Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants the General Assembly to end or reform general election runoffs, suggesting a lower threshold for candidates to win outright and instant runoff using ranked-choice voting that wouldn’t require voters to return to the polls.
Read MoreMonth: December 2022
Hispanic Media Cover Elon Musk Negatively and Remain Silent About Twitter Files and Freedom of Expression
America’s increasingly powerful Spanish-language media outlets have largely ignored coverage of critical free speech issues, such as Twitter’s censorship of the New York Post ‘s investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop, and in instead they have focused on stories that negatively expose Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, according to an analysis of ADN America.
Read MoreFederal Reserve Raises Rates by Half Percentage Point, Signaling Slowing of Rate Hikes
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a reduced but still notable hike in U.S. interest rates, with the central bank moving to hike rates by half a percentage point as part of its ongoing efforts to tamp down inflation.
The hike, which comprises 50 basis points, is less than the three-quarter-point hikes the bank has enacted every month for the last several months, though it still represents a significant raise at a time when the economy remains fragile after years of turmoil and unertainty.
Read MoreAfter Warnock Win, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to Propose Ranked Choice ‘Instant Runoff’ System
Controversial Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) is planning to present several electoral system proposals, including ranked choice voting, to state lawmakers following the runoff between Senator Raphael Warnock (D) and Herschel Walker (R), which handed a win to Warnock.
In an interview with the New York Times following the runoff election, Raffensperger said he would offer three proposals to Georgia lawmakers, including one to establish a “ranked-choice instant runoff” system, whose main goal would be to eliminate having voters return to the polls after the general election, and the costs associated with doing so.
Read MoreCommentary: The Wasteland of Leftist Compassion
Compassion is one of the greatest of human virtues. But effective compassion comes with an obligation to do more than what merely feels and sounds good. Public policies motivated by compassion must also consider the full complexity of the challenge—the unintended consequences and the reality of human nature—and strike a balance between what is desired and what is possible. Often the most beneficial expressions of compassion appear harsh and punitive, yet in offering more lasting and comprehensive solutions, do more to alleviate human suffering.
Read MoreWisconsin’s Gallagher and Illinois’s Krishnamoorthi File Bipartisan TikTok Ban Legislation
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers this week filed legislation in the House of Representatives to ban the TikTok video-sharing application nationwide.
Congressmen Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) submitted their bill in the House of Representatives while Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced companion legislation in his chamber. They call their measure the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act). It is written broadly enough to possibly prohibit use of other platforms operating under the influence of “a country of concern” such as China or Russia.
Read MoreMusic/Author Spotlight: Aiden Adams
I’ve featured hundreds of artists and even a few authors. But when I got the email about Aiden Adams, I found that he has written six books and several songs. And he is eight years old.
The first book that he wrote is titled “There Are No Sheep In New York City.” His dad, Neal Adams, is an author and illustrator.
Read MoreBiden’s DOJ Tried to Seize Pennsylvania GOP Lawmaker’s Texts: Report
The Justice Department (DOJ) has sought to access text messages on Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry’s cell phone as part of a 2020 election interference probe, having confiscated it in August, CNN reported
FBI agents seized Perry’s phone Aug. 9, he confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that day, ostensibly as part of a federal criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and efforts to hinder the transfer of power to President Joe Biden, CNN reported. The DOJ’s approach to Perry’s phone seizure involved using one warrant to image the phone and pursuing a data access warrant in confidential proceedings, sources familiar with the investigation and public filings indicated, according to CNN.
Read MoreNearly 200 North Alabama Churches Leave United Methodist Church over Disputes Between Traditional Christians, Progressives
Nearly 200 Alabama churches officially seceded from the United Methodist Church (UMC) last weekend following years of conflict over social and theological issues.
Members of the UMC’s North Alabama Conference (NAC) approved the decision to leave at their meeting on Saturday at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center (BJCC).
Read MoreCommentary: With Passenger Mask Mandate Gone, Flight Turbulence Stats Improve Markedly
The friendly skies too often resembled “season’s beatings” shopping brawls during the pandemic, as the number of arguments and even fistfights surged on-board. Viral videos of the flight-and-fight mayhem frequently had a common denominator – the federal government’s mask requirement.
So it may come as little surprise that disruptions on commercial domestic flights have plummeted by 74% since the Biden administration’s mask mandate was  overturned by a federal judge in April. The current rate is 1.7 unruly passengers per 10,000 flights, down from 6.4 per 10,000 in February.
