St. Paul saw 34 suspected overdoses from December 27 through January 3. Two overdoses were fatal, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Read MoreSt. Paul Experiences Overdose Spike over Last Few Weeks
Month: January 2020
Judge Rules Private Company’s Planned Border Wall in Texas Can Proceed
According to Fox News, “a federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order against a project to build a privately funded border wall next to the Rio Grande.” The judge also denied a separate request for a restraining order in a separate lawsuit filed by the National Butterfly Center against the builders.
Read MoreMonument Mocking Donald Trump Burnt to the Ground in Slovenia
A wooden monument mocking President Trump in Slovenia – the birthplace of his wife, Melania Trump – has been burned to the ground, with an alleged arsonist reportedly starting the fire
Read MoreCommentary: Nationalism Is Looking Pretty Normal Right Now
The recent troubles with Iran highlight the problem with America First nationalism: it would mean placing the interests of regular people at home before transnational “interests” like foreign wars that have no bearing on middle-American life.
Read MoreProtests in Iran Shatter Image of a United Country
The outrage was aired first of all on social media forums — before spilling chaotically on to the streets with Saturday’s mass protests catching Iranian authorities off-guard and exposing how many Iranians hold the country’s embattled regime in disdain.
Read MoreGeorge Mason University Professor Calls College a ‘Racket,’ Blasts Diversity Hires
An economics professor at George Mason University is speaking out about the “racket” that he says is college, and blaming it on the “diversity people” who he says have flooded the university system with unnecessary and perpetually increasing expenses tied to a seemingly endless need for more and more diversity initiatives and faculty.
Read MoreThe Battleground State Report: Leahy Describes Two Factors Influencing the Rise of Grassroots Conservative Populism in the USA
During the show, Leahy went into detail about the two factors that are directly influencing the rise of a conservative populism movement. He noted that recent threats to second amendment rights in Virginia and the refugee resettlement issue in Tennessee are fueling the anti-big government push back.
Read MoreBabson Professor Fired for Joking That Iran Should Target Mall of America
A Babson College professor was fired last week after joking on social media that Iran should target the Mall of America in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani.
Read MoreLawmaker Calls Minnesota’s New Five-Year Probation Cap a ‘Major Overreach’
A Minnesota lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would reverse the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission’s recent decision to cap probation for most felonies at five years.
Read MoreCommentary: Republican Governors’ ‘Tolerance’ Will Kill Us All
We’re tolerating ourselves to death. There is no other way to say it, especially when it comes to immigration, specifically anchor babies, chain migration, and refugee resettlement. It’s as though our “leaders” have been fed stupid pills and chased them down with healthy quantities of idiocy.
Read MoreWhy Canadian-Style Health Care Would Not Cut Costs in America
One common claim by supporters of single-payer health care is that it would ultimately save money while providing universal health coverage for all. Having one centralized bureaucracy, they say, would eliminate complicated administrative inefficiencies that waste enormous sums of money each year.
Read MoreJustice Ginsburg, a Four-Time Cancer Survivor, Says She’s ‘Cancer Free’
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is opening the new decade with a positive health prognosis.
Read MoreLetter to the Editor: An Armed School Staff Is Neccessary
As the recent shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in Texas shows, a good person with a gun is a valuable asset when a bad guy wants to do harm. When the madman pulled out a shotgun and started shooting an armed parishioner terminated the threat in less than six seconds. This is fact.
Read MoreDark Money Has Bolstered Bernie’s Campaign From the Start
An outside dark money group has boosted presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders since announcing his campaign last February.
Read More‘Fast And Furious’ Gunman Who Killed US Border Patrol Agent Is Sentenced to Life in Prison
One of the Mexican gunmen who killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent, consequently sparking the Obama administration’s “Fast and Furious” scandal, was sentenced to life in prison.
Read MoreHouse Democrats Vote Against Recognizing Unborn Babies as ‘Vulnerable Populations’
House Democrats voted against a motion to recognize unborn babies as “vulnerable populations” Friday.
Read MoreIranian Military Apologizes for Shooting Down Ukraine-Bound Flight, Cites ‘Human Error’: Report
The Iranian military apologized Friday for shooting down a commercial airliner bound for Ukraine, and blamed “human error” for launching the missile that took down the airplane, according to Iranian state media.
Read MoreMaryland Legislator Wants to Steer Low-Income Housing to Affluent Suburban Neighborhoods
A Maryland legislator wants to identify affluent suburban neighborhoods and target them for low-income, high-density housing.
