Day: November 18, 2022

Classroom Whiteboard Describes ‘White’ Girls and Boys as ‘Not Intelligent,’ ‘School Shooter,’ ‘Racist’

Susan Berry, PhD

An Oregon school district superintendent has dismissed the concerns of parents and students that a high school English teacher’s whiteboard containing insulting descriptors of white girls and boys was simply part of a class discussion about “untrue stereotypes” and “implicit bias.”

“This week in the Scappoose School District, a photograph was shared out of context of a robust lesson in a high school English class,” wrote Scappoose Superintendent Tim Porter. “In order to ensure transparency and support for teachers and students in our district, we wanted to provide accurate information about what happens in our classrooms when we teach about topics like stereotypes and ‘implicit bias.’”

Read the full story

Former Local Connecticut Democrat Party Chair Sentenced to Probation and Fines in Absentee Ballot Fraud Case

Susan Berry, PhD

The former Democrat Party chair of Stamford, Connecticut, was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and $35,000 in fines after being found guilty in an absentee ballot fraud case from the 2015 elections.

Superior Court Judge Kevin Randolph, who found John Mallozzi guilty during his trial last month on 14 counts each of charges of forgery and making false statements in absentee ballots – both felonies, sentenced him to two years of probation and $35,000 in fines.

Read the full story

TBI Says Mexican Cartels Working in Tennessee

Peter D'Abrosca

According to a Wednesday report, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) says dangerous Mexican Cartels are actively operating in Tennessee. 

“There are two primary cartels that we have found very connected to almost everything we do,” TBI Director David Rausch reportedly said. “That is the Sinaloa Cartel out of Mexico and the new Jalisco Cartel. Both of them are actively, very engaged in operations in Tennessee and we are working closely with our friends at the DEA on addressing that head on.”

Read the full story

Attorney General Skrmetti Joins 21 States in Filing Petition to Withdraw Federal Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Thursday that he led efforts with attorneys general from 21 states in filing a Petition for Rulemaking, requesting that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to repeal the “unlawful federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and withdraw related guidance.”

Read the full story

Tennessee Collects $1.14 Billion in Sales Taxes in October, Putting State $585.5 Million over Revenue Estimate

The Center Square

The state of Tennessee has collected $585.8 million more than budgeted in taxes and fees in the first three months of the fiscal year.

That’s after the state collected $4.6 billion more than its initial budgeted estimate for last fiscal year. Tennessee’s State Funding Board heard testimony Thursday from economists as it worked toward establishing next fiscal year’s estimates.

Read the full story

Titans Pair with MNPS on Major Investment to Benefit High School Sports

TC Weber

There are benefits to sharing a city with an NFL franchise. There are even more benefits to sharing a city with an NFL franchise in pursuit of a new stadium. But are the benefits real, or simply a PR deal geared towards facilitating a new stadium for the NFL franchise? One that also benefits local officials.

This week Nashville’s Mayor Cooper announced via  a press release,  “Every Metro Nashville Public High School (MNPS) athletic program will receive a new sports field, an initiative made possible through an innovative partnership with the Tennessee Titans and The Foundation for Athletics in Nashville Schools, Inc. (The Fans Inc), a non-profit organization dedicated to endow athletic programming at MNPS schools.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Republicans Need to Change Strategies After Disappointing Midterm Results

Admin

Who or what was responsible for the Republican nationwide collapse in the midterms? After all, pundits, politicos, and pollsters all predicted a “red tsunami.” 

Moreover, the average loss of any president in his first midterm is 25 House seats. And when his approval sinks to or below 43 percent—in the fashion of Joe Biden—the loss, on average, expands to over 40 seats. 

Read the full story

A Recount Could Take Place in Arizona’s Close Gubernatorial Race, Other Races

Rachel Alexander

With almost all of the ballots tabulated from Arizona’s midterm election, some races may end up so close that they trigger the state’s automatic recount provision. The governor’s race is separated by 17,200 votes, with Democrat Katie Hobbs leading Republican Kari Lake 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent. A recount is required where the difference “is less than or equal to one-half of one percent of the number of votes cast for both such candidates or on such measures or proposals.”

Read the full story

Ohio Senator Brown Asks Postal Service to Address Armed Robberies

Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Thursday announced he sent the United States Postal Service (USPS) the second of two letters asking for stronger measures against postal robberies. 

Brown originally wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Inspector General Whitcomb Hull a month ago asking them to redeploy Postal Police Officers to patrol along mail-carrier routes and at USPS collection sites. He said he received no response and therefore wrote to the USPS Board of Governors this week urging them to reinstitute the patrols. 

