Month: April 2022

Erica Anderson, a transgender psychologist who works with transgender children, criticized the “gender affirming” model of care and said teens were “transitioning” because of peer influence in a Los Angeles Times article Tuesday.

Anderson, who claims to have helped hundreds of teenagers “transition,” has considered leaving the field of transgender child psychology for fear of being associated with the “affirmative approach,” according to the LA Times. The transgender psychologist said some medical practitioners are giving gender-confused children hormones and surgeries without thoroughly evaluating their mental health.

Biden Action on Gas Prices Will Only Affect 1.5 Percent of Gas Stations, Save Some Americans 10 Cents

President Joe Biden’s recent action to address record-high gasoline prices will have a bare minimum impact on consumers, saving some American families a few dollars a month.

Biden issued an emergency waiver Tuesday allowing gas stations nationwide to sell gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15), pausing a federal environmental regulation that prohibits the corn-based biofuel mixture during the summer months to limit smog. American consumers are currently facing record-high pump prices and soaring inflation at levels not seen since 1981.

Kentucky Lawmakers Override Dem Governor on Women’s Sports and Abortion

Kentucky legislators banned males from women’s sports and restricted abortions Wednesday, overriding the Democratic governor’s veto.

Lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 83, which bars males from participating in girls’ sports from elementary through secondary education. Beshear preferred a policy allowing males to compete in girls’ sports if they underwent certain medical sex change treatments rather than an outright ban, he explained in his April 7 veto letter.

Report: Major NBA Owner Tied to China’s Genocide

The owner of a top ten NBA team has ties to the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China, according to an ESPN report Thursday.

Joe Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets, is also the executive vice chairman of Alibaba, a Chinese tech firm, with a significant financial stake in companies the U.S. government blacklisted for their role in supporting “a campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention and high-tech surveillance,” according to the ESPN report.

Commentary: President Biden Sides Against Union Rank-and-File

April 16, 2022April 15, 2022 RealClearWire

While rank-and-file union members embraced President Trump, virtually every major union endorsed Joe Biden. A quietly issued Labor Department regulation helps explain this disconnect. President Biden has put union leaders first — even at the expense of union members.

Late last year, the Labor Department rescinded Trump Administration union transparency regulations. These regulations would have required union trust funds — like apprenticeship funds and strike funds — to disclose their receipts and expenditures.

Minnesota Has the Most Long-Term Care Facilities with Staffing Shortages, National Report Says

April 16, 2022April 15, 2022 The Center Square

Minnesota’s share of long-term care facilities reporting staffing shortages is the largest in the country, Seniorly reports.

Seniorly’s April 8 report indicated about two of every five long-term care facilities in the North Star State are experiencing staffing shortages this year, up 18.4% since 2020.

Greitens: Karl Rove Exploits Our Family’s Pain to Block My Senate Run

April 15, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed Missouri GOP Senate hopeful Eric Greitens about Karl Rove’s role in his ex-wife’s accusations against him.

Greitens, a Navy SEAL combat veteran and former Missouri, said told The Star News Network, his ex-wife has admitted that she wrote her statements off a draft by Rove and that her accusations have been disproven.

GOP Reps. Fitzgerald, Banks Introduce Bill to Repeal National Educational Association’s Charter

GOP Reps. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Banks introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the century-old federal charter granted to the National Educational Association, arguing the group has shifted too far to the left.

States Preemptively Banning ESG Practices Pushed by Big Capital

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

States across the country are preemptively banning Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scoring, which some say would lead to a massive consolidation of wealth among the most powerful investment companies in America.

“In an attempt to secure vast amounts of wealth and influence over society, corporations, bankers, and investors, working closely with key government officials, have launched a unified effort to impose environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards on most of the industrialized global economy. (ESG standards are also referred to as ‘sustainable investment’ or ‘stakeholder capitalism.’),” Justin Haskins at The Heartland Institute said.

Commentary: Frustrated and Angry Democrats Blame Joe Biden for Loss of Message

At the White House, a conundrum is taking place. Could the scenario look and sound like this?

15th Annual Easter Sunrise Celebration on Government Property at Chicago’s Daley Plaza

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Sunday will mark the 15th annual celebration of Easter on Chicago’s Daley Plaza – government property – including a sunrise service on Easter Sunday itself, to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This sacred observance of Easter begins at Daley Plaza on Holy Thursday, 7:30 p.m. CDT, when a giant 19-foot-high cross is erected at 50 West Washington Street.

Republican National Committee Unanimously Decides to Withdraw from Commission on Presidential Debates

The Republican National Committee said Thursday the group has unanimous voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, the group that runs the series of General Election debates between the Democrat and Republican nominee every four years.