Read MoreOmar Leads Colleagues in Calling for Extension of TPS for Somalis
A group of 50 House Democrats led by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week asking for an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis.
Read MoreMinnesota State Senator ‘Deeply Disturbed’ by DFL Leader’s Threat to Cut Funding from County Over Refugees
A Minnesota senator said he is “deeply disturbed” by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s (DFL-Golden Valley) threat to cut state aid from Beltrami County after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.
Read MoreCommentary: Listen to Trump, Not Democrats on Foreign Policy Matters
The predicted has happened in Iran and more quickly than had been expected. On the evening of the day on which the Iranian authorities managed to bungle the funeral of their late terrorist chief, Qasem Soleimani, at least 50 people were trampled to death in their grief, and the crisis over the supposed escalation of hostilities subsided. (At least, unlike during the funeral of the Iranian theocracy’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the coffin did not fly open, spilling the corpse on the mourners.)
Read MoreOcasio-Cortez Refuses to Pay Party Dues, Angering Some of Her Democratic Colleagues
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the most prolific Democratic fundraisers in the House, but she’s refusing to pay any dues to the Democrats’ House campaign organization.
Read MoreCommentary: ‘We’ Should Not Regulate Homeschooling
The desire to control other people’s ideas and behaviors, particularly when they challenge widely-held beliefs and customs, is one of human nature’s most nefarious tendencies. Socrates was sentenced to death for stepping out of line; Galileo almost was. But such extreme examples are outnumbered by the many more common, pernicious acts of trying to control people by limiting their individual freedom and autonomy. Sometimes these acts target individuals who dare to be different, but often they target entire groups who simply live differently. On both the political right and left, efforts to control others emerge in different flavors of limiting freedom—often with “safety” as the rationale. Whether it’s calls for Muslim registries or homeschool registries, fear of freedom is the common denominator.
Read MoreUS Imposes New Sanctions on Iran
WASHINGTON – The U.S. placed more sanctions on Iran Friday in response to its missile attack on U.S. military troops in Iraq last week, and it threatened further action to weaken Iran’s economy if Tehran continues to carry out what it considers terrorist actions.
Read MorePelosi Caves: House to Transmit Impeachment Articles Next Week
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appears to gave buckled under pressure and has finally agreed to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Fox News is reporting.
Read MoreTrump Officials to Announce: 100 Miles of Border Wall Completed
Trump administration officials plan to announce today that they have completed construction on 100 miles of new barriers along the border with Mexico, but their benchmark underscores how far construction crews still have to go to fulfill the president’s pledge to finish 450 miles by the end of 2020, according to The Hill.
Read MoreRecommended: Great Books to Resist Cultural Indoctrination
Those classics that are called the Great Books are most closely associated with Mortimer J. Adler and Robert Hutchins.1 When Hutchins became president of the University of Chicago in 1929, he hired Adler to teach philosophy in the law school and the psychology department. Upon arriving, Adler, rather brashly he admits, recommended to Hutchins a program of study for undergraduates using classic texts. Adler had taught in the General Honors program at Columbia University begun in 1921 by professor John Erskine. Hutchins asked him for a list of books to be read in such a program. When Hutchins saw the list, he told Adler that he had not encountered most of them during his student years at Oberlin College and Yale University. Hutchins later wrote that unless Adler “did something drastic he [Hutchins, referring to himself] would close his educational career a wholly uneducated man.”2 Hutchins remained president for 16 years before serving as chancellor until 1951, and the following year, they did something drastic.
Read MoreDecember Jobs Report: 145,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment at 3.5 Percent
The U.S. economy added 145,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.5%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
Read MoreMcCain Called Slotkin, Sponsor of House War Powers Resolution, ‘Unqualified’ for National Security Position
The late Sen. John McCain repeatedly called Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08) “totally unqualified” to serve in a national security position in President Barack Obama’s administration.
Read MoreIlhan Omar Goes After Rural Minnesota County for Rejecting Refugees
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) accused Beltrami County of “denying refugees a chance at a better life” after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.
Read MoreTexas Gov. Greg Abbott Says No to Refugee Resettlement
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Friday that the Lone Star State would not be taking in any refugees.
Read MoreRepublicans Announce Bill to Repeal St. Paul’s New College Savings Account Program
Several Republican members of the Minnesota House announced a bill Thursday that would repeal the city of St. Paul’s new college savings program.
Read MoreIraqi Consulate in Detroit Opened for ‘Condolences’ for Soleimani
The Iraqi Consulate General in Detroit held a memorial event for Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the leader of a designated terrorist organization who was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike.
