December 7, 2021 - The Minnesota Sun

Lentz: Minnesota Becoming a De Facto ‘Sanctuary State’ for Child Sexual Predators

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Alpha News recently sat down with Michele Lentz, president of the Child Protection League, for an in-studio interview.

Interviewed by Kyle Hooten, Lentz spoke about the work of the Child Protection League, a nonprofit whose mission is to protect children from indoctrination, exploitation, and violence.

She underscored just how crucial their mission is, given the fact that Minnesota checks in as one of the worst states in the U.S. for the light sentencing of child sexual predators — specifically those who traffic in the possession, distribution, or production of child pornography.

Law Professor John Eastman on Steve Bannon’s War Room Explains Why Pelosi’s January 6 Select Committee is Not Legitimate

December 7, 2021 Julie Carr

Stephen K. Bannon welcomed Conservative attorney, legal scholar, and professor of law John Eastman on Monday’s War Room: Pandemic to explain his attorney’s letter to Congress citing the illegitimacy of his subpoena regarding the January 6 committee hearings. Bannon: I’m going to start with John Eastman. God do I…

Commentary: Remembering Pearl Harbor … Accurately

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Most Americans once were mostly in agreement about what happened on December 7, 1941, 80 years ago this year. But not so much now, given either the neglect of America’s past in the schools or woke revisionism at odds with the truth.

The Pacific war that followed Pearl Harbor was not a result of America egging on the Japanese, not about starting a race war, and not about much other than a confident and cruel Japanese empire falsely assuming that its stronger American rival either would not or could not stop its transoceanic ambitions.

‘Effectively Overcharges Seniors’: AARP Rakes in Record Profits Selling Brand Royalties While Overcharging Members

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

old man and woman walking outside together

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) raked in massive profits in 2020, mostly from royalties on branded health insurance policies, not memberships, according to company financial documents.

AARP’s 2020 Form 990 shows that the organization reported $1.6 billion in revenue, with roughly $1 billion, or over 60%, from royalty revenue. Meanwhile, membership dues contributed under 20% of total revenue.

AARP’s 2019 Form 990 reported $1.72 billion in revenue, with royalties making up nearly 56% of revenue while membership dues contributed just 17%.

Report: Pennsylvania Taxpayers Spend Tens of Millions on Government Lobbying

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 The Center Square

A Pennsylvania government watchdog group is highlighting how the incestuous relationship between local government entities and lobbyists is costing taxpayers millions of dollars. The Commonwealth Foundation also is supporting legislation designed to put an end to the practice.

The Commonwealth Foundation issued a report Monday that reveals Pennsylvania taxpayers paid at least $42 million in lobbying expenses between 2007 and 2020 to advocate for more government spending, though the actual cost is likely substantially more.

The foundation sent public information requests to 1,518 government entities to collect data on taxpayer-funded lobbying, which involves boroughs, cities, counties, school districts and state agencies that hire lobbyists or pay dues to associations to lobby other areas of government.

European Efforts to Purge ‘Christmas’ from Seasonal Lexicon Meet Resistance

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Moves by officials in the EU and U.K. to cleanse the insufficiently inclusive term “Christmas” from holiday season nomenclature are meeting resistance amid signs that authorities may be backtracking from a sweeping top-down campaign to weed out speech rooted in traditional Western usage that could be construed as insensitive to minorities.

In the European Union, an internal document by EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, first reported on by Italian daily Il Giornale, recommends that expressions that are offensive to minorities or “aren’t inclusive enough” — including “Christmas” — shouldn’t be used ahead of the Christmas season.

Commentary: Biden Is Right that Moving off Fossil Fuels Quickly Would Be Dangerous

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Following his trip to Rome a few weeks ago for the G-20 summit, President Joe Biden expressed worry that surging energy costs would harm working-class families and urged OPEC and Russia to pump more oil.

Some noted this was a strange message to send to the world, since Biden was preparing for a climate summit in Scotland where he pledged to reduce carbon emissions at home.

Students ‘Demand’ Roles for Black Actors, Professor’s Resignation

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A student organization at the College of Wooster is calling for the school to apply affirmative action to its theater productions.

The BIPOC Performing Arts Alliance (PAA) has written a list of demands for the university, which according to The Wooster Voice, include having:

At least one department play yearly that is BIPOC written or starring a BIPOC student (this student should not be the only BIPOC student in the cast) in one of its leading roles. This can also be fulfilled by student productions that are treated like main stage productions. The department must show a vested interest in BIPOC work.

Additionally, the students demand that Shirley Huston-Findley, a professor of theater and dance, resign “from department chair until further substantial equality education is reached and the DEI plan is completed.”

Majority of School Board Associations Have Distanced Themselves from National Organization

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Since the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the White House equating the acts of concerned parents at local school board meetings to “domestic terrorism and hate crimes” and requesting federal intervention, the majority of state chapters of the organization have either left or distanced themselves from the NSBA.

There are 49 state chapters that paid dues to the NSBA before the Sept. 29 letter, which sparked backlash from parents, lawmakers and education leaders. Since then, 27 state school board associations have distanced themselves from the NSBA, while 17 state associations have taken further action, according to data compiled by Parents Defending Education (PDE).

The NSBA apologized for the letter and removed it from its website.

Academic Journal Publishes Hoax on Conservative Takeover of Higher Ed

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A prestigious academic journal has egg on its face for publishing a hoax paper that claimed to find widespread concerns about “undue” conservative influence in higher education.