Commentary: Pay Attention to These Supreme Court Races in Six States

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 RealClearWire

Before the 2024 election, six swing states will have supreme court elections that could flip which party controls the state’s supreme court.

Rulings by state supreme courts on redistricting maps have led Cook Political to revise their projections on who redistricting favors, from favoring Republicans, to being a wash. This didn’t happen by Democrats’ good fortune. Former Attorney General Eric Holder and other Democrats have targeted state supreme court races over the last decade and are continuing to do so. In response, the Republican State Leadership Committee declared in a memorandum: “Democrats’ past spending on state court races paying off in redistricting fight.” Republicans believe they have a plan to fight back in future court races, but this round of redistricting will likely be done before any of those races are decided.

JPMorgan Stashing Away Hundreds of Millions in Fear of ‘Powerful Forces’ Shaking US Economy

JPMorgan Chase stashed away hundreds of millions of dollars in cash amid growing fears that the U.S. economy will enter a recession, The Wall Street Journal reported.

JPMorgan Chase put aside $900 million in cash in preparation for an economic downturn, The Wall Street Journal reported. JPMorgan chief executive officer Jamie Dimon has increasingly warned that the Federal Reserve has been behind the curve fighting inflation and their efforts will bring the U.S. economy into a recession around the fourth quarter of 2022.

‘Checkered Histories’: Minneapolis Renames School Named After Thomas Jefferson

Minneapolis Public Schools approved Tuesday the name change of two schools in the district, a process that began in 2020.

Sheridan Dual Language Elementary and Jefferson Global Studies & Humanities Magnet School will have new names in July after receiving approval from the school board this week, according to a press release from MPS.

Catholic Charities Met Abbott’s Bused Migrants with Tickets to Ride Elsewhere

April 14, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, reports from Washington’s Union Station, where Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott sent migrants who crossed the border into his state.

Subway Shooting Suspect to Face Terrorism Charges

New York subway shooting suspect Frank James faces a terrorism charge after 10 people were shot Tuesday in an attack.

The 62-year-old James has been charged with committing a terrorist attack on a transportation system, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

James is in custody after he called Crime Stoppers on himself Wednesday morning before going on a stroll through East Villiage, The New York Post reported.

“A call came into Crime Stoppers,” a law enforcement source told the Post about the bizarre moment James called himself in. “The guy says, ‘You know I think you’re looking for me. I’m seeing my picture all over the news and I’ll be around this McDonalds.'”

Thales Academy Opens First Rural County School in Pittsboro, North Carolina

April 14, 2022April 13, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Thales Academy opened the doors of its brand new building in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Monday, as about 100 students from the academy’s Cary campus moved to the new facility in rural Chatham County.

“Chatham is the first time that Thales has been in a rural county,” Bob Luddy, the founder and chairman of Thales Academy, told The Star News Network. “So, my thought was having a facility of that quality in a rural county that’s a private initiative is going to change the way people think about K-12 education.”

Commentary: Biden’s Wealth Tax Is a Bad Idea That Cannot Be Ignored

Imagine a world where you were not taxed on how much you earned in a given year, but instead on how much your wealth appreciated.

To some this sounds like something straight out of John Lennon’s communist manifesto, also known as the song “Imagine.” Like the song, the music surrounding the words are enticing, but also like Lennon’s hit, the words themselves spell the death knell of freedom.

Commentary: Used Cars Are Currently Selling at Higher Prices than New Cars

The last time I purchased a used car it didn’t turn out well. A number of years ago, I bought a used 2005 Mazda Tribute for what I thought was a screaming deal: $5,900. The mileage was low, and the vehicle was in pretty meticulous shape—or so I thought.

Annual Wholesale Inflation Rises 11.2 Percent, Mirroring Record Consumer Price Index Numbers

Wholesale prices in March increased by 11.2%, compared to 12 months earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The report also show the prices increased 1.1% from February to March.

The newly released numbers follow the agency saying Tuesday the price of consumer goods in March increased by 8.5%, compared to the same time last year, making the Consumer Price Index’s so-called “annualized rate” the highest since December 1981.

Justice Department Plans to Re-Try Two Remaining Whitmer Kidnapping Defendants

Despite a humiliating defeat in what the Justice Department considered one of its biggest domestic terror investigations in recent history, federal prosecutors announced they will re-try two men who were not acquitted last week on charges of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Chief District Court Judge Robert Jonker declared a mistrial on April 8 after a jury in western Michigan could not agree on the guilt of Adam Fox, the so-called ringleader, and Barry Croft, Jr. related to the alleged plot; two other men, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, were found not guilty on all charges and went home last Friday night after spending 18 months in jail.

Yelp Exec: Abortion Access Is ‘Fundamental’ to Women’s Success in the Workplace

A Yelp executive said women need access to abortions to be successful at work as the company announced it would fund travel expenses for employees traveling out of state for abortions.