Read MoreSEC Charges Eight ‘Social Media Influencers’ with Securities Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced charges against eight “social media influencers” in what the agency said was a coordinated effort to manipulate stocks via multiple Internet platforms.
The agency said in a press release those charged where involved in a $100 million securities fraud scheme in which they used the social media platforms Twitter and Discord to “manipulate exchange-traded stocks.”
Read MoreFraudsters Show Vulnerability of Georgia’s Unemployment Benefit System
Federal charges against eight people prosecutors say conspired to defraud Georgia out of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits shows the potential vulnerability of the state’s systems.
Georgia officials may find solace in the fact that the state is not alone when it comes to such challenges, an expert told The Center Square.
Read MoreBaltimore Public School Teacher Boasts ‘Indoctrinating’ Middle School Students with Taxpayer Money
A Baltimore public middle school teacher danced and celebrated in a TikTok video in which she boasted she was “indoctrinating” her students with taxpayer funds.
Fox News Digital reported the teacher is Alexa Sciuto, who teaches Spanish at Pine Grove Middle School in the Baltimore County School District.
Read MoreDeKalb County Mandates Security Cameras in Convenience Stores
The Dekalb County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to require surveillance cameras in unincorporated parts of the county, effective June 30, 2023.
“We know that the gas stations and convenience stores in general have seen an increase in violent crimes and gun murders and gun violence. This new ordinance ensures that anyone who perpetrates a violent crime on site will be documented with a high-definition quality audio visual equipment, and then also, hopefully, the ability to tie in to the overall system that the police department uses in real time,” Commissioner Ted Terry said.
Read MoreFlorida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo: mRNA COVID-19 Shots ‘Far Less Safe Than Any Vaccines Widely Used’
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo continues to draw attention to studies that indicate the COVID mRNA shots have significant health safety concerns even as the federal government still presses Americans to take them.
Ladapo commented on social media regarding a study published in November at Clinical Research in Cardiology examined autopsies of 35 individuals who died unexpectedly within 20 days post-COVID-19 vaccination.
Read MoreCommentary: If Voter Fraud Isn’t Addressed, Democracy in America Won’t Exist
Stop trying to take Ron DeSantis away from Florida. Just stop it. I understand the rationale, but it’s wrong. It may be quite reasonable to be jealous of Florida for its governor—the only governor in the nation to win my coveted “competent” rating on every major issue. But before we encourage DeSantis and Donald Trump to have a falling out that splits the party (or, rather, before we let the RINO simps do it at the behest of Democrats and lots of Chinese money), let’s review a few salient points.
Read MoreA Provision in Congress’ Defense Bill Could Censor the Internet, Free Speech Advocates Say
A provision tucked away in Congress’ annual defense bill would allow federal judges and their household members to request content containing personal information be removed from websites, but some free speech advocates worry the rule could enable government censorship of online speech.
Read MoreCambridge Dictionary Redefines ‘Woman’ to Include Men
Cambridge Dictionary updated its definition of the term “woman” to include anyone who identifies as female, including biological males.
The online dictionary defines “woman” as “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth,” according to its website. The new definition is in addition to the conventional definition, which defines a woman as “an adult human female being.”
Read MoreSEC Charges FTX Founder with Fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of defunct cryptocurrency firm FTX, was charged Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding investors.
In a formal complaint, the SEC alleges that Bankman-Fried raised more than $1.8 billion from investors since 2019 but diverted the funds to his personal crypto account.
Read MoreFederal Inflation Data: Grocery Prices Continue to Rise Nationally
While overall inflation has slowed from its rapid pace earlier this year, grocery prices continue to rise, putting Americans in a pinch, according to newly released federal inflation data.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Consumer Price Index report, which showed prices rose 0.1% in November, less than experts predicted, contributing to a 7.1% increase in the past 12 months.
Read MoreChristian Teacher Fired After Refusing to Use Preferred Pronouns Sues School
Ohio middle school teacher Vivian Geraghty filed a lawsuit after allegedly being fired for refusing to violate her religious beliefs by using preferred pronouns.
Geraghty, a former teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School, was told she was required to use two students’ new pronouns and their preferred names in class, according to the lawsuit. Geraghty was fired after refusing to do so, at which point she sued the school’s Board of Directors, principal Kacy Carter and Monica Myers, the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Read MoreAmericans Say the Government Is Their Biggest Problem for Seven Years in a Row: Poll
Americans listed the federal government as the top problem facing the country for the seventh year in a row, according to a new poll.
