Month: May 2023

The Tennessee Star Appeals Judge’s Decision Allowing School and Parents to Intervene in Covenant Killer Manifesto Lawsuit

M.D. Kittle

The Tennessee Star and other plaintiffs in a closely watched public records lawsuit are appealing Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles’ decision last week to allow the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the school and parents of students to intervene in the case. 

Filed in the Tennessee Court of Appeals-Middle Section, the appeal could soon be consolidated with those of the other plaintiffs in the case — The Tennessean with State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), the Tennessee Firearms Association, and the National Police Association with private investigator Clata Renee Brewer — should the court grant it. 

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Bud Light Shells Out $200,000 to LGBT Business Organization amid Dylan Mulvaney Backlash, Cratering Sales

Admin

Bud Light is making a $200,000 donation to the National LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) to support “economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ+ Americans,” according to a press release from its parent company Anheuser-Busch.

The company suffered significant losses after many Americans began a boycott of Bud Light earlier this month, after the brand created a special beer can for transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In the wake of the fallout, Anheuser-Busch released a statement Monday, saying that it was “extending [its] partnership” with NGLCC by donating $200,000 to the Communities of Color Initiative (CoCi) and the CoCi Biz Pitch program.

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Commentary: America and the Future of Globalism

Admin

If globalization is the economic integration of nations in a world where technology has all but erased once formidable barriers to long-distance communication and transportation, globalism is its cultural and ideological counterpart. In theory, the same dynamics might apply. As economies merge, cultures merge as well. As we move deeper into the 21st century, a global melting pot blends everything and everyone together. A planetary civilization marches united into a future of peaceful coexistence, ecological restoration, human life extension, and galactic exploration.

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Agents Applaud Retirement of Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz with End of Title 42 Immigration Restrictions: ‘He’s a Joke’

Admin

Rank-and-file Border Patrol agents welcomed the news that agency Chief Raul Ortiz is retiring, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that his exit was long overdue.

Ortiz announced Tuesday that he will retire from the federal government, effective June 30, according to an internal email first obtained by the DCNF. Border agents believe Ortiz is leaving because of record illegal immigration that has occurred under his watch, as well as his unpopularity among the force and disagreements with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Hobbs’ Claim That Ducey Administration Misappropriated Funds to Kindergarteners Criticized by Arizona Republicans and Education Advocates

Rachel Alexander

Several leaders and education advocates are denouncing Governor Katie Hobbs’ reversal of funding Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for kindergarten. Hobbs reversed the grant of $50 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act last week, which previous Governor Doug Ducey awarded for private school students to use.

Hobbs said in a statement that Ducey made the transfer “despite the fact that the State funds only half-day kindergarten for public school students.” However, State Representative Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), who served in the Ducey administration prior to becoming a legislator, said on the James T. Harris Show, “95 percent of public district and charter schools offer full day kindergarten using public tax dollars. So Governor Ducey saw this as a matter of fairness to provide full-day K to as many Arizona kids as possible. … It would have helped over 4,000 kindergarteners next school year.”

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Mike Pence Expected to Launch 2024 Presidential Campaign Next Week

Just the News

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning on launching his 2024 presidential campaign next week, setting him up to face off against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, for the Republican nomination.  Pence is likely to launch his campaign on June 7, his birthday, at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, according to multiple news reports. Later that day, he is scheduled to speak at a CNN town hall at Grand View University.

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Catholic Major League Pitcher Trevor Williams Rebukes Dodgers for Honoring Anti-Catholic Hate Group

Susan Berry, PhD

Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams said Tuesday in a statement posted to Twitter the move by the Los Angeles Dodgers to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an anti-Catholic hate group, “makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery of my religion.”

“As a devout Catholic, I am deeply troubled by the Dodgers’ decision to re-invite and honor the group ‘The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ at their Pride Night this year,” Williams began his message, explaining to his followers that a “Major League Baseball game is a place where people from all walks of life should feel welcomed, something I greatly respect and support.”

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Memphis Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Armed Robberies of Postal Workers

Peter D'Abrosca

A Memphis man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison in connection with armed robberies of several postal workers.

