As Harvard faces increasing pressure to fire its embattled president, the university’s insular culture and one-sided politics are under the microscope.
Read MorePlagued by Plagiarism Scandal, Harvard’s Political Donations Flood to Democrats
Month: December 2023
Biden Signs Order Finalizing 5.2 Percent Pay Raise for Feds in 2024
Government Executive President Biden on Thursday issued an executive order implementing his plan to provide civilian federal workers with an average 5.2 percent pay raise next month. As first proposed in his fiscal 2024 budget plan last March, the increase amounts to a 4.7 percent across-the-board boost to basic pay, alongside an…
Read MoreCommentary: The Left Is Smashing Cultural Third Rails in Pursuit of Their Brave New World Agenda
Readers are familiar with the moniker “third rail.” In political discourse, it refers to those preciously few issues that are so untouchable that the mere talk of change, alteration or revision carries with it what amounts to a political death penalty.
There is general agreement in Washington, D.C., that reform of federal entitlements leads the brief list. The most recent example being the 2011 temporary coalition of former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon intended to secure a more sustainable Medicare program. Here, all was good and fine for a fast minute before the Democratic Party realized its number one nuclear weapon was in the process of being compromised. And that was that. Suffice to say that that now twelve-year-old effort was the last semi-serious, bipartisan attempt to control entitlement spending we will see for the foreseeable future.
Read MoreCommentary: The Need for Federal Legislation Requiring Age Verification for Porn Websites
Nearly 80% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 have unintentionally come across pornography, and over 50% of them actively seek it out. Even among younger children—those between 9 and 11—37% have seen porn.
Frequent exposure to pornography at a young age cultivates unhealthy views of sexuality and an inclination toward violent behavior. Children may develop a poor understanding of what constitutes a healthy relationship, what behavior is appropriate or inappropriate, how to establish and maintain boundaries, and the importance of respecting other people’s boundaries.
Read MoreOnly Three Percent of Soldiers Who Refused COVID Vaccine Rejoin Army
More and more Army soldiers are reenlisting after being discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, according to information shared exclusively with The Daily Signal.
The increase comes after Congress repealed the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate and conservative lawmakers applied pressure to Defense Department leaders to be more welcoming of 8,400 service members who were “fired” for their refusal to get the COVID-19 shot.
Read MoreCommentary: Teacher Union Power Is Still in Full Bloom
As a result of the Janus decision in 2018, no teacher or any public employee has to pay a penny to a union as a condition of employment. The good news is that since then, 20% of workers in non-right-to-work states have dropped out of their unions, according to a report from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The not-so-good news is that 70% of teachers nationwide are still willingly paying union dues, a great deal of which goes to politics, specifically to progressive candidates and causes.
The California Teachers Association has the honor of being the biggest political-spending teachers’ union in the country. A recent report reveals that between 1999 and 2020, the 300,000+ member union spent an astonishing $222,940,629 on politics – about $6 million was spent on the federal level, while almost $217 million stayed in the state – with 98.2% of all spending going to Democrats. The top advocacy issues for CTA include regulating charter schools, immigration reform, social justice, and a slew of almost exclusively left-wing causes.
Read MoreMale Might Get Volleyball Scholarship Meant for Female Athletes at University of Washington
A California transgender volleyball player may become the first biological male recipient of a collegiate Division 1 athletic scholarship designated for women.
Tate Drageset, 17, verbally committed to the University of Washington, where Drageset is poised to claim one of 12 Division 1 volleyball scholarships designated for female players, Reduxx first reported on Dec. 13.
Read MoreOfficials Say Border Crisis Tied to Break-Ins Orchestrated by Columbians, Chileans
The border crisis has hit several milestones, with an estimated 10 million illegal entries since January 2021, increased reports of infectious disease spreading, and a crime wave being reported in states nationwide.
A county executive from Long Island, New York, told U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee members at a hearing held earlier this month that illegal foreign nationals released into the U.S. by the Biden administration are dealing drugs, stealing cars, burglarizing and committing violent crimes.
Read MoreParents Speak Out After Their Daughter Was Told to Sleep with a Boy Who Identified as a Girl
Parents Joe and Serena Wailes were shocked and horrified to discover that their 11-year-old daughter had been assigned to not only room with, but also share a bed with, a boy on her school trip.
That boy identified as a transgender girl, the Wailes say, and his parents had allegedly told the school district that he was operating under “stealth mode”—meaning that his gender identity was to be kept secret.
Read MoreTikTok Data Reveals Content Favors CCP Goals, According to New Study
The popular video app TikTok seems to be promoting content to align with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) goals, a Thursday study found.
