May, 2021 | The Georgia Star News

Alabama Becomes Latest State to End $300 Unemployment Bonus

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Alabama will soon cease participating in the federal government’s unemployment insurance program that grants out-of-work Americans an extra $300 per week, the state’s governor said.

Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced that the state would withdraw from the coronavirus relief program by June 19, 2021, arguing that the $300 in additional weekly payments was incentivizing people not to look for jobs. She suggested that the labor shortages reported in states across the country have been caused by the unemployment boost.

“As Alabama’s economy continues its recovery, we are hearing from more and more business owners and employers that it is increasingly difficult to find workers to fill available jobs, even though job openings are abundant,” Ivey said in a statement.

Biden Administration Eliminates Religious Exemptions for Doctors

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has eliminated religious conscience exemptions for doctors who are forced to perform gender-alteration surgeries, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The move represents yet another crucial and widely-popular policy that was first enacted by President Donald Trump, only for Biden to reverse it. HHS announced on Monday that to overturn this policy, it would be expanding its definition of sex discrimination so that sexual preference and “gender orientation” would be included among identities that could be considered discriminated against by such a policy.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra released a statement in which he claimed that “people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. That’s why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination.”

Commentary: The Government Hiding January 6 Video Footage and Why

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Joe Biden calls it the worst attack since the Civil War. Attorney General Merrick Garland compares it to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The FBI is breaking down the doors of Iraq War veterans and small business owners who have no criminal records, and some are hauled off to rot in solitary confinement in a fetid D.C. jail, for their involvement in the alleged travesty.

The event, of course, is the roughly four-hour-long disturbance at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. As mostly nonviolent Americans dared to protest Congress’ certification of a clearly fraudulent presidential election in a place that once was considered “The People’s House,” lawmakers scurried for cover as reporters and photographers captured part of the ruckus on video and still shots to wield as political ammunition against Donald Trump and his supporters.

But have we seen a full and fair depiction of exactly what happened that day? The answer, as evidenced by an ongoing coverup by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Justice Department, clearly is no.

Trump Calls Democratic VA Candidate Terry McAuliffe Bill Clinton’s ‘Bagman’ in Youngkin Endorsement

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican nominee for governor Glenn Youngkin in a Tuesday message that called Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe Bill Clinton’s “bagman.”

Trump’s endorsement comes after Youngkin, the former CEO of the private equity giant Carlyle Group, won the Republican nomination for Virginia governor Monday, the New York Times reported. The Virginia election will be one of only two state elections choosing governors in 2021.

“Congratulations to Glenn Youngkin for winning the Republican nomination for Governor of Virginia,” the former president said. “Glenn is pro-Business, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Veterans, pro-America, he knows how to make Virginia’s economy rip-roaring, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Georgia Suspends Gas Tax Amid Shortage

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Gov. Brian Kemp (R) Tuesday signed an executive order temporarily eliminating the Peach State’s gas tax, among other measures, after a cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline has halted gas flow to much of the southeast.

“Today I signed an executive order suspending the gas tax in Georgia to help with higher prices as a result of the Colonial cyber attack. We are working closely with Colonial and expect for them to recover by the end of the week,” Kemp said on Twitter, attaching an official statement from his office.

Georgia Politician and Activist Abrams Says She ‘Absolutely’ Hopes to Become U.S. President

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Admin

Georgia Democratic politician and voting-rights activist Stacey Abrams said during a weekend interview that she “absolutely” hopes to eventually become a U.S. president.

“Do I hold it as an ambition? Absolutely,” Abrams said Sunday in an interview with CBS News on the question of becoming president.

Commentary: Mask Mandates Promote Servitude, Not Safety

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The other day, for the first time since March 2020, I embarked on a journey outside of the slave state of California. My wife and I drove to Montana. While I had heard tales of the existence of freedom in other states, I had yet to experience the thing firsthand.

My experience in Montana confirmed what I have long suspected and known, but not witnessed or experienced for myself—that there are two Americas and two very different types of Americans. There are free states and slave states. There are fearful, obedient slaves, and fearless, free Americans.

