Month: February 2023

President Joe Biden has yet to make a decision about running for a second term in 2024, and potential Democratic hopefuls and party donors are bracing for an open primary, according to Politico.

Biden aides noted that the president’s decision will likely come in April, despite being previously slated for February, Politico reported. Those close to the president still believe he will run, and that his decision has been prolonged due to current events, but others in the party aren’t so sure.

New York Democrat Steers Legislative Effort to Remove ‘Cuomo’ Name From Tappan Zee Bridge

February 23, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

New York Democrat State Senator James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) became the lead sponsor of a bill that would restore the name of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to its original Tappan Zee Bridge.

“Everyone in the Hudson Valley still calls the bridge the Tappan Zee for a reason,” Skoufis told The New York Post Monday of the span that was newly completed in 2018 and renamed by disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his father, Mario, who also served as governor.

Dem Reps Seek to Restrict Ammunition Sales to Americans

Democratic lawmakers are seeking further restrictions on ammunition sales after submitting the “Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2023” in late January, which would block online sales of ammunition and issue new guidance for brick-and-mortar stores.

The bill, H.R. 584, would require ammunition dealers to receive updated licenses and confirm the identity of any customer who attempts to purchase ammunition, further saying that online sales will be blocked and bulk purchases must be reported. Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a lawmaker backed by Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group Everytown for Gun Safety, introduced the bill alongside 23 House Democrats who co-signed the legislation.

Anti-Life Groups Propose Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in Ohio Constitution

February 23, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Two anti-life organizations submitted language for a new ballot initiative Tuesday that would enshrine abortion in the Ohio Constitution despite existing pro-life laws.

Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) filed the language for their ballot initiative titled The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), according to a press release.

Michigan Gov. Whitmer 2024 Budget: $10 Million for State Fleet’s Electric Vehicle Transition

February 23, 2023February 22, 2023 The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed $79 billion budget aims to allocate $10 million to transition the state’s automotive fleet to electric vehicles.

The governor budgeted $318 million on EV incentives: $150 million to help school districts buy 500 electric school buses; $65 million for EV charging stations; $48 million over two years for an EV sales and use tax exemption; and $45 million for local governments and businesses to transition their fleets to EVs.

Commentary: The Right Cannot Afford to Abandon Public Education

In his latest offensive to rid Florida’s educational system of revolutionary Marxism, Governor Ron DeSantis announced what amounts to a new direction for one of the most liberal educational institutions in the state: the New College of Florida. DeSantis appointed a slew of new trustees to the college, including the anti-Marxist journalist Christopher Rufo, Claremont Review of Books Editor and political scientist Charles R. Kesler, and Matthew Spalding of Hillsdale College. The president of the New College, Patricia Okker, appeared before the board and said that she could not cooperate with the board or with DeSantis’ plan for the institution, and she was promptly terminated.

‘So Creepy’: Pete Buttigieg Taking Photo of DCNF Reporter Sparks Backlash

Twitter users reacted to a Tuesday evening confrontation between a Daily Caller News Foundation reporter and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, with some calling Buttigieg out for taking a photo of the reporter.

DCNF investigative reporter Jennie Taer posted a 45-second video on social media of her asking Buttigieg if he had a message for residents of East Palestine, Ohio, the location of a train derailment that resulted in the spilling of toxic chemicals. Buttigieg referred her to comments he made in press interviews, said he was taking “some personal time” and took a photo of Taer at the end of the interaction.

Commentary: Oversight Committee Demands Account of All Economic, Military Aid to Ukraine

February 23, 2023 RealClearWire

As President Biden boarded a European train destined for Kyiv, back in Washington, Rep. James Comer and his team drafted a long-expected letter.

Standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden pledged Monday that the lifeline of economic and military aid to that nation, support already well in excess of $100 billion, would not slack, and that the United States would stand with Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

Key Dominion Exec Admitted Company Products ‘Riddled with Bugs’ Days Before 2020 Vote: Fox Lawyers

February 23, 2023 Just the News

Dominion Voting Systems employees have acknowledged serious problems with the company’s technology, saying, for example, that a bug led to “INCORRECT results,” according to discovery cited in the defense brief in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

Dominion is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion for defamation after becoming a target of alleged conspiracy theories regarding its voting machines being hacked and flipping election results.

FDA Panel OKs Making Narcan Available for Over-the-Counter Use

February 23, 2023 The Center Square

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel unanimously voted to recommend the agency approve Narcan, a life-saving drug for opioid overdoses, be made available to purchase over the counter without a prescription.

Narcan is accessible for free and low cost online, through a range of community organizations, and through pharmacies with and without a prescription and with or without insurance.

