Month: August 2023

Major Drug Trafficker in Virginia Sentenced

The Center Square

A man convicted of trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine from Mexico into Virginia was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison yesterday, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced today.

“Cantu-Cantu was the major source of supply for a drug conspiracy that distributed more than 33 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine into Southwest and Central Virginia through a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organization,” according to a press release from Miyares’ office.

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Commentary: The Left’s Relentless, Unjustified Assaults on the Supreme Court’s Legitimacy

Admin

In recent years, the Supreme Court has been the target of a relentless and strategic campaign aimed at undermining its credibility and impartiality.

Left-wing publications such as ProPublica, Slate, and The Guardian have led an orchestrated assault against the high court’s Republican-appointed justices, and their message has been amplified by Senate Democrats.

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Feds Continue Borrowing over $5 Billion Per Day Despite Credit Downgrade

The Center Square

The federal government is borrowing an average of $5.3 billion per day this fiscal year, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday. The new estimate come just days after a top international creditor downgraded the U.S. credit rating.

“The federal budget deficit was $1.6 trillion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimates – more than twice the shortfall recorded during the same period last year,” CBO said. “Revenues were 10 percent lower and outlays were 10 percent higher from October through July than they were during the same period in fiscal year 2022.”

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Commentary: NATO Without Limits Would Lead to Endless Wars

RealClearWire

Jessica Berlin, a policy analyst writing in the Center for European Policy Analysis’ online journal, has proposed a NATO without limits–an expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to all democratic nations. “The 21st-century threat landscape,” she contends, “calls for a global alliance capable of mutual defense.” “NATO must open its doors,” she writes, “to new members beyond Europe and North America.” Her proposal is breathtaking in scope: an attack on any democracy is an attack on all democracies. It is a recipe for endless wars on all continents and a reckless extension of America’s nuclear guarantee to all the world’s democracies. It turns John Quincy Adams’ prudent counsel on its head: America goes abroad in search of monsters to destroy and is the champion and vindicator of the freedom and independence of all democracies.

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Commentary: The Political Divide Among High Schoolers

Admin

It is popularly held that the younger generations are becoming increasingly liberal while conservatives dominate the older demographics. While this tends to be true, a recent survey conducted on seniors in high school demonstrates nuances.

The University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey found that young girls are driving the youthful push toward liberalism, while boys are increasingly becoming far more likely to identify as conservative.

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Merrick Garland’s Special Counsel Appointment May Violate DOJ’s Own Rules, Legal Experts Say

Admin

U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ appointment Friday as special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation appears to violate a Department of Justice (DOJ) regulation requiring a special counsel to “be selected from outside the United States Government.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Weiss’ appointment as special counsel Friday, noting he would “continue to have the authority and the responsibility that he has previously exercised” and explaining Weiss had requested to be appointed on Tuesday. The Justice Department regulation, which governs the powers and qualifications of a special counsel, was also used to criticize the 2020 appointment of John Durham as special counsel to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe while he was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.

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Comer Says He’s Ready to Subpoena Bidens’ Phone and Bank Records, Give Witnesses Immunity

Just the News

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Friday night pointedly dismissed the appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden criminal probe as “another maneuver… to obstruct” Congress and vowed to escalate his investigation by subpoenaing Hunter and Joe Biden’s phone and bank records and offering witnesses immunity.

“We’re getting closer every day to showing that Joe Biden was the ringleader in this, not Hunter Biden,” Comer said in an exclusive interview with the “Just the News, No Noise” television show just hours after Attorney General Merrick Garland shocked Washington by announcing that he was upgrading Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to a special counsel after four years of investigating the Biden family finances.

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American College of Pediatricians Rejects Reaffirmation of Children’s Transgender Medical Treatments by American Academy of Pediatrics

Susan Berry, PhD

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) stated Thursday in a press release it opposes the decision by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to reaffirm transgender medical interventions for children and teens, but supports AAP’s claim it will be reviewing the latest evidence pertaining to the highly controversial treatments.

Last week, AAP reaffirmed its support for providing children and teens with transgender hormones and surgeries – called “gender-affirming care” by the transgender medical industry – while it simultaneously announced it would review medical research on the life-altering treatments.

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Ohio Supreme Court Sets Date to Hear Arguments in ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban Case

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court announced on Thursday it set a hearing date for oral arguments in a case challenging a Hamilton County judge’s decision to put Ohio’s Heartbeat abortion ban on hold.

Ohio’s highest court will hear 15-minute arguments from both sides on the case on September 27th, almost a year after Democratic Hamilton County Judge Christian Jenkins issued a preliminary injunction that put the Heartbeat Law on hold while he considers arguments in a lawsuit filed by pro-abortion activists.

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Emails Reveal Katie Hobbs While Secretary of State Pressured Twitter and Facebook to Censor Her GOP Opponents

Rachel Alexander

Newly released emails reveal that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, while serving as secretary of state overseeing elections, had her staff pressure social media companies to censor posts by her Republican opponents under the guise of “misinformation.” Her targets included the Arizona Republican Party and former conservative powerhouse legislator Kelly Townsend.

