Month: February 2023

Kari Lake Denounces Maricopa County Leadership’s ‘Inappropriate’ Comments After Court Dismisses Case

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Court of Appeals dismissed Kari Lake’s appeal of her election lawsuit on Thursday, stating that voters were not disenfranchised. Lake said she intends to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, as her opponents and Maricopa County officials praised the dismissal. Maricopa County election officials have frequently criticized Lake, causing some to doubt their impartiality. The Maricopa County Supervisors are responsible for overseeing elections on Election Day, while Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer has oversight of early balloting.

Clint Hickman, chair of the Maricopa County Supervisors, issued a statement on Thursday referring to Lake’s legal arguments as “questionable mathematics.” He said, “When a candidate for office asks a court to throw out valid votes, you have to wonder how committed to election integrity they really are.” He said Lake has been rejected “at the polls, when Arizona voters rejected her bid to be governor…”

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Star Tribune Hires Walz Commissioner Steve Grove as Its Next Publisher

Admin

The Star Tribune, one of the largest daily newspapers in America, has named Steve Grove — a former Google executive, consistent donor to Democrat politicians and often the right-hand man to Gov. Tim Walz — as its new publisher.

The Star Tribune, which announced the hiring on Tuesday, joins The Washington Post as the only two traditional print media outlets among the nation’s top 25 (measured by circulation) whose publisher or CEO has past political ties, according to a background search conduct

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Communist China Cracked Down on Christians in 2022, Report Says

Admin

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censored, fined, politically indoctrinated and forcibly disappeared Chinese Christians in 2022, according to a new report from the nonprofit ChinaAid Tuesday.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) reportedly employed a range of new methods to persecute Chinese Christians in 2022 including fabricating charges of fraud as well as criminalizing the legal international travel of church leaders, the report states. China’s crackdown on Christianity reportedly intensified in the run-up to the CCP’s 20th Party Congress in October 2022, during which time General Secretary Xi Jinping secured a third term as the communist nation’s supreme leader, according to ChinaAid.

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Commentary: Everyone Should Read Great Literature

Admin

When I first attended a Shakespeare play, I have to admit that for the first few scenes I was pretty lost. Shakespeare’s English is of a much older and more formal style than ours, so sometimes experiencing his work is almost like hearing another language. Confused and concerned that the play wasn’t going to make any sense, I began to fear that most dreaded of sensations in our modern age of instant entertainment: boredom.

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St. Mary’s College Says Biological Sex Messaging Does ‘Not Align’ with Its Mission

Admin

 Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, denied the foundation of a Turning Point USA chapter, according to an email from the dean of students, because Turning Point USA’s messaging on biological sex does “not align” with the Catholic college’s mission.

Claire Bettag, a sophomore student from Chicago, pushed back against Saint Mary’s denial of the club over the course of several months, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Signal. But the college’s dean of students, Gloria Jenkins, ultimately told Bettag that Turning Point USA’s messaging on transgender issues does not align with Saint Mary’s mission.

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Trump to Visit Ohio Town After Toxic Train Derailment

Admin

Former President Donald Trump will visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday after a train derailment caused a toxic chemical plume to pollute the town, a source familiar with the plan told Fox News.

Trump will visit with members of the community who are dealing with the aftermath of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that occurred earlier this month, the source told Fox News. The derailment led to the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents before a controlled release was performed to prevent an explosion, which subsequently released a hazardous mixture of chemicals into the air and water.

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Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Reignites Effort to Protect America’s Sovereignty Against World Health Organization’s Pandemic Treaty

Susan Berry, PhD

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) reintroduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to protect the sovereignty of the United States against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) attempt to push through a pandemic treaty onto its member states.

Johnson led other Republican senators as he reintroduced the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act.

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Pentagon Will Pay for Travel to Other States for Abortions

Admin

The Department of Defense (DOD) will pay for troops to travel to states that allow abortions and obtain so-called “reproductive health care” at non-military facilities, according to a new policy released Thursday evening.

The landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision gave states the authority to determine localized abortion policies. The Hyde amendment bars DOD from administering abortions at military medical facilities, the new policy carves out provisions for expanded leave times and set-aside funding for servicemembers stationed in states that restrict abortions to cross state boundaries to obtain the procedure.

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Minnesota Democrats Want to Ban Gas-Powered Lawn Mowers, Zambonis

Admin

Two Twin Cities lawmakers have introduced bills to ban the sale of new gas-powered lawn mowers and Zambonis in Minnesota.