I didn’t wear a mask for an entire weekend in Montana—not entering my hotel, not walking down the street, not entering a grocery store or gas station convenience store, not getting a coffee, and not entering numerous restaurants and bars. At no point did I put on that filthy face diaper. Nor did anyone else.

Christian University Student Leaders Refuse to Approve Conservative Club

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Students at Point Loma Nazarene University

Student government leaders at Point Loma Nazarene University denied Turning Point USA’s request to become a chartered club.

The leaders and a university official at the private Christian university in San Diego said there was “misalignment” between TPUSA activities and the Associated Student Body mission statement.

“Misalignment between that mission statement and TPUSA publications and activities was the primary basis for denial,” university spokesperson Jill Monroe told The College Fix in an email.

As Biden Taps Elizabeth Warren Ally to Oversee Student Loans, Debate over Canceling Debt Looms Large

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The Biden administration has chosen a close ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to oversee the nation’s expansive federal student loan program.

On Monday, Rich Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration, was announced as the new head of the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, which oversees over $1.7 trillion in loans to U.S. students.

In a statement following his appointment, Cordray said he sought to “create more pathways for students to graduate and get ahead, not be burdened by insurmountable debt.”

McConnell Says He Supports $800 Billion Package Focusing on ‘Traditional’ Infrastructure

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that Republicans could back an infrastructure package costing up to $800 billion, a higher total than a plan Senate Republicans put forward in April.

Speaking with Kentucky Educational Television Sunday, McConnell reaffirmed Republicans’ opposition to President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which covers both traditional infrastructure and Democratic priorities like child care, affordable housing and climate change. McConnell said that any package must be limited to “traditional” infrastructure items like roads, bridges and ports to gain GOP support.

“The proper price tag for what most of us think of as infrastructure is about $600-800 billion,” McConnell said.

Gas Shortage and Price Hike Expected This Summer

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 The Center Square

A gas shortage is expected this summer not because there won’t be enough fuel but because there aren’t enough highly trained and licensed tanker drivers to transport it.

Many tanker drivers retired last year after demand for oil and gas plummeted because fewer people were traveling during the height of the pandemic. And most driving schools where new drivers could have received their training were closed due to state-mandated shutdowns. The two factors combined is resulting in a shortage of roughly 25% of tanker truck drivers needed to transport fuel, says the National Tank Truck Carriers, the trade association representing the tanker truck industry.

FCC Commissioner Slams Top Baltimore Prosecutor’s ‘Chilling’ Request for Investigation Into Fox-Affiliate Over Bias, Tucker Carlson Show

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission criticized the Democratic Baltimore City State Attorney’s recent request for an investigation into a local Fox affiliate as an attack on free speech.

Brendan Carr, the top Republican on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), condemned Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s request, saying it was part of a broader effort by Democrats to censor news coverage and political speech they don’t like. Carr demanded that the commission dismiss Mosby’s complaint by the end of the day “with prejudice.”

“The State’s Attorney’s Office, led by Democrat Marilyn Mosby, has launched a chilling and direct attack on free speech and journalistic freedom,” Carr said in a statement on Monday. “The complaint her office filed with the FCC asks the Commission to censor a newsroom simply because journalists are doing their constitutionally protected jobs and shining a light on the work of the State’s Attorney.”

Former Oconee County Teacher Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Chris Butler

Herman Jones Memorial Forensic Science Complex at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Headquarters in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States

An Oconee County resident and former eighth-grade teacher has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. This, according to a press release that staff for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia published on their website this month.

Commentary: Tuning Out Wokeism

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Group protesting; "no justice no peace" sign

If wokeness should continue and “win,” by now we all know where it will end up. After all, this is not a prairie-fire, peasants-with-pitchforks, spontaneous bottom-up revolution.

The woke Left seeks a top-down erasure of America, engineered by the likes of LeBron James from his $40 million estate talking revolution to Oprah at her $90 million castle, as Mark Zuckerberg throws in $500 million here, and his colleagues $400 million there, and as the top executives of Coke, Target, and Delta Airlines believe their $17 million-a-year salaries make them experts on the crimes of non-diversity, exclusion, and inequity. Anytime revolutionaries at the outset of their enterprises seek exemption from the consequences of their own ideology, we know their plans will end badly for everyone else.