Read the full story

Virginia Board of Education Asks Youngkin Administration to Combine History and Social Sciences Draft with Previous Draft Begun Under Northam

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – The Virginia Board of Education voted unanimously to delay advancing a November draft of the History and Social Science Standards of Learning until January, and instructed Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow to change the draft to include content from an August draft presented to the BOE. Additionally, the board requested that Balow provide a document comparing the August and November drafts with the draft that will be presented in January. The vote came during Thursday’s 11-hour meeting featuring hours of public comment followed by hours of board debate over the standards. Updating the standards began under the previous Democratic administration, and in August Balow asked the board to delay advancing the standards for public review, citing technical errors including the omission of wording calling George Washington “The Father of Our Country.” At the same time, the board agreed to separate the standards document from the more in-depth curriculum frameworks. In subsequent meetings, Balow asked for more delay to present an updated draft that included input from voices that weren’t included in the August draft, eventually submitting the November draft of just the standards late last week. Organizations and advocates said the document was missing or downplaying…

Read the full story

Iconic Brands That Slammed Georgia Election Law Look Wrong amid State’s Record Voter Turnout

Just the News

Georgia’s high voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections, coupled with a favorable recent court ruling, have vindicated the state’s Election Integrity Act, which last year was harshly denounced as a tool of voter supression by President Biden and an array of iconic American brands from Coca-Cola to Major Legue Baseball.

After the passage of Georgia S.B. 202 last year, MLB announced it was moving its All-Star Game out of Atlanta, citing Biden’s claim that the law would “restrict voting access for residents of the state,” according to a statement by the league at the time. The game was moved to Denver.

Read the full story

Elite Connecticut High School Encourages Faculty to Swear Fealty to Anti-Racism

Admin

A Connecticut boarding school is encouraging their faculty to acknowledge their whiteness and pledge political change, according to the school website.

Taft Boarding School in Watertown, Connecticut, has a “Taft Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism Caucus” (TABARC) as a part of their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, for faculty to increase their “anti-bias, anti-racist literacy,” accordingto the school website. The group aims to acknowledge that they are “white,” affirm they are “anti-racist” and “pledge to caucus for personal and political change.”

Read the full story

Arizona Man Sentenced for Selling Fentanyl in Phoenix Homeless Camp

Neil Jones

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell revealed that Cristian Machado, 21, has been sentenced for supplying the population of the major homeless camp in Downtown Phoenix with fentanyl and other drugs.

“Selling illegal drugs to anyone in our community is a threat to public safety. To target those who are experiencing homelessness, and particularly vulnerable, is especially cruel, and this sentence demonstrates that my office will hold those who pose a danger to others accountable,” said Mitchell.

Read the full story

House Democrats from Philadelphia Tout ‘Sanctuary City’ Status as Illegals’ Bus Arrives

Bradley Vasoli

Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Philadelphia Delegation on Thursday took the arrival of 28 illegal immigrants into their municipality as occasion to celebrate Philadelphia declaring itself a “sanctuary city.” 

State Representative Morgan Cephus (D-Philadelphia), chair of the delegation, also disputed the notion that the migrants bussed in from Texas should be deemed unlawful entrants, despite the fact that they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. He noted that they secured “temporary protective status” by U.S. border agencies. 

Read the full story

Waukesha Parade Killer Sentenced to Life Without Parole

Admin

Judge Jennifer Dorow sentenced the Waukesha, Wisconsin, parade massacre’s perpetrator Darrell Brooks to life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday, following weeks of trial proceedings marked by his repeated courtroom interruptions.

A jury convicted Brooks Oct. 26 of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide while using a dangerous weapon, necessitating a sentence of life imprisonment under Wisconsin law. He was found guilty of 70 other counts as well.

Read the full story

Murray Hooper Executed in Arizona After Nearly 40 Years on Death Row for 1980 Murder

Neil Jones

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday that death row inmate Murray Hooper had been executed by the state of Arizona for the 1980 murder of Pat Redmond and Helen Phelps.

“The people of Arizona made it clear once again that those who commit heinous crimes in our state will be held accountable,” said Brnovich. “We must never forget the victims or cease to pursue what justice demands.”

Read the full story

Virginia to Get $10.7 Million in Settlement over Google Location Tracking

Eric Burk

Virginia is set to receive $10.7 million as part of a $391.5 million multistate settlement with Google over allegations that the tech company misled users about location tracking related to their Google account settings. “It is imperative that companies take customers’ personal data protection seriously and are transparent and direct about the data collected. As Attorney General, I am committed to protecting Virginians’ personal information and holding accountable companies who mislead Virginians and disregard their privacy,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a press release. In 2018, AP News reported, “Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to. An Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so.” The article said that even though users paused “Location History,” some Google apps still stored location data, and users needed to disable another setting, “Web and App Activity,” that was enabled by default. “Specifically, Google caused users to be confused about the scope of the Location History setting, the fact that the Web &…

Read the full story

Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Boot Election Integrity Firebrand from Party Caucus

The Center Square

The Republican caucus in Wisconsin’s State Assembly has voted to ban election integrity watchdog Rep. Janel Brandtjen from attending party meetings.

