Month: November 2022

Commentary: Predictably, the Republicans Form Their Circular Firing Squad

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With the disappointing midterms, Republicans have lost a major battle in the fight to restore American greatness. We are now rapidly approaching the final standoff between the flailing Republican Party and the reenergized Democratic Party. The Democrats survived what should have been a political bloodbath in 2022, and the Right seems to be in the most vulnerable position since the 1960s, when Republicans were essentially a permanent minority in Washington.

It could happen again. Whether the GOP returns to minority status in two years will depend on the party determines who will be its nominee in the next presidential election. While many on the Right assume it will be Donald J. Trump, there are other candidates in the offing.

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Judge Sides with DeSantis, Says Governor Won’t Have to Testify in Lawsuit Brought by Former Prosecutor

Just the News

A federal judge this week ruled that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will not have to testify in a lawsuit brought against him by a prosecutor he dismissed over the summer.

DeSantis made headlines in August when he fired State Attorney Andrew Warren after the latter indicated he would not enforce laws prohibiting sex-change operations for minors. “State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said at the time.

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Education Unions Say Ohio Legislature Should Focus on Funding, Not on Curriculum Regulation

Hannah Poling

Two Ohio teacher’s unions who are keeping tabs on the Ohio legislature’s handling of education say they hope the General Assembly focuses on funding and attracting new teachers, rather than bills that regulate curriculum and “divisive” issues.

Controversy has erupted in public education decisions over the past year on how to teach about race and how schools should approach students who identify as gay or transgender. In the mid-term election, The liberal teacher’s unions, the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) and the Ohio Education Association (OEA), contributed tens of thousands of dollars to help the campaigns of their Democratic candidates to secure support for their left-leaning agenda.

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Minneapolis Police Department Remains Critically Low on Patrol Officers

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minneapolis police department

The Minneapolis Police Department only has 235 officers available to respond to 911 calls throughout the city, according to internal numbers obtained by Alpha News.

“The Minneapolis Police Department continues to face critical staffing shortages and remains far below its authorized strength,” Sherral Schmidt, president of the Minneapolis police union, told Alpha News.

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State Senator Proposes Pennsylvania Prison-to-Business Partnership Program

Bradley Vasoli

State Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Bethlehem) is asking colleagues to support legislation to create a prison-to-jobs pipeline for nonviolent inmates in Pennsylvania. 

Boscola bemoaned Pennsylvania’s status as among the worst states in the U.S. in terms of ex-prisoners reoffending; it has a 41-percent recidivism rate. In a memorandum announcing her measure, she posited that rate will go down if the commonwealth proactively advances many prisoners toward employment as they prepare for life outside of jail. 

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Virginia Companies, Research Universities Get $1.5 Million in Tech Grants

The Center Square
Rotunda at University of Virginia

Virginia companies and research universities will receive more than $1.5 million to fund 24 technology-related projects in the commonwealth.

The technology funding will be awarded through the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund. The program was launched in 2020 to promote technologies that could yield more economic development and job creation in the state, according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.

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Hyundai’s Electric Vehicle Systems Supplier Announces $926 Million Facility in Bryan County

Eric Burk

Automotive parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis plans a $926 million Electric Vehicle (EV) Power Electric system plant in Bryan County; the plant will supply systems to Hyundai factories in Bryan County and in Alabama, and to the Kia Georgia plant in West Point.

“Hyundai Mobis’ investment project in Bryan County reflects an acceleration in the development of the EV supply chain in Georgia’s auto industry,” Hyundai Mobis Electric Powertrain Business Unit Vice President H. S. Oh said in a press release. “We’re going to be a major production player in the EV market, and that’s going to trigger more growth within the sector. Mobis is looking forward to providing high-quality work opportunities to the growing local workforce.”

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Yale and Harvard Law Schools Quit Popular Annual Rankings Report

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Yale Law School, rated No. 1 by an influential ratings guide put out by the magazine U.S. News & World Report, announced it would quit the rankings Wednesday, according to a news release by Yale Law School dean Heather Gerken.

“The U.S. News rankings are profoundly flawed — they disincentivize programs that support public interest careers, champion need-based aid, and welcome working-class students into the profession,” Dean Gerken wrote.