D.C. Jail Treatment of Capitol Riot Defendants Draws Bipartisan Outrage

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Ashort drive from the U.S. Capitol, 1,500 inmates are stuck in their jail cells 22 hours a day. Until last month it was 23, and they were also barred from going outside.

A smaller group of inmates may have it even worse: those awaiting trial for alleged crimes in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They’ve been placed in “restrictive housing,” a maximum-security designation.

The plight of nearby inmates has received surprisingly little attention on Capitol Hill for the better part of a year, since the District of Columbia Department of Corrections issued its “medical stay-in-place” policies for COVID-19 mitigation.

Commentary: Biden’s Capital Gains Tax Plans Are a Lose-Lose Proposition

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 RealClearWire

There will always be munis. Income from municipal bonds typically enjoys tax-free status at the federal level and in the issuing state. Conversely, when investors put wealth to work in a startup, private corporation, or public company, they face a capital gains tax penalty if their investment bears fruit. If a home run, that penalty becomes enormous.

Imagine that. Investors who subsidize the growth of government largely avoid taxation. But if they back an innovative corporation, or rush a distant future into the present through an intrepid investment with a visionary entrepreneur, a major IRS bill awaits.

Worse, the cost of prescient investing may soon increase. Seemingly in a bid to placate his ravenous left flank, President Biden has announced a proposal to nearly double the federal penalties on savings and investment to 43.8%.

Commentary: The U.S. Economy and Its Lack of Sustainability

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

American flag with $100 bills and stethescope

Is the economy booming or is it riding a wave of paper money with no real underlying sustainability? That is the question which policy makers in Washington, DC should be considering.

The truth is no one actually knows, but that is exactly why this discussion must be had.

Since the China virus was inflicted upon the world, it is indisputable that the federal government has authorized $5 Trillion between the Trump spending of $3.1 Trillion to meet the crisis and Biden’s recently passed additional $1.9 trillion so he could sign checks to people too. This is on top of the $1 Trillion in planned deficits during the 2020 fiscal year.

Major School District in Virginia Eyes ‘Anti-Racism’ Instead of Questioning Assumptions

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Parents in one of the nation’s largest school districts are being asked about how schools should teach their children about systemic racism, “multiple identities,” and ways to “challenge power and privilege.”

Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools sent a survey Thursday to parents and teachers seeking input about the school system’s future “anti-racism” and “anti-bias” policy.

“One key strategy to achieve educational equity is to analyze and address the beliefs and policies that inform teaching practices along with what is taught in schools,” Schools Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand said in an email message introducing the survey to parents and teachers.

Barry Loudermilk Says Major League Baseball’s Sudden Decision to Move All-Star Game Has Left Atlanta Business Owners Bewildered

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) said this month that many Atlanta business owners realized controversy surrounded Georgia’s voter integrity law Senate Bill 202, but Major League Baseball’s ultimate reaction to it still astonished them. MLB officials pulled their scheduled All-Star Game out of Atlanta.

Commentary: The U.S. Military Is Just Another Woke Institution

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The backsides of American soldiers in uniform

Tucker Carlson spurred a much-needed reexamination of the military in March. His monologue criticizing the military’s political correctness drew a more furious response from top brass than any foreign threat is likely to do. The generals’ response only affirmed Tucker’s points about the degraded state of our armed forces. Why do generals—both current and retired—feel the need to condemn civilians who question the wisdom of putting women in combat?

The answer is that the military, along with the entire national security establishment, is at one with the Democrat-Media complex. The image we have of generals and senior officers as defenders of tradition is wildly out of step with reality.

This fact is underscored by its contrast with a letter issued in France last week. The letter—signed by 20 retired generals, 80 officers, and 1,000 lower-ranking soldiers—was stridently right-wing. “The hour is late, France is in peril, threatened by several mortal dangers,” the letter states. Though retired, we remain soldiers of France, and cannot, under the present circumstances, remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.”

Thousands of Minnesotans Petition to Reinstall Columbus Statue

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Christopher Columbus Statue Torn Down at Minnesota State Capitol

Almost 5,000 concerned Minnesotans signed a petition asking the governor to reinstall the statue of Christopher Columbus that was torn down by protesters last June.