The AZGOP responded in a tweet, “EXPOSED: @GovernorHobbs has relentlessly censored major entities, including the Arizona Republican Party. Shocked? We’re not. It’s time for transparency and accountability. This goes beyond politics—it’s a matter of principle.”

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New College of Florida Trustees Move to Abolish Gender Studies Program

Admin

The New College of Florida (NCF) board of trustees voted Thursday to direct the administration of the institution to abolish its gender studies program, according to Chris Rufo, a member of the board.

In January, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new conservative members to the NCF board of trustees in an effort to overhaul the ideological education system. Since being appointed, the board has voted to eliminate the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion office (DEI) and ban the use of diversity statements.

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Sens. Grassley and Johnson Say Defense Agency and Georgia Tech May have Targeted RNC, DNC Networks

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) said an email was uncovered recently that exposed a U.S. Defense agency project aimed at targeting Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee networks.

At the core of the concerning discovery are some serious questions, including whether the Pentagon’s research arm was involved in driving false claims that Russians working for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hacked into the DNC email server in 2016.

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Georgia Lawmakers Likely to Consider Cyberbullying Legislation

The Center Square

Georgia lawmakers will likely consider legislation requiring social media companies to help crack down on cyberbullying.

Lt. Governor Burt Jones and Senate Majority Caucus Chair Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, plan to introduce legislation for lawmakers to consider during the 2024 legislative Session to require social media companies to take “concrete steps” to verify their users’ ages.

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Minnesota’s Fastest-Growing City Bans Smoking Weed in Public Places

Admin

The fastest growing city in Minnesota, and one of the fastest growing suburban communities in America, has banned the use of smokeable marijuana in its public spaces. And they’re doing it for the kids, according to city leaders.

The Lakeville City Council voted this week to create a new ordinance that prohibits the smoking of cannabis and hemp in public places — including parks, streets, sidewalks and other outdoor spaces where people can gather. Violation of the new ordinance, which takes effect immediately, is a petty misdemeanor, punishable by a $300 ticket, according to a city report on the measure.

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Proposed Virginia Toll Hikes May Have Been Avoidable

The Center Square

The application by Toll Road Investors Partnership II L.P. to raise tolls on Virginia’s Dulles Greenway is now open to public comment, and a date has been set for the hearing of January 24, 2024.

If the State Corporation Commission approves TRIP II’s application, the new “maximum tolls for most drivers” will be $6.40 during off-peak hours and $8.10 going eastbound during the peak hours of 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m and driving westbound between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The current rates are $5.25 and $5.80, respectively.

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Connecticut Taps Federal Pandemic Funds for Free School Meals

The Center Square

Connecticut is tapping into federal funding to provide hundreds of thousands of public school students with free breakfast and lunch.

The state Department of Education announced that $16 million of funding the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act will be diverted to Connecticut’s free school meals program for the 2023-2024 school year, allowing students to get free meals regardless of their family’s income.

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All 16 Charged as Michigan Fake Electors Plead Not Guilty

The Center Square
People Waiting to Vote

The final defendants accused of being fake electors in Michigan’s 2020 presidential election pleaded not guilty Thursday to all eight counts and were each released on a personal recognizance bond.

In mid-July, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged each of the 16 with one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing, one count of uttering and publishing, one count of conspiracy to commit election law forgery, and two counts of election law forgery.

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Biden Wants Another $24 Billion for Ukraine, Just $4 Billion for the Border

Just the News

The White House on Thursday outlined a $40.1 billion funding request in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that includes $24 billion for Ukraine-related expenses but just $4 billion to bolster security at the southern border.

Specifically, the White House wants $13.1 billion for the Pentagon to send military aid directly to Kyiv and replenish its own stocks. It further seeks $8.5 billion for the State Department to provide humanitarian and economic support. Lastly, it seeks $2.3 billion for the Treasury to provide financial programs for the country in place of Chinese or other adversarial sources.

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Commentary: The Emerging ‘Cold Tech War’ Between the U.S and China

RealClearWire

The Sino-U.S. “cold tech war” is reaching new heights—or rather depths—as tensions are building under the sea. First it was semiconductors. Now it’s submarine cables.

Undersea cables, unseen and often ignored, are essential to daily life and critical to U.S. national security. Over 97 percent of global data traffic travels through a network of cables that sit atop the seabed of the world’s oceans. Those same cables transmit upwards of $10 trillion in financial transactions every day and are a central component of the American military’s network-centric warfare operations.

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Judge Sides with Trump on Protective Order, Handing Jack Smith an Early Defeat

Admin

A federal judge on Friday sided with Donald Trump, rejecting a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith for a protective order that would have imposed some speech restrictions on the former president as he runs in the 2024 election.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled prosecutors did not meet the burden for the protective order but also put Trump on notice he will have to be careful about what he says and releases about the case.

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Questions Continue to Surface Around Company Contracted to Manage Tennessee Education Savings Accounts

TC Weber

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) awarding Students First Technologies (SFT) a contract to manage the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program continues to raise concerns.