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More than a Half-Million Dollars Set for ‘Equity Consulting,’ as well as Vaping and Motion Detectors Removed from Michigan Schools’ COVID Spending

The Center Square

Nineteen vape detectors, $550,000 in equity coaching, motion sensors, and metal detectors are some items deleted from Michigan schools’ initial COVID spending plans.

The Center Square discovered the removed spending by filing more than 100 records requests to school districts statewide in an attempt to learn how schools plan to spend more than $6 billion in recovery pandemic funds. 

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Commentary: Mob Rule and the Death of Trust

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It’s been clear to millions of Americans for decades that the media was biased, that the Democratic Party and their government employee union allies controlled and corrupted big city elections, and that the “climate crises” and the threat of “white supremacy” were being oversold. These and other annoyances were perennial. But for many skeptics, the level of mistrust remained tolerable. The system itself was resilient. Nothing is perfect. The tide can turn. The good guys could still win. The 2015 arrival of Donald Trump on the national political scene changed the rules. The system not only revealed itself to be even more fraudulent than most people had previously believed, but it became malevolent.

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U.S. Senate to Vote on ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ as Several Groups Question its Constitutionality

The Center Square

Several groups argue the Respect for Marriage Act (ROMA) currently before the U.S. Senate is unconstitutional, and if enacted, will eventually be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bill, HR 8404, was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, on July 18 and passed by a vote of 267-157 the next day. The U.S. Senate took it up on November 14.

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Chinese Drone Threat Raises Foreign Espionage Concerns Among U.S. Officials

Just the News

Enough Chinese-made recreational drones have been spotted in restricted airspace in the Washington, D.C. area to raise foreign espionage concerns among U.S. government agencies and lawmakers alike.

The drones, which are manufactured by DJI and sold at major retailers, can be altered by users to override the geofencing limitations that prevent the devices from flying over sensitive locations. 

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Commentary: Large Racial Reading and Math Performance Gaps Persist as Children Age

RealClearWire

The dominant response to the recently-released NAEP Report Card on 4th and 8th grade proficiency scores has been to focus on the adverse effects of school closures: declining competencies, particularly for the lowest performing students. What is buried in the report is the continued alarmingly low black student scores on both reading and math sections and their inability to close the racial gap as they move from the 4th to 8th grade.

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Medical Schools Are Offering ‘Incentives’ for Departments That Hit Diversity Targets: Report

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More than a third of medical schools are offering incentives to departments to hit their diversity targets, according to a November report from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Of the 101 medical schools surveyed, 35.6% offered performance incentives to reach their diversity, inclusion and equity goals, according to the report. The survey revealed widespread adoption of diversity-oriented initiatives in medical schools nationwide, including mandatory diversity classes, assessment of staff members’ “contributions” to diversity goals and campus-wide climate assessments.

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Agricultural Groups, Lawmakers Want to Pass Bill That Tries to Give Pathway to Citizenship for 1 Million Illegal Farmworkers in U.S.

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Lawmakers and agricultural groups are racing to pass a bill that would alter the number and length of farmworker visas before the newly-elected GOP majority takes control of the House in January, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. 

The House bill would create 20,000 three-year H-2A visas permitting year-round work, and provide a path to citizenship for approximately one million farmworkers currently living in the U.S. illegally, according to the WSJ. Currently, H-2A visas only allow workers to remain in the country for up to 10 months, which has caused issues for some farms, such as dairy farms, that require workers year-round.

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Biden Admin to Give Chevron Oil Pumping License in Venezuela: Report

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The Biden administration is set to give Chevron Corp. a license to pump oil in Venezuela, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As part of the deal, Chevron would retain partial control of both production and maintenance for a select set of run-down oil fields it previously had stakes in with Petróleos de Venezuela SA, a state-run oil company in Venezuela, according to the WSJ, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal, which is contingent on certain debts being repaid, would also mean President Joe Biden is continuing to move away from sanctioning the socialist regime.