Of over 1,000 respondents, 19% mentioned the government as the top problem with the country, saying they are dissatisfied with “some aspect” of the government, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. The government was ranked as more of a problem than inflation and the economy in general, with 16% dissatisfied with inflation and 12% dissatisfied with the economy in general.
Read MoreCommentary: The ESG Reality Is Not Doing Good But Feeling Good
ESG investment strategies can see investors giving up financial returns for no societal gain. In the second of his four part review of Terrence Keeley’s Sustainable, Rupert Darwall explores the implications of investment theory for ESG artificially constraining investment opportunities; the risks of regulators worsening an already inflated ESG bubble; and the distortions that arise from the widespread adoption of sustainability as an investment concept lacking an objective definition.
Read MoreAverage American Family Has Effectively Lost $7,100 Under Biden, Economist Says
An economist says the average American family has effectively lost more than $7,000 due to inflation and higher interest rates since President Joe Biden took office.
The consumer price index, a key inflation measure, increased 0.1% in November, up 7.1% from November 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The figure marks a slowdown in rampant inflation, but not a reversal of the trend that has caused prices for everyday goods like food and gas to ratchet up in recent months.
Read MoreCommentary: Review of Terrence Keeley’s ‘Sustainable’
ESG has its origins in a speech by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan at the Davos World Economic Forum in 1999. In the first of his four part review of Terrence Keeley’s Sustainable, Rupert Darwall shows how this created ESG’s dual mandate that accounts for its success – and its unsustainability as an investment strategy.
Read MoreMississippi State Head Football Coach Mike Leach Dies at 61 After Complications from Heart Condition
Mississippi State University head football coach Mike Leach passed away at the age of 61 due to complications from a heart condition, the school announced Tuesday.
“Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity,” the Leach family said.
Read MoreDemocratic Memo: Party Recaptured Some Latinos Who Left During Trump Era, but Critics Say More Needed to Win 2024
A strategic memo created by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) that examines the party’s success in the 2022 midterm elections says the party recaptured some Hispanic Americans who left the party and turned Republican during the Trump years, according to reports.
The DCCC spent $18 million on digital and TV ads along with other forms of communication to target Hispanic Americans in races across the country, which was double the money spent on Latinos in 2020, according to the memo.
Read MoreAnalysis: The Border Is Less Secure Than Ever, and the Implications Are Deadly
During a recent hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, Congressman Dan Bishop (R–NC) asked Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, “Do you continue to maintain that the border is secure?” Mayorkas replied, “Yes, and we are working day in and day out to enhance its security.”
Contradicting that claim, objective measures show that the border is less secure than ever, and the situation is putting many thousands of lives at risk.
Read MoreRepublicans Made Midterm Gains with Young Voters
Republicans made gains in the midterm elections among voters under 30, a demographic that tends to lean heavily Democratic, according to the Associated Press.
Young voters swung 53 percent for Democratic House candidates and 41 percent for Republican candidates, according to the AP. The result marks a decline from recent elections: voters under 30 chose President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump 61 percent to 36 percent in 2020, swung for Democrats 64 to 34 percent in 2018 House races.
Read MoreDepartment of Energy Fires Gender Fluid Nuclear Official amid Luggage Theft Charges: Reports
The Department of Energy has fired Sam Brinton, thought to be the nation’s first openly gender fluid federal employee, amid multiple allegations of luggage theft.
“Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee,” a department spokesperson told the Daily Beast on Monday. “By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters.”
Read MoreHarmeet Dhillon Wins Key Endorsement, Texas and Arizona GOP Drop Ronna McDaniel, as RNC Chair Race Heats Up
Trump attorney Harmeet Dhillon is getting some support from within the Republican National Committee in her bid to unseat Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Over the weekend, Dhillon got the backing of longtime RNC member Morton Blackwell, founder of the conservative training group The Leadership Institute.
Read MoreUniversity System Weighs Gutting Math Standards After Students Keep Failing Algebra
The Kansas Board of Regents is considering stripping specific university math requirements after it was found that a significant percentage of college freshmen fail algebra, NPR affiliate KCUR reported.