Georgia Jury Forewoman Says ‘You’re Not Going to Be Shocked’ on Trump Indictment Decision

February 22, 2023 Just the News

The forewoman of the Atlanta-area special grand jury that investigated alleged election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies in Georgia said Tuesday that multiple indictments were recommended and “you’re not going to be shocked” about whether Trump was indicted. Forewoman Emily Kohrs said would not specifically say who the Fulton County grand jury recommended to be indicted, but stated, “It is not a short list,” The New York Times reported.

Big Tech Faces Potential Reckoning at Supreme Court

February 22, 2023February 21, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a landmark case that could see every major social media platform become liable for harmful content on their websites, changing the game forever when it comes to legal protections for such companies.

As reported by Politico, the case Gonzalez v. Google is centered around the family of a woman who was killed in the Paris terrorist attacks in November of 2015. Her family claims that the video-sharing platform YouTube, which is owned by Google, should be held liable for allowing pro-ISIS propaganda videos to be hosted on the site, which the family claims helped radicalize one of the attackers.

41,000 Catholic Clergy Members Mailed Instructions on Denying Communion to Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians

Tens of thousands of clergy members will soon receive a copy of Cardinal Raymond Burke’s firm but clear instructions to Catholic priests and bishops on when to deny someone Holy Communion.

“The Church cannot remain silent and indifferent to a public offense against the Body and Blood of Christ,” a book with the instructions says.

Northern Border Sees Record Number of Illegal Immigrants Encounters

America’s southern border is not the only one experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of illegal migrants attempting to cross into the country.

Customs and Border Protection reports record numbers of encounters with illegal migrants at America’s northern border with Canada.

WHO Watchdog Warns ‘Pandemic Treaty’ a ‘Skillfully Crafted Decoy Designed to Take Attention Away From Proposed Amendments to International Health Regulations’

February 22, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Working Group on the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) is meeting this week to consider amendments to the regulations that will ultimately serve to increase the power of the global health agency, WHO watchdog James Roguski has been observing.

The International Health Regulations (IHR) are separate from the “pandemic treaty,” which some lawmakers are attempting to address through legislation.

Michigan Democrats Strip Two Republicans of Committee Assignments

February 22, 2023February 21, 2023 The Center Square

After Michigan Republican senators blocked their Democrat counterparts’ plan to send state taxpayers $180 inflation-relief checks, Democrats stripped two lawmakers of their committee assignments.

Democrats relieved Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, of his leadership position, and removed Bellino and Sen. Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway Township, from their committee assignments for voting against House Bill 4001 and blocking the ability to issue the $180 checks.

Commentary: The Cult-Like Transgender Recruitment Model

Oh, the insecurities of youth! “Will I be popular?” “Can I play basketball as well as the other boys?” “Will the others let me hang out with them?” “Will boys like me?” “Will girls like me?” “Am I as strong/smart/good-looking/funny as the cool kids?”

Most kids and teens endure these doubts about themselves. It’s a normal part of growing up. This coming-of-age emotional agony was described as early as 1774 in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. In this novel, young Werther’s sorrow over unrequited love eventually becomes so unbearable that he leaves his hometown. Next, he is greatly embarrassed when he encounters a gathering of aristocrats. They ask him to leave since he is not a nobleman. Rejected by a girl and now rejected by aristocrats—the exquisite agony! What’s a boy to do?

Commentary: Let’s Try Teacher Choice

February 22, 2023 RealClearWire

The House Education and Workforce Committee convened a hearing last week entitled “American Education in Crisis.” The perennial left–right debate between promoting parents’ rights and protecting public schools was on full display.

Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, used her opening statement to argue for extending “education freedom” and to defend parents’ prerogative to take their children and the public funding that goes with them to private, charter, or home schools. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat from Oregon, countered by expressing her “strong opposition” to plans that would “funnel taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools and for-profit charter schools,” saying that such an approach would “undermine the effectiveness of public education.”

Craig Campbell Releases ‘The Lost Files: Exhibit A’

February 22, 2023 Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Since the neo-traditional country artist, Craig Campbell launched his Grindstone Recordings label in 2020, he has released music and banking even more cuts over the last few years. Answering the call of his fans, he released The Lost Files: Exhibit A album on February 17.

He stated, “We had a hard time finding some of these songs because the hard drives got misplaced. Then with some, you had the hard drive, but they wouldn’t open. They were literally lost files.”

Commentary: Western Progressives Loved Stalinism and Maoism, Despite Their Horrors

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Texas Tech University School of Law to debate the merits of capitalism versus socialism with Ben Burgis, a columnist for Jacobin and philosophy instructor at Georgia State University Perimeter College.

It was a riveting discussion, and I hope students left with not just a better understanding of the horrors of socialism but with the inherent morality of capitalism, a system that relies on voluntary action instead of force and state coercion.

Police Make Arrest in Killing of Los Angeles Catholic Bishop

February 22, 2023 Just the News

The suspected killer of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell reportedly worked for the deceased prelate prior to allegedly killing him, police said this week.