Hashtag data showed that content sensitive to the CCP is far less popular on TikTok than on its rival, Instagram, accordingto the study by Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University. A comparison between Instagram and TikTok showed that the number of posts about non-sensitive hashtags in the realm of politics and pop-culture was fairly similar based on how many users each platform has, but the number of posts on hashtags for topics sensitive to the CCP was substantially higher on Instagram than on TikTok.
Read MoreCalifornia to Lose Four Congressional Seats After 2030 Census, Texas and Florida to Gain
California is projected to lose four congressional seats after the 2030 Census, with Texas positioned to gain four and Florida to gain three, says the American Redistricting Project based on this week’s new Census data.
According to Thad Kousser, an expert in California and national politics and a professor of political science at UC San Diego, a reduction in California’s congressional delegation could have mixed effects.
Read MoreSmall New York Town Devastated as Gun Plant Shuts Down
The Epoch Times In the village of Ilion, New York, 80 miles west of the state capital in Albany, residents are mourning the departure of gunmaker Remington Arms Co. after two centuries of continuous operation. Without fanfare, the company announced last month that the manufacturing plant would be closing its…
Read MoreSwain: A Can-Do Attitude Is More Important Than Race or Social Class
New York Post Political science professor Dr. Carol Swain is one of the academics whom Claudine Gay, president of Harvard, plagiarized. Swain has called for Gay’s firing and a “return to sanity” by Harvard University. Here, she explains how the insanity has spread across higher education — with a philosophy…
Read MoreAmericans Sour on Big Pharma After Pandemic, Opioid Crisis: Poll
Public opinion on the pharmaceutical industry has declined sharply over the past decade, according to new polling released by Gallup.
The proportion of Americans who believe pharmaceutical companies provide good or excellent services declined 21 points between 2010 and 2023, according to a poll released Monday. Public controversies over COVID-19 vaccines and the opioid crisis have implicated the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.
Read MoreScientists Raise Alarm about ‘Zombie Deer Disease’ in Yellowstone Jumping to Humans
Scientists are raising concerns that the chronic wasting disease, known as “zombie deer disease,” discovered in Yellowstone National Park deer may spread to humans.
National Parks Service officials said last month they discovered an adult mule deer buck carcass with chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the Wyoming area of the park, and The Guardian called the disease an “epidemic” in an article Friday.
Read MoreThe Senate Leaves Behind a Pile of Unfinished Business as It Heads Home for the Holidays
The Senate has adjourned for the remainder of the year after failing to negotiate a deal to reform border security in exchange for aid to Ukraine and pass appropriations bills to fund the government.
Republicans in Congress have refused to support a $60 billion aid package to Ukraine during its war against Russia, requested by President Joe Biden unless Senate Democrats permit the passage of conservative border security priorities. After convening the Senate during its holiday recess on Monday, to give time for more negotiations, the Senate adjourned on Wednesday night for the remainder of the year without reaching a compromise, as well as without passing appropriations bills submitted by the House of Representatives to fund the government and a bipartisan railway safety bill.
Read MoreLawyer Sues Wisconsin Bar over Clerkship Program That Allegedly Selects Students Based on Race
A Wisconsin lawyer sued the state bar Wednesday over a diversity clerkship program that allegedly limits eligibility to students who are minorities or who identify as LGBT.
Attorney Daniel Suhr, backed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, filed the lawsuit because he objects to his bar membership dues being used to fund an “unconstitutional program” that selects participants based on protected traits like race. The “Diversity Clerkship Program,” which has offered paid internships to nearly 600 students, is restricted only to students “with backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the legal field,” according to its website.
Read MoreCommentary: A Glaring Sign of Rot Within the CIA
In his powerful new book, Neutering the CIA: Why Us Intelligence Versus Trump Has Long-term Consequences, former CIA analyst John Gentry discusses how the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) agenda has harmed national security by elevating the goals of left-wing identity politics as paramount in the selection and promotion of officers. For example, late last month, the Financial Times revealed that a CIA officer posted pro-Palestinian images on her Facebook page and a selfie photo with the caption “Free Palestine.”
The agency officer, later identified as Amy McFadden, reportedly posted at least one of these images to the Internet after the horrific October 7, Hamas attack on Israel in which more than 1,300 Jews were killed by Hamas terrorists, many of them raped and mutilated, and more than 250 taken hostage.