“The ability to control your reproductive health, and whether or when you want to extend your family, is absolutely fundamental to being able to be successful in the workplace,” Miriam Warren, Yelp’s chief diversity officer, told The New York Times.

Minnesota Offers Up to $87K for New Prison ‘Tattoo Supervisor’

A job board maintained by the state of Minnesota is offering a prison “tattoo supervisor” position that could pay up to $87,000 with benefits.

The posting seeks applicants who are currently licensed as tattoo technicians, have at least three years of experience, and “possess a strong, well-rounded portfolio.” The hiring agency is the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the state’s prison system, and the work is full-time out of Stillwater.

Bloomington Middle School Students Allowed to Leave Class for Ramadan ‘Reflection’: Report

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 Admin

Middle school students in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis, have reportedly been given the opportunity to step out of class for “reflection” time during Ramadan.

An online form asks parents of students at Valley View Middle School if their child has permission to leave class for 15 minutes throughout the month of April. The story was first reported by the Center of the American Experiment.

States Take a Stand on Value of Human Life: Oklahoma Protects Unborn Babies from Abortion, Colorado Dismisses Their Humanity

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

In just the span of about a week, legislation concerning ending the lives of unborn babies in two states starkly reveals that while many state lawmakers are standing up to protect human life, some appear to be underscoring the extremity with which they are prepared to go to dismiss it.

The states continue to take their respective stands in advance of the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, now awaiting a decision at the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is considered to present the most significant challenge to the Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Commentary: Teachers Unions’ Other Foes Are Liberal Parents

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 RealClearWire

Khulia Pringle would seem an unlikely critic of the local Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. The St. Paul native embarked on a teaching career in the hope of improving a school system that she saw as failing her daughter. By the time she finished her training in 2014, she had grown so disillusioned with the public school system that she took a job with an education reform group, helping to recruit and place hundreds of tutors in schools across the state.

While she shares the union’s emphasis on pushing for higher pay and smaller classrooms, the self-described liberal education activist says the federation’s three-week strike last month provided final confirmation of her worst fear: The union and public education system place a higher priority on serving their own needs than they do on serving students and parents, 60% of whom are minorities.

Music Spotlight: Tyler Braden

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 Bethany Bowman

With Tyler Braden’s newest hits, “Try Losing One,” and “Seventeen”, he has proven that his star is on the rise. You will be hearing a lot more from this singer/songwriter in the future.

Consumer Prices Rise 8.5 Percent, the Highest in 40 Years

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 The Center Square

Newly released federal inflation data show that prices continue to rise at the fastest rate in four decades, continuing the trend of soaring inflation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index, a key indicator of inflation, which showed prices rose an additional 1.2% in March, part of an 8.5 percent spike in the past 12 months.

Analysis: Famed Bangladesh Mask Study Excluded Crucial Data

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 The Center Square

With one exception, every gold standard study of masks in community settings has failed to find that they slow the spread of contagious respiratory diseases. The outlier is a widely cited study run in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of its authors claim it proves that mask mandates “or strategies like handing out masks at churches and other public events—could save thousands of lives each day globally and hundreds each day in the United States.”

New Study Shows Red States Handled COVID-19 Better Than Blue States

A new study by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity found that states led by Republicans did a better job than Democrat-led states at managing the coronavirus and keeping their states from slumping into an economic and social recession.

As reported by The Daily Caller, the three states that ranked the worst in mortality, economy, and schooling during the COVID pandemic were New Jersey, New York, and California, all of which had implemented some of the strictest lockdown measures in the nation. By contrast, the states that ranked the highest were Utah, Vermont, and Nebraska.

Commentary: Make the Judiciary Great Again by Holding Senators Accountable

Following four days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in late March, the full Senate voted 53-47 last week to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice of the Supreme Court—fulfilling Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to name a black woman to the high court. Three Republican senators joined their Democratic colleagues in voting to confirm Jackson—Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins, and Utah’s Mitt Romney.

Imagine a slightly different scenario: a Republican president nominates someone to serve on the Supreme Court and asks a 50-50 Senate to confirm that person. You can be absolutely sure that Democrats would force the vice president to break the tie to get that nominee on the bench. Remember when, in 2016, President Trump nominated Betsy Devos to be secretary of education and Vice President Mike Pence had to break a tie, even without an evenly split Senate?

Truckers Block Mexico-Texas Bridge over GOP Gov. Abbott’s Order for Added Safety Inspections

Truckers working between Texas and Mexico have been blocking two busy bridges at the southern U.S. border, amid rising tensions over an order by the office of Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott for tighter safety inspections that also have purportedly slowed traffic.

GOP Calls Out Biden’s Attempt to Impose a ‘Green New Deal’ Through Wall Street Regulation

A group of 40 House Republicans sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday, urging the agency to rescind a regulatory proposal forcing companies to disclose “climate-related risks.”

