GOP Reps Push Bill to Ban China from Buying U.S. Farmland

Two Republican members of Congress introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit nonresident aliens, companies and other entities associated with the Chinese government from buying agricultural land in the U.S.

Washington Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse’s Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act would also ban those interests’ participation in U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) programs beyond food safety inspections, according to her press release. Chinese foreign investors held more than 191,000 acres of U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural land in 2019, the USDA indicated.

Read the full story

Major Standardized Testing Origination Used by Catholic Schools Promotes Gender Ideology, Drag Queens, ‘Trans Kids’

by Mary Margaret Olohan   The NWEA, which says it provides map-testing assessments to Roman Catholic dioceses and almost two thousand Catholic schools across the country, features articles on its website encouraging educators to help students to “come out” and promoting gender ideology to children. Formerly known as the Northwest Evaluation Association, the NWEA boasts of developing Pre-K through 12th grade assessments (Measure of Academic Progress or MAP tests) trusted by educators in almost 10,000 schools, districts, and education agencies in 145 countries. The organization’s website also notes that it partners with over 1,900 Catholic schools: “Nearly 400,000 Catholic school students benefit from MAP Growth data,” the NWEA says in a resource sheet. “Catholic schools nationwide in 84 dioceses trust NWEA for assessments.” [wonderplugin_pdf src=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/how-catholic-schools-partner-with-NWEA-for-student-success_NWEA_factsheet-1.pdf” width=”650″ height=”866px” style=”border:0;”] Literature on the organization’s website—written by NWEA staff—pushing gender ideology, drag queens, and other left-wing ideological content suggests that Catholic dioceses and schools might want to take a closer look at their MAP-testing assessments. Jeremy Tate, the founder and CEO of the Classic Learning Test (CLT), told The Daily Signal that his organization has been in contact with “numerous Catholic school administrators who are now refusing to administer NWEA MAPS assessments to their students. “ “Although MAPS claims that assessments used for Catholic…

Read the full story

Rumors Growing on Gang Involvement of Former Memphis Officers Charged in Tyre Nichols’ Death

A long-time Memphis law enforcement source tells The Tennessee Star rumors about guards at the Shelby County Division of Corrections being involved in street gangs have been circulating for years, although he knows of no correction officer implicated such a crime. 

“There have always been rumors about that, but they’ve never been substantiated that I know of,”  the official with knowledge of the Shelby County criminal justice system told The Star. “The joke in Memphis criminal justice has long been the jailers are one step ahead of being in jail themselves.”

Read the full story

Article III Project Founder Believes Jim Jordan Has No Intention of Holding Big Tech Accountable

Article III Project founder and President Mike Davis says he doubts House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan will hold Big Tech accountable for its abuse of power for colluding with the federal government.

“Jim Jordan has no intention of actually holding big tech accountable,” Davis said on the Wednesday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “He pretends like he is fighting against Big Tech, but behind the scenes he’s making these key decisions like opposing bipartisan reforms last Congress and appointing someone who is pro Big Tech.”

Read the full story

Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher on China Spy Balloon: ‘They’re Mocking Us’

Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher, chair of the House’s new committee on China, warns that a Chinese spy balloon spotted over U.S. airspace this week is the latest proof of the threat the People’s Republic of China poses at home.

And it won’t be the last time the communist nation attempts to mock and embarrass the United States under the Biden administration’s weak foreign policy, says Gallagher (R-WI-08). 

Read the full story

Minneapolis Transit Employees Got Pay Increases with Bus Drivers Making $200k

At a time when fare revenue and passenger trips have plummeted, the Minneapolis transit system has given its employees pay increases.

Top administrators at Metro Transit saw significant pay increases by as much as $55,000 in case from 2020 to 2022. Also, one bus driver made $201,853 and another bus driver made $195,717 last year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage for bus drivers in the United States is $23.37 which equates to $48,600 for a 40-hour a week position.

Read the full story

Ohio Woman Sues Columbus Hospital for Refusing Religious Exemption to COVID Vaccination

A Pickerington woman is suing Nationwide Children’s Hospital, saying she was wrongfully fired because she refused to get the COVID-19 immunization. She asserts that the hospital ought to have honored the request for a religious exemption she made as a Christian.

Invoking the violation of her civil rights, Tina Moore filed a federal civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Columbus.
She claims in the lawsuit that she was a surgical scheduler for the hospital for 24 years.

Read the full story

Connecticut Gov. Lamont Pitches Plan to ‘Erase’ Medical Debt

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is pitching a plan to tap into federal pandemic relief funds to “erase” an estimated $2 billion in medical debt owed by the state’s residents. 