Read MoreFederal Judge Halts Minnesota DFL’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Campaign Finance Law
A federal district judge in St. Paul on Wednesday put the brakes on a campaign finance law set to take effect next month that would bar businesses in Minnesota with minimal investment from foreign-based persons or entities from contributing to political campaigns.
Read MoreCommentary: Eight Conservative House Candidates Who Must Win Their Primaries
The 2024 election cycle will be about many things, from the Biden regime’s overt authoritarianism to retribution against political and legal persecution. President Trump’s comeback candidacy will be a perfect representation of these broader existential issues at the core of the campaign.
But the down-ballot races should be about something just as important as defeating our enemies on the Left. Just as in 2022, the races for Congress should be about an ideological purging of the Republican Party. As the already razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives has proven, a “majority” doesn’t mean much if we are still at the mercy of establishment moderates, RINOs, and outright NeverTrumpers.
Read MoreAARP Spent Millions Advocating for New Laws That Likely Benefit a Major Corporate Backer
AARP, an organization that represents the interests of retired Americans, spent tens of millions of dollars promoting provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that likely benefit the bottom line of one of the group’s major corporate backers.
AARP spent more than $60 million between 2019 and summer 2022 advocating for a provision that eventually made it into the IRA allowing Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over the prices of certain drugs, according to an article posted on the group’s website. The provisions would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate the prices of certain drugs with drug manufacturers starting in 2026.
Read MoreSmall Businesses, Lawmakers Push Back on Financial Reporting Regulation
A coalition of small businesses, U.S. senators and representatives sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for a one-year delay in a new rule requiring businesses with as few as 20 employees to report financial information about the business’ beneficial owners.
Under the rule, small businesses will be required to report personal information about their owners, board members, senior management and legal representation and could face civil or even criminal penalties for failure to do so.
Read MoreCommentary: After Telework Surge, Federal Buildings Remain Largely Empty
More than two years after the Biden administration called on all federal agencies to create plans to bring employees who teleworked during the COVID pandemic back to the office, the vast majority of Washington, D.C.’s federal buildings are still sprawling expanses of empty, echoing hallways and offices.
In fact, 17 of 24 federal agencies use an estimated 25% or less of their headquarters’ office capacity, according to an updated survey by the General Accounting Office, a government agency that provides auditing and investigative services for Congress.
Read MoreWest Virginia U.S. Senator Manchin Stokes 2024 Rumors with Announcement He’ll Appear at Crucial Event
Washington Examiner Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is set to appear at a New Hampshire forum next month, further stoking rumors of a White House bid because the event is typically reserved for presidential candidates. Manchin will speak at the “Politics & Eggs” event hosted by the New England Council and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics…
Read MoreUniversity with Gender Clinic Funds Study to See if Puberty Blockers Causes ‘Lasting’ Brain Changes for Kids
The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) approved a $600,000 grant for a study hypothesizing that puberty blockers used on children will lead to “lasting changes” in the brain, according to documents obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In 2018, an American Academy of Pediatrics committee, which included a member of UW’s faculty, released a policy on transgender hormone treatments claiming that the effects of puberty blockers are reversible, a claim that has since been widely echoed by trans advocates. The university’s gender clinic already offers hormones to minors, but new documents obtained by the DCNF reveal that the study, which was approved for a $600,000 grant in July, hypothesizes that “short-term” transgender treatments will have “lasting changes” on the brain, internal organs and behavior.
Read MoreThink Tank Looks to Lasso ‘Deep State’ by Recruiting Conservatives to Work in Government
The prominent conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has launched a major initiative titled “Project 2025” to rein in the federal bureaucracy by recruiting patriotic Americans to staff the next conservative administration.
“You just don’t have enough time after the election to put together the government,” Heritage Foundation Executive Vice President Derrick Morgan said on “The Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project Special Report” hosted by John Solomon and premiered on Real America’s Voice.
Read MorePower Grid Watchdog Warns of Future Blackouts, Need for Natural Gas to Support Renewables
The watchdog overseeing the North American power grid warns that the combination of rapid retirement of coal-fired electricity generation and the increasing reliance on wind and solar are risking large swaths of the United States with blackouts during heat waves and cold snaps.
“This assessment provides clear evidence of growing resource adequacy concerns over the next 10 years,” the latest report states. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) produces annual long-term assessments of potential electricity shortfalls over the next decade. In its latest long-term assessment published Wednesday, NERC stated that a priority action to ensure more grid reliability is increasing natural gas supply infrastructure.
Read MoreAmerica Is Undergoing a Massive Population Shift
Democrat-run states are still losing population, new Census Bureau data reveal, a development that could have electoral implications when the government reapportions congressional districts in 2030.