The Republicans, led by House Oversight Subcommittee on Environment Ranking Member Ralph Norman, slammed the financial regulator, saying it exceeded its congressionally-mandated authority in issuing the climate rule, in the letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The lawmakers added that the rule was especially inappropriate given the ongoing energy crisis.

Minnesota Senate Republicans Tout Public Safety Bills

April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 Cooper Moran

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate are touting public safety bills that are working their way through the legislation process.

The group recently passed S.F. 2673 out of committee. The complex, lengthy legislation would target sentence requirements for criminals, support for law enforcement, and additional transparency in the judicial process.

Miami Artist Set to Paint Mural Honoring Late Musician Prince in Minneapolis

April 12, 2022April 11, 2022 Kaitlin Housler

An artist from Miami has been selected to paint a 100-foot-long mural to be displayed in Minneapolis in order to honor the late musician Prince.

‘Trans Demiboy’ Elementary Teacher: ‘Heterosexuality Is Pushed on My Kids on a Daily Basis at a Very Young Age’

April 12, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A video posted to the Libs of Tik Tok Twitter account features a self-described “trans demiboy non-binary” elementary school teacher who argues parents’ claims that pre-K through third grade children are not ready for indoctrination in gender ideology are signs of “internalized homophobia and transphobia.”

“Hi, I’m a queer teacher and I, 1,000 percent, do not support this bill,” states Amanda Tooley, who apparently now uses the name “Skye” and goes by “Mx. T” in her classroom at Saturn Street Elementary Arts and Media Magnet School in Los Angeles.

Commentary: Three States Are Rethinking the Relationship Between Housing and Education Quality

April 12, 2022 RealClearWire

Most of the nation’s 48.2 million public K-12 students are assigned to their schools based on geographic school districts or attendance zones, with few options for transferring to another public school district. This method of school assignment intertwines schooling with property wealth, limiting families’ education options according to where they can afford to live.

A 2019 Senate Joint Economic Committee report found that homes near highly rated schools were four times the cost of homes near poorly rated schools. This presents a real barrier for many families – and 56% of respondents in a 2019 Cato survey indicated that expensive housing costs prevented them from moving to better neighborhoods. The challenge has only deepened as housing prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, putting better housing and education options out of reach for many.

Nancy Mace Calls for Hunter Biden Laptop Investigation 18 Months After Scandal

April 12, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Eighteen months after the contents of Hunter Biden’s now-infamous laptop were confirmed to be authentic and released to public, a South Carolina congresswoman is finally calling for an investigation.

“I’ve got news for Hunter Biden: when Republicans take the majority next year, he will be called to testify before the Oversight Committee that I sit on,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) said on Tiwtter. “Republicans will get to the bottom of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, which the mainstream media refused to cover in 2020.”

President Biden’s Sinking Support in Key Voting Bloc a Threat to Dems

Democrats are scrambling to recapture the youth vote as President Joe Biden’s approval rating plummets among the group, Politico reported Sunday.

Biden’s approval rating among people aged 18-30 dropped significantly over the course of 2021, with a CBS News poll released in January recording a 70% drop compared to February 2021. Gallup released a poll the following month that showed only 31% approved of Biden, compared to former President Barack Obama, whose rating from Gallup with the demographic never fell below 42% throughout his entire presidency.

Alabama Sues Biden Administration for Not Deporting Illegal Immigrants

April 12, 2022 The Center Square

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is suing the Biden administration over claims it is ignoring immigration law that requires the federal government to arrest, detain and deport foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally.

The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration’s immigration policy exceeds the authority of the Department of Homeland Security, is arbitrary and capricious, illegally bypassed notice and public commenting, and is unconstitutional.

North Carolina Congressman Introduces Bill to Restart Building Border Wall

A North Carolina congressman has introduced a bill to require the federal government to restart rebuilding the border wall, which was halted by President Joe Biden.

U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, R-NC, introduced the Build the Wall Now Act, which removes all legal impediments to building the border wall. Among other things, it unlocks an additional $2.1 billion that was appropriated in fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 that weren’t spent.

Democrat Running for Grassley’s Iowa GOP Senate Seat Removed from Primary for Lacking Signatures

An Iowa judge ruled has ruled that Democratic candidate and former Rep. Abby Finkenauer cannot run in her party’s June 7 primary to unseat seven-term incumbent GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Polk County district Judge Scott Beattie said late on Sunday that Finkenauer lacked the valid signatures she needed on her nominating petition. The judge said Finkenauer failed to submit a petition with enough signatures after two Republicans challenged her signature collection.

Commentary: The Difference Between Judge Jackson and Justice Thomas Is the Difference Between Nihilism and Natural Law