The statue was on display at the Capitol building for almost 100 years before being destroyed by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) last summer.

Disney Pushes ‘Critical Race Theory’ in Employee Training Materials

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

A new report claims the Walt Disney Company is pushing “critical race theory” on its employees as part of an internal training program, teaching them “race consciousness” and other concepts to address “systemic racism” in the U.S.

Manhattan Institute fellow Christopher Rufo on Friday published what he says are a “trove of whistleblower documents” detailing a program titled “Reimagine Tomorrow.”

Rudo also provides in his report what he says are primary-source documents that appear to be pages of a training manual.

West Point Probed for Allegations It’s Pushing Critical Race Theory on Cadets

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

A U.S. congressman is seeking transparency from West Point Military Academy after hearing complaints regarding elements of critical race theory present in its training curriculum.

Rep. Mike Waltz, a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to West Point leaders requesting copies of teaching materials provided at West Point after receiving complaints from various families and cadets.

In a phone interview with The College Fix, the Florida Republican explained that many families of West Point cadets come from military or law enforcement backgrounds, saying “they found it incredibly divisive.”

Conservative Hispanic Leaders Explain Why Texas Voters Are Shifting Republican

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The Republican party in Texas is drawing Hispanic voters disillusioned by the Democratic party’s extreme values, two female Hispanic Republican leaders with Democratic backgrounds told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

South Texas saw both a liberal decline and a conservative surge during the 2020 election, the New York Times reported, a surge that has emboldened Republicans hoping to win in Latino communities throughout the United States. Hispanic female Republicans are stepping up to the plate, the publication reported.

“I am starting to see this need to connect with the Hispanic community and let them know nationwide that it’s the Republican party that offers opportunities,” Adrienne Pena-Garza, chair of the Hidalgo County Republican Party, told the DCNF.

South Carolina, Montana to Stop Providing Pandemic-Related Welfare

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The states of South Carolina and Montana have both decided in recent days to put an end to their handouts of federal unemployment benefits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in an effort to encourage residents to return to the workforce, as per CNN.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) said in his announcement that “incentives matter, and the vast expansion of federal unemployment benefits is now doing more harm than good. We need to incentivize Montanans to return to the workforce.” Instead, Governor Gianforte announced that the state government will be providing $1,200 checks as bonuses to every citizen who returns to work, using the state’s share of the recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package to pay for it.

In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) announced on Thursday that the state would be ending their share of federal unemployment benefits, since “what was intended to be a short-term financial assistance for the vulnerable and displaced during the height of the pandemic has turned into a dangerous federal entitlement, incentivizing and paying workers to stay at home rather than encouraging them to return to the workplace.”

Adjunct Professor Berated Student After Student Suggested That Police Officers Are Heroes

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Student Braden Ellis with adjunct professor on Zoom

An adjunct professor berated a student in her class after he expressed support for law enforcement.

Cypress College student Braden Ellis delivered a presentation about cancel culture during a Zoom communications class. In a phone interview with Campus Reform, Ellis affirmed The Daily Wire’s report that he had been discussing the attempted cancellation of “Paw Patrol” during the presentation.

“So you brought up the police in your speech a few times. So, what is your main concern?” asked the adjunct professor. “Since, I mean, honestly… the issue is systemic. Because the whole reason we have police departments in the first place, where does it stem from? What’s our history? Going back to what [another classmate] was talking about, what does it stem from? It stems from people in the south wanting to capture runaway slaves.”

Baltimore’s Top Prosecutor Asks FCC Investigate Fox Affiliate Over Negative Coverage, Tucker Carlson’s Show

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Baltimore’s top prosecutor requested a federal investigation into a Fox affiliate for being critical of her and having ties to Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” among other allegations.

Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office accused Fox affiliate WBFF-TV of dishonesty, bias and racism in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday. Mosby’s office argued that language included in the outlet’s coverage of the city attorney is “inflammatory against the safety of an elected official” and therefore violates federal statute.

“There appears to be an intentional crusade against State’s Attorney Mosby, which given today’s politically charged and divisive environment, is extremely dangerous,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office Communications Director Zy Richardson wrote in the letter addressed to Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Commentary: The Death Spiral of Academia

May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Library with several people at library tables, working.