The plan, which will be included in Lamont’s preliminary two-year budget proposal to be unveiled next week, calls for using $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to hire a nonprofit organization that buys medical debt and eliminates it “at a fraction” of the original cost. 

Read the full story

State Sen. Jake Hoffman to Lead New Senate Committee on Director Nominations

State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) announced Thursday that there would be a new bipartisan Director Nominations Committee in the Senate to make decisions regarding Governor Katie Hobbs’s Executive Appointments.

“Agency directors have a tremendous responsibility to administer necessary government functions as directed by state law, without attempting to legislate from the executive branch or expanding the reach of big government,” said State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who is appointed to lead the new committee.

Read the full story

Arizona State University Student Finds Urinal in Women’s Restroom

An Arizona State University (ASU) student who serves as vice chair of the East Valley Young Republicans discovered a urinal in a women’s restroom and asserted ASU is “putting men’s urinals in the women’s restroom!”

Rachel Hope tweeted on Jan. 26, “ASU caves to the far left by putting men’s urinals in the women’s restroom!! 🤢🤡.” Along with the tweet she displayed a video of entering a women’s restroom and encountering a urinal inside a stall next to a toilet.

Read the full story

Former Judge Russell Mock Elected Hamilton County GOP Chair

The Hamilton County Republican Party elected former Judge Russell Mock as its new chairman early on Thursday evening.

Green Township Trustee Triffon Callos, who has served as the temporary party chair for the previous month, said that Mock defeated former state representative Tom Brinkman at a closed-door meeting of the county party’s central committee at Clovernook County Club by a vote of 125 to 66.

Read the full story

Republican Representative Introduces Sweeping Border Security Package to Stop Record Illegal Immigration

Republican South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan introduced a series of bills Thursday to secure the southern border and crack down on illegal immigration.

The package includes six bills introduced in the last Congress that seek to ban access to Social Security for illegal immigrants, allow authorities to deport illegal immigrants who are listed on the national terrorism database, permit funds from the cartels to be used to build a border wall, revoke passports from members of foreign terrorist groups, punish illegal immigrants who overstay visas and make sanctuary cities ineligible for federal funding, according legislation obtained by the DCNF. Duncan’s plan follows U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP) highest month on record for migrant encounters, which topped more than 250,000 in December.

Read the full story

Commentary: Cancelling Newsmax Is Cancelling Your Choice

Censorship of conservative voices by establishment media owners has hit a new low with the decision by AT&T and its subsidiary DirecTV to drop Newsmax from their offerings. One snide commenter was quoted as saying that conservatives have Fox News, why do they need Newsmax or OAN for that matter.

The answer is obvious. As Fox News pushes more and more to the left, viewers who want a variety of honest opinions and reporting are moving to Newsmax and where it is available One America News.  With quality hosts like Sean Spicer (who I have known for more than fifteen years) asking tough questions of top quality guests, Newsmax keeps Fox News and their management team honest. 

Read the full story

Commentary: Left Gaslights America over Its War on Gas Stoves

Southern Democrats attacked the U.S Army at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Having ignited the Civil War, these Southerners had the chutzpah to call it the War of Northern Aggression. In like fashion, Democrats unleashed today’s War on Gas. Inspired by their Confederate ancestors, they then blame their victims who complain that the Left is stealing their natural gas and gas-powered appliances.

Read the full story

Kelsea Ballerini to Appear on CMT Storytellers on February 16th

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  –  CMT announced that GRAMMY®-nominated, multi-platinum country superstar and 2023 CMT MUSIC AWARDS co-host Kelsea Ballerini is set to headline the third installment of the famed music series “CMT Storytellers,” premiering Thursday, February 16th at 10p/9c with additional airings on Sunday, February 19th at 11a/10c (CMT) Friday, February 24th at 8p/7c (CMT Music) and Saturday, February 25th at 10a/9c and 6p/5c (CMT Music).

Read the full story

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Scores Victory Over College Board’s AP African American Studies Course

The New York Times is lamenting the College Board’s revised curriculum for its course in Advanced Placement African American Studies (APAAS) – its abandonment of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the move to make Black Lives Matter (BLM) merely an optional topic of study – both changes that suggest Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) firm rejection of the radical content of the prior version significantly contributed to the new direction.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senator Blackburn Readies for Debt-Ceiling Fight

Sen Marsha Blackburn

Having received an appointment to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee this week, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is poised to play a major role in this year’s fight over raising the debt ceiling. 

Earlier this week, Blackburn joined her Utah Republican colleague Mike Lee in penning a letter, signed by 22 of their fellow senators, insisting a rise in the federal debt limit must only happen as part of a deal to pare back government spending. In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Blackburn explained her view that fiscal circumstances demand such an agreement so debt does not snowball into an even more unmanageable burden on American families. 

