Month: April 2023

The GOP-led House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 on Wednesday evening to increase the debt limit for one year by $1.5 trillion and reduce the growth of domestic spending. The bill passed 217-215 with four Republicans voting against it.

Montana Lawmakers Censure Transgender Representative over ‘Blood on Your Hands’ Remark

April 26, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The Montana state House on Wednesday voted to censure Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the state’s first transgender legislator, following the Democrat’s opposition to a statewide ban on so-called gender affirming care for minors. The House voted on Wednesday to censure Zephyr in a 68-32 vote, ABC News reported. The vote bars Zephyr from being recognized for the remainder of the legislative session.

Documents: Teachers’ Union Played Significant Role in CDC’s Halting of Full School Reopening

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its president Randi Weingarten had significant input into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) pandemic school reopening guidelines than was known in 2021, according to documents obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT).

State Representative Calls off Investigation into Tempe’s Upcoming Special Election After Clearing Legal Concerns

April 26, 2023April 25, 2023 Neil Jones

Arizona State Representative Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) announced Tuesday that he is rescinding a complaint he filed against the City of Tempe with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) after alleviating his concerns.

“Based on information and written assurances I have received within the last 24 hours, I hereby withdraw my request for an investigation of the City of Tempe’s Ordinance No. 02022.56, Ordinance No. 02022.57, Resolution No. R2022.l 70, and§ 12.9 and§ 17 of the Development and Disposition Agreement (“Agreement”) between the City and Bluebird Development LLC (“Bluebird”),” Montenegro wrote in a new letter emailed to the press.

White House Says Biden Will Veto House GOP’s Debt Limit Bill If It Passes

President Biden would veto the House GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 if it arrived at his desk, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Tuesday.

“The agency called the bill a “reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition for the United States simply paying the bills it has already incurred.”

Appeals Court Guts Religious Accommodations for Teachers That SCOTUS May Soon Strengthen: Lawyers

April 26, 2023April 25, 2023 Neil Jones

A week before the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could force employers to more freely grant religious accommodations, a federal appeals court determined that calling all students by their last names for the sake of religious conscience was a fireable offense.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that Indiana’s Brownsburg Community Schools Corp. had a “legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason” for firing music teacher John Kluge: He caused “emotional harm” and disrupted the learning environment by not addressing transgender students by preferred names and pronouns.

Pollster: Biden’s Re-Election Campaign Announcement ‘Like Christmas’ to Trump, Republicans

April 26, 2023 M.D. Kittle

President Joe Biden announced his re-election campaign Tuesday, insisting he’s running again to “stand up for fundamental freedoms.”

Republicans in the nation’s presidential battleground states say the out-of-touch 80-year-old Democrat has cost Americans their freedoms — and their finances.

Arizona District Attorney’s Office Charges Almost 2,000 Illegal Immigrants with Illegal Entry During First Three Months of 2023

The Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) released the first quarter of 2023 immigration enforcement statistics for individuals prosecuted in partnership with the Tucson and Yuma Sectors of Border Patrol.

“Reducing migrant smuggling and mitigating the risk to communities impacted by these offenses continues to be a priority for the Office and its law enforcement partners. Some of these prosecutions are directed against leaders and coordinators of alien smuggling organizations. Other prosecutions are aimed at deterring young adult drivers, often recruited over social media platforms, from engaging in this dangerous activity,” the District shared.

Commentary: A Grand Alliance to Overcome the Elite Betrayal of America

April 26, 2023 Arizona Sun Times Staff

For the first time in history, the ruling class of a powerful nation has abandoned its fellow citizens. What is happening in America today is more than a return to feudalism, although the new economic model into which we’re being herded is correctly compared to feudalism. The reality is actually much worse: America’s elites view ordinary citizens as no longer necessary. Because of globalism, they are replaceable. Because of automation, they are superfluous. Because of environmentalism, they are unsustainable.

North Dakota Gov. Burgum Signs Six-Week Abortion Ban

April 26, 2023 Arizona Sun Times Staff

North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed into law on Monday a statewide ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy that does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

The ban took effect upon signature, according to the Associated Press.