“Sidney Poitier Pilcher, Jr., a/k/a Slimey Sidd, 21, has been sentenced to over nine years in federal prison for aiding and abetting in the robbery of postal carriers while brandishing a firearm,” according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

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Jack Miller Center Unveils ‘ContextUS,’ a New, Online Civics Library

RealClearWire

ContextUS is the Jack Miller Center’s newly published, free online library that provides citizens with the content to gain that necessary civic knowledge. This state-of-the-art resource gives teachers, students, and scholars access to more than 700 core texts of the American political tradition, paired with the most up-to-date technology in library science, to transmit a civic education in self-government to the next generation of Americans.

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Massachusetts Public Libraries to Host Virtual Drag Queen Tutorial for Teens

Susan Berry, PhD

More than 30 Massachusetts public libraries are joining together to host a virtual drag queen event, targeted for teens aged 13-18, in which New England-based drag queen “Giganta Smalls” will teach the young people about the life of a drag performer and help them “pick up some advice on costuming and make-up.”

According to a Westhampton Public Library Facebook post for the June 10th event called “Dishing Out Drag with Giganta Smalls,” over 30 Massachusetts public libraries are “co-hosting this PRIDE event,” that has been “made possible by a discretionary fund of the Trustees of Rowley Public Library.”

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Despite Inflationary Pressures, Record Numbers of Tourists Visited Florida

The Center Square
People on the beach during daytime

Florida is one of the top destinations for vacationers and the state’s economy has experienced a boost as other states continue to feel the effects of shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida experienced record tourism numbers in the first quarter of 2023. Around 37.9 million visitors poured into the Sunshine State between January and March, the largest number of visitors ever recorded in a single quarter, according to Visit Florida estimates.

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States Legislatures Adapt to Electric Vehicles

The Center Square

As President Joe Biden’s administration wants 50% of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, some states are pushing bills to subsidize the industry. 

In an analysis of state legislatures by The Center Square staff, actions so far this year in multiple states offer recognition to the emergence of the industry – whether trying to make up tax revenue shortfalls or simply boosting the move away from gas and diesel automobiles.

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Minnesota DFL to Push ‘Gender-Affirming Rights Act’ in 2024 Session

Admin

Celebrating their “undeniable force” at the Minnesota Capitol, members of the DFL’s “Queer Caucus” said they plan to pursue legislation next session to grant “everyone” a “fundamental right” to gender transition procedures.

This language appears to mirror that of the radical “Protect Reproductive Options Act,” which grants all Minnesotans a “fundamental right” to abortion and was criticized by Republicans for, among other concerns, its lack of clear age restrictions.

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Arizona’s Pre-Roe Abortion Law Receives National Support from 17 States

Neil Jones

A coalition of 17 states, led by Arkansas, is among the entities which recently asked the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse a ruling barring Arizona’s territorial-era law restricting abortions from being enforced.

The current abortion struggle in the state surrounds Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) § 13-3603, the pre-roe law which states that no person is allowed to provide a pregnant woman with an abortion unless it is necessary to save the mother’s life and ARS § 36-2322, which was enacted in 2022 and prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Arizona Court of Appeals previously ruled that the 15-week ban takes priority over the previous law to avoid any confusion for medical professionals. Therefore, abortion is currently legal in Arizona for a brief window of pregnancy.

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Wisconsin Elections Commission Chief’s Controversial Tenure May Soon Be Coming to an End

M.D. Kittle

The writing appears to be on the wall for controversial Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who is running out of time and friends in the Wisconsin State Senate.

Several legislative sources told The Wisconsin Daily Star that Wolfe doesn’t have enough votes to survive confirmation in the Wisconsin Senate, a reality that would bring her tenure as the administrative head of state elections regulation to an unceremonious end.

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Pennsylvania Educrats Sued over Guidelines Imposing Leftism on Teachers, Students

Bradley Vasoli

Three school districts north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are litigating over new guidelines enjoined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) directing teachers and students to adhere to progressive ideology. 

Representing Laurel School District, Mars Area School District and Penncrest School District as well as teachers and families in those jurisdictions, attorneys for the nonprofit Thomas More Society contend that the instructions violate both the state and federal constitutions.