The Regents, who oversee the system’s six public universities, are considering implementing the Math Pathways approach which matches students to a math course based on their major instead of mandating algebra for all incoming students. While many universities require that all freshmen pass algebra as a prerequisite for graduation, one in three Kansas students reportedly fail the course, which could delay a student’s graduation.
Read MoreMore Evidence Reveals CDC Colluded with Social Media Giants to Silence COVID ‘Misinformation’
America First Legal (AFL) released a fourth set of documents obtained from litigation against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that reveals more evidence of alleged collusion between the nation’s public health agency and social media companies to censor free speech and silence Americans under the government’s label of “misinformation.”
Last week, AFL’s 600-page document release uncovered evidence that Twitter operated a “Partner Support Portal” for government employees and other selective “stakeholders” that would allow them to delete or flag posts viewed as “misinformation,” noted AFL, which is led by former President Donald Trump’s immigration advisor Stephen Miller.
Read MoreSpecial Counsel Subpoenas Secretary of State Raffensperger in Investigation of Efforts to Block Certifying 2020 Election
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into efforts to interfere with certifying the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, or to interfere with the lawful transfer of power.
The subpoena, obtained by The Washington Post, orders Raffensperger to produce any communications dating June 2020 through January 20, 2021, with former President Donald Trump, his campaign, and allies including some lawyers. Similar subpoenas were sent to officials in other 2020 battleground states, according to The Post.
Read MoreCommentary: Moore v. Harper Terrifies Democrats for Good Reason
The U.S. Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in Moore v. Harper last week. The case involves a mundane constitutional issue concerning the definition of “legislature” as used in the elections clause. Yet it has produced panic among Democrats and a torrent of portentous predictions about the death of democracy from various leftist law professors. In the Washington Post, for example, Harvard University’s Noah Feldman expressed alarm that the court took up the “insane” case at all.
Is Moore v. Harper really insane? Of course not. The case arose early this year when the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down a redistricting map produced by the state Legislature, then replaced it with a redistricting scheme of its own. The North Carolina General Assembly petitioned SCOTUS for relief on the grounds that this action violated Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.
Read MoreCommentary: Manchin-Collins Bill Would End the 1887 Electoral Count Act’s Provision of State Legislatures Choosing Presidential Electors
Legislation offered by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) would repeal Sections 1 and 2 of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, and replace the appointment of electors by state legislatures in the event a state fails to make a choice in that election under current federal law to “the executive of each State”.
3 U.S.C. Section 2 currently states, “Whenever any State has held an election for the purpose of choosing electors, and has failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law, the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such State may direct.”
Read MoreCross-Dressing Book for Pre-K Students Crossed the Line in Kansas
A school district that gave preschoolers a book on cross-dressing has changed its procedures for giving out books after news of the incident surfaced last week.
As first reported exclusively by The Lion and The Heartlander news sites, a 4-year-old preschooler in the Turner School District in Kansas City, Kansas, took home the book Jacob’s New Dress. It’s a picture book in which a little boy wears girls’ clothes and even competes with his friend Emily to be a princess.
Read MoreMultiple Schools Used Pandemic Aid to Give Teacher Bonuses, Go on Hiring Sprees
A new report by a watchdog group reveals the extent of how many schools abused their COVID-19 relief funds to instead pay teachers even more despite not returning to work.
According to the Washington Examiner, the report by FutureEd reveals that many schools still haven’t completely spent the money that they received as a result of three major stimulus bills passed in 2020. Following Joe Biden’s “American Rescue Plan,” at least $190 billion has been allocated exclusively for schools. But as of October, schools nationwide have spent less than 15 percent of the money given to them through the American Rescue Plan.
Read MoreBiden Administration Removed 71 Percent Fewer Criminal Aliens vs. Comparable Period under Trump
Over its first nine months, the Biden administration removed 71% fewer locally arrested criminal aliens than were deported during a comparable period in 2019 under Donald Trump, according to a new study of state and local statistics — despite record illegal immigration numbers.
Read MoreCommentary: Young Montana Entrepreneur Is Being Legally Barred from Hauling Trash Because Established Players Don’t Want the Competition
When Parker Noland launched his trash-hauling business at age 20 in the summer of 2021, he was excited about the opportunities that lay before him. After taking out a loan from a local bank, the Montana native bought a truck and some dumpsters and got to work promoting his services. The business plan was simple: he would deliver dumpsters to construction sites looking to get rid of debris and then transport the dumpsters to the county dump once they were full.