Read the full story

Republican Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Permanently Block U.S. Foreign Aid Going to Fund or Promote Abortions

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision last year ending federalized protections for abortion under Roe v. Wade hasn’t stopped the Biden administration from promoting abortion abroad. 

A group of Republican senators is reintroducing a bill that would permanently enact and expand existing prohibitions on the use of U.S. foreign assistance to pay for the performance or promotion of abortion services overseas.

Read the full story

Far-Left Dark Money Group Working to Sabotage Republican Investigations into Biden

As the House GOP plans numerous investigations into Joe Biden’s various scandals, ranging from government misconduct to his family’s questionable business ties, a far-left dark money group is organizing to deliberately sabotage those probes.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Congressional Integrity Project (CIP) plans to regularly send information to the Biden White House to help combat the probes, including opposition research on the Republicans leading the investigations, poll data, and political ads.

Read the full story

Jim Jordan Says Crisis at the Border Is ‘Intentional;’ Articles of Impeachment Filed Against DHS Chief Mayorkas

Efforts to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis appeared to gain steam on Wednesday as the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee met to examine the “Biden Border Crisis.”

“Month after month, we have set records for migrants coming into the country, and frankly, I think it’s intentional,” said House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Read the full story

More Americans than Ever Before Are Dipping into Their Retirement Savings to Make Ends Meet

A record-setting number of Americans are pulling money from their 401(k) plans to cover emergency expenses, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing data from major investment manager, Vanguard Group.

The proportion of people who pulled from their 401(k) jumped by about one-third in 2022, to 2.8%, up from 2.1% in 2021 and 2% in the pre-pandemic era, according to the WSJ. Vanguard manages roughly 5 million accounts, so the total number of people making withdrawals climbed from roughly 100,000 to roughly 140,000 in 2022, as people both struggled with financial stress ranging from credit card debt to eviction.

Read the full story

Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment Not Approved by Lawmakers in Time for May Ballot as Anticipated

Although State Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said that there was ample time to have the “Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment” on the May ballot, it did not pass in the Ohio House and Senate prior to the February 1st deadline.

Stewart introduced House Joint Resolution (HJR) 6 in November; however, the legislation did not pass before the end of the session. Stewart indicated at the end of the year that he intended to resurrect the legislation in the 135th General Assembly which he did along with 30-plus GOP cosponsors last month.

Read the full story

Ohio U.S. Senator Vance Introduces Bipartisan PARTS Act to Prevent Catalytic Converter Theft

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) in collaboration with Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the PARTS Act on Monday, to prevent the thefts of catalytic converters by making the highly sought-after auto part traceable.

The PARTS Act, Preventing Auto Recycling Thefts, is a piece of bipartisan legislation that aims to reduce catalytic converter thefts by requiring new vehicles to have the VIN stamped onto the converter, allowing law enforcement officers to link stolen parts to the originating vehicles.

Read the full story

Georgia House Democrats Introduce Gun Bills

Georgia House Democrats have rolled out a series of bills they say will help stem gun violence in the state.

On Wednesday, state Reps. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, and Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, announced four pieces of legislation ranging from a proposal to institute a three-day waiting period to buy firearms to holding firearm owners responsible if a minor uses their firearm to threaten violence.

Read the full story

Virginia Lawmakers Asked to Amend Spending to Address Education Funding Shortfall

Virginia lawmakers are being asked to amend their proposed spending plans to address an error with a state calculation tool, that will result in schools across the state receiving millions less in state aid than they initially expected. 

The Virginia Department of Education confirmed this week a calculation tool estimating the amount of state funding each school division will receive had an error. The tool did not account for funding changes after the state cut the grocery sales tax on Jan. 1, according to Charles Pyle, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Education. 

Read the full story

Michigan State Superintendent Opposes Retention Part of ‘Read-by-Three’ Law

The Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature wants to scrap the retention part of the 2016 read-by-grade-three law.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, introduced Senate Bill 12, which aims to stop the state from possibly holding students back who are one or more grade levels behind on reading. The law also requires reading intervention and ongoing monitoring assessments to support student literacy.

Read the full story

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels Speaks in Washington on Southern Border Crisis Affect in Arizona

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels spoke at the US House Judiciary Committee’s Wednesday hearing on the southern border crisis, speaking on how his county has been affected by the ongoing issue.

“Our southern border, against all public comfort statements out of Washington D.C., is in the worst shape I have ever seen it,” Dannels said. “Communities have been neglected and abandoned, relying on our own local and state resources to address a border that is in crisis mode.”

Read the full story

Drop-Box Elimination Proposed in Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania state senator this week announced he will soon reintroduce legislation he proposed last session to end use of election drop boxes and satellite offices. 