Reps. Jerry Newton, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, introduced HF 1715 and 1716 this week. The first would require all new lawn and garden equipment sold or distributed in Minnesota after Jan. 1, 2025, to be powered solely by electricity. This would apply to lawn mowers, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, chainsaws, lawn edgers, string trimmers, and brush cutters.

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Commentary: Biden Has Mastered the Art of Dodging Blame for Inflation

Admin

It is frustrating that so many otherwise competent, knowledgeable economists and commentators are failing to land a punch on President Joe Biden regarding inflation.

It’s not that people don’t know the economy is floundering. They do. Almost 66% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, a sentiment driven by inflation and the difficulties it has caused for people trying to keep up with household expenses.

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Virginia Senate Democrats Move Against Babies Who Survive Abortion and Women’s Need for Informed Consent

Susan Berry, PhD

Senate Democrats in Virginia joined to block two bills Thursday, one that would protect babies who survive botched abortions, and another that would require abortion facilities to provide women in the state with informed consent in writing prior to undergoing an abortion.

Democrats voted against HB 1795, a bill that would require medical care to be provided infants who survive an abortion – in the same way it would be rendered “to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” and that abortion providers would “take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care.”

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More Plaintiffs Agree to Dismiss Challenge to Georgia’s Election Law

The Center Square

Georgia officials are claiming victory after three plaintiffs challenging the state’s new voting law petitioned the court to voluntarily dismiss their claims.

Critics have argued that the state’s new voting law, Senate Bill 202, the Election Integrity Act, is a burden on local election officials and made it more challenging for Georgians to cast ballots.

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Big Labor Growing Bolder in Badger State with Potential for Liberal Majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court

M.D. Kittle

A longtime Wisconsin factory worker charges the United Steelworkers threatened to have her fired for seeking to leave the union.  

It’s another brazen act by Badger State Big Labor, emboldened by a union-friendly governor and the prospects of the state Supreme Court taking a left turn, a worker’s freedom advocate tells The Wisconsin Daily Star. 

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Hobbs Revokes $210 Million in COVID-19 Relief Grants Awarded by Ducey

Rachel Alexander

Since becoming the governor of Arizona, Democrat Katie Hobbs has started undoing some of the work done by her predecessor Doug Ducey. This past week, Hobbs blocked $210 million in COVID-19 relief grants Ducey had awarded to businesses.

Hobbs’ administration said Ducey gave 19 grants to 16 businesses during his last three days in office; on Dec. 30-Jan. 1. Her aides claim he violated state procurement law, which requires competitive bids in order to award money. Those requirements were waived during COVID-19 through December 29 by the Arizona Department of Administration. After Ducey’s emergency declaration ended in March 2022, the waiver was extended twice. 

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Federal Judge Tosses Challenge to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

Just the News

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a challenge to a Florida law that restricts the discussion of sexuality and gender identity with younger students, and that critics have maligned as an anti-LGBT “Don’t Say Gay” law.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor determined that the group of Florida students, parents and teachers who brought the challenge failed to prove that they had standing to bring the case to the federal bench.

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Pennsylvania State University Student Government Sets Aside Thousands of Dollars to Fund Transgender Name Changes

Admin

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) student leaders voted on Wednesday to set aside $3,000 for transgender students to legally change their names, the student newspaper Daily Collegian reported.

The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) unanimously agreed to cover the costs for students who want to change their legal name through the university’s Student Legal Service department, the Collegian reported. Students can receive a voucher to cover the costs associated with the service which can reportedly amount between $150 and $200 when a name is changed for reasons other than divorce.

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Spokesperson: Ohio Governor DeWine Agreed with Decision to Execute East Palestine Controlled Burn but Did Not Give Order

Hannah Poling

In an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star on Friday morning, Governor Mike DeWine’s spokesman Dan Tierney said he was unaware that legal authority was required to execute the February 6 controlled burn of vinyl chloride from five carriages of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3rd. He added that Norfolk Southern executed the controlled burn after consultation with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and that DeWine agreed with the decision to execute a controlled burn – but was not the person who gave the order to execute the controlled burn.

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HHS, CDC to Deploy Toxicologists to East Palestine amid Train Derailment Fallout

Just the News

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send toxicologists to a struggling Ohio town in the wake of a major train derailment and the release of hazardous materials from its railcars.

