Adam Andrzejewski, who founded and led the government transparency watchdog Open the Books died on Aug. 17, according to news reports Tuesday.
Read MoreTransparency Advocate Adam Andrzejewski, Founder of OpentheBooks, Dead at 55
Month: August 2024
Biden Takes Stage at DNC as Party Transitions to Harris as Nominee: ‘Democracy Must Be Preserved’
On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, President Joe Biden took the stage as the party transitions to Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee and emphasized that “democracy must be preserved” in this election.
Read MoreTop Story: Left-Leaning Nonprofit Reports Guaranteed Income Study Failed: People Worked Less, Got Less Money
Top Commentary: Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Myriad Projections of the 2024 Campaign
TSNN Featured: Former President Trump to Visit U.S. Southern Border in Arizona
Alvin Bragg’s Office Leaves Door Open for Delaying Trump’s Sentencing
Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not taking a position on former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his sentencing date in New York, according to a filing sent Friday.
Trump’s attorneys asked Judge Juan Merchan last week to push his sentencing, currently set for Sept. 18, until after the November election. In a filing, Bragg’s office said it would “defer to the Court” on whether a delay is necessary to “allow for orderly appellate litigation,” writing they are “prepared to appear for sentencing on any future date the Court sets.”
Read MoreWalz Told Students Communism Is When ‘Everyone Is The Same And Everyone Shares’
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz used favorable language to describe Chinese communism when teaching a high school social studies class in 1991, according to an unearthed article in Nebraska’s Alliance Times-Herald.
Walz told students that, under communism, “everyone shares” and gets free food and housing from the government, according to the resurfaced newspaper piece first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. Just two years before the article was published, China’s communist government massacred pro-democracy student protesters in Tiananmen Square, with death counts ranging from several hundred to thousands, according to the BBC.
Read MoreCommentary: The Media’s Propaganda Polls Deceptively Favor Kamala Harris
Kamala’s “surging” poll numbers are a lot of hot air.
A close analysis of the data shows that Donald Trump continues to maintain a dominant position in this election. After factoring in the systematic pro-Democrat bias in polling data, Trump comes out decisively in the lead. As it stands now, Trump will likely win every swing state and the national popular vote.
Read MoreMichigan Line 5 Case to Remain in State Court and a Setback for Enbridge Energy
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Enbridge Energy’s request for the Line 5 lawsuit Nessel v. Enbridge to receive a rehearing in federal court, returning the case to state court.
The court Enbridge had missed the 30-day deadline after Nessel filed the lawsuit in June 2019 to appeal moving the case to federal court, and that it relied on improper arguments when doing so.
Read MoreCommentary: Two Years On, the IRA Is Exactly What Its Critics Said It Would Become
In a recent interview, World Energy Council Secretary General Angela Wilkinson told me that one of the main impediments to the energy transition today is a lack of what she calls “systems thinking.”
“Energy transitions are a change in the organization of society,” she pointed out. “They’re not a simple case of swapping out one technology for another and everything else stays the same. Yet, we have this very simplistic narrative that we can take the oil system, we can put renewables in, it’s going to happen immediately, and nothing else will change. It’s like saying we’re going to take your thighbone out, but we’d like you to run a marathon.”
Read MoreLeft-Leaning Nonprofit Reports Guaranteed Income Study Failed: People Worked Less, Got Less Money
The left-leaning National Bureau of Economic Research conducted a guaranteed income study that showed when people work less, they still have less money.
The study was titled “The Employment Effects of a Guaranteed Income: Experimental Evidence from Two U.S. States” and came out last month.
Read MoreCommentary: With Food Costs and Price Controls Bread Lines May Be Ahead
Even the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post could not stomach the new proposal from Kamala Harris to place price controls on food. The headline of the opinion piece from Catherine Rampell read:
“When your opponent calls you a ‘communist,’ maybe don’t try price controls?”
Read MoreAnalysis: Trump Quietly Gains Support Among Black Voters in Battleground States Against Harris
The likely outcome according to current polling and historical precedent is that the Democratic Presidential candidate will win a wide majority of the Black vote, and with Vice President Kamala Harris on the ticket this expectation is raised even further.
Read MoreMentally Ill Woman Prosecuted by Kamala Harris After Surviving Police Shooting Lived in ‘Squalor’ Despite $1 Million Settlement
Teresa Sheehan was shot by two officers at a group home during a mental health crisis with the San Francisco Police Department in 2008, when Vice President Kamala Harris was serving as the District Attorney of San Francisco.
