Month: February 2023

Commentary: Eliminating Tennessee’s Health Care Permission Slips will Make the State Healthier, Wealthier

The Center Square

Imagine Kroger having to ask a government board, made up of its rival grocery stores, for permission to open a new store in your town. It is unlikely that Whole Foods and Publix are going to say yes, which would leave most towns and cities with far fewer options for buying their groceries. As absurd as this sounds, this is what happens in Tennessee when a new hospital or home care service wants to establish new facilities and services.

Read the full story

Trump and DeSantis to Fundraise Back-To-Back in Palm Beach This Week

Admin

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are both set to appear at fundraising events in Palm Beach, Florida, this week for their respective campaigns as the race for the GOP primaries intensifies.

MAGA Inc., a political action committee campaigning for a second Trump administration, is hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago, and DeSantis is gathering a group of conservative donors and leaders for a retreat just eight minutes from Trump’s estate the next day, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Libertarian-Socialist Axis

Admin

On the surface, it might seem ridiculous to suggest libertarians and socialists work to further the same political agenda. Their ideologies are diametrically opposed. The extreme version of a socialist system is for all property to be owned and controlled by the government. The extreme version of a libertarian system is for all property to be privately owned. And yet the extremes meet. 

The unwitting consequence of socialist and libertarian movements in the United States has been to assist in the formation of an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a corporatist elite that has perfected its ability to manipulate both movements.

Read the full story

Left-Wing Megadonor George Soros Touts Plan to ‘Repair the Climate System’

Just the News

Liberal megadonor George Soros spoke in support of using an experimental weather control technology to alleviate global warming during a speech last week in Germany.

Soros, who has given millions of dollars to climate change groups through his nonprofit Open Society Foundations, touted a theoretical project to “repair the climate system” by creating white clouds that reflect sunlight away from certain warming areas with the goal of preventing ice sheets in Greenland from melting, Fox News reported.

Read the full story

Ohio Department of Health Announces Opening of Clinic in East Palestine

Just the News

The Ohio Department of Health announced this week the opening of a health clinic in East Palestine to assist with those harmed by the toxic chemicals from the Norfolk Southern train derailment. “Registered nurses and mental health specialists will be on hand. A toxicologist will either be on site or available by phone,” the Ohio Department of Health said in a statement. 

Read the full story

House Speaker Releases Thousands of Hours of January 6 Surveillance Video to Tucker Carlson: Report

Admin

According to an exclusive posted on Axios today, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has turned over the full trove of surveillance video captured by Capitol police security cameras on January 6 to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin digging through the trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds,” Mike Allen reported. “Excerpts will begin airing in the coming weeks.”

Read the full story

U.S. Trade Deficit Grew Last Year

The Center Square

It is growing relentlessly. The U.S. trade deficit, the gap between what the nation imports and exports in goods and services, increased to $67.4 billion in December, an increase of $6.4 billion from $61.0 billion in November, revised, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The month-over-month figures on the deficit are part of a long-term trend in America.

For 2022, the deficit in goods and services hit $948.1 billion, rising $103.0 billion from 2021. “Exports were $3,009.7 billion, up $453.1 billion from 2021. Imports were $3,957.8 billion, up $556.1 billion from 2021,” the Census Bureau and BEA reported. 

Read the full story

Sumner County Elections Hires Attorney Whose Lobbying Firm Represents MicroVote Election Equipment Used in Sumner County

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – The Sumner County Election Commission (SCEC), on a 3 to 2 voice vote, decided in its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday to engage the services of legal counsel to represent them against the County Commission. The attorney specifically named in the motion is a principal with the law firm’s lobbying affiliate that represents MicroVote General Corporation, makers of the voting machines used in Sumner County elections.

In his motion, Republican-appointed SCEC member Mike Fussell made the unusual move of specifically naming attorney Tom Lee to provide the legal services as one “who is very familiar with the workings of Sumner County government.”

Read the full story

Not a Single Student Is Proficient in Reading or Math at 55 Chicago Schools: Report

Admin

In 55 Chicago Public Schools, not one student met grade level expectations in either math or reading during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report.

Out of 649 Chicago Public Schools, 22 schools have zero students who met grade level expectations for reading while no students were proficient in math in 33 schools during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report. The data analyzed is from the Illinois State Board of Education annual report which details how schools within the state are performing.

