’s investment and proxy voting policies for its retirement system and pension plan. The resolution prohibits state fund managers from investing state money in funds that comply with the ideological agenda of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). The resolution also calls for an internal review of the state’s governance policies over the voting practices of the Florida Retirement System Defined Benefit Pension Plan.

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Norment Wants Youngkin to ‘Intensify Focus’ on Virginia Issues

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin is scheduled for another round of stops supporting GOP candidates across the U.S., fueling speculation that he is evaluating a possible presidential campaign, and earning skepticism from Virginia politicians, including Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment (R-James City.)

“I am hopeful that maybe he will intensify his focus on the Commonwealth’s issues,” Norment told reporters on August 19, and referenced the ambitions of Virginia’s recent governors.

“Doug Wilder wanted to be president. George Allen wanted to be president. Bob McDonald wanted to be president. Tim Kaine wanted to be next to the throne,” he said.

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Minnesota Licensure Changes Ask Teachers to Make Students ‘Agents of Social Change’

Admin

The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB), whose members are appointed by the governor, is revising its “standards of effective practice” for teacher licensure that will apply to all new teachers when adopted.

According to the Center of the American Experiment, the changes will impact teacher licensure programs and “require aspiring educators to ‘demonstrate’ ideologically driven content in their coursework to obtain their teaching license.” This goes for educators who end up teaching at private schools, too.

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Bill Kristol-Led PAC Vows to Spend $2 Million Against Kari Lake

Peter D'Abrosca

An anti-Trump blogger who presided over the demise of The Weekly Standard and now works at a neoconservative outfit called The Bulwark is leading a supposed “Republican” effort against Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. 

The Republican Accountability Project (RAP), which is funded by rich leftists and run by Trump hater Bill Kristol, will reportedly spend two million dollars through its Political Action Committee (PAC) to defeat Lake in the upcoming November election. 

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Michiganders React to Biden Canceling Some Student Loan Debt

The Center Square

The reactions of Michiganders to President Joe Biden’s effort to forgive some student loan debt range from predicting an economic boom to even higher inflation.

Michiganders earning less than $125,000 will have $10,000 in student loan debt cancelled. Married couples earning less than $250,000 will have $20,000 of student-loan debt cancelled. Pell Grant recipients will have $20,000 in student debt forgiven. The pause on payments for all borrowers has been extended through the end of the year.

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Pennsylvania Business Leaders Alert Lawmakers to Prosperity Hindrances

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House Republican Policy Committee on Thursday heard testimony from several small-business executives Thursday suggesting that unemployment compensation (UC) taxes among other issues pose major impediments to economic growth in the Keystone State. 

As The Pennsylvania Daily Star reported this week, Pennsylvania has lagged behind other states in terms of making up economic ground lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2022, about 6.17 million Pennsylvanians held jobs, a 2.8-percent rise over the same month one year prior. National employment meanwhile increased 3.7 percent during that time. 

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Conservatives Sweep School Board Races Across Florida

Admin

School boards in five Florida counties flipped to be conservative majorities on Tuesday with help from Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ endorsements.

Miami-Dade County, Sarasota County, Duval County, Martin County and Clay County held their school board elections on Aug. 23. The conservative school board candidates in the five counties won their races, resulting in a flip in the majority of the school boards.

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‘Bad’ Signatures Rejected 14 Times More Often During August Primary Election in Maricopa County than During 2020 General Election

Rachel Alexander

In its final canvass report for the 2022 primary election, Maricopa County says it rejected 14 times more signatures than it did in the 2020 general election. This comes on the heels of Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s finding that the county’s standards for signature verification were “insufficient to guard against abuse.”

“Canvass Queen” Liz Harris, so named after conducting an 11-month long independent grassroots audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, told The Arizona Sun Times, “The entire voting system needs an entire overhaul. Period.”

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State Rep. Parker Blasts Ousted Arizona Speaker Bowers for Calling GOP ‘Fascist’

Rachel Alexander

Republicans furious with Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa), mainly over denying election fraud and blocking election integrity bills, voted him out of office earlier this month, choosing a Trump-endorsed candidate instead. Bowers lost by almost 30 points to former legislator David Farnsworth, who he was running against for Senate (Bowers was term limited in the House). Bowers spoke out about his massive loss during an interview with The Guardian. 