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Commentary: Identity Studies in Academia Is the Birthplace of Woke

Admin

In 1983, having spent four years earning a PhD in English, I instantly turned down the reasonably secure entry-level faculty position my alma mater offered me and chose instead to sign up for that most financially insecure of all professions: freelance literary journalist. Why? Partly because it had taken me that long to face the fact that I just wasn’t the academic type. And partly because I saw that the kind of jargon-heavy approaches that were taking over America’s English departments — from politics-driven “feminist criticism” to pretentious postmodern “deconstruction,” straight out of France by way of Yale University — had nothing whatsoever to do with my own reasons for wanting to spend my life reading and writing about books.

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Wants AI-Made Content Labeled

Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants all content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to be labeled and is drafting legislation to that end. 

State Representative Chris Pielli (D-West Chester) insisted consumers should expect to know whether they are accessing human-created or electronically produced information. He said people will have a harder time fulfilling this expectation as AI becomes more advanced and commonly used. 

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Ohio Republican Lawmakers Form New Legislative Prayer Caucus to Advocate for Religious Freedom

Hannah Poling

Ohio Republican Lawmakers have formed a new Ohio Legislative Prayer Caucus (OLPC) of the 135th General Assembly that pledges to advocate for religious freedom and Judeo-Christian values that have been embedded in American culture since its foundation.

State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) in the House and State Senator Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) in the Senate co-chair the bicameral caucus.

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Ohio House Passes Legislation Providing Tobacco Wholesalers a Bad Debt Refund

Hannah Poling

The Ohio House of Representatives passed legislation that aims to allow wholesalers experiencing “bad debt” to claim a refund on cigarette, tobacco and vapor products from the state for the tax they pay upfront when they are unable to obtain reimbursement from a retailer.

The House passed the legislation by an 85-3 vote with all Republicans and all but three Democrats voting in favor of the bill.

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Pennsylvania Representatives Want to Limit Food-Stamp Balances to Curb Fraud

Bradley Vasoli

Two Pennsylvania state lawmakers are spearheading legislation to curb food-stamp fraud by limiting the balances recipients can accumulate.

Representative Ann Flood (R-Pen Argyl) is drafting a bill requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to request a federal waiver allowing the commonwealth to cap the benefits a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) user can amass.  Kerry Beninghoff (R-Bellefonte) has meanwhile begun preparing a resolution asking the Biden administration to set such limits itself. Currently, the federally funded but state administered entitlement does not require those who draw SNAP benefits to spend them in order to remain eligible for them. 

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Masks Offer ‘Small’ Benefit Against COVID, Increased CO2 May Be Tied to Stillbirths: Research

Just the News

The termination of the COVID-19 national emergency has not ended mask mandates in various jurisdictions and settings such as healthcare, even as more peer-reviewed research suggests that face coverings can cause more harm than good.

The Annals of Internal Medicine published the “final update” to a three-year “living, rapid review” of research on mask effectiveness against COVID infection, which concluded masks in healthcare and community settings “may be associated with a small reduction in risk” — 10-18% — but that the evidence is weak.

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Debt Limit Deal Clears House Panel, Setting Up Floor Debate

Just the News

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday evening advanced a bipartisan bill to raise the debt limit and avert a national default, paving the way for a floor debate in the lower chamber on Wednesday. The panel advanced the legislation by a 7 to 6 vote, with several Republicans objecting to its advancement. On Wednesday, lawmakers will debate the proposal on the floor. Conservative lawmakers such as Texas Rep. Chip Roy and South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman had sought to block its advancement, but enough Democrats and Republicans on the committee overruled them.

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Trump Vows to End Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Immigrants

Admin

Former president and 2024 presidential contender Donald Trump pledged to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants in a video posted to Twitter Tuesday.

Trump vowed that on his first day in office, if he’s elected president, he will sign an executive order that the children of illegal immigrants won’t be eligible for citizenship, according to his social media video. A wave of illegal immigration began at the U.S.-Mexico border soon after Biden assumed the presidency, where federal authorities have recorded more than 5.3 million migrant encounters since January 2021.

