Appeals Court Reverses Obama-Appointed Trial Court Judge Who Ruled That Phoenix Police Used Excessive Force Against Trump Protesters

Judge John J. Tuchi

A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by an Obama-appointed judge which found that the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) used “excessive force” dealing with violent protesters outside of a Donald Trump rally in 2017. The court’s opinion, issued last Thursday, found that U.S. District Court Judge John J. Tuchi incorrectly applied Fourth Amendment law to analyze claims from three protesters who were hit with projectiles.

Trump held a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 22, 2017. A “Free Speech Zone” was set up for protesters, but the PPD was forced to intervene when they became violent. The opinion said the police used “tear gas, other chemical irritants, and flash-bang grenades” to deter the rioters. 

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Tennessee Judge Reportedly Says Nashville Referendum Lawsuit Plaintiffs Cannot Argue Plan Illegal Under IMPROVE Act

Judge Anne Martin

A Tennessee judge reportedly said Friday that those behind a lawsuit claiming the Nashville Choose How You Move transit referendum illegally uses money raised under the 2017 IMPROVE Act for items unrelated to transit will not be able to challenge the spending in court, stating that such objections should have been brought to Mayor Freddie O’Connell and public officials during the city’s public comment period.

O’Connell, the Metro Nashville government, and Davidson County Election Commission were sued in November by Emily Evans and her organization, the Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax, who argued in their lawsuit that O’Connell’s referendum was illegal, noting the 2017 IMPROVE Act used under the referendum specifies that cities may levy additional taxes specifically to pay for transit improvements.

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DOJ Finds That Tennessee Attorney Regulatory Boards Discriminated Against Lawyers for Using Opioid Disorder Medications

Tennessee Supreme Court

The Department of Justice issued a Letter of Findings to the Tennessee Supreme Court determining that two attorney regulatory agencies in Tennessee discriminated against lawyers applying to be admitted to the practice of law for undergoing treatment for opioid addiction. The DOJ found that the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (TBLE) and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) violated Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

The DOJ conducted the investigation in response to complaints from two attorney applicants, known as D.S. and C.B. D.S. has since identified himself to the press as Derek Scott, who passed the Tennessee State Bar exam in 2021. The DOJ concluded that two aspects of the agencies’ conduct violated the ADA:  “(1) subjecting bar applicants to burdensome supplemental investigations triggered by their status or treatment for a substance use disorder; and (2) excluding them or implementing burdensome, intrusive, and unnecessary conditions on admission that are improperly based on individuals’ diagnosis of or treatment for a substance use or mental health disorder.” 

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Bill Would Make Tennessee’s Disabled Vets Exempt to Property and Vehicles Taxes, Plus Licenses for Hunting, Fishing

Disabled Veteran

Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) filed the Veterans Assistance for Livelihood, Opportunity, and Relief (VALOR) Act on Monday.

Otherwise known as HB 52, the legislation would exempt U.S. veterans determined by Veterans Affairs (VA) to be 100 percent disabled from a service-related injury from vehicle taxes, refund them for property taxes, and allow them to apply for lifetime licenses to hunt and fish in Tennessee.

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Commentary: All Roads Lead to Publius PR

AJ Rice

Ask a leader how to get a job in Washington, D.C., and he’ll say, “Call A.J. Rice.” The author of The White Privilege Album and a commentator in his own right, whose writings are both intelligent and irreverent, Rice is also the founder of Publius PR. His connections are both a means to network and a network for the distribution of conservative ideas. Unlike the networks of old, with their gatekeepers and empty suits, a new network—a series of conservative networks—now exists. The network is a success, thanks to a proposition that is as foreign to liberals as it is natural to conservatives: entertainment matters. Entertainment is a necessity, as Rice knows, because it is not enough to be right or a person of the right. Entertainment is a form of education, as Rice proves, because the strength of an idea rests on the strength—the talent, the skill, the timing, the finesse—of the person who advances it.

Look at President Trump, who is the most famous entertainer among presidents since Ronald Reagan and the only other president besides Reagan with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Look at how Trump embodies Rice’s point about communication. Look, also, at how Trump’s advisers, who are the same people that Rice advises, entertain an audience. The sights—and the sites, from Coachella to Madison Square Garden to Van Andel Arena—have the air of a rock concert. The performances are not rallies but experiences, with the crowds as players, in which everyone takes part.

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Chiropractic Board Audit Raises Concern from Arizona Lawmaker

Janae Shamp

A special audit of the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is raising alarm from the Republican lawmaker who requested it.

Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, said that the audit she asked for in February brought concerning results, and she hopes to tackle the issues during the upcoming legislative session. The board is responsible for oversight of the niche medical professional practice.

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University of Minnesota Removes Parts of Transgender Paper Doll Project from Website

University of Minnesota students

The University of Minnesota appears to have removed details about a controversial “MyGender Dolls” project from its website after the paper dolls, which have interchangeable genitalia and are designed for children, attracted criticism online.

Internet archives of the public university’s website show an article about the project was removed and the project’s main page was changed sometime toward the end of last week.

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Radio Silence from Kia Continues After DCNF Exposed Automaker’s Ties to Nonprofit Pushing Trans Books on Kids

Library

Car manufacturer Kia has continued to stonewall following a Daily Caller News Foundation report on the company’s ties to a nonprofit that distributes LGBTQ-themed books to children.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) Rainbow Library — a program that provides teachers with free children’s books which propagate transgender ideology — prominently listed Kia as a co-sponsor on its website as recently as Tuesday. However, Kia has since been removed from the Rainbow Library’s sponsors page after a spokesperson for the carmaker denied in a statement Tuesday that it sponsored the nonprofit in 2023 or 2024 and subsequently failed to respond to eight follow-up inquiries from the DCNF sent between Tuesday, Dec. 17, and Monday, Dec. 23.

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Corporate Media’s over the Top Reactions to Those Who Dared Question Biden’s Health

The corporate media attempted to discredit any concerns about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity following the release of a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report from June detailing the president’s decline.

The WSJ detailed in a Thursday article that White House aides and advisers handled Biden’s responsibilities as his mental health waned, with some cabinet advisers revealing that they met with advisers rather than the president himself. Six months earlier, the paper published a damning June 5 piece titled, “Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs Of Slipping,” outlining several accounts of many who shared their concerns about the president’s age and mental acuity from a wide range of sources.

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103 Things Higher Ed Declared Racist in 2024

Racism is the intentional mistreatment of someone on the basis of their race – at least in the normal world. But in academia, racism is anything producing disparities, according to Professor Ibram Kendi.

What follows is a long list of people, places, actions, and other things declared racist this year by higher ed, though a few came from K-12. If something needs “anti-racist” action or “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” it follows it must be racist, or else it would not need correction.

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