“Right-wing money strongly appears to induce faculty and administrators … to believe that they are pressured to hire and promote people they regard as inferior candidates, to promote ideas they regard as poor, and to suppress people and ideas they regard as superior,” according to the abstract in Higher Education Quarterly.

Peer reviewers failed to perform basic due diligence on the paper submitted in April and approved in October, neglecting, for example, to verify that authors “Sage Owens” and “Kal Alvers-Lynde III” were UCLA professors as they claimed. Owens even used an encrypted email service for correspondence with the journal.

Missouri Paper Stands by Reporting After Sparring With Governor Over COVID Mask Mandates

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

A Missouri newspaper is standing by its recent reporting on COVID-19 mask mandates after it drew criticism from Gov. Mike Parson (R).

“Our story — which included all documents and data supporting it — speaks for itself. We stand behind our reporting,” Editor-in-Chief of The Missouri Independent Jason Hancock told The Star News Network.

Fraudsters Used Paycheck Protection Program Loans for Bentleys, Diamonds, Luxury Homes: Watchdog

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

woman on laptop with eye glasses and mug next to her

This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the Small Business Administration for millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans it issued to fraudsters who used the money to purchase luxury homes, high-priced jewelry and expensive cars, including a Bentley and two Lamborghinis, according to a watchdog report.

The Paycheck Protection Program had the highest percentage of cases of criminal activity of all the pandemic relief programs, according to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s recent Semiannual Report to Congress.

“A total of 14 OIGs have indictments/complaints, arrests, and/or convictions from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021, related to the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response,” PRAC reported.

Family Tracking App Life360 Is Selling Customers’ Locations to Data Brokers: REPORT

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A family safety app used to track children’s movements is selling location data to several different data brokers, according to an investigation by The Markup.

Life360, which bills itself as a “family location sharing app” that purports to “simplify safety” for families, is selling customers’ location data to over a dozen data brokers including X-Mode, SafeGraph and Cuebiq, the Markup reported, citing interviews with two ex–Life360 employees and two former employees of major location data brokers.

Life360 is used by 31 million members, according to its website, and is intended to provide parents with the ability to track their children’s movements. The company discloses in its privacy policy that it sells “identifiers, Internet/Network information, Geolocation, Inferences, and Other personal information, including driving event and movement data” to third parties.

Foreigners Illegally Entering U.S. Come from 106 Different Countries, Border Patrol Says

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

While most Americans are legally traveling to visit relatives and celebrate during the holidays, Border Patrol agents are being inundated with illegal travelers arriving at the U.S. southern border from more than 100 different countries this year.

Border Patrol agents assigned to Del Rio Sector in Texas, for example, arrested people coming from African and former Soviet countries over Thanksgiving, as well as known sex offenders from Mexico and Nicaragua.

Former D.C. National Guard Official Says Generals Lied to Congress About January 6th

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A former member of the D.C. National Guard has accused two Army leaders of perjuring themselves before Congress in an attempt to rewrite the history of the military’s response to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Col. Earl Matthews, a high-level Pentagon official during the Trump administration, has authored a 36-page report criticizing the Pentagon’s inspector general for what he believes is an error-riddled account created in order to protect a top Army official who argued against sending the National Guard to the Capitol, according to Politico.

Trump Makes Deal to Clear North Carolina GOP Senate Field So His Candidate Can Win

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump struck a deal this past weekend to clear the crowded field in North Carolina’s Republican primary for Senate for Rep. Ted Budd, his preferred candidate, a source close with Budd and familiar with the meeting confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Budd, who joined the fray in April and received Trump’s endorsement two months later, has failed to emerge as the frontrunner in a GOP primary that includes former Gov. Pat McCrory and former Rep. Mark Walker. One recent poll conducted for the conservative group Club for Growth, which has also backed Budd, found the congressman slightly behind McCrory even as Budd’s popularity rose in recent months, while Walker remained in a distant third.

An internal poll from McCrory’s campaign, however, showed the former governor up by 15 points.

ASTR Releases ‘Holiday Rambler’

December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 Bethany Bowman

American Standard Time Records Releases ‘The Holiday Rambler’ which is an eclectic group of mostly original Christmas songs that is sure to please those looking for something new and different this holiday season.

Commentary: Burned Out Teachers Are Starting Their Own ‘Microschools’ – and It’s Working

December 7, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Teachers across the country are feeling burned out and depleted, particularly as school coronavirus policies and staffing shortages make their jobs more difficult. According to a survey by the RAND Corporation, almost one-quarter of teachers planned to leave the profession in 2021, and teachers experienced higher rates of work-related stress and depression than other adults.

A recent letter from teachers and staff at a small Vermont public elementary school to their superintendent and school board members echoes the feelings of many public school personnel. “Everybody is stepping up to try to do what is asked of them; everybody is feeling inadequate, exhausted, and defeated much of the time,” wrote educators at the Ottauquechee School in Hartford. “Colleagues are questioning whether changing professions is in their best interest.”

Albert Lea Woman Stands Trial on Criminal Charges for Opening Restaurant During COVID

December 7, 2021December 7, 2021 Hayley Feland

ALBERT LEA, Minnesota – Monday was the scheduled start to the trial against Minnesota restaurant owner, Melissa “Lisa” Hanson, who is charged with nine misdemeanors after she opened her restaurant in violation of Governor Tim Walz’s (D) COVID orders in 2020.