On March 1, Eric Kaufmann published a remarkably detailed and comprehensive study of bias in academia, “Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship.” Kaufmann’s writing is a product of California’s Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, a small think tank set up to do research forbidden in today’s Academy. His research uncovering rampant leftist political bias in publication, employment, and promotion in the academy—and discrimination against anything right-of-center—qualifies as that kind of work.

In the academy, the free interchange of competing ideas creates knowledge through cooperation, disagreement, debate, and dissent. Kaufmann finds that the last three are severely suppressed and punished. This repression’s pervasiveness may be a death sentence for science, free inquiry, and the advancement of knowledge in our universities.

I am led to that dire conclusion because there doesn’t appear to be any way for universities to prevent it. No solution can arise from within the academy, as it self-selects lifetime faculty that are largely left-wing, making promotion of dissidents highly unlikely. Kaufmann demonstrates profoundly systemic discrimination by leftist faculty against their colleagues who disagree with them politically.

Wyoming Becomes Latest State to Ban Vaccine Passports

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 The Center Square

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday issued a directive blocking state agencies from using vaccine passports.

The directive requires state agencies, boards and commissions to “provide full access to state spaces and state services, regardless of a constituent’s COVID-19 vaccination status.”

The directive also urges local governments and private businesses to align their policies and practices with the state.

“Vaccine passport programs have the potential to politicize a decision that should not be politicized,” Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement. “They would divide our citizens at a time when unity in fighting the virus is essential, and harm those who are medically unable to receive the vaccine. While I strongly encourage Wyomingites over the age of 16 to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it is a personal choice based upon personal circumstances.”

Commentary: Cancer Screenings Plummeted in 2020 But the Results Are Grim

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

At Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Teresa Ruvalcaba was suffering on a cold January night. For months, she had tried to avoid thinking about the inflammation blooming in her chest, but the pain could no longer be ignored. So finally she had asked her 24-year-old son Sergio to drive her to the hospital.

Laying in the emergency room, the 48-year-old factory worker was a frightful sight for doctors.

“[Teresa’s] right breast [had] swollen to nearly twice the size of her left, the skin so thick and dimpled that the doctor examining her would note that it resembled an orange peel,” writes journalist Duaa Eldeib.

Republicans Debate Breaking up Big Tech After Trump’s Facebook Suspension

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 The Center Square

Many Republicans in Congress have reignited their calls to break up the big tech companies after Facebook announced last week they would maintain the suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account.

A new poll released by Rasmussen Friday found that 59% of likely voters “believe operators of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are politically biased in the decisions they make” with only 26% disagreeing. The rest are unsure.

The poll results went on to say that “a majority of voters now favor ending legal protections for social media companies.” The reported public opinion against the tech giants comes the same week Facebook announced they would keep Trump suspended from their platform, citing his alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Minnesota School District Adopts Black Lives Matter Slogan as Privileged ‘Government Speech’

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Many schools promote racial justice slogans such as Black Lives Matter. But one district in Minnesota has gone a step further, adopting several slogans as uniquely privileged “official government speech” tacitly exempt from challenge by dissenting opinion ordinarily protected under the First Amendment.

Rochester Public Schools board members unanimously approved a sweeping resolution that authorizes the superintendent to promote the slogans Black Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter, Indigenous Lives Matter, All Are Welcome Here, and Stop Asian Hate.

The official is directed to take all actions “that further the objectives” of the resolution, including by approving “messaging, signage, and visuals” for the slogans. The district also adopted the six-color “pride flag” as government speech to support “a message of inclusion” within schools.

Georgia Passes Bill to Let College Athletes Get Paid for Utilization of ‘Name, Image, or Likeness’

May 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed legislation that will allow athletes at higher educational institutions to get paid for the utilization of their “name, image, or likeness.”

The bill, which is slated to go into effect on July 1, 2021, states that “participation in intercollegiate athletics should not infringe upon the rights of student athletes to have control over and profit from the commercial use of their name, image, or likeness.”

Georgia Passes Bill to Let College Athletes Get Paid for Utilization of ‘Name, Image, or Likeness’

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed legislation that will allow athletes at higher educational institutions to get paid for the utilization of their “name, image, or likeness.”