The caucus sent Brandtjen a letter, dated Nov. 11 and signed chair Rep. Rob Summerfield, to explain the decision. It did not, however, specify any specific issue the caucus took with the legislator.

Read the full story

Ohio Right to Life Files Complaint to State Medical Board

Hannah Poling

A complaint has been filed with the State Medical Board of Ohio over a patient who was reportedly denied proper health care while experiencing a miscarriage.

Medical professionals at an Ohio hospital had reportedly cited the state’s abortion laws for delaying health care. However, Ohio law does not prevent doctors from taking action when a patient’s life or health is at risk.

Read the full story

New Report Reveals Why the Afghan Government Collapsed Within 10 Days

Admin

Afghanistan’s government failed to recognize that the U.S. intended to withdraw, one of several reasons it collapsed 10 days after the Taliban takeover and two weeks before the U.S. military exit on Aug. 30, 2021, Congress’ Afghanistan watchdog revealed Wednesday.

After the fall of Kabul, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform directed the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to produce a report pinning down the reasons for the Afghan government’s dissolution, including why 20 years of U.S. state building efforts failed to produce a viable democratic government in Afghanistan. In the report, dated Nov. 15, SIGAR found that not only was the Afghan government underequipped to function on its own and dominated by a strongman, but that the U.S. negligence virtually guaranteed the Taliban a victory.

Read the full story

Nancy Pelosi Steps Down as House Democrat Leader

Admin

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would not seek reelection as Democratic House leader Thursday, but will remain as a member of Congress.

Pelosi, 82, who held the position since 2019 and previously stated would only hold the position for four years, opted to step down, but will remain as a backbencher to guide the next Democratic leader, according to her Thursday speech. On Sunday, a spokesperson for Pelosi denied claims that she was stepping down, as she was still considering her options, but indicated that attack on her husband would be a deciding factor, despite Democrats, including President Joe Biden, asking her to consider running.

Read the full story

Abbott Expanding Operation Lone Star in Effort to Secure Southern Border

The Center Square

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expanding Operation Lone Star in an effort to further secure the state’s southern border with Mexico.

Abbott, who has been critical of President Joe Biden’s open border policies, sent a letter to Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and Texas Military Department Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer in which he said, “Until Congress acts or the Biden Administration does its constitutionally required job, Texas Guardsmen and Troopers must bear the burden of securing the border.”

Read the full story

Democrats Shoot Down Bill to Increase Transparency About Long Veteran Affairs Wait Times

Admin

House Democrats voted against a bill intended to increase transparency into the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) wait time calculations at a committee markup Wednesday, as complaints mount that the VA is fudging data.

The proposed amendment from Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona would have required the VA to hand over documents relating to wait time calculations after the VA’s internal watchdog found in April that the department may be manipulating patient data to conceal the duration veterans have to wait before receiving medical care at VA facilities. The Democratic majority on the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) gave it an unfavorable recommendation Wednesday, effectively nullifying it before Congress, Fox News first reported.

Read the full story

Holiday Organization and Wellness Tips from The Home Edit

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee –I interviewed Netflix’s dynamic duo Clea and Joanna, from the Emmy-nominated show Get Organized with The Home Edit, to get their organization and wellness tips for the upcoming holiday season. And even though Clea is in the process of finishing her cancer treatment at Vanderbilt, they were gracious enough to speak to me for a few minutes.

The Home Edit was founded in 2015 by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin in Nashville, Tennessee. Brought together by a mutual friend, it was friendship at first text, and a business partnership immediately thereafter.

Read the full story

Republicans Announce Investigation into Joe Biden, Allege He Was Directly ‘Involved’ with Hunter’s Dealings

Admin

House Republicans announced they were launching an investigation into President Joe Biden at a press conference Thursday, alleging that the elder Biden was “involved” in his son Hunter’s overseas business dealings.

Republican Reps. James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio, citing unnamed whistleblowers, alleged that Joe Biden was the “chairman of the board” of the Biden family empire and oversaw Hunter’s business activity, claiming to find evidence of conspiracy to defraud the United States and money laundering. Hunter Biden currently holds a minority stake in a Chinese private equity firm responsible for investing in a previously sanctioned technology company that committed human rights violations against Uyghurs, and the new accusations point to involvement in the energy industry.

Read the full story

Commentary: GOP Botched Early-Voting Ground Game

RealClearWire
Early voting

Two days before Brian Kemp bested Stacey Abrams by more than seven percentage points in their closely watched rematch, the Georgia governor did something unusual for a Republican candidate in the 2022 midterms: He expressed confidence about where he stood and cited early voting as a top reason.

“We’ve also had record turnout for early voting, which ended this Friday. It’s been an incredible turnout, and we feel good about things,” Kemp told Trey Gowdy, the former congressman and host of Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America.”

Read the full story