Read the full story

IRS Leaked Thousands of Americans’ Tax Filings; Congress Demands Answers

The Center Square

The new head of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee blasted the Biden administration for giving few answers after thousands of taxpayer files were leaked to an outside group.

House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., sent a letter to Russel George, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, raising concerns about the leak of “confidential tax information” and the lack of accountability over that leak.

Read the full story

Former Metro Nashville Public School Board Member Fran Bush Announces Run for Nashville Mayor

TC Weber

Former Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) School Board member Fran Bush celebrated her 49th birthday Friday by announcing her intent to run for Nashville Mayor in the upcoming election. In her video announcement, Bush touted her record as a school member as the impetus for her mayoral run.

“While serving my time as a school board member for Metro Nashville Public Schools for four years, I was able to work on behalf of 80,000-plus students, their families, teachers, support staff, and bus drivers,” she said. “My work also included being the only board member who championed getting our students back in the classroom during an unprecedented time during COVID-19.”

Read the full story

State Senate Attorney Tells Green Bay It’s About to be Sued for Bugging Citizens

M.D. Kittle

An attorney for the Wisconsin State Senate is warning Green Bay city officials not to destroy documents related to its use of audio recording devices at city hall. He said a lawsuit is coming. 

Ryan Walsh, with the Eimer Stahl law firm, sent a letter to Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich late Friday after city officials all but ignored a warning letter demanding they remove the three recording devices. 

Read the full story

Evers Budget Hurts Wisconsin Job Creators, Middle Class, Think Tank Says

Bradley Vasoli

The nonprofit Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) on Friday issued a comprehensive analysis of Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s 2023-25 state budget and bemoaned the proposal’s likely impact on job creators and the middle class.

Evers’s spending plan totals $104 billion, $16 billion more than the budget on which the Badger State now operates. If enacted, the new proposal would be the first state budget exceeding $100 billion. It includes massive spending increases in such areas as public education, childcare assistance, “affordable housing” and broadband expansion. Republican lawmakers, who object to the extent of the spending hikes and the governor’s refusal to devote more of the state’s $7.1 billion surplus to tax cuts, promised last week to thoroughly rewrite the plan. 

Read the full story

Georgia Law Would Allow School Librarians to Face Prosecution for Distributing Obscene Material

Just the News

A new bill in the Georgia legislature would, if passed, make school librarians liable for distribution of obscene materials to students, the latest shot in the ongoing culture wars over controversial materials in schools. 

The bill, SB 154, would mandate that the “sale or distribution of harmful materials to minors” would be “applicable to libraries operated by schools.”

Read the full story

Minnesota Democrats Introduce Physician Assisted Suicide Bill

Admin

Democrats in the Minnesota Legislature are sponsoring a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives by assisted suicide.

On Thursday both HF 1930 and its companion SF 1813 were introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. If passed, the legislation would permit adults with a terminal illness (6 months or fewer left to live) to request “medical aid in dying” medication.

Read the full story

Gov. Shapiro Emboldens Pennsylvania Death Penalty Abolitionists

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s recent declaration that he will sign no death warrants is emboldening lawmakers who want to abolish executions in the Keystone State. 

To that end, state Representative Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) is circulating a memorandum asking colleagues to cosponsor a measure he plans to offer ending the state’s death penalty. 

Read the full story

More Than 200 People Arrested in Human Sex Trafficking Ring in Florida

The Center Square

A multiagency operation led to the arrest of more than 200 people allegedly engaging in human trafficking in Polk County, Florida. More than half of the victims were smuggled into the U.S. illegally through the southern border, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Of the 24 victims identified as being trafficked, “14 of these females are illegally in this country,” Judd said. “Did you hear that? Did you hear clearly what I said?

“Fourteen of them are here illegally in the country. To me the bombshell is 13 of them are Cuban, one is Mexican, all of them came to us through the southern border.”

Read the full story

Busy Week In Iowa as Parade of GOP Presidential Contenders Calls on the Caucus State

M.D. Kittle

Home of the first-in-the nation caucuses, Iowa takes center stage in the 2024 presidential nomination chase this week, with stops from GOP heavyweights either in the race or seriously mulling over a run. 

Fresh off announcing her presidential bid in her home state South Carolina and in first primary state New Hampshire, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is slated to make two campaign stops in Iowa this week.