Kemp Signs School-Choice Expansion Bills in Georgia

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 The Center Square

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a trio of bills Thursday to expand education options in Georgia.

Senate Bill 47 expands the state’s Special Needs Scholarship program to students with 504 Plans. The program offers scholarships for students with individualized education plans to attend a private school or a public school of their choice.

“COVID-19 has certainly highlighted the challenges that families face and finding the right education for their child, especially those with special needs,” Kemp said Thursday during a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol. “This bill will give more parents greater options to ensure their child has every opportunity to achieve their dreams.”

Commentary: All Good Mothers Have One Trait in Common

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

by Jeff Minick This is the day we honor the mother who bore us, reared us, laughed with us (and sometimes laughed in private at us), argued with us, taught us everything from table manners to hygiene, protected us, and believed in us. She picked us up when we…

A Majority of Americans Support ‘Vaccine Passports’ for Some Activities, Poll Finds

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

A majority of Americans support requiring proof of vaccinations when traveling on planes and attending events with large crowds, a Gallup poll released Friday shows.

The survey found that 57% of Americans supported requiring proof of vaccination on airplanes and that 55% supported requiring proof for events like concerts, shows and live sports. Just 43% and 45% of Americans said they were opposed, respectively.

Majorities of Americans, however, rejected “vaccine passports” for dining at restaurants, going to work and staying in a hotel. Just 40%, 45% and 44% of Americans supported requiring proof of vaccination for each activity.

Police Departments Say Budget Cuts Are the Reason They’ve Been Unable to Hire New Officers

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Two police officers walking in front of LED American flag

Multiple police departments told the Daily Caller News Foundation that recruiting officers is not an issue, but budget constraints have limited their ability to increase manpower.

Almost a year after George Floyd died during an arrest where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes resulting in nationwide civil unrest and the defund the police movement, most police departments say they still have a sufficient number of candidates but lack the funding to recruit them.

“The Minneapolis Police Department, like every department, has seen a drop in application numbers over the last several years,” Minneapolis Police Department Spokesperson John Elder told the DCNF. “Whereas we have seen a reduction in applications, we still have ample qualified candidates who wish to be Minneapolis Police Officers and Cadets [and the department’s] recruitment efforts are ongoing.”

Commentary: Championing America’s First Freedom

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The right to worship freely is often called America’s first freedom. Our founding fathers understood religious freedom not as the state’s creation but as an unalienable right from God.

This universal right is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”

Today, however, religious freedom is threatened or restricted entirely for millions of people around the world. Over 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with high or severe restrictions on religious freedom. In far too many places across the globe, governments and others prevent individuals from living in accordance with their beliefs.

Ocasio-Cortez Praises Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider for Saving Babies

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that she is a “Planned Parenthood baby,” praising the nation’s largest abortion provider for saving babies.

The New York Democrat criticized pro-life Republicans and defended Planned Parenthood during a virtual hearing Thursday where she revealed that her mother received prenatal care from Planned Parenthood.

“If we want to talk about Planned Parenthood, let’s talk about how many lives Planned Parenthood has saved and how many babies have been born because of the prenatal care provided by Planned Parenthood,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Violent Crime Surged in These Cities After Mass Black Lives Matter, Anti-Police Protests

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Violent crime surged in several U.S. cities that saw massive Black Live Matter and anti-police protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death last summer.

The upswing of violent crime, including homicides, coincided with the protests, increased anti-police sentiment among Americans and declining morale in police departments, which have since struggled to recruit new officers. The number of murders alone increased by 36.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to public information compiled by data analytics reporter Jeff Asher.

“We are definitely at a critical manpower shortage here,” Louisville police union spokesperson Dave Mutchler told the Daily Caller News Foundation last week. “The climate that we all find ourselves in right now is a lot more demanding and stressful on officers.”

Commentary: ‘Bipartisan Border Solutions’ Bill Lacks Solutions

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

No disrespect to its border-state sponsors, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and House members Henry Cuellar and Tony Gonzales (both Texans, Democrat and Republican respectively), but there are better names for the “Bipartisan Border Solutions Act.”