Oregon, California, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania, all states with Democratic governors and Democrat-controlled state legislatures, lost between 0.01% and 0.52% of their population between July 2022 and July 2023, according to the Census Bureau. Left-leaning states experienced similar declines in the lead-up to the 2020 Census, which led to them losing seats in the House of Representatives and votes in the Electoral College, an outcome that could occur again in 2030 if current trends persist.
Read MoreCommentary: President Trump’s Plan to Save America’s Cities
With all the devastating news about urban crime, drug overdoses, illegal immigration, rampant homelessness, out-of-control budgets, and educational failures, it is encouraging that President Donald Trump has committed his next administration to a saving America’s cities.
As Just the News reported, “With the nation’s first primary state as a backdrop, former President Donald Trump took aim Saturday at Democrats’ urban strongholds, vowing to both secure and revitalize blue cities weary from years of violence and economic decay.”
Read MoreCommentary: Netflix and the Erasure of History
“Trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people.”
– Excerpt from “Leave the World Behind,” released on Netflix December 8, 2023
Commentary: The Gift of Christmas Is Hope Through Sacrifice
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (KJV)
We thought about and were well on the way to drafting a much different column for this Christmas – Biden Outdoes The Grinch seemed apropos to this season of economic distress and discontent. But in looking through past Christmas columns we ran across one of our columns from 2019, entitled “The Gift of Christmas is Fulfilled at Easter” and we were brought back to the recognition that no Christian should be bitter on Christmas, because if there is one day of the year that is to be dedicated to hope it is Christmas and the anniversary of the birth of Our Savior.
Read MoreBiden Admin Doles Out $600 Million to Activist Groups, Universities for ‘Environmental Justice’
The Biden administration is shelling out $600 million in taxpayer funds to grantmaking organizations to distribute for “environmental justice” projects all across the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday.
The funds will go to 11 different organizations, which include universities and left-wing groups that focus on advancing social justice causes in addition to their environmental advocacy, according to the EPA’s announcement. Each of the recipients will in turn use the money to provide sub-grants to local organizations to pursue thousands of “environmental justice” projects like environmental jobs training programs and “healthy homes” initiatives.
Read MoreFederal ‘Home Visiting’ Program Classifies Parents Who Don’t Let Young Kids Cross-Dress as Potentially Abusive
A federally funded “home visiting” program advises service providers to watch for signs of abuse against “gender-diverse children,” citing parents who deny their young child the “right” to cross-dress as an example, a document shows.
The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program is intended to combat abuse and neglect while promoting “positive parenting” and school readiness among “pregnant people and families” with young children who are at-risk for “poor maternal and child health outcomes,” according to its website. The guidance offered to government workers who visit homes at the request of families categorizes steering a child away from “gender expression” that does not correspond with his or her biological sex as abuse.
Read MorePro-Palestinian Protest Disrupts Christmas in San Francisco: ‘No Xmas as Usual’
Breitbart News A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to disrupt Christmas weekend shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday in the latest attack on the Christian holiday, seen by radical leftists as an example of bourgeois complacency. The San Francisco Chronicle reported: Hundreds of protesters gathered among holiday crowds in San…
Read MoreTop Story: CCP-Tied Firm Slated to Build Massive Facility near Sensitive U.S. Military Sites
Top Commentary: Trump’s Margin Widens in Battlegrounds and Gets Boost from Voters Who Sat Out 2020 in Two States
CCP-Tied Firm Slated to Build Massive Facility near Sensitive U.S. Military Sites
The Chinese parent of a firm slated to develop a manufacturing facility near several Midwest military bases has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation based on research conducted by The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project and Heritage Action.
Cnano Technology USA Inc. (Cnano USA) plans to invest in a 333,000-square-foot facility in Johnson County, Kansas, that will manufacture liquid conductive paste for electric vehicle batteries and other devices, according to an August announcement from the Kansas City Area Development Council, which partnered with the state and other parties to attract the firm to Kansas. Cnano USA’s $95 million facility will be built approximately 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth, and 70 miles from the “only operational base for the B-2,” Whiteman Air Force Base.
Read MoreTSNN Featured: Select New Documentary ‘State of Denial’ Goes over Election Illegalities in Maricopa County’s 2022 Election, Reveals ‘Intentional Conduct to Sabotage the Election’
Commentary: Trump’s Margin Widens in Battlegrounds and Gets Boost from Voters Who Sat Out 2020 in Two States
Former President Donald Trump’s lead against President Joe Biden has widened in the latest poll of seven battleground states, with the latest Morning Consult poll showing Trump beating Biden by five percentage points, 47% to 42%. This is a slightly wider lead than Trump had over Biden in swing state polling conducted in early November that showed Trump ahead of Biden by four percentage points, 44% to 48%.