Read the full story

Music Industry Spotlight: Crowd Surf Founders Cassie Petrey and Jade Driver

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – One of the things that has most surprised me as an entertainment journalist is how many people it takes for a song or singer to become notable. Besides the artist and the songwriter (who may or may not be the same person) there are backup bands, producers, and music engineers. To make sure the song gets proper copyrighting and credit, there are publishers. For anyone to even know the song/artist exists, there are PR agents, marketing, and promotions. And let’s not forget accountants who make sure money earned goes to the correct places. If one is lucky enough, they may sign to a label that will take over some of these duties but if you aren’t making money for that label, your contract will soon end. However, since the early 2000s, there is another caveat that must be acknowledged: social media. Social media is vital to an artist’s existence and success and even more so if one is independent. Cassie Petrey and Jade Driver are co-founders and co-CEOs of the leading social media and artist management firm, Crowd Surf. They are the company behind some of the most iconic artists’ social media marketing including Backstreet Boys, Camila Cabello, Eric Church,…

Read the full story

Commentary: ‘Economist’ Krugman’s Accounting of the National Debt is Jailworthy

Admin

The national debt has risen at a blistering pace over recent decades and is now higher than any era of the nation’s history—even when adjusted for inflation, population growth, and economic growth (GDP).

Denying this reality, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently wrote two columns for the New York Times in which he claimed that the debt is an “overhyped issue” and “isn’t all that unusual” from a historical perspective. His attempts to support these assertions employ the kind of fraudulent accounting that could land a corporate executive in jail.

Read the full story

Congress Takes First Shot at Federal Censorship: A Moratorium on DOJ Payments to Social Media

Just the News

Stunned by a growing body of evidence showing federal pressure to silence Americans’ voices online, House Republicans have unleashed their first legislation to slow government requests to Big Tech to censor content.

The ELON Act, introduced this month by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and backed by nine other cosponsors, would impose a one-year moratorium on taxpayer payments from the Justice Department to social media firms as well as require an audit on how much money changed hands since the start of 2015 between DOJ and Big Tech firms.

Read the full story

Americans Still Agree Race Should Not Be Factored into College Admission: Poll

Admin

A majority of Americans still oppose using race as a factor in college admissions, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

The poll, which surveyed 4,408 adults from Feb. 6-13, revealed that 62% of Americans agree that race should not be considered when reviewing a college applicant, Reuters reported. The results precede the Supreme Court’s anticipated decision on whether affirmative action, which considers race as an admission factor, can be used by colleges and universities to make admission decisions.

Read the full story

Nonprofits Urge More Controlled Burning to Prevent Wildfires in 11 Western States

The Center Square

A new report by two nonprofit organizations is advocating 11 western states change local and state policies to increase controlled burning on private lands to stem wildfires.

“Modern wildfires are not only burning larger areas but are also more harmful for people, forests, and the environment,” according to the publication “Burn Back Better,” produced by the Property and Environment Research Center and Tall Timbers. The 38-page report, subtitled “How Western States Can Encourage Prescribed Fire on Private Lands,” recommends immediate policy changes to address the wildfire crisis in the western U.S.

Read the full story

In Possible 2024 West Virginia Senate Race, GOP Gov. Justice over Incumbent Democrat Manchin, Poll

Just the News

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice is the only potential nominee who could beat Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin in the 2024 Senate race, according to a GOP poll. 

Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has not formally entered the race, but in a hypothetical matchup, the two-term governor beat Manchin 52% to 42%, according to the poll conducted by The Tarrance Group, a GOP strategic research and polling firm.

Read the full story

Supreme Court Cancels Arguments for Health Measure Limiting Illegal Immigration

Admin
Illegal Immigrants arrested at the southern border

The Supreme Court has removed arguments from its calendar for a highly anticipated case on Title 42, a COVID-19 public health measure allowing Border Patrol to quickly expel some illegal aliens. The case was going to be heard March 1.   

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that the case had been removed from its argument calendar. The high court did not provide an explanation as to why the justices would no longer hear arguments for the case, but it seems likely related to the Biden administration’s plan to officially end the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11.

Read the full story

Kentucky Supreme Court Upholds Two Pro-Life State Laws

Just the News

The Kentucky Supreme Court this week refused to strike down two major pro-life laws in the state, leaving them in place but sending one back to lower courts for further consideration. 

Abortion providers argued that the state’s heartbeat bill and trigger ban violated the constitutional rights of those seeking abortion there. The court said in its ruling that abortion providers “do not have third-party standing to assert the constitutional rights of their patients.”