Read MoreVictor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Myriad Projections of the 2024 Campaign
“Projection” is a Freudian psychological term. It describes a particular defensive mechanism, when people, often unconsciously, attribute their own (usually undesirable) behaviors to others who do not have them.
Read MoreTalk Show Legend Phil Donahue Has Died
Innovative TV host Phil Donahue, who rose to fame in the late 1960s, died Sunday, his family said.
Read MoreMan Who Says He Accompanied Walz on Trip to China Calls VP Candidate ‘Maoist to the Core’
A man who says he joined Tim Walz on a trip to communist China is speaking out about his experience of traveling to the country with the future vice-presidential candidate.
Read MoreTop Story: Swing State Voters Support Domestic Drilling
Top Commentary: The Rise of the Red Fascists
TSNN Featured: Trump-Aligned Lawyer Who Exposed Fani Willis Affair and Stalled Georgia Election Case Says D.A. Caused Downfall: ‘She’s the One to Blame’
College Students Lack ‘Rudimentary’ Knowledge of History, Civics: Survey
College students lack a “rudimentary grasp” of American history and government, as displayed in a civic literacy assessment recently conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
The 35-question survey, “Losing America’s Memory 2.0,” asked more than 3,000 students from all 50 states questions about history and government, including Senate term lengths and a quote from the Gettysburg Address, according to ACTA. The survey was conducted in June by College Pulse.
Read MoreCommentary: The Rise of the Red Fascists
In the 1920s, a term was coined that is very appropriate for what is taking place in America today: red fascism. It was a term that likely originated with an Italian anarchist, Luigi Fabbri, who wrote in 1922 that “‘red fascists’ is the name that has recently been given to those Bolshevik communists who are most inclined to espouse fascism’s methods for use against their adversaries.” This description and behavior of course should not come as a surprise to anyone. Socialism is intrinsic to both communism and fascism, as both are movements of the left with a massive, oppressive, and powerful State central to achieving their goals.
Consider where we are right now in this country: some people have said that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the farthest left ticket ever run by the Democrat Party in this country’s history. That’s not quite correct. “Leftist” has lost some of its meaning because more traditional liberals are on the left. Harris and Walz are so far left they’re actually off the charts and into neo-Marxist territory. If for nothing else, their strong advocacy for the Green New Deal plants them firmly in that Marxism camp.
Read MoreSwing State Voters Support Domestic Drilling
Newly released polling data shows that voters in several key swing states this November support domestic oil drilling.
The American Petroleum Institute commissioned the poll, but it was conducted by the reputable pollster, Morning Consult.
Read MoreCommentary: Cell-Phone Free Classrooms Will Unleash Student Success
Amid the many battles over how to improve American schools, it’s often forgotten that what’s taught in the classroom is but one component of ensuring that students receive a high-quality education; it’s also important to remove barriers to children’s learning.
And the idea to remove one major impediment – cell phones in K-12 schools – has gained significant traction over the past year, most recently in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Read MoreStudy Finds TikTok Manipulates Content to Favorably Promote Chinese Government
TikTok uses an algorithm to promote content that puts the Chinese government in a favorable light in order to sway users’ views, according to a new study from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI).
The study builds off a previous report from December that found the social media site likely promotes pro-China content, as the app faces bipartisan criticism over national security concerns. The app is already facing a potential ban in the United States if the Chinese parent company ByteDance doesn’t divest its shares of the platform on time.
Read MoreAuthorities, Businesses Brace for up to 100,000 Pro-Palestine Protestors at Democratic Convention
Authorities and local businesses are bracing for thousands of pro-Palestine protestors to descend on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which kicks off on Monday.
Bracing for riots and looting, some businesses located downtown have already started boarding up windows and doors in preparation for potential protest violence as the convention begins. It’s not as if they haven’t been warned: Some anti-Israel protestors have compared their plans to the 1968 riots during the Democratic convention.
Read MoreCommentary: Harris, Walz Seek to Up-End True ‘Choice’ for Pregnant Women
Vice-presidential picks generally balance a ticket, but Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate does anything but. And American Catholics and others who care about the poor and vulnerable should be alarmed.
Consider their attacks against their states’ life-affirming pregnancy care centers. For me, this issue is more than political. It’s personal. Like many Catholics across the country, I volunteer at our local pregnancy centers. I’m the medical director for the centers run by the Archdiocese of Miami and I read their fetal ultrasounds. Helping families and expectant mothers through my work there is one of the most rewarding ways in which I practice medicine.