Read MoreCommentary: Sorry Democrats, There Is a Trump Doctrine, And It’s a Good One
For the Democrats, the killing of Iranian terrorist General Qassem Soleimani offered a great opportunity to tout the risk of having Donald Trump as commander in chief, and they were, as usual, extremely disciplined in maintaining that narrative.
Read MoreTrump: Soleimani Was Planning to Blow Up US Embassy in Baghdad
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general that he ordered killed with a drone strike, had been planning to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Read MoreFive Top Iranian Officials You Should Know
Tensions between the United States and Iran seem to be deescalating again, but the countries clearly are still at loggerheads.
Read MoreIran May Have Accidentally Shot Down Passenger Jet
WHITE HOUSE – U.S. President Donald Trump is publicly voicing suspicion that Iran may have accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner.
Read MoreCommentary: Realignment and Race in the Anglosphere
Two national elections, one decisive and the other a cliffhanger, have shaken the politics of the West to its core. In the United Kingdom, just last month, Conservative candidate Boris Johnson won a resolute victory for himself and his party. In the United States, barely three years ago, Republican candidate Donald Trump won the presidential election in a stunning upset where he narrowly lost the popular vote but logged a solid victory in the Electoral College.
Read MoreJustice Sotomayor Sends Best Wishes to New Progressive Prosecutor Tied to Hugo Chavez
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered congratulatory remarks to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin Wednesday night, as the self-proclaimed progressive prosecutor with ties to the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez took office.
Read More36 Percent of Young Americans Think Other Countries Are Greater Than the US
Younger Americans are more likely than older adults to think other countries are greater than the United States, poll results show.
Read MoreOmar Says She Feels ‘Stricken with PTSD’ Over Iran Tensions, Then Laughs and Jokes While Colleague Discusses Dead Soldiers
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) said she feels “ill” and “stricken with PTSD” in response to the conflict with Iran before she laughed and joked with her peers while a colleague discussed U.S. casualties in Iraq just moments later.
Read MoreNational Constitution Bee Announces $25,000 Scholarship for Winner of June 27 Event in Washington, D. C.
SPRING HILL, Tennessee–The Star News Education Foundation announced on Thursday that the winner of the 2020 National Constitution Bee will receive a $25,000 scholarship. The second and third place finishers will receive scholarships of $5,000 and $2,000. The event will be held at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2020.
Read MoreCommentary: The Deadly Cost of ‘Free’ Trade
The debate over trade largely has been framed in economic terms. We’re told consumers will pay more for—well, you name it—because of President Trump’s tariffs (even though the data show inflation is nonexistent). But a new study shows that trade policies do exact a steep price on Americans.
Read MoreHometowns of 2020 Democrat Candidates Have Resettled Only 0.22 Percent of All Refugees
According to a new study, the hometowns of the four leading candidates for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020 have collectively taken in less than half-a-percent of all refugees resettled over the last decade, as Breitbart reports.
Read MoreCommentary: House Democrats Are Terrified to Submit Impeachment Articles to the Senate
“If the House ever musters the courage to stand behind their slapdash work product and transmit their impeachment to the Senate, it will be time for the United States Senate to fulfill our founding purpose. [But] [w]e can’t hold a trial without the articles. The Senate’s own rules don’t provide for that. So, for now, we are content to continue the ordinary business of the Senate while House Democrats continue to flounder. For now.”
Read MoreSupreme Court Orders Fast Response in Obamacare Challenge
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration and a coalition of red states Monday to respond by Friday to a petition asking the justices to immediately take up a challenge to the Affordable Care Act.
Read MoreCommentary: What the Founders Actually Thought About Slavery
One of the ironies of the current American “elite” is that, rather than actually being elite, they have the smug self-assurance of knowing much that isn’t so.
Read MoreFormer Marine Announces Campaign for Angie Craig’s Seat
A former Marine Corps officer announced his candidacy Wednesday for the Republican endorsement to take on Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District.
Read MoreBorder Patrol Agents Rescue Migrants Abandoned By Smugglers at the Very Top of New Border Wall
Border Patrol agents, with the help of the local fire department, were able to rescue three migrants who climbed to the very top of newly-built border wall and ended up stuck.
Read MorePelosi: House to Vote This Week to Limit Trump’s Military Actions on Iran
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that the House would vote on a resolution intended to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions regarding Iran, stating that concerns about the administration’s strategy and decisions were not addressed in a briefing with lawmakers.
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