Month: November 2023

Supreme Court to Consider Whether Agency’s In-House Trials Violate the Constitution

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Supreme Court will consider next week whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) use of in-house judges violates the right to a jury trial guaranteed in the Seventh Amendment.

Congress empowered the SEC to use its own in-house administrative law judges (ALJs) to try cases brought by agency enforcement when it passed the Dodd-Frank Act following the 2008 financial crisis. George R. Jarkesy, who has been caught in the SEC’s administrative proceedings since the agency charged him with fraud relating to his investment activities in 2013, challenged that grant of power as unconstitutional.

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Illegal Chinese Pot Grows Are Taking over Maine and Law Enforcement Isn’t Stopping Them

Minnesota Sun Staff

Illegal marijuana grows run by Chinese nationals have sprung up all across the state of Maine, and residents say law enforcement isn’t doing enough to stop their spread.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified 270 suspected Chinese illegal marijuana grow operations in the state that could be making an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue, which are often used for more criminal activities or are sent back to China, the DCNF exclusively reported in August. The DCNF visited dozens of properties identified as suspected Chinese marijuana grows by the DHS memo, as well as other locations reported to be possible Chinese marijuana grows by The Maine Wire.

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Air Force Begs Troops Booted over COVID-19 Vax to Come Back

Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. Air Force sent out a letter telling an airman booted from the service over the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate of an opportunity to rejoin the service, mirroring similar letters sent to former Army service members, according to a copy of one Air Force letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A former Air Force service member who was separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine received the letter Sunday addressed with the recipient’s name, according to a source familiar with the matter. The letter tells former airmen they can request to have their service records amended to show that they received honorable discharges and seek reentry into the service amidst the service’s failure to meet recruiting goals.

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Professor Raises Concerns over the Effect AI Could Have on 2024 Elections

The Center Square

A University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy professor is waving a red flag on the impact that artificial intelligence could have on next year’s elections.  

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita has written a white paper which he said provides an overview of the potential impact of generative AI on the electoral process. The paper offers specific recommendations for voters, journalists, civil society, tech leaders and other stakeholders to help manage the risks and capitalize on the promise of AI for electoral democracy in the hope of fostering a more productive public discussion of these issues.  

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Commentary: Red Warning Lights Are Flashing on U.S. Economy as 2024 Rapidly Approaches

Minnesota Sun Staff

As 2023 is winding down to a close, the U.S. trade in goods deficit with the world is down $101 billion for the first nine months of the year to $802 billion, an 11.2 percent decrease so far, with still three months of data left to collect for the year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Simultaneously, existing home sales measured by the National Association of Realtors are down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million, a 16.7 percent decrease from its Feb. 2023 level of 4.5 million, and are averaging 4.16 million for the past 12 months. Overall, existing home sales are down the past 12 months by almost 32 percent from their 2021 high of 6.12 million. That’s a lot.

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Policing Pronouns: Border Agents’ Union Lambasts Latest Biden Political Correctness Order

Just the News

The Biden Homeland Security Department’s new pronoun rules for illegal immigrants is getting lambasted by the union for border patrol agents as an unnecessary distraction during the nation’s border and fentanyl crises.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) memo obtained by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project and made public last week imposed new requirements on an already stretched thin team of border patrol agents.

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Commentary: The Need for Authority

Minnesota Sun Staff

When I was 14, I wanted to be Kurt Cobain. I wanted to drop out of school, be sad and poetic, and start a rock band. I actually said this to my dad. He took me to a burger joint and heard me out. After listening to my explanations, my father said, “Son, you’re full of s***.” That simple statement was enough for me. I regained perspective and went back to being a normal teenager. My dad had fulfilled his role as the authority in my life. It was a good moment. Authority is necessary. It is an innate part of human nature, but it is in crisis today because it has been rejected. Why?

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Mortgage Applications Increase to Six-Week High

Minnesota Sun Staff

Applications for mortgages ticked up to a six-week high for the week ending on Nov. 17 in a sign that the housing market might become more accessible to average Americans following rising prices and high mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The number of mortgage applications increased by 3% compared to a week earlier when seasonally adjusted, according to a press release from the MBA. The increase in volume follows a decline in the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell to 7.41% from 7.61% in the same time period.