Authorities arrested Carlos Medina reportedly after viewing surveillance footage indicating the suspect’s SUV in O’Connell’s driveway at the time of the killing.

Trump Pledges, If Re-Elected, to End Federal Programs Promoting Gender Transition

February 22, 2023 Just the News

Former President Trump says if reelected he will end President Biden’s policies on gender-affirming care and sign an executive order instructing federal agencies to end all programs promoting gender transitions.

“I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender-affirming care.’ Gender affirming? A process that results in the physical mutilation of minor children,” Trump said Monday in Palm Beach, Florida, at an event for Club 45 USA, which bills itself as the nation’s largest club of Trump supporters.

Seven Questions for ‘Capitalist and Citizen’ Vivek Ramaswamy as He Jumps Into the Race for President

February 21, 2023 M.D. Kittle

Vivek Ramaswamy went from “strongly considering” to a headlong plunge into the race for the White House.

Two Dozen AGs Sue Biden’s ATF for Taxing, Registering Pistol Braces

February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 The Center Square

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey joined 24 other attorneys general in suing President Biden’s administration for implementing a rule outlawing pistol braces.

The regulation will “result in the destruction or forfeiture of over 750,000 firearms and will cost the private sector somewhere between $2 and $5 billion,” according to the filing.

EPA Takes over Management of Ohio Train Accident, Orders Railway to Clean Up Toxic Spill

February 21, 2023 Just the News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced that it would be seizing oversight of the ongoing Ohio train derailment disaster, ordering the company behind the incident to submit to an EPA-approved cleanup plan as part of its management of the crisis. The EPA said in a press release that it would “approve a workplan outlining all steps necessary to clean up the environmental damage caused by the derailment.”

Biden Grants Sweeping ‘Racial Equity’ Power to Susan Rice in Executive Order Converting Entire Federal Government into ‘Woke DEI Cult’

February 21, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Joe Biden issued an executive order Thursday that grants Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice power to transform all agencies of the executive branch into a radical “woke DEI cult,” warns America First Legal (AFL). With scant establishment media coverage, Biden issued his executive order that intends to completely make over all domestic federal agencies to an entirely Marxist worldview – without congressional approval.

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

February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 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.

School District Enlists ‘Black Lives Matter Task Force’ to Help Teach 7th Graders How They’re Implicitly Biased

A California school district enlisted its Black Lives Matter Task Force to help teach 7th graders about their implicit bias during Black History Month, according to the curriculum obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In an effort to address “issues related to racial justice,” Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) requires 7th through 12th grade teachers to use a curriculum created by the schools’ Black Lives Matter Task Force, a coalition dedicated to creating equity for African American students and staff within the district, according to screenshots of the curriculum obtained by the DCNF. The curriculum teaches students about the “daily effects of white privilege” and “implicit bias.”

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: ‘What Protections do Americans Have That Data Tracking the Unvaccinated Won’t Be Used Illegitimately?’

February 21, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

SOMERS, Connecticut – Stanford University School of Medicine Professor Jay Bhattacharya, M.D. said in an interview with The Star News Network Friday that Americans “should be asking” whether diagnostic code data now being utilized to identify patients who were either never vaccinated or not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be used “illegitimately.”

Bhattacharya responded to a question about the recent implementation in the United States of new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnostic codes that requires doctors at clinics and hospitals to ask patients about their COVID mRNA vaccination status.

Whitmer Kidnapping Trial Advances in Michigan

February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 Admin

More than two years after the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was foiled, criminal cases against alleged perpetrators are still working their way through the court system.

The Antrim County County Circuit Court has approved two motions from the state in the trial of five alleged co-conspirators charged with providing material support in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. Judge Kevin A. Elsenheimer approved the motions on Wednesday, which asked that the cases be joined for trial and that the court allow the admission of co-conspirator statements.

Commentary: The Toxic Racialist Obsessions of Joe Biden

Joe Biden ran on “unity,” which is critical in a multiracial America. He vowed to heal the divisions supposedly sown by Donald Trump. Instead, he is proving to be the most polarizing president in modern memory. Often his racialist rhetoric and condescension have proven demeaning to both blacks and whites. In a volatile multiracial democracy that demands tolerance and restraint, a highly unpopular Biden, for cheap political advantage, continually proves incendiary and reckless.

Commentary: Behind the Historically Inaccurate ‘1619 Project’ Lies a Marxist Agenda

The 1619 Project wraps itself in Old Glory — literally; actors in the Hulu version of the project often appear cloaked in the flag. But don’t let that fool you: the project is yet another attempt to brainwash you into believing your country is racist, evil, and needs revolutionary transformation.

The project’s founder, Nikole Hannah-Jones, deserves credit for chutzpah. She distorts the truth to forward this nefarious goal, but she’s gotten very far.

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

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.

Commentary: The Libertarian-Socialist Axis