Read MoreFood Stamp Costs Are on the Way Down but Still Far Higher than Pre-Pandemic Days
The cost of food assistance in the U.S. has dropped from its peak during the pandemic, but is still 23% higher than it was during pre-pandemic times, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what used to be called food stamps, peaked in costs December 2022 at $11.07 billion that month. That monthly cost dropped to $7.51 billion as of April 2024. There were about 41.6 million people collecting SNAP benefits as of April 2024.
Read MoreTop Story: Grandmas in Chains: Harris Legacy of Pursuing Pro-Life Activists Set Stage for Wider Legal Fight
Grandmas in Chains: Harris Legacy of Pursuing Pro-Life Activists Set Stage for Wider Legal Fight
Defending the abortion industry helped define Vice President Kamala Harris as California attorney general, especially a controversial 2016 raid on pro-life activist David Daleiden to seize and suppress undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials who thought they were talking to “laboratory wholesalers” in Daleiden’s sting.
Some of those videos, released years later at a congressional proceeding, show Planned Parenthood tried to preserve fetal tissue to sell for research and avoid prosecution by detaching extremities.
Read MoreTop Commentary: Every Leading Large Language Model Leans Left Politically
TSNN Featured: New Poll Shows Trump, Harris Tied in Wisconsin
Free Speech May Be in the Crosshairs Under a Harris-Walz Administration
A Kamala Harris presidency could be a disaster for free speech rights, civil liberties advocates told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
As vice president, a senator and California’s attorney general, Harris backed policies that imposed restrictions on speech, including by defending a law eventually struck down by the Supreme Court, which forced pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise abortions. On the campaign trail, Harris has indicated support for holding social media platforms “accountable” for “hate speech” and misinformation online.
Read MoreNew Poll Shows Trump, Harris Tied in Wisconsin
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are tied in a new poll of Wisconsin voters.
In a head-to-head matchup between the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, the American Greatness/TIPP poll of likely and registered voters shows both Trump and Harris at 47% support.
Read MoreMichigan Bill Would Protect Some First Responders from Employer Discrimination
A new bill introduced to the Michigan House would protect emergency responders from getting penalized for leaving work to address crises.
Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, introduced HB 5905 Tuesday, which would prohibit employers from discriminating against, disciplining or discharging an employee for being absent from work to deal with an emergency as an emergency responder.
Read MoreTim Walz Gave Almost $100K in COVID-19 Funds to ‘Abortion Doula’ Trainers
Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz directed almost $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to an organization specializing in “abortion doula” services, state contracts show.
Walz, the governor of Minnesota, spent almost $2 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds without the approval of the state Legislature, using his emergency powers, according to the Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News.
Read MoreCommentary: Every Leading Large Language Model Leans Left Politically
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly integrating into everyday life – as chatbots, digital assistants, and internet search guides, for example. These artificial intelligence (AI) systems – which consume large amounts of text data to learn associations – can create all sorts of written material when prompted and can ably converse with users. LLMs’ growing power and omnipresence mean that they exert increasing influence on society and culture.
So it’s of great import that these artificial intelligence systems remain neutral when it comes to complicated political issues. Unfortunately, according to a new analysis recently published to PLoS ONE, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Read MoreAmanda Kate Ferris’ New Album, ‘Rope the Wind,’ Is Out Now
Music Spotlight and 2X Texas radio chart-topping artist Amanda Kate Ferris has released her sophomore album, Rope the Wind, and it is available now.
Produced by Jimmy Ritchey, the 10-track project features songs by numerous acclaimed writers and artists, including GRAMMY-winners Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose, and Lori McKenna, as well as ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson and others.
Read MoreFormer Health Officials Slam FDA Duplicity on ‘Puberty Blockers’ in Light of New Evidence
Former officials in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration condemned what they described as the FDA’s duplicity in allowing off-label use of so-called puberty blockers while loudly condemning the use of far safer drugs to treat COVID-19.
“During the Trump administration, the media falsely accused us daily of ‘politicizing America’s public health agencies.’ Yet the same media is now silent on [Vice President Kamala] Harris and [President Joe] Biden’s FDA’s anti-science, purely political insanity,” Brian Harrison, former chief of staff at HHS and now a member of the Texas House of Representatives, told The Daily Signal in a written statement.