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Small Business Owners Report Lower Consumer Spending Going into Holiday Season

The Center Square

Newly released survey data shows that small businesses are pessimistic about their retail sales going into the holiday season.

The Main Street Merchant Report released Tuesday by Alignable, a network of thousands of small businesses, are not optimistic about their sales for small businesses this weekend.

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Report: Economic Recession Coming for the U.S.

The Center Square

A new economic analysis of the U.S. economy projects a recession around the corner.

An international nonprofit, The Conference Board, has released its Leading Economic Indicators report, which projects into the next year for the U.S. economy. That analysis, among other things, projects high inflation, high interest rates and declining consumer spending.

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Tlaib Faces Michigan Bar Complaint for Alleged Antisemitism, Spreading ‘Terrorist Propaganda’, Lies

Just the News

Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces a formal complaint asking the State Bar of Michigan to open an investigation into the Michigan Democrat, an active member of the state bar, over her alleged “repeated false statements, anti-Semitic comments, and spread of foreign terrorist propaganda” following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths.

“Attorney Tlaib’s public statements have shown a complete disregard for the truth and serve only to enflame anti-Semitic hatred rather than promote the ends of justice,” the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a free speech nonprofit, wrote in the complaint Monday to the Michigan bar.  

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Minnesota Flag Redesign Commission Member Blasts Process as ‘Absurd’ and a ‘Colossal Waste of Time’

Minnesota Sun Staff

A lengthy deliberation Tuesday among 13 Minnesotans tasked with selecting a new state flag and seal at times devolved into argument and confusion among some, with one member of the State Emblems Redesign Commission calling it “a colossal waste of time” for those who submitted the designs.

Others criticized any potential incorporation of the state motto “L’etoile du Nord” or the statehood date of “1858” into a new state seal or flag as “hurtful” to many with indigenous backgrounds.

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Commentary: 13 Traditionalist Gift Ideas for Kids

Minnesota Sun Staff
Opening Presents

Christmas is just around the corner! We often look forward to the holidays with heaps of joy … and maybe a little trepidation. There can be so many presents involved, particularly given the numerous people and parties. It can be a lot for anyone to deal with.

But presents can’t just be ignored: Children love gifts, and they find so much joy in the simple act of opening sparkly, wrapped boxes. Plus, presents are a great opportunity to share traditional values with children. But instead of opting for the “more is more” mentality of mainstream culture, let’s embrace the mantra “fewer but better.” Let’s explore alternative gift ideas that not only support traditionalist values but also won’t overwhelm children, parents, or our wallets.

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Report: New York City Saw 254 Percent Increase in First-Time Shelter Seekers in 2023

The Center Square

The city of New York homeless population increased by 73% in fiscal year 2023, according to a report put out by the city comptroller that sheds more light on the asylum seeker crisis.

The number of homeless within the city jumped from 46,675 in FY 2022 to 80,724 in FY 2023, according to the report. The city’s fiscal years begin July 1.

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Commentary: Five More Stupid Things the Left Demands You Believe

Minnesota Sun Staff

It wasn’t the last column in this space — that one took a detour because somebody had to address the manifest awfulness of Nikki Haley — but the one before that introduced you, dear reader, to what might become an ongoing series.

Because the Left in America is now built on the failed proposition that magical thinking, the imagination of a human race that acts nothing like the current one does, can reflect reality if only enough time, money, and effort (and blood, because it always comes down to blood) are poured into the mix.

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Texas AG Launches Fraud Investigation into Media Matters

Minnesota Sun Staff

On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-Texas) announced that the state would be launching a fraud probe into the far-left publication Media Matters.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the probe comes after Media Matters released a report on Thursday accusing the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, of putting anti-Semitic content next to advertisements. Although subsequent studies have proven this to be mostly false, multiple major corporations, including Apple, Disney, and IBM, have announced their plans to boycott advertising on the site.

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Macy’s Hit with Civil Rights Complaint Ahead of Thanksgiving Parade for Alleged Race-Based Hiring Practices

Minnesota Sun Staff

A conservative legal group filed a federal civil rights complaint against Macy’s ahead of the Thanksgiving Day parade, claiming the company is “intentionally and systematically” hiring based on race and sex.

