New Country Music Label Baste Records Launched for Anti-Woke Artists

A new country music label is recruiting and promoting anti-woke artists, launched by the young founder of The Post-Millennial. Matthew Azrieli, who is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, started Baste Records to promote talented country singers who are struggling to survive in the mainstream music business due to their right-leaning political and cultural views. He’s brought on talent like Chris Wallin, also a singer and songwriter who has written music for some of the biggest country stars, including Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, and Trace Adkins. 

Azrieli told The Arizona Sun Times that he started Baste Records because music is a passion. He wanted to “provide a healthy outlet for conservatives, instead of just complaining.” Baste Records intends to appeal to a certain niche, the center right, instead of attempting to have a broad appeal that risks alienating factions. He pointed out Netflix is an example of an entertainment company that is engaging in the latter, angering both conservatives and the transgender community, causing it to lose market share. He said, “Cultural and political identities are driving entertainment media.” 

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Biden Signs Defense Bill into Law, Overturning Military COVID Vaccine Mandate

President Joe Biden signed Congress’ annual defense bill for 2023 into law Friday, giving his approval to a bill that overturns his own administration’s mandate that servicemembers must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023 authorizes $858 billion in spending on energy programs, the military and procurement, $45 billion more than the Biden administration’s initial request. Biden expressed concerns over several provisions of the act in a statement Friday but made no mention of a GOP-sponsored item overturning the Department of Defense’s service-wide vaccine mandate, despite the administration’s robust opposition to the provision.

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Archbishop Viganò: Holy See Delivered ‘Unjust and Illegitimate Punishment’ to Pro-Life Priest Father Frank Pavone

Outspoken former papal ambassador to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò condemned the Holy See’s decision to laicize pro-life priest Father Frank Pavone, calling the action “unjust and illegitimate punishment,” and observed hypocrisy in the move while “the Roman Curia is infested with unpresentable characters who are notoriously corrupt and heretical sodomites and fornicators.”

“[A] person’s actions are consistent with who that person is, ”Viganò wrote at LifeSiteNews Thursday, and asserted that principle has been confirmed “in the canonical sanctions recently imposed by the Holy See on Father Frank A. Pavone, a well-known and appreciated pro-life priest, who for decades has been committed to the battle against the horrible crime of abortion.”

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Record Number of Apprehensions, Gotaways in Fiscal 2022 Surpass 3.3 Million

A record number of illegal foreign nationals were apprehended or recorded evading capture by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2022, surpassing 3 million, according to data obtained by The Center Square.

In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 2.7 million encounters and apprehensions of foreign nationals illegally entering the U.S., which included data from Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations and excluded known and reported gotaways.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Requests Businesses, Residents Reduce Power Usage as State Hits ‘All-Time’ December Power Peak

Amid temperatures in the teens and single digits across the state on Friday, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced that power demand in Tennessee hit an “all-time December peak.”

TVA announced Friday that it and local power company employees were “actively working to maintain a stable power grid for everyone amid unprecedented demand,” by “temporarily reducing power supplies to localized areas.”

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Legal Experts Weigh In on the Merits of Kari Lake’s Election Lawsuit

As the second day of Kari Lake’s trial contesting Arizona’s gubernatorial election wrapped up Thursday, various election law attorneys provided their analysis on social media and videos. Some were optimistic that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson would grant Lake relief, declaring her the winner or calling for a new election, but some were not as optimistic.

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Attorney General Mark Brnovich Deems Tucson’s ‘Source of Income’ Ordinance Unlawful Following Investigation

In the wake of an investigation, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich found an ordinance altering the city of Tucson’s fair housing policies to violate state law.

“Tucson’s ordinance restricting home sellers and renters from considering the source of income of interested individuals violates state law,” said Brnovich.

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Minnesota Economist: Broadband Grants Ought to Generate a Return on Investment

Minnesota will award $27 million in state funding and $42.6 million in federal funding to broadband expansion projects across the state.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development on Monday launched a request for proposals for the funding. The funding supports the state’s goal that all homes and businesses have access `to broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second by 2026, the news release said.

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New England Lawmakers Seek More Federal Drought Relief for Farmers

Congressional lawmakers in Connecticut and Rhode Island have teamed up to seek more federal relief funding to help New England livestock feed producers, and other farmers impacted by severe drought conditions. 

In a letter to House and Senate budget leaders, members of congressional delegations from both states urged them to pump more money into relief programs, and expand eligibility to drought-wary forge farmers in the region, who they said are being left out of federal assistance programs. 

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Gov. DeWine Appoints Hamilton County Prosecutor to Ohio Supreme Court

Governor Mike DeWine has appointed Republican Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Deters will fill the seat that Justice Sharon Kennedy is vacating at the end of the year to replace Maureen O’Connor as Chief Justice. O’Connor is stepping down at the end of the year due to Ohio’s age limit for judges. One may not run for a seat on any Ohio court if one is more than 70 years of age. This limit often forces the retirement of long-time justices.

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Commentary: Frank Pavone and the Fading Power of Pope Francis

There’s been a flurry of commentary in Catholic circles since Pope Francis decided to defrock pro-life advocate and priest Frank Pavone. One suggestion I’ve seen from many Catholic writers is that Francis is punishing Pavone because he believes clergymen should not be involved in politics. It’s a laughable argument. Francis is very frequently involved in politics and regularly encourages (leftist) priests in their activism.

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Ohio Secretary of State Launches Messaging Channel to Combat Election Misinformation

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the launch of a new digital outreach initiative with a focus on educating Ohioans about elections and entrepreneurship.

Through the new messaging platform called @VerifyOhio, Ohioans can fact-check myths and answer common questions regarding elections for themselves. According to LaRose, election officials will use the platform throughout the 2023 and 2024 election cycles. LaRose said this would be a “rapid response” resource during the voting period around Election Day, when he said misinformation is typically at its peak.

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Commentary: No, Zelenskyy Is Not Churchill

Fox News’ Bret Baier, who, like Bill O’Reilly before him, has used his perch as a television personality to become a writer of history books (and, like O’Reilly, co-writes these history books with a “collaborator,” formerly known as a ghostwriter), writes on the Fox News website about the “parallels” between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the late U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Baier notes the parallels — both addressed a joint session of Congress during Christmastime even as their nation’s capitals were being bombed; both showed courage in leading their people against an aggressor nation; both were named Time’s Man of the Year; and both took defiant stands against more powerful enemies that were besieging their countries. But these parallels are all superficial. The stakes are far different. Churchill saved Western civilization. Zelenskyy is attempting to save Ukraine’s independence.

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Biden’s Christmas Address Fails to Mention Jesus, Instead Turns Political

On Thursday, Joe Biden’s Christmas address to the nation did not once mention Jesus Christ, the namesake of the holiday and the main reason a majority of Americans celebrate the Christmas season.

Breitbart reports that, while Biden made half-hearted references to the Birth of Jesus, he did not mention Jesus by name, and also described it as “the birth of a child, a child that Christians believe to be the Son of God.”

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