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Border Patrol Sees Surge in Suicides as Morale Plummets

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seen four personnel die by suicide in the last two weeks, National Border Patrol Council Vice President At-Large Sergio Moreno, who is part of the agency’s National Suicide Prevention Workforce, revealed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Three Border Patrol agents died by suicide in the two week period, the first two in the Rio Grande Valley sector, the third in the El Paso sector on Sunday and the fourth, a CBP officer, also on Sunday, Moreno told the DCNF. The surge in suicides comes as CBP personnel experience low morale amid record illegal migration ushered in by several Biden administration border and immigration policies.

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As White House Drains Oil Reserve to Near-40-Year Lows, Biden Asks for $500 Million to Modernize System

Just the News

The Biden administration is asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to shore up and modernize parts of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve system, a request that comes after the White House has spent months aggressively draining the levels of fuel from the system itself. 

The request, a rider attached to the White House’s $38 billion Ukrainian funding package,  would “provide the Department of Energy, Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund account $500 million for modernization activities of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites,” the White House said in the letter.

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Number of Tennessee Residents on Food Stamps Hits 19-Year Low

The Center Square

The number of individuals receiving food stamps in Tennessee has dropped to the lowest levels since November 2003, according to data released by the federal government.

There were 786,502 people receiving food assistance in Tennessee in August 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which recently updated its data on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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Commentary: Governors Conference Shows GOP May Not Have Learned Anything from Midterms

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In terms of sheer numbers, Republicans did the worst in governorships among all the electoral positions up for grabs this year. Republicans did make gains, although modest, in the House. In the Senate, Republicans will either have a net gain of zero or be down one seat, depending on how the Georgia runoff goes in December. But Republicans lost a net of two gubernatorial seats. While former President Donald Trump, the Republican National Committee, Senate Republicans, and House Republicans have faced a lot of scrutiny for their poor showing, the Republican Governors Association has avoided this scrutiny. The lack of humility at the Republican Governors Association’s latest meeting presents an ominous sign on whether Republicans will learn from their mistakes in 2022.

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Newly Elected Catholic Bishops’ Conference President: Link Between Homosexuality and Sexual Abuse Crisis ‘Can’t Be Denied’

Susan Berry, PhD

The newly elected head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said last week following his election he maintains the assertion that a relationship exists between the clergy sex abuse scandal and homosexual priests ordained in the Church.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the Archbishop of the Military Services, said in a press conference he continues to stand by his 2018 statement in which he stated the issue of homosexual priests is “certainly an aspect of the sexual crisis that can’t be denied,” LifeSiteNews reported.

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No Financial Data Reported for Maricopa County Recorder Richer’s PAC Since October 22, Two Weeks Prior to Election

Laura Baigert

While Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is coming under increased scrutiny for his founding and operation of a political action committee (PAC), the next required opportunity for the public’s visibility on his PAC’s activity is mid-January nearly two months after he sought to influence the November 8 general election.

According to the Arizona Secretary of State website regarding campaign finance reporting dates, filings for the post-general election period of October 23 to December 31, 2022, are not due until the earliest date of January 1 and not later than January 17, 2023.

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Pittsburgh School District Unanimously Passes Resolution Against Bill Barring Critical Race Theory

Just the News

The Pittsburgh School District unanimously passed a resolution against legislation that would bar teaching Critical Race Theory or any other concepts that regard one race as superior to another. 

The resolution, which passed on Tuesday, states that the board will defy “harmful legislation,” including HB 1532, formally referred to as the Teaching Racial and Universal Equality Act. The bill was proposed by Republican State Rep. Russ Diamond.

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Minnesota’s Limited Restrictions on Abortion Could Lead to Increased Taxes

The Center Square

Minnesota is more friendly to abortion than some of its neighbors, and that might impact Minnesota taxpayers.

Some abortion clinics are moving from states that are banning or limiting abortions to states such as Minnesota with fewer abortion restrictions. For example, Red River Women’s Clinic moved from Fargo, N.D., to Moorhead, Minn., to continue performing abortions, and says on its website that it offers abortion care and family planning services to all of North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota and South Dakota.