“Our government owes citizens the responsibility of providing the best service at an affordable price. Often they outsource services that could be done better or more efficiently in-house. ” JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee told The Tennessee Star, “When that work is outsourced it needs to be with people who have the adequate experience and skills to deliver quality service. We need to know who does the work, and they must be held accountable.”

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Catholic Leaders Demand Answers from FBI on Bombshell Discovery Agency Probe into Traditional Catholics ‘Bigger than Believed’

Susan Berry, PhD

National Catholic leaders said the FBI’s probe of Catholics, as revealed by documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee, went far beyond a so-called rogue agent in a single field office in Richmond, as was explained in testimony by agency Director Christopher Wray.

The leaders of Catholic civil rights groups reacted to a letter to Wray sent Wednesday by Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government Chairman Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), who informed the FBI director evidence obtained by the Judiciary Committee shows the agency’s “assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists” was developed through information obtained “from around the country,” rather than from an isolated source.

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Biden, Dems Tap New Data Trove That Includes Contact Info for Almost Every Voter in America

Admin

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and other Democrats are tapping into a new database that provides contact information for nearly every voter in America for 2024, Axios reported Thursday.

The Democratic Data Exchange (DDx) has obtained data from 500 groups compiled over the last ten years, identifying 90% of voters’ contact information that Biden and Democrats will have at their disposal next year, according to Axios. With Democrats and Republicans fighting to use technology to their advantage in the 2024 cycle, Biden is hoping to reach crossover voters with the new information from the DDx.

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Interest Rate Hikes Fail to Pump the Brakes as Inflation Rises

Admin

Inflation rose in July after steadily declining from a high of 9.1% in June 2022, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release on Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a broad measure of the prices of everyday goods like energy and food, increased 3.2% on an annual basis in July, compared to 3.0% in June, according to the BLS. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of energy and food, remained high, rising 4.7% year-over-year in July, compared to 4.8% in June.

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Universities Are Spending Like Crazy to Grow Their Bureaucracies, and Students Are Footing the Bill, Analysis Finds

Admin

Public universities across the United States are spending money to increase their workforce and then passing the bill along to students, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.

Since 2002, the average flagship university’s spending rose 38%, with a majority of the money being spent on salaries and benefits, which rose by 40% in the same time period, according to an analysis by the WSJ. However, the average tuition cost per student rose 64% to cover the costs of salaries and benefits in the same time period.

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Tennessee Star Files Records Request for Information on ‘Handwritten Words, Drawings, and Numbers’ Found on Covenant Killer’s Clothes

M.D. Kittle

The Tennessee Star filed a public records request seeking information related to “handwritten words, drawings, and numbers” found on the clothing of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, at the time of the mass shootings.

Michael Patrick Leahy, Tennessee citizen and CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc., parent company of The Tennessee Star, filed the records request Thursday morning with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. MNPD officials sent an automatic reply acknowledging receipt of the request.

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Federal Prosecutors Securing Convictions in COVID-Related Fraud Cases

The Center Square

So far this year, the Eastern District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Virginia has secured convictions in 14 cases of COVID fraud, where defendants were responsible for more than $11.3 million in calculated loss, Karoline Foote, a spokesperson for the office, told The Center Square.

In March, a Georgia woman by the name of Nikki Mitchum was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiring with others in Hampton to obtain millions of dollars in COVID-relief Economic Injury Disaster loans and Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to a press release from the office.

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Pennsylvania Agriculture Leaders Worry About Research Funding, California Regulations

The Center Square

As the federal farm bill gets debated in Congress, Pennsylvania lawmakers and agricultural leaders hope to see a boost in research funding along with action to improve broadband internet and child care in the rural reaches of the state.

Senate and House lawmakers from around Pennsylvania came together Wednesday to talk about their priorities and concerns for farmers.

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Norfolk Southern Agrees to Enhance Safety Measures at East Palestine Derailment Site

Hannah Poling

Norfolk Southern has agreed to enhance safety measures for workers cleaning up the site of its February derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the rail giant entered into an agreement with the federal government and the Teamsters’ rail maintenance worker division to enhance working conditions and crew training after federal inspectors discovered the company had broken a number of regulations, including not requiring or enforcing the use of protective gear.

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Minnesota GOP Donor Anton Lazzaro Sentenced to 21 Years for Sex Trafficking Minor Girls

Admin

Former Republican donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison Wednesday for sex trafficking multiple minor girls.

“Anton Lazzaro was a predator who hid in plain sight. He was a sex trafficker who camouflaged his true nature with his wealth and privilege. Today, his crimes were laid bare, and justice was served,” prosecutors said in a statement following Lazzaro’s sentencing.

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Concerns Arise over Arizona Supreme Court’s Task Force on Countering Disinformation

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Supreme Court launched a Task Force on Countering Disinformation in 2019 that is raising concerns. It is the first state court system in the country to establish one. The task force has issued two reports with recommendations since its launch.

The task force members include some partisans, and none of them appear to be conservative.

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