He compared being voted out of office to “fascism.” He said, “The thought that if you don’t do what we like, then we will just get rid of you and march on and do it ourselves — that to me is fascism.” Bowers was referring to voters being upset about a multifaceted election integrity bill he killed using a technical maneuver. Among other things, HB 2596 would have given the legislature the power to reject election results, allowing an elector to call for a new election. 

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Arizona Fills In over 3,000 Feet of the Yuma Border Wall Section

Neil Jones

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) announced Wednesday that over 3,000 feet of previously open sections in Yuma’s border wall had been filled, celebrating that Arizona is doing what the federal government will not.

“Five wide open gaps in the border wall near Yuma neighborhoods and businesses are now closed off. In just 11 days, Arizona did the job the federal government has failed to do — and we showed them just how quickly and efficiently the border can be made more secure – if you want to,” said Ducey.

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Arizona State Senator to Visit Duncan and Offer Help to Town After Massive Flooding

Neil Jones

Arizona Sen. David Gowen (R-Sierra Vista) will visit the small town of Duncan in Greenlee County, which recently suffered from heavy flooding, to offer residents help and find solutions to prevent this kind of damage from occurring again in the future.

“I am thankful that no lives were lost during what must have been a terrifying experience and appreciate the assistance of local law enforcement, first responders and the neighbors that banded together to help each other out during this time of crisis,” Gowen said in a press release. “I look forward to visiting Duncan to serve as needed in the coming days.”

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Miyares Stops in Gilpin Court to Discuss School Safety, Hear Local Concerns

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia — Attorney General Jason Miyares stopped at the Calhoun community center in Gilpin Court, a low-income neighborhood with a local reputation for violence. Miyares met privately with local leaders and parents and handed out backpacks with school supplies to residents as part of a series of stops he is making around Virginia.

“I came here to the Calhoun Center to hear what was happening, and what people are saying is happening,” Miyares told reporters after the Thursday meeting. “A lot of it was about school safety, but also about larger issues in the community.”

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Poll: Americans Skeptical of DOJ’s Motives in Trump Raid

The Center Square

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence has led to a drop in trust for the law enforcement agency, a new poll shows.

Convention of States Action, along with the Trafalgar group, released the poll Thursday, which showed a large segment of Americans say the raid has lessened their confidence in federal law enforcement and that they question the motives for the raid.

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Strive Management’s Justin Danhof Talks Pumping U.S. Energy Products While Closing the Back Door on Corporate America

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Head of Corporate Governance for Strive Asset Management Justin Danhof to the newsmaker line to describe the company’s goals and portfolio, and closing the back doors of corporate America. Leahy: We welcome to our newsmaker line Justin Dahof, the head of corporate governance for Strive Asset Management. Good morning, Justin. How are you this morning? Danhof: I’m doing great, Michael. It’s a pleasure to talk with you. Leahy: Strive Asset Management is an exchange-traded fund, and your objective is to have a portfolio of companies where you are able to communicate to them your desire that they not follow woke policies. Do I have that right? Danhof: So Strive Asset Management, we’re a brand-new asset management firm. We do have one ETF, and we are launching more products coming up in the following month. And our first product is DRLL, and it’s a U.S. energy product. And our message is quite simple. On behalf of our clients, we’re telling American energy companies to do something very novel…

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TN-5 Democrat Nominee Heidi Campbell Emphasizes Her Support for Abortion

Aaron Gulbransen

At a small pro-abortion rally held on Wednesday at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville, TN-5 Democrat nominee State Senator Heidi Campbell (R-Nashville) emphasized her support for abortion in a speech she gave.

Campbell gave the speech on the eve of when Tennessee’s anti-abortion law The Human Life Protection Act, which was triggered due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, goes into effect.

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Texas School Board Approves Policy Requiring Educators to Use Students’ Gender at Birth, Removes CRT Books

Admin

A Texas school board approved a policy which requires educators to only recognize a student’s gender assigned at birth and bans the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) from the classroom during an Aug. 22 board meeting.

The Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District Board in Grapevine, Texas, voted 4-3 to implement a policy which advises educators to only use students’ pronouns that correspond with their gender at birth. The policy also bans the teaching of CRT in the classrooms and requires books to be reviewed before entering the school library.

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Poll: Majority of Arizona Voters Want Border Wall Built in the State

The Center Square

A majority of Arizonans support building a wall at the Mexican border in the state and say that the surge in illegal immigration constitutes an invasion, according to new polling.

Pollsters Scott Rasmussen and RMG Research also show that a large majority of Arizonans think that illegal immigration is “bad” for the U.S., but legal immigration is “good.”

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Commentary: For Democrats and Due Process, It’s Now or Never

RealClearWire

The FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago represents the logical next step in the left’s ongoing effort to destroy Donald Trump. The raid also evinces Democrats’ spiral of worry: A successful Trump return, once unthinkable to them, is looking more possible by the day. To stop it, Democrats and their anti-Trump Republican allies are prepared to shred every last norm of American due process.

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Federal Judge Blocks Biden’s Attempt to Override State Abortion Law

Admin

James Hendrix, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s attempt to force states to provide abortions in certain emergency situations in a Tuesday ruling, according to court documents.

Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide emergency medical aid in an attempt to override state abortion bans. Hendrix halted the guidance and temporarily blocked the HHS from enforcing its interpretation of EMTALA.

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Tennessee Congressional Delegation Reacts to Biden Announcement of Student Loan Cancellation

Aaron Gulbransen

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it was canceling $10,000 of student loan debt for individuals earning less than $125,000 per year, and several members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation voiced their displeasure.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said in a tweet shortly after the announcement: “President Biden’s decision to waive student loan debt will increase inflation and is another gift to the rich. Tennesseans should not be forced to pay for coastal elites to get their PhD in gender studies.”

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Tennessee Department of Education Announces $10.2 Million Grant Opportunity for All Public School Districts

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced on Wednesday that a $10.2 million investment grant is open for all Tennessee public school districts.

The agency said the Resilient School Communities Grant is available to address needs for school-based support, expand school-based initiatives, and increase staff capacity to best serve students.

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Commentary: Racism to Achieve Diversity Harms All Americans

Admin

If you’ve navigated the thicket of microinstructions, hectoring, guilt-tripping, institutionalized resentment, establishment-generated misinformation, double standards, and bizarre new terminology, then welcome to the world of woke antiracism in America today.

One of the biggest absurdities spread by the woke antiracists is that white people must practice “allyship” and refrain from sharing their opinions on race relations with “people of color.” There is nothing wrong with listening as well as talking, but for white people to remain silent in the face of one of the most destructive movements in American history is negligent and cowardly.

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Former Republican Governor Wins Florida Democratic Primary

Admin

Former Republican governor and current Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida has defeated Democratic Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried in Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to PBS News.

Crist won with 60.2% of the vote, as of 8 p.m. EST according to PBS, citing reporting from The Associated Press. Crist is now slated to face off as the Democratic candidate against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, alongside a slate of minor third party and write-in candidates, in the Nov. 8 general election.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She’s ‘Not Backing Down’ After Being Swatted by Trans Extremist

Admin

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was “swatted” at her home in Rome, Georgia at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, after a pro-trans extremist made a false 911 call to the police. Five officers were reportedly dispatched to Greene’s house in response to an alarming false report. In an interview later Monday, Green said she had immediately grabbed her gun upon hearing a ruckus outside her front door, but she thankfully put it down before she answered.

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Language Finalized on Proposed Ohio Referendum Banning Noncitizen Voting

Bradley Vasoli

This week the Ohio Ballot Board finalized the wording of a referendum on a proposed state constitutional amendment to prohibit noncitizens from participating in local and state elections. 

A majority of Ohio voters will need to approve the measure during the November 8 election for the amendment to become law. The ballot question informs electors that the amendment would “require that only a citizen of the United States, who is at least 18 years of age and who has been a legal resident and registered voter for at least 30 days, can vote at any state or local election held in this state” and that the law would “prohibit local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.”

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