Meanwhile, new polling conducted for CNN by SSRS shows Trump’s margins widening specifically in Michigan and Georgia, buoyed by voters who sat out the 2020 election but plan to vote in 2024.
Read MoreCommentary: Advent and Christmas at the Vatican
When I was a child, my parents and I would attend Christmas Eve Mass at St. John’s Catholic Church in Whitehall, Wisconsin. When we got home, my father and I would watch the replay of Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican on television. After watching the beautiful Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, we would say to each other, “One day, we’ll go there together!”
Sadly, my father and mother were never able to make the trip to the Vatican. However, as the former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, I was blessed to attend Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s on several occasions. And each time, I brought the memory of my parents with me.
Read MoreDOJ Charges Two in Scheme to Supply Iran with Military Technology
The Justice Department announced charges against two men in a scheme to supply electronic technology to Iran, according to multiple media outlets.
Hossein Hatefi Ardakani and Gary Lam were indicted in September 2020 on charges of conspiracy to provide Iran with microelectronic technology to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Agence France-Presse reported. The pair, who made the purchases in 2014 and 2015, allegedly used front companies to carry out their plot, according to ABC News.
Read MoreCommentary: Neuroscientist Explains How to Listen to Your Hunger During the Holidays
The holiday season is upon us, and with it, opportunities to indulge in festive treats. The proverbial saying “you eat with your eyes first” seems particularly relevant at this time of year.
The science behind eating behavior, however, reveals that the process of deciding what, when and how much to eat is far more complex than just consuming calories when your body needs fuel. Hunger cues are only part of why people choose to eat. As a scientist interested in the psychology and biology that drives eating behavior, I’m fascinated with how the brain’s experiences with food shape eating decisions.
Read MoreFeds Raise Concerns over New Pathway Fueling Migrant Crisis
U.S. officials are encountering an increasing number of migrants from the African nation of Senegal who are taking advantage of a new pathway to reach the southern border, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation Wednesday.
There are groups posing as travel agencies in the capital of Senegal that help migrants get to the U.S.-Mexico border by obtaining a visa to travel through the European Union, the spokesperson said. Border Patrol had more than 23,000 migrants in custody as of Tuesday evening, according to internal agency data obtained by the DCNF.
Read MoreCommentary: Don’t Let the Grinches Steal Your Christmas
This Christmas season, the grinches are staying busy as usual.
There’s the usual crew who annually devote themselves to debunking the season, flailing away at everything from a babe born in a manger to the season’s extravagant buying and selling to taking offense when someone says, “Merry Christmas!” In Iowa, Satanists have honed in on the holiday, setting up a now-torn-down display in the state capitol in the name of “religious pluralism.” Pro-Palestinian protests occurred at the annual lighting of Christmas trees in places around the country, including New York’s Rockefeller Center and Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Read MoreIllegal Immigrant Who Raped Ohio Woman Claims He Was ‘Possessed by a Demon’
New York Post A Nicaraguan man who was deported from the US five times has been sentenced to 19 years behind bars for raping an Ohio woman — claiming that he committed the depraved act because he was “possessed by a demon.” German Mathews, 40, pulled his hoodie over his…
Read MoreIRS Rakes in Record $4.9 Trillion in Taxes from Americans Amid Enforcement Crackdown
The Epoch Times The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raked in a record $4.9 trillion in taxes from Americans in the last fiscal year, due in large part to automated collections processes and aggressive audits that saw taxpayers hit with billions in additional taxes after examination. The Treasury Inspector General for…
Read MoreTop Story: Pro-Palestinian Vandals Desecrate Cherished Nativity Scene in Boston
Top Commentary: Trump Should Love the Colorado Ruling
Pro-Palestinian Vandals Desecrate Cherished Nativity Scene in Boston
Pro-Palestinian vandals graffitied a nativity scene in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, according to the Boston Police Department (PD).
Boston PD responded to a call on Thursday morning alerting them that a nativity scene at the Boston Common City park had been vandalized, an officer told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Police arrived on scene to find the base of the nativity scene graffitied with white paint that wrote out “Jesus was Palestinian,” according to the Boston Herald.
Read MoreTSNN Featured: Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon Expects ‘Absurd’ Move to Strike Trump from Colorado Ballot to Energize Republican Voters