Commentary: Academia’s Woke Groomers

Exposing woke academia is both infuriating and amusing. Stanley K. Ridgley, a professor of management at Drexel University, has a knack for unearthing the horror of leftist, racialist, feminist, transgenderist grooming of immature minds on university campuses, and for caricaturing the groomers. His sarcasm will leave you rocking with laughter just after you’ve gasped with horror.

College Board Will Change AP African American Studies Curriculum Again

April 26, 2023 Arizona Sun Times Staff

An Advanced Placement (AP) pilot course dedicated to African American studies will be revised again after state governors across the country argued whether or not the content was appropriate, the College Board, which oversees AP courses, announced on Monday.

AP African American Studies was rejected by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration for originally including topics such as queer theory, and was revised on Feb. 1 to eliminate those sections and readings from prominent critical race theorists. The new changes, which were not detailed but are expected to become public in the coming months, will be driven by the development committee and “experts,” according to the College Board.

Music Spotlight: Colleen Rae

April 26, 2023 Bethany Bowman

I’ve been Facebook friends with Colleen Rae for more than 12 years. I knew she sang country music but had not heard much from her until recently.

Rae is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She grew up in a family that loved music, when they celebrated birthdays and the like, they would break out the guitars and start to jam.

Commentary: The Woke Revolution Is Erasing the Past

April 26, 2023 RealClearWire

Students of English and history are going the way of the dodo bird.

During just the last decade, their numbers at colleges and universities have dropped by a third – and humanities enrollment is down by 17%, Nathan Heller reports in his recent New Yorker article, “The End of the English Major.”

Biden Announces Run for Re-Election

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 The Center Square

President Joe Biden announced early Tuesday that he is running for reelection.

“Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms,” Biden wrote on Twitter in his announcement. “I believe this is ours. That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”

Seven Arrested in Protest That Disrupted Montana House Hearing on Youth Transgender Bill

April 25, 2023 Just the News

Seven people in Montana have been arrested in connection with a protest Monday at the state capital over the censure of a state Democrat lawmaker opposed to a GOP-led bill limiting youth transgender medical procedures.

The incident took place in the capital’s House chambers. Those arrested faces charges of criminal trespass after refusing to leave the gallery, which overlooks the House floor, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told local NBC affiliate KTVH-TV.

Survey: Faith Surged Among Young People amid COVID Pandemic

April 25, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A survey first reported Monday by the Wall Street Journal found that 30 percent of young people say their faith grew stronger during the COVID pandemic, and that the percentage of those who say they know a “higher power” exists surged to 28 percent in December 2022 from the 22 percent reported in the 2021 survey. Conducted by nonprofit Springtide Research Institute, the survey cites the context of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, when young people were largely isolated from others, and the subsequent mental health crisis among them had already begun to reach “epidemic proportions.”

Advocates Warn of ‘Desperate’ Movement to Undermine the Electoral College

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 Admin

An organization’s efforts to circumvent states’ rights are “getting desperate” as they try new ways to push their interstate compact through state legislatures, two pro-Electoral College advocacy groups told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) is a group initiative to reform the U.S.’ two-step, Electoral College system by ensuring that the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide becomes the president. Now that NPV has enacted its interstate compact in all of the “easy,” bluer states as a standalone bill, it is getting creative to force the law through in swing states like Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan and Maine, Trent England of Save Our States and Jasper Hendricks of Democrats for the Electoral College told the DCNF.

‘Gender Queer’ Tops List of Most Challenged Books for a Second Year

April 25, 2023 The Center Square

The graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was the most challenged book of 2022, according to an annual list of the most controversial books as assessed by the American Library Association.

The list was published Monday during the start of National Library Week. The American Library Association said 2022 was a record year for books “targeted for censorship.” There were 2,571 unique titles challenged, of which 58 percent were in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula.

Violent Criminal Who Shot at Police and Injured Pregnant Woman Now Behind Bars

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 Neil Jones

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) announced Friday that Christopher John Garcia, 34, has been placed behind bars after being convicted of violent crimes against police officers and a pregnant woman.