Read MoreCommentary: An Ancient Faith Grows in Modern Times
As a journalist, it’s easy to turn around copy on any of the public policy and political debates of the day, but I struggle to write about religious issues in a meaningful way. My American Spectator columns detail the usual insanity in the California Capitol and Washington, DC, but what can I say about matters of faith, where my usual tool — reason — isn’t entirely useful?
I grew up Jewish, the son of a Nazi Holocaust survivor. Our religion was important, but I was raised in a secular home where religious observance didn’t reflect any deep expression of faith. That led me on a journey to try to make sense of this inexplicable world.
Read MoreCoalition of 15 States Sues Biden-Harris Regime over Plan to Force States to Provide Public Benefits to Illegals
A coalition of 15 states have filed suit against the Biden-Harris regime over its new rule that will require states to pay public benefits to illegal immigrants, including healthcare benefits.
The rule, which is set to go into effect on November 1, would force states “to expend limited resources on illegal immigrants,” said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a press release Thursday.
Read MoreCommentary: The Link Between Islam and Arab Imperialism
English philosopher Antony Flew once commented that Islam was “best described in a Marxian way as the uniting and justifying ideology of Arab imperialism.”
This is a rather provocative notion, but it’s not as implausible as it seems.
Read MoreHunter Biden’s Ex-Partner Cooperating in Bizarre Murder-for-Hire Prosecution, Court Records Show
Devon Archer, the former Hunter Biden confidant convicted of fraud in January, whose testimony to Congress transformed the congressional impeachment probe into alleged Biden family corruption, also is a cooperating witness in an unrelated federal murder-for-hire prosecution, according to court records.
Archer’s lawyers have used their client’s cooperation in the Vermont murder-for-hire case and the impeachment inquiry in Congress to successfully delay his sentencing last month in a securities fraud case, where he was convicted back in 2018.
Read MorePolls Say Majority of Americans Want Troops Sent to Border and Oppose Illegal Immigration
Polls are consistently showing two key indictments on the Biden-Harris administration border policy: Americans not only overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration but also want troops sent to the southern border and the border secure.
Two new recent polls support this trend, although polls have consistently shown that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Vice President Kamala Harris’ job as “border czar.”
Read MoreTester Leads in Montana Senate Race That Could Determine Control of Chamber: Poll
Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., is currently holding a narrow lead in the Montana Senate race, which could determine control of the chamber, according to a new survey conducted by pollster Scott Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service.
The survey of registered voters, released on Thursday, found that Tester is ahead of his Republican challenger Tim Sheehy 49% to 44%.
Read MoreSupreme Court Declines Biden Administration Request to Enforce LGBTQ Title IX Protections
The United States’ Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from the Biden administration to enforce new protections for LGBTQ students that have been blocked in multiple conservative states.
The new federal rule was established under Title IX and was meant to protects students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The rule was unveiled in April, and took effect in some states in August.
Read MoreReport Says Trump Campaign to Counterprogram Democratic Convention Next Week
Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is expected to send people into the field next week to counterprogram the Democratic convention, a campaign official told Fox News.
Presidential candidates usually keep a low profile during the nominating conventions of their opponents, but President Joe Biden broke with tradition last month by campaigning in Nevada during the Republican convention. However, Biden only made a couple stops because he contracted COVID-19.
Read MoreIllegal Border Crossings Surpass 12.5 Million Since Biden-Harris Took Office
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released monthly border apprehension data on Friday, saying, “statistics show lowest southwest border encounters in nearly four years.” CBP also claimed illegal border crossings were down by 34% from June to July and the drop is due to a presidential proclamation issued in June.
Troy Miller, a senior official performing the duties of the CBP Commissioner, said recent Biden-Harris policies led “to the lowest number of encounters along the southwest border in more than three years.”
Read MoreTop Story: Presidential Race Swings Six Points in Two Weeks, Catapulting Trump to Lead and Ending Harris Surge
Presidential Race Swings Six Points in Two Weeks, Catapulting Trump to Lead and Ending Harris Surge
Support in the presidential race has swung six points since the beginning of the month, catapulting former President Donald Trump back into a narrow lead after Vice President Kamala Harris had surged with her surprise entrance atop the Democrat ticket, according to a new poll released Friday.
The survey of 3,000 likely voters by Napolitan News and veteran pollster Scott Rasmussen showed Trump leading Harris 46% to 45%.
Read More