The “Bipartisan Band-Aid for Biden’s Border Mess” works. It’s a little long, but more descriptive than the current title.

Given the severe overcrowding at Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shelters, building four new regional processing centers along America’s southern border, as the legislation calls for, may be necessary at this point.

Commentary: One Way to Fix Plummeting Birthrates Is to Stop Bashing America

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The National Center for Health Statistics, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention subagency, reported this week that America’s fertility rate dropped for the sixth consecutive year. Total births declined by 4 percent in 2020, down to 1,637.5 children per 1,000 women. The statistical replacement rate for the U.S. population, by contrast, is roughly 2,100 births per 1,000 women. Overall, the 3,605,201 births last year in the United States represented the lowest number since Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

It is perhaps too early to tell whether yet another annual incremental birthrate decline is anomalous, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or flows naturally from existing demographic trendlines. Sociologists and demographers will pore over the data, but it is difficult to ignore the broader trend and place the blame squarely—or even predominantly—on the virus and the myriad draconian lifestyle restrictions the virus engendered.

On the contrary, many had speculated before this week’s report that the extended COVID lockdowns might lead to a one-time annual increase in the birthrate as couples sheltered in place together for months on end.

Brian Kemp Signs Legislation to Stop Local Governments in Georgia from Defunding the Police

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Chris Butler

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week signed House Bill 286, which prohibits local governments in Georgia from defunding the police. Georgia State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens) sponsored the legislation.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney Faces Another Republican Who Wants to Challenge Her in the State’s GOP Primary

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 Zachery Schmidt

Another Wyoming Republican is throwing his hat into the GOP primary race in an effort to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY-At Large District). Darin Smith, a Cheyenne-based businessman, announced his candidacy Friday, according to a press release. The Wyoming native describes himself as “pro-God, pro-family, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-veteran, pro-oil…

Commentary: Joe Biden, Economy Killer

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 RealClearWire

Along with a working vaccine, Joe Biden inherited a V-shaped economic recovery, but he is now planting the seeds of its destruction. Inflation, federal deficits, high taxes, incentives for workers to stay home, and incentives to avoid investment – they’re all coming back. Together, these elements create the perfect brew for a Lyndon Johnson-style stagflation. If Biden and the Democrats so quickly wreck the good economic path they were given, it will be one of the worst examples of government malpractice in U.S. economic history.

In the first, dark days of the COVID-19 national economic shutdown last spring, there was a clear need for major stimulus. Both parties united to pass an effective and much-needed response.

The U.S. gross domestic product saw a 33.4% surge in the July-September third quarter of 2020, after plunging 31.4% in the April-June second quarter. The economy continued to grow at a 4% rate in the fourth quarter, and the stock market (despite COVID) ended 2020 with the S&P 500 index up 16% for the year as a whole.

BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Has Funneled Business to Company Run by Father of Her Only Child, Records Show

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder and executive director of Black Lives Matter’s national arm, has funneled business to a company led by a man she identified as the father of her only child, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of business records, interviews and social media posts found.

The company, Trap Heals, was formed just days before partnering with Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and later became the charity’s “lead developer of the art & cultural efforts,” according to business records, interviews and an archived version of Trap Heals’ website. Two other activist groups Cullors led paid Trap Heals a collective $238,000 to produce an election night livestream and for consulting services, campaign finance records show.

In numerous public mentions of their work, Cullors and Turner did not disclose that they had a child together. But in at least one instance, Turner said Cullors was directly involved in Trap Heals’ partnership with BLM Global Network.

Teachers Union Gave Nearly $20 Million to Dems Before Influencing CDC School Reopening Guidance

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 The Center Square

The teachers union in the middle of a scandal for influencing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official school reopening guidance gave nearly $20 million to Democrats in the 2020 election cycle, filings show.

Federal election filings reveal that the American Federation of Teachers and its local affiliates spent $19,903,532 on political donations during the 2020 cycle, with nearly all of the funds going to Democrats and liberal groups.

Last year’s AFT donations include $5,251,400 for the Democrats Senate Majority PAC and $4,600,000 for the Democratic House Majority PAC, according to data compiled by The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets database.