“Victims of violent crime carry with them a lifetime of trauma that in many cases is difficult to overcome. This defendant is where he needs to be; away from society so he will not hurt again,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R). “To the victims of this crime and all victims in our community, you are the forefront of why we do the work that we do.”

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Energy Companies’ Appeals to Climate Damage Lawsuits

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 Neil Jones

The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear local governments’ climate damage lawsuits against energy companies on Monday.

The companies, who localities want to hold financially accountable for burning fossil fuels they allege damaged the climate, appealed their cases to the Supreme Court, asking it to weigh in on whether the claims should be heard in state or federal courts. The Court’s decision benefits the environmental activists behind the lawsuits, who prefer the matter to play out in state courts, where judges may be more inclined to rule in their favor, experts previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Arizona Homemade Food Bill Receives National Support While Senate Democrats Appear to Backtrack

Support for HB 2509, sponsored by Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert), to receive a veto override has reached nationwide, as the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) sent Arizona Legislative leaders a message Sunday sharing their support for this bill.

“By signing this bill, the Governor [Katie Hobbs (D)] had an opportunity to support the Hispanic community and personal freedom that should be accessible to everyone. Our community should not fear legal repercussions for selling their homemade foods and we urge Arizona Legislators to do what is right and override her veto,” wrote the NHCSL President, New Jersey Senator Nellie Pou (D-Paterson).

Thousands Stage Protest March Across Mexico, Head for U.S. Border

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 Neil Jones

On Sunday, a group of over 3,000 illegal aliens began a protest march that started in southern Mexico and will march to the north to end at the border between Mexico and the United States.

According to Politico, the march is in protest against the use of illegal alien detention centers, one of which caught fire last month in an incident that led to the deaths of approximately 40 illegals. The mob of illegals, which started its march in Tapachula along the Guatemalan border, will head for Mexico City, to demand that the government put an end to the use of such facilities.

State Senate Republicans Urge Democrats to Cooperate in Creating a Bipartisan State Budget for Arizonans

With the Legislative session winding down, one of the major tasks left for lawmakers to accomplish is creating a state budget, which needs to be in place before July, or a government shutdown could occur. However, Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said State Democrats are inhibiting the process by not cooperating with budgeting requests.

“We are just weeks away from some government agencies running out of funding because legislative Democrats are stalling,” said Petersen. “I’m confident we would have already passed a budget had the Democrats spent the last seven weeks negotiating the budget with us, in good faith.”

Commentary: Biden’s Open Borders Are Bringing Diseases to Your Neighborhood

April 25, 2023 Just the News

by Betsy McCaughey Ready for another pandemic? New York City’s health commissioner announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border — more than 50,000 to New York City alone in the past year — is delivering contagious diseases, including tuberculosis and polio, to our neighborhoods.…

Biden Administration Inserts Racial, Gender Equity into Everything from Energy to Food

When the Biden Energy Department recently unveiled $72 million in funding to help train the next generation of green energy workers it did more than just tout its latest solution for climate change. It argued a racially and gender diverse workforce was “crucial” to the project’s mission.

The Cabinet department tasked to “ensure America’s security and prosperity” through energy didn’t explain how a “diverse workforce” can mitigate or reverse Biden-era energy trends such as some of the highest gas prices in American history, some of the lowest oil reserve levels in nearly 40 years and “unprecedented” growth in utility bill debt.

Commentary: The ‘Limit, Save, Grow’ Plan’s Discretionary Spending Caps that Save More than $3 Trillion Might Not Be Enough

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the House Republican majority have unveiled their spending plan for the next decade, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, that will be tied to a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion national debt ceiling, the centerpiece of which imposes discretionary budget caps beginning in 2024, but which will be set at 2022 levels, which could save more than $3.2 trillion over the next decade, according to an estimate by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

While an official score still has not come in from the Congressional Budget Office, the proposal stands out as a promise kept on McCarthy’s part to use the must-pass debt ceiling to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity to the out-of-control federal budget and national debt, the latter of which the White House Office of Management and Budget projects will rise to a gargantuan $50.7 trillion by 2033.

Former Intel Officials Who Signed the Infamous ‘Hunter Biden Laptop Letter’ Landed Jobs in the Biden Administration

After Biden campaign officials coordinated a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officers casting doubt about the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election, several signatories ended up with roles in the president’s administration.