A Norfolk Southern train earlier this month derailed near the town of East Palestine, forcing authorities to evacuate the town and orchestrate a controlled release of the toxic materials from the train to prevent an explosion.

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Group of Black 6th Graders Allegedly Assaults White Students on Ohio School Playground for Not Saying ‘Black Lives Matter’

Admin

A group of black elementary school students in Ohio reportedly assaulted several white students on the playground last week when the kids refused to say, “Black Lives Matter.”

The alleged assaults happened at Kenwood Elementary School last Friday, although Springfield Police weren’t notified about the incident until Monday morning, according to the incident report.

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CDC: 60 Percent Increase in High School Girls Contemplating Suicide

Admin

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a report revealing that the rate of high school-aged girls in the United States considering suicide or going through depression has increased dramatically over the last 10 years.

As reported by Fox News, the study shows that in 2021, 57 percent of all high school girls felt depressed or hopeless in 2021, compared to just 36 percent in 2011; this marks a staggering 58 percent increase over the 10-year period. Similarly, 30 percent of girls in 2021 contemplated suicide, a 60 percent increase from just 19 percent in 2011. And in another 60 percent increase, 24 percent of high school girls went so far as to make plans for their own suicide in 2021, up from 15 percent in 2011.

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FBI Whistleblower Resigns from Bureau, Warns Congress About Dangers of Case ‘Quota System’

Just the News

An FBI whistleblower has divulged to Congress that the bureau has created a case quota system that can incentivize agents to pursue frivolous cases or delay action on real crimes to attain statistical goals.

Steve Friend, a special agent and former SWAT team member who blew the whistle on alleged civil liberties violations in the Jan. 6 investigation, told Just the News on Thursday that he resigned from the bureau this week and gave the House Judiciary Committee an extensive interview detailing his concerns about the politicization of criminal cases and the growing manipulation of investigations to attain statistical and budget goals.

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Commentary: Recognizing Hard Truths About America’s History with Slavery

Admin

Slavery is always and everywhere an unconscionable stain, an egregious error, a monstrous outrage, a mortal sin. Every human possesses a natural right to be his own master, so long as he does not deny that same right to others.

Most people take that truism for granted today but it wasn’t the governing rule of the past. Few people who have ever lived on this planet were truly free; most were either outright slaves or were serfs or subjects who lived in constant fear of tyrants. In world history, freedom is the exception, and mostly a recent one.

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Tennessee Senate Approves Adding Hamilton County to ESA/Voucher Program

The Center Square

A bill to add Hamilton County schools to Tennessee’s pilot education savings account program was approved by the Senate on Thursday and is scheduled to be discussed in House committee next week.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, explained Hamilton County was taken out of the original pilot as the school district put an additional $20 million in funding into the district’s schools and hired a new superintendent, but that has not solved the district’s issues.

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Despite Comprehensive Study Showing Masks Ineffective Against COVID and Flu, CDC Director Tells Congress, ‘Our Masking Guidance Doesn’t Really Change with Time’

Susan Berry, PhD

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky testified during a recent House committee hearing that, despite the recent release of an international research review that found masks are ineffective against COVID-19 and the flu, her agency’s masking guidance “doesn’t really change with time.”

During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) asked Walensky to explain how the CDC uses evidence to update or change its guidance.

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Number of Troops Dying from Fentanyl More than Doubles

Admin

The number of American troops dying from fentanyl more than doubled between 2017 and 2021, according to Department of Defense (DOD) data released Wednesday.

The data show that fentanyl was to blame for 54 overdose deaths in 2021, which account for 88% of drug deaths that year, according to DOD’s response to a bipartisan congressional inquiry. The number is a staggering increase from the 22 overdose deaths caused by fentanyl in 2017.

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U.S. Projected to Tack on $19 Trillion in Debt over Next Decade as Spending Soars

Admin

The U.S. is likely to add $19 trillion more to the national debt in the next 10 years, which is $3 trillion higher than previously expected, new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predictions show.

By the end of 2023, the CBO projects the deficit to be $1.4 trillion, and it will continue to average about $2 trillion annually, raising the debt to about $52 trillion. The CBO report indicates that the rise in the deficit is a result of bipartisan legislation coupled with the Federal Reserve’s hike in interest rates.

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YouTube CEO Steps Down After Nine Years

Admin

Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki will be stepping down after a nine year stint as head of the company, Wojcicki announced in a blog post Thursday.