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Ohio School Sued over Transgender Bathroom Policy as Students to Wait Hours for Toilet

Hannah Poling

An Ohio school district faces a lawsuit from Muslim and Christian parents after permitting students to use bathrooms according to their stated gender identity rather than their biological sex.

America First Legal filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the parents against Bethel Local School District, located in Tipp City north of Dayton. The lawsuit accuses the district of violating Title IX protections for students and violating parental rights.

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Virginia’s Outdoor Recreation Economy Grew Almost 21 Percent in 2021

Eric Burk

Virginia’s outdoor recreation economy grew 20.9 percent in 2021, adding $9.4 billion and making up 1.6 percent of Virginia’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a November report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

“I’m thrilled to see this level of economic growth of Virginia’s outdoor recreation. I’m looking forward to continuing my work in Washington to ensure that our outdoorsmen and women have the opportunities and resources they need to continue enjoying their time in our great outdoors for generations to come,” Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) said in a newsletter Friday.

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Ohio Governor Announces $5 Million in Security Grants for Higher Education

Bradley Vasoli

Thirty-three higher-education institutions across the Buckeye State will get $5 million in total for safety related enhancements, Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) announced this week. 

The allocations from the state’s 2022 Campus Safety Program will largely fund equipment such as metal detectors, alarms, loudspeakers, security cameras and lock technology. Schools getting the largest amounts include the University of Akron ($422,630), Kent State University ($387,567), Terra State Community College ($338,598), Bowling Green State University ($278.075.63) and Washington State Community College ($226,345.90). 

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Analysis: Trump Prevailed over Biden in Security Debate over Chinese Social App

Just the News

Call it the tale of two TikTok presidents. In familiar fashion, Donald Trump was originally ridiculed as president when he suggested the Chinese-owned TikTok social video app was a national security risk, only now to be validated two years later by the intelligence community.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden vowed to always heed the intelligence community, only to stray by promoting TikTok during the midterms as a political strategy and allowing his administration to bring some TikTok workers to the United States on special immigrant visas.

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40 Suspects on FBI’s Terror Watchlist Arrested at the Border in October

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The month of October alone saw the arrest of 40 different suspects on the FBI’s terror watchlist as they attempted to cross the border into the United States.

According to the New York Post, nine individuals were arrested attempting to sneak across the border, while another 31 were stopped by authorities at various ports of entry, and were subsequently arrested upon identification. Of the 31 who attempted to enter legally, 25 tried to come across the Canadian border while six tried to cross the southern border.

The terror watchlist was first established by the FBI after the 9/11 attacks, initially consisting of known terrorists who are not American citizens, but later expanded to include potential threats and associates of known threats. The actual list of names is kept secret for security purposes.

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Democrats Face Tough Odds of Passing Immigration Bill Before 2023

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As the lame-duck session of Congress draws closer to its end, Democrats attempting to pass a mass amnesty bill have come to realize that most Republican senators have no interest in voting in favor of any such bill.

According to Politico, Democrats are intent on passing some form of amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens who were brought into the country as children, colloquially referred to as “Dreamers.” The name stems from a failed amnesty bill passed by the U.S. Senate in 2013 called the “DREAM Act,” which then failed to pass the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Then-President Barack Obama then decided to circumvent Congress by implementing much of the proposed bill as an executive order, which has since faced numerous legal challenges due to its unconstitutional nature.

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Commentary: An American Tradition Is Chronic Anti-Poverty Waste via the Federal-to-Local Distribution Pipeline

RealClearWire

For six years, beginning in 2014, the accounting firm for the Southeast Alabama Community Action Partnership warned administrators that the organization was doing a poor job of managing the millions of dollars in taxpayer money it received annually for its poverty-reduction work, including home energy assistance and foster grandparenting.  

In 2018, a longtime employee filed a federal complaint alleging that the group spent public money profligately on extravagant travel and for other unauthorized purposes, and that it retaliated against employees who questioned its financial practices. 

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GOP Struggled with Voters 18-29 in 2022 Election over Abortion, Gun Rights, Climate Change

Just the News

The Republican Party struggled with young voters ages 18-29 in the 2022 midterm election, largely due to issues such as abortion, gun rights, and climate change, according to an analysis from Look Ahead Strategies. 