America First Legal writes in its complaint filed Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that Macy’s employment practices, which include “explicit racial and other quotas,” likely violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  AFL cites company documents, such as a 2019 press release on Macy’s five-point plan to advance diversity where management is instructed to “[a]chieve more ethnic diversity by 2025 at senior director level and above, with a goal of 30 percent,” to highlight how the company “has created a significant legal dilemma for itself.”

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Commentary: The Meaning of Thanksgiving Can Save America

Minnesota Sun Staff

Thanksgiving, according to Britannica.com, has come to “has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.” This definition captures the ideals, more relevant than ever, of one of America’s favorite holidays. But these ideals are threatened, because America’s mainstream institutions have either rejected them, or have created an environment where they are no longer possible.

This is immediately obvious with the “woke” doctrine of race-based oppressor and oppressed, now promoted by academia, the media, entertainers, politicians, and corporations. Maybe the fellowship of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians is mostly fable, cruelly debunked by history.

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Minneapolis City Council Rejects Plan for Officer Retention, Sign-On Bonuses

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Minneapolis City Council has rejected a bid submitted by the mayor and police chief to offer retention and recruitment sign-on bonuses for city police officers and new hires.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara came forward last week with a plan to spend $15 million in an effort to retain officers currently on the force and to offer incentive bonuses for new hires.

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Commentary: Five Stupid Things the Left Would Have You Believe

Minnesota Sun Staff

I was on a media panel talking about what the Left has done to the Fourth Estate in America and how that damage might ultimately be repaired. And afterward, I spent a lot of time interacting with sponsors and attendees, and a common thread seemed to run through those conversations.

Namely, the multiplicity of utterly indefensible, absurd propositions that make up the narratives and constructs by which our left-wing current ruling class seeks to base its power over us.

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Commentary: Fentanyl Letters Show How Partisan Journalists Operate

Minnesota Sun Staff

The true danger to American democracy comes from the radical left. Just don’t expect to hear it from the mainstream media.

On Nov. 9, Americans learned that law enforcement intercepted a handful of fentanyl-laced letters intended for election offices across at least five states, including Georgia’s Fulton County. While alarming, fentanyl isn’t like anthrax – briefly touching it isn’t deadly. But ingesting it is – just ask the families of the 74,000 Americans who died from fentanyl in 2022 alone, much of it produced in China and smuggled in through President Biden’s wide-open southern border.

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Music Spotlight: David Morris

Bethany Bowman

One thing that I have learned by writing my column is that even though I prefer traditional country music, hip-hop, and rap are tremendously popular with the younger set. There have been a few country artists who have dipped their toes into the hip-hop music scene, but the most successful one I have encountered is David Morris.

Hailing from Charleston, West Virginia, country, hip-hop artist Morris is trailblazing a path by mixing trap-style beats with slide guitars, banjos with catchy hooks, and lyrical mastery with relatable lyrics. Morris has over 120 million global streams and has supported Kidd G and Jelly Roll on tour. The song, “Dutton Ranch Free Style,” recently received its RIAA Gold Certification.

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Liberal ‘Dark Money’ Groups Gave Millions to SCOTUS Watchdogs Targeting Alito, Thomas, Docs Show

Just the News

Nonprofit organizations managed by the liberal “dark money” consulting firm Arabella Advisors gave millions of dollars to “nonpartisan” Supreme Court watchdogs, new documents show, after a campaign was launched earlier this year targeting conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito for not fully disclosing their finances.

Former Clinton appointee Eric Kessler founded Arabella Advisors in 2005, and its subsidiaries include the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the Hopewell Fund, the New Venture Fund, the Windward Fund and the North Fund. 

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Most Voters Think Joe Biden Participated in Hunter Biden’s Business Dealings: Poll

Just the News

Most registered voters say they think that President Joe Biden participated in the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, according to a survey that comes as House Republicans continue their impeachment inquiry into allegations that the current president abused his office to benefit his family.

While 40% of voters say that Joe Biden did not participate in his son’s business dealings, 60% say that he did, according to a survey released Monday by Harvard CAPS / Harris poll.

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U.S. Backing New Plan to Cripple Coal Industry at UN Climate Conference

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration is set to back a plan that would crush the coal industry at the upcoming United Nations (UN) climate summit, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. will reportedly support a French plan to get the countries of the world to ban private financing of coal-fired power plants during the upcoming UN conference, known as COP28, according to Reuters. The plan is likely to drive a rift between countries like the U.S. and France and those like China and India, which are reliant on coal to feed their economies cheap and reliable electricity.