Read MoreU.S. Officials Set to Announce Fusion Energy Breakthrough: Report
U.S. government scientists have recently managed to make significant progress toward successfully utilizing fusion energy, according to The Financial Times.
Scientists at the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California managed to create net energy gain via a fusion reaction in the past two weeks, the FT reported Sunday, citing three people with knowledge of the experiment. Researchers have been attempting to produce more energy than they burn during fusion reactions, which power the sun, for 70 years; however, no reaction has produced more energy than it burns until now.
Read MoreThe School Choice Movement is Picking Up Steam Across the Country
The school choice movement is gaining momentum as states focus on legislation that would give families greater freedom to select their child’s education, advocates told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Utah, New Hampshire and South Carolina are pushing for more expansive school choice legislation that would increase the value of school choice vouchers and the number of eligible students, while states such as Arizona and Florida have already implemented programs that provide vouchers to students outside of the public school system. The increasing push for more school choice legislation across the country is because other states have provided the model to do so, advocates told the DCNF.
Read MoreLeahy on Arizona 2022 Election Results: The Only Opinion That Matters is the Judge’s
Host Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Arizona Sun-Times, Michael Patrick Leahy, Sunday to War Room: Battleground to discuss Arizona’s Gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake’s contest to the certified election result in Arizona.
Read MoreWhite House to Go on Offensive Against GOP as Gas Prices Drop
The average price for a gallon of gas has fallen below what it was one year ago, and the White House is preparing to go on the offense politically as consumers see more money in their pockets ahead of the holidays. The administration argument? Thank President Biden.
Read MoreUniversity Pays Christian Students $90K to Settle Free Speech Lawsuit
The University of Idaho (U of I) paid $90,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by three Christian students and a faculty advisor who claimed the university violated their right to free speech.
The lawsuit was filed after the university issued no-contact orders prohibiting Peter Perlot Mark Miller and Ryan Anderson, all members of the Christian Legal Society (CLS), and faculty advisor Professor Richard Seamon from interacting with a law student who disagreed with a CLS requirement that all members define marriage as between a man and a woman, according to the lawsuit’s text. U of I rescinded the no-contact orders in a settlement in favor of the legal society, ADF announced in Wednesday’s press release.
Read MoreFeds Doling Out $2.3 Billion to ‘Expand and Modernize’ Intercity Passenger Rail
The federal government is looking to dole out nearly $2.3 billion to “expand and modernize” intercity passenger rail across the country.
But a leading transportation analyst says that Amtrak, the nation’s passenger railroad, doesn’t have any plans to break even.
Read MoreHouse Democrats Push Legislation to Analyze Social Media Posts for Future Mass Shootings
House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday known as the “Identifying Mass Shooters Act” that will direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study and analyze online content to identify potential mass shooters before they act, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Read MoreKari Lake Lawsuit Exposes Election Process Complexities in Maricopa County, Reliance on Third-Party Vendor
A lawsuit filed Friday by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake contesting the results in the November 8, 2022, election in Maricopa County exposes, among other things, the complexities of the process for mail-in and drop-box ballots and the county’s reliance on a third-party vendor for essential election functions.
The 70-page complaint filed by Lake named Democratic gubernatorial opponent Katie Hobbs who is the Secretary of State of Arizona who certified the election in her favor on December 5, as well as Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer as an officer in charge of elections, Maricopa County Director of Elections for Election Day and Emergency Voting Scott Jarrett and the five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Read MoreHyundai and Battery Manufacturer Select Bartow County Site for $4 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Plant
Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) and SK On have selected a site for a new electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plant in Bartow County. The project is expected to create 3,500 jobs with an investment of $4-5 billion, one of the largest economic development projects in Georgia history, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“Hyundai Motor Group and SK On are valued partners and key players in our state’s ever-growing automotive industry,” Governor Brian Kemp said in a Thursday press release. “Since day one, my administration has been focused on bringing jobs and opportunity to communities across the state that may have been overlooked in the past. SK and HMG share this goal, and we’re proud they are choosing to invest even further in this number one state for business.”
Read MoreCommentary: Biden Admin Blames the American People for its Own Ludicrous Spending
Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen blamed the American people for the 40-year high inflation we have been enduring.
Appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” she said that Americans “were in their homes for a year or more, they wanted to buy grills and office furniture, they were working from home, they suddenly started splurging on goods, buying technology.” According to her, this consumer “splurging” caused prices to rise so much.
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