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Homeland Security Department Sees ‘Heightened Threat’ of Attacks on Churches, Police and Feds Ahead of 2024 Election

Just the News

The Homeland Security Department is warning communities nationwide about an increased risk of terror attacks on churches, schools, federal installations and law enforcement heading into the 2024 election, specifically cautioning that “legislative or judicial decisions pertaining to sociopolitical issues” could trigger violence in coming months.

In a bulletin issued just before Memorial Day, the agency cited a spate of violent acts this spring, including on a Christian school in Tennessee, a shopping mall in Texas and a plot on a church in Ohio by white supremacists as harbingers for future concern.

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FBI Formally Refuses to Produce Biden Probe Memo to Congress, Comer to Hold Wray in Contempt

Just the News

The FBI formally refused Tuesday to turn over to Congress an investigative memo alleging a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, prompting the chairman of the House Oversight Committee to begin proceedings to hold Director Christopher Wray in contempt. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the panel’s chairman, said he still plans to meet with Wray on Wednesday but declared the bureau’s notification of refusing to comply with a subpoena to be unfortunate.

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Kohl’s Faces Backlash After Pitching LGBTQ ‘Pride’ Merchandise for Babies

Susan Berry, PhD

Kohl’s has now joined Target, The North Face, Anheuser-Busch, and others in marketing LGBTQ merchandise, with Kohl’s releasing its “Baby Sonoma Community Pride” onesie in sizes for babies aged three, six, and nine months.

The Twitter account for End Wokeness and TPUSA’s Benny Johnson shared Kohl’s online sales pitches for the baby clothing items that feature what appears to be gay parents and rainbow banners with the slogan, “Be Proud.”

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Nashville City Council to Hold Gun Violence Hearings in the Wake of Covenant School Massacre

M.D. Kittle

More than two months after 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale shot and killed three children and three staff members at the Covenant Presbyterian School, Nashville’s Metropolitan Council is planning to hold hearings on gun violence as a “public health issue.” 

The Public Health and Safety Committee will conduct the first special meeting on gun safety, co-hosted with Education Committee Chair Zulfat Suara, on June 14, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 pm.

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Norfolk Southern Opens New Family Assistance Center in East Palestine

Hannah Poling

 Norfolk Southern announced an additional initiative to support the community of East Palestine following the catastrophic train derailment that occurred earlier this year.

The railway giant signed a two-year lease agreement for a new, closer, and more permanent Family Assistance Center (FAC) that will replace the current center located at the Abundant Life Fellowship Church. The original FAC was set up within 24 hours of the incident on February 3rd.

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Graduates Required to Pass ‘Anti-Black Racism’ Course at University of Connecticut

Admin

The University of Connecticut (UConn) will officially make its “Anti-Black Racism” (ABR) course mandatory for all undergraduate students as part of the core curriculum’s new social justice requirement.

Provost Anne D’Alleva announced on May 17 that the requirement will go into effect during the 2024-2025 academic year with a course that will be similar to the one-credit ABR elective that has been offered since 2021.

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Bipartisan Measure Would Create a Pennsylvania Earned Income Tax Credit

Bradley Vasoli

Two Pennsylvania state Senators from opposite sides of the aisle are asking colleagues to support legislation they are drafting to create a state earned income tax credit (EITC). 

For nearly a half-century, lower-wage workers have benefitted from a federal EITC which ranges from $560 to $6,935 for a household earning up to $59,187, depending on the number of that filer’s qualifying children. In 2021, this program bestowed $1,874 on the average Pennsylvania family.

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Maricopa County Republican Committee Censored on Facebook for Sharing Post Regarding Liberal Bias on the Internet

Neil Jones

Facebook parent company Meta took down a post relating to research on the liberal bias on the internet shared by the Maricopa County Republican Committee on Friday.

According to the county, the post shared support for Dr. Robert Epstein’s research on Google’s liberal bias and linked to mygoogleresearch.com, a website featuring his works and requesting donations. The post also related to the American Institute of Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT), founded by Epstein. However, Facebook claimed the link violates community standards.

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