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Trump Widens Lead over Biden in New 2024 Poll

Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump has widened his lead over President Joe Biden by 5 points for a 2024 head-to-head matchup, according to a Tuesday poll.

Trump is beating Biden 47% to 40% among registered voters, with 13% remaining undecided, according to a Messenger/HarrisX poll. The former president’s margin of victory grew from his 2-point lead reflected in a previous Messenger/HarrisX survey released on Nov. 1, when 12% of registered voters were not sure of their choice.

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Federal Appeals Court Ruling Could Gut Voting Rights Act

Minnesota Sun Staff

A crucial decision by a federal appeals court on Monday could lead to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) losing much of its strength as a law, should the decision be upheld by the Supreme Court.

Politico reports that the ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that only the federal government is allowed to sue under a key section of the civil rights law, not private citizens or civil rights groups, which had used the law to do so in the past.

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Commentary: Supporting Censorship Will Backfire on the Right

Minnesota Sun Staff

Free speech has long been one of the most sacred American values. Until recently, commitment to free speech in general was bipartisan and widespread. Almost every American from every political persuasion valued free speech.

There used to be some debate on the margins. Conservatives were wary of extending free speech protection to corrosive things like pornography, and liberals were wary of official speech endorsing religion. But, as recently as the 1990s, neither side believed its opponent should be censored, and the idea of exempting “hate speech” from the normal rule against censorship did not have much traction.

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Cornel West Targets Minority Voters in Michigan

Minnesota Sun Staff

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West is targeting minority voters in Michigan for 2024, a crucial voting bloc for Democrats that President Joe Biden has lost support with, Politico reported Tuesday.

West’s campaign is setting up a ground game operation to be deployed in the diverse battleground state early next year where the candidate will seek support from “environmental justice advocates,” the indigenous population, black voters, college students and Arab Americans, according to Politico. The move comes as Biden is losing support from minority voters, as well as Muslims in the swing state following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, providing a potential opening for West to shore up support among the key groups.

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Commentary: John F. Kennedy – A Remembrance

RealClearWire

Sixty autumns have passed since the assassination of John F. Kennedy that Friday, Nov. 22, a day that traumatized a generation of children and revealed the impermanence of their innocence. For many, it was their first rendezvous with death. It endured as a vivid remembrance even as other memories lapsed with the passage of age. Many of those children are now grandparents, having lived past the average American life expectancy in 1963. Others, like my father, are not here for the somber milestone. But until his own twilight, my father – like any Irish-Catholic child of that period – remained haunted by that afternoon, transfixed by what Kennedy meant at that time, and committed to imparting those reminiscences unto his three sons.

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Commentary: Elon Musk Is Going ‘Thermonuclear’

RealClearWire

Elon Musk is going “thermonuclear.”

No, this has nothing to do with SpaceX or any of his other wild technology projects – but it’s how Musk described the lawsuit he was filing against Media Matters for America this week. The lawsuit is in response to a Media Matters report last week that X, the Musk-owned social media platform formerly known as Twitter, was placing ads for major brands such as Apple and IBM next to “pro-Nazi content.” After some prodding from Media Matters, within a day of their report, a slew of major corporations, such as IBM, Disney, Comcast, Sony, NBC, and Warner Brothers, announced they were pulling ads from X.

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Jan. 6 Bodycam Video Captures Metro D.C. Police Officer Saying ‘We Go Undercover as Antifa’

Just the News

Just the News on Tuesday obtained footage of an undercover Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer recorded by his body-worn camera behind police lines on the U.S. Capitol grounds. The footage was obtained directly from official sources and has not been altered.

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Twin Lawsuits, Fraud Probe Mark Bad Day for News Media in Already Bad Year

Just the News

Monday marked a particularly bad day for the news media as a pair of lawsuits and a fraud investigation took aim at separate instances of allegedly false reports and threatened to impose expensive consequences upon an industry already facing financial adversity.

Myriad lawsuits, such as the high-profile litigation between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, as well as a general downturn in outlook for media outlets have led to large-scale layoffs.

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