Read the full story

Nashville to Bid on 2028 Political Conventions as State-City Feud Continues

The Center Square
John Cooper

Nashville Mayor John Cooper sent letters to both the Republican and Democratic parties expressing interest in the city playing host to the 2028 national political conventions.

But the benefits of being the host to those events for Nashville and Tennessee residents wouldn’t be as advertised. Economists E. Frank Stephenson, of Georgia’s Berry College, and Victor Matheson, of Holy Cross, have extensively studied the benefits of being a host city for conventions over the past 20 years and have found, while there is an increase in hotel occupancy, the benefits never add up to the claimed benefits.

Read the full story

IRS Enlists Soros-Funded Liberal Nonprofit to Study the Feasibility of ‘Direct File’ Tax Return Systems

Admin

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is partnering with a George Soros-funded nonprofit to study and establish a “direct file” tax return system, according to FedScoop.

The nonprofit, New America, alongside Loyola Law School Associate Professor of Law Ariel Jurow-Kleiman, will create a feasibility study authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires that the IRS work with independent third parties to establish free, online direct tax-filing, according to FedScoop. New America draws funding from a litany of left-learning philanthropic organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures LLC and the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations, according to New America’s funding disclosure.

Read the full story

Unearthed Emails Show Rachel Levine Discussing ‘Potential Revenue’ from Child Sex Change Procedures

Admin

Rachel Levine, who is now assistant secretary for health in the Biden administration, discussed the potential revenue that could be generated by a gender clinic social worker who could advocate for child sex change procedures in emails, reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation, with a pediatrician.

Dr. Rollyn Ornstein, a pediatrician at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, believed a social worker for the hospital’s gender clinic would generate enough revenue to make funding the position worthwhile, noting that even with age restrictions for sex change surgeries, child patients would eventually turn 18 and be eligible for further interventions, according to emails from 2018 between Rollyn and Levine obtained by parental rights activist Megan Brock and reviewed by the DCNF. Social workers at pediatric gender clinics can work as surgery advocates, gathering letters of recommendation on behalf of minors seeking sex change procedures that insurance companies are otherwise hesitant to cover, according to a 2021 report from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the National Association of Social Workers.

Read the full story

Commentary: Increasing Wokeness and Class Division Threaten to Tear the Left Apart

Admin

Tensions are rising between those who profess to want to redefine the “soul” of America and those who have traditionally provided them the votes to win elections.

A new report from the Manhattan Institute warns that increasing tensions inside the Democratic Party between woke White elites and working class voters threaten to tear the party apart. 

Read the full story

Florida Officials Find Escambia County Misused Tourism Tax Funds

The Center Square

A recent report from the Florida Auditor General has turned up three issues regarding the use of taxes retained by the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners and Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller.

Florida state law allows counties to levy and impose five separate local option taxes, referred to as the Tourist Development Tax, which allows rates of up to 6% of each dollar collected from short-term rentals of up to six months.

Read the full story

Michigan Secretary of State to Push for Gun Ban at Polling Places

The Center Square

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she is working with state lawmakers to ban firearms at polling places and enact a Voting Rights Act.

“The time for only thoughts and prayers is over,” Benson said in a statement. “The time for taking action to ensure Michiganders are safe – in schools, in grocery stores, in places where we vote and everywhere in between – is now.”

Read the full story

Virginia Senate Panel Advances Bill to Ease Lease Terminations of Uninhabitable Units

The Center Square

Virginia could soon clarify the process for tenants to terminate leases when moving into an apartment that does not meet certain habitability standards under a bill receiving bipartisan support by lawmakers in the General Assembly. 

Lawmakers on a Senate committee voted 14-1 Wednesday to advance HB 1635, which allows a tenant to terminate a rental agreement within 7 days of moving into a unit if certain habitability standards are not met. The bill specifies a tenant can terminate the lease and receive a refund of their full security deposit and any rent paid if the condition of the unit “constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants or occupants of the premise.” 

Read the full story

Ohio Republican Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Increase Healthcare Transparency

Hannah Poling

Two Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced a bill this week they claim will make hospital prices more transparent and affordable.

Federal law already requires hospitals to provide information about standard prices online. However, a majority of hospitals today are not in compliance. Ohio Representatives Tim Barhorst (R-Wintersville) and Ron Ferguson (R-Fort Laramie) filed a bill this week that would codify these federal laws into the Ohio Revised Code to allow for greater enforcement.

Read the full story