CNN found that House Democratic candidates “won voters under 30 by 28 points,” which was a two-point increase over the 2020 election data for that age group.

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Fan-Supported ‘The Chosen’ Season Three Tops Box Office with No. 3 Open

Susan Berry, PhD

The premiere of Season 3 of The Chosen, a free streaming series based on the life of Jesus, opened at a stunning No. 3 spot at the box office this past weekend.

The first two episodes of the premiere of The Chosen Season 3 has drawn a historic number of viewers, pushing its original five-day run in theaters to December 1, and grossing $8.7 million in the United States.

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Michigan Department of Education Provided Educators with Materials on How to Create a ‘Gay Straight Alliance’ Club

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The Michigan Department of Education (MDOE) promoted resources for educators on how to start a “Gay Straight Alliance” (GSA) club in their schools, according to training materials.

The MDOE’s LGBTQ Students Project includes trainings and resources for LGBTQ students as well as educators on getting a GSA club “up and running,” according to the materials. For starting a GSA club, the department promoted a GSA resource list and brainstorming activity for educators to teach them how to advertise the club and insure student confidentiality.

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Far-Left Pennsylvania Democrat Proposes Board to ‘Combat Election Disinformation’

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Representative Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia) this week proposed a bill to establish an “Election Integrity Board” that would monitor politicians rhetoric regarding electoral matters and “combat” what the panel deems “disinformation.” 

In a memorandum seeking cosponsors for his legislation, the far-left lawmaker who represents Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy neighborhoods lamented the nomination in the 2022 primary of over 100 individuals he considers “election-denying candidates.” He blasted them for asserting what he insists are “unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud” and opined that “our elections are highly secure.” He suggested that politicians and hopefuls who raise concerns about such issues create unnecessary doubt in the minds of the electorate.

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Outgoing Minnesota Lawmaker Pursues New Legal Avenue in Abortion Fight

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A retiring Minnesota lawmaker and pro-life activist is asking his local city council to consider adopting a pro-life ordinance.

Outgoing state Rep. Tim Miller proposed a “Life City” ordinance before the Prinsburg City Council last week. The ordinance would allow citizens to sue medical providers for helping to carry out an abortion within city limits. The mother or father of the child would not be subject to litigation.

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Ohio Church to Host Holiday Children’s Story Time with Drag Queens

Hannah Poling

LGBTQ rights activists have scheduled a Holi-drag Storytime, a faction of Drag Queen Story Hour, geared towards small children as young as two years old for next weekend in Central Ohio.

The event is scheduled to be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus on December 3rd and is being marketed as an annual LGBTQ+ holiday tradition for the entire family.

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Virginia Rep. Good Commits to ‘No’ Vote on Kevin McCarthy for Speaker

Eric Burk

Congressman Bob Good (R-VA-05) said he won’t vote for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-21) for Speaker of the House when Republicans take the majority in the upcoming congressional session.

“Is there anything that Kevin McCarthy or the folks around him could do to persuade you to flip your vote to a yes,” Steve Bannon asked Good in a Friday interview on War Room.

“No, sir, because there’s a lot of good quality candidates, and again, there’s  half a dozen of us or so who have come out in public, I believe there’s man more that will come out public and will stand strong and vote with us on January 3,” Good said.

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In Rambling Note, Virginia Walmart Shooter Complained of Harassment, ‘Betrayal’

Just the News

A rambling note left by the Chesapeake, Va., Walmart killer claims that he suffered from harassment and “betrayal” prior to his rampage and that he carried out the killing as if he was “led by Satan.” 

The note, released by Chesapeake police this week was discovered on Andre Bing’s phone after the Tuesday killing, where he shot and killed at least six people before turning the gun on himself. 

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Georgia Supreme Court Allows State Abortion Ban to Temporarily Stay in Place

Eric Burk

The Georgia Supreme Court has allowed the state’s six-week abortion ban to remain in effect, issuing a Wednesday order staying a lower court order blocking the ban while the state appeals the injunction against the ban.

The law was originally passed in 2019, effective beginning January 2020. But pro-choice organizations sued, and courts blocked the law from taking effect pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

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