In a memorandum asking colleagues to cosponsor his bill, Senator Cris Dush (R-Bellefonte) characterized drop boxes where voters can deposit absentee ballots as fraught with security problems. Lawmakers never enacted a law authorizing counties to set up the receptacles, but the commonwealth’s Democrat-controlled executive branch issued guidance to counties in 2020 permitting drop boxes’ usage. 

Read the full story

Republican Attorneys General Warn CVS and Walgreens Against Mailing and Distributing Abortion-Inducing Drugs

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey led 19 other Republican state attorneys general (AGs) in a warning letter to CVS and Walgreens that asserts federal law forbids using the mail to send or receive drugs that are intended to be used to produce an abortion.

Bailey and the coalition of attorneys general wrote to the two drugstore chains, informing them that their announced plan to use the mail to distribute abortion pills is both unsafe and illegal.

Read the full story

Retired Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor to Spearhead Ohio Redistricting Reform in 2024

According to former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor , a group seeking to overhaul Ohio’s redistricting procedure plans to put a constitutional amendment before voters in November 2024.

Last year, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected maps produced by Ohio’s Redistricting Commission on numerous occasions. O’Connor sided with the Democrats in redistricting lawsuits despite the GOP holding a one-seat majority.

Read the full story

Minnesota School Denies Concealing Gender Transitions from Parents

A Hopkins principal accused Libs of TikTok of spreading “false and hateful claims towards LGBTQ youth” after a report from the popular Twitter account said the school is offering chest binders to students without parental knowledge.

The Libs of TikTok report begins with a picture of a flier that is hanging in a hallway at Hopkins West Junior High School. The flier includes the contact information for the school’s “health mentor,” Caroline Hickey, who offers to talk with students about “gender norms,” “gender and identity,” and “circles of sexuality.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Black Reparations Inspiring a Multicolored Pandora’s Box of Intersectional Demands

Until a few years ago, the idea of paying financial reparations to descendants of African slaves was dismissed as a fringe idea.   

Now a notion that President Barack Obama once rejected as impractical is becoming public policy. California offers a dramatic example as officials there review a proposal that could pay in excess of $1 million each to some black residents, while more than a dozen U.S. municipalities are moving ahead with their own race-based programs to redress the legacies of slavery.  

Read the full story

University of Wisconsin System Survey Shows Free Speech Under Assault on College Campuses

Nearly half of the University of Wisconsin System students who responded believe administrators should ban the expression of views that some students feel cause harm to certain groups of people, according to an extensive survey on campus freedom of speech released Wednesday. 

Some 68 percent of those surveyed say students should report an instructor who says something in class deemed harmful to certain groups. 

Read the full story

Moderate GOP PAC Spent Only $700,000 of $1.8 Million Raised Helping Republican Candidates

The Republican Legislative Victory Fund (RLVF), a PAC supporting moderate Republicans, posted its end-of-year campaign finance report recently, and of $1.8 million raised, only about $700,000 was spent on independent expenditures (IEs) to support candidates. Almost all of that was spent during the last 15 days of the general election, which Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi told The Arizona Sun Times was well after many of the strongest attacks came against Republican candidates in September.

“I am hearing Camelback Strategies and others associated with the 2022 Victory Fund are trying to take credit for ‘saving’ the majorities at the legislature,” Mussi said. “If anything, their actions contributed to the slim majorities. They did nothing to help Michelle Pena in LD 23, which if she didn’t win we wouldn’t even have a majority.”

Read the full story

Lawmakers Call for Scottsdale School District Superintendent to Resign After Hateful Comments Emerge

A group of Republican state lawmakers joined in sending a letter to the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board calling for the resignation of Superintendent Scott Menzel after racist comments about white people he made in 2019 were unearthed by the media.

“The racist words and sentiments Menzel publicly expressed have no place in Scottsdale schools. Superintendent Menzel was hired and trusted to foster a culture of mutual respect among students, parents, and teachers. However, his racist words prove that he is incapable of doing that job,” according to the legislators.

Read the full story

Arizona Court Rules Against the City of Phoenix in Free-Speech Lawsuit, Even After the City Made Changes to NFL Signage Rule

Arizonan Bramley Paulin has achieved victory in a free-speech lawsuit against the City of Phoenix which allowed the National Football League (NFL) and Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee (ASBHC) to decide what signs residents could or could not display in a part of the City.

“This ruling is a huge victory for Bramley’s rights. Thanks to today’s order, Bramley will be able to exercise his free speech rights without unconstitutional restrictions on what he can and cannot say,” said Goldwater Institute Staff Attorney John Thorpe in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

Read the full story