Wojcicki initially joined Google, Youtube’s parent company, nearly 25 years ago and worked on several projects for the company — including co-creating Google’s Image Search function and advertising technology — before joining Youtube in 2014 as its CEO, according to the blog post. Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will be taking over as the new CEO of YouTube, while Wojcicki will step into an advisory role at YouTube’s parent companies, Google and Alphabet.

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Democrats Celebrate 100 Federal Judicial Nominee Confirmations But Michael Delaney ‘Problematic’ for Biden and Schumer

Susan Berry, PhD

The Democrat-controlled Senate is celebrating the confirmation of 100 of Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, approved by radical left-wing organizations, but Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing saw Biden nominee Michael Delaney struggling against an onslaught of confrontation over his move in 2015 to publicly release the name of a minor female victim of sexual assault while he represented her school.

By nominating representatives of these radical positions, Biden is “paying back the left-wing dark money groups who spent over a billion dollars to help elect him and Senate Democrats,” Carrie Severino, president of JCN, formerly known as Judicial Crisis Network, told Fox News Digital.

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Just Saying Jeb Bush’s Name Fails to Get Data Science Bill Moved Out of House Subcommittee

TC Weber

At this week’s House Education Instruction Subcommittee meeting, State Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) introduced a bill, HB 0691, that would allow students to earn one credit in data science to satisfy one of the four mathematics credits required for high school graduation. The idea, Parkinson told lawmakers, came from a recently attended conference held by ExcellinEd, the education non-profit founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.  

At that conference, Dr. Steven Strogatz told attendees, “Our current curriculum is rooted in a different era…our current math curriculum is rooted in the 1950s Space race. We have to make room for data science for 21st-century skills.”

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Virginia’s Loudon County School Board Won’t Release Report on 2021 High-Profile Bathroom Assaults

Just the News

The Loudoun County School Board in northern Virginia has decided not to release the findings of an independent report on the 2021 sexual-assault cases at two high schools that attracted national attention and was a focal point in parents’ quest during the height of the pandemic for more transparency in public schools. 

The board voted 6-3 on Tuesday night, citing attorney-client privilege, which can protect the identify of the accused and victims, despite a grand jury report that concluded school officials mishandled the situation.

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Arizona State Senator Sponsors Bills to Call for a Convention of States

Rachel Alexander

Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) is proposing three bills that ask Congress to call for a Convention of States as allowed for in Article V of the U.S. Constitution, so the states can vote on and adopt amendments to the Constitution. Once two-thirds of state legislatures demand a Convention of States, also known as an Article V Convention, the Constitution mandates it. The states then run the convention, passing and ratifying amendments with a three-quarters majority — without Congress, the president, or governors involved.

SCR 1014 would propose a “federal fiscal responsibility” amendment, and states that enough states met the threshold in 1979 but Congress failed to order a convention. 

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Florida’s Medical Marijuana Program Has Grown 71 Percent in the Past Two Years

The Center Square

According to the official in charge of Florida’s medical marijuana program, the number of active patients has increased 71% over the past two years.

Christopher Kimball, the Director of the Office of Medical Marijuana Use, provided statistics to the Florida House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee Tallahassee Wednesday as they discussed the medical marijuana industry in the Sunshine State.

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Minnesota Democrats Raise Reimbursement Rates for Fraud-Prone Child Care Program

Admin

On Monday the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to pass a bill raising reimbursement rates for a child care program once at the center of a fraud investigation.

The Democrat-controlled chamber passed HF 13, which will fund increased reimbursement rates for providers who participate in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), by a 69-59 vote. The program exists to help low-income families afford child care, which is more expensive in Minnesota than most states.

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Study Recommends Michigan Update Telehealth Laws

The Center Square

A new report from the Reason Foundation recommends Michigan update its telehealth laws from temporary pandemic policies to permanent status.

When COVID started, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-86, which expanded telehealth options for Michiganders by authorizing and encouraging health care providers to use these services when appropriate and after getting consent from patients. The order took effect immediately and continued through June 10, 2020.

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Connecticut Gov. Lamont Signs Fiscal Controls, Free Lunch Bill

The Center Square

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a bill extending “guardrail” fiscal reforms that have been credited with helping turn the state’s once-troubled finances around.

The measure, which was approved by the state Legislature last week, will keep in place a raft of spending “guardrails” that were initially approved as part of the 2017 fiscal year budget for at least another five years.

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