Former Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morrell testified to the House Judiciary Committee that then-Biden senior adviser and current Secretary of State Tony Blinken contacted him and “triggered” the creation of the letter. Former CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash, who signed the letter, put Morrell in touch with Biden campaign Chairman Steve Richetti, who thanked him for orchestrating it; Biden later appointed Bash to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board in 2022.

Protesters Storm Montana Capitol over Censure of Transgender Lawmaker

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 Peter D'Abrosca

Protesters entered the Montana House of Representatives on Monday in support of a transgender lawmaker whom state Republicans censured over contentious remarks during a debate over a ban on certain gender-related treatments. Democrat State Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a transgender individual, said that supporters of the bill would have “blood on their hands.”

CNN Fires Don Lemon After Liberal Host Attacks GOP Candidates on Age and Race

April 24, 2023 M.D. Kittle

CNN has fired Don Lemon in the wake of the controversial liberal talk show host’s disparaging remarks about the race and age of GOP presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley. As the left-leaning cable news network reported, Monday’s announcement came without explanation and “astonished the media industry.” News of Lemon’s departure followed word that conservative host Tucker Carlson and Fox News had parted ways.

Report: Rupert Murdoch Made Decision to Fire Tucker Carlson

According to a Monday afternoon report, the billionaire head of Fox Corp., Rupert Murdoch, was directly responsible for firing Tucker Carlson, after the cable news network abruptly announced that it had parted ways with its most popular host. Citing sources “familiar with the situation who were not authorized to comment publicly,” The Los Angeles Times said that Murdoch himself made the decision to fire Carlson, along with some input from the Fox Corp. board of directors.

Former Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton Team Up with American Express and ‘Welcome.US’ to Fly Migrants into the U.S.

April 24, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

American Express Global Business Travel and Welcome.US have reportedly teamed up with former Presidents Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush’s nongovernmental organization (NGO) called Miles4Migrants to fly migrants to communities across the U.S.

Welcome.US is an NGO that was initially launched to work with President Joe Biden’s administration to facilitate some of the 85,000 Afghans who came into the U.S. in 2021 and 2022 after the debacle created when the U.S. evacuated from Afghanistan, according to Breitbart.

Hillsdale College Professor: Man’s Divine Nature Not Just a Christian Principle, But a ‘Rational’ One as Well

Hillsdale College’s associate dean for its graduate school of government in Washington, DC, told attendees at an event Friday evening in Connecticut that while the enemies of religious liberty reject that which is divine in man, that concept is not “a Christian principle, per se,” but, in fact, “a rational principle.”

CDC Director Rewrites History of COVID Vaccines as Uptake Plummets, Side Effect Research Mounts

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 Just the News

As the feds abandon a one-size-fits-all COVID-19 vaccine strategy in the face of plunging booster uptake, growing research on serious adverse events and the first government payments to victims of the novel therapeutics, the CDC’s director is trying to rewrite history.

In a hearing Wednesday, Rochelle Walensky told the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds her agency that COVID vaccines only stopped preventing transmission of the virus due to “an evolution of science,” contradicting her own agency’s uncertainty about the products during the early mass vaccination campaign and its contemporaneous data.

Tucker Carlson Leaves Fox News: ‘Last Program Was Friday’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson is leaving the network, Fox announced Monday.

Susan Rice Stepping Down as President Biden’s Top Domestic Policy Adviser, White House Announces

Susan Rice is stepping down as President Biden’s top domestic policy adviser, the White House announced Monday.

Medical Schools Are Ditching Standardized Tests in the Name Of ‘Diversity’

April 24, 2023 The Center Square

A developing medical school trend to ditch the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) requirement may not bode well for the future of the profession, medical watchdog group Do No Harm told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Approximately 40 medical schools across the country have dropped the MCAT, a multiple choice exam that determines an individual’s ability to problem solve, think critically, and understand concepts about medical study, as a requirement for some applying students, according to a list compiled by Inspira Advantage. Do No Harm alleged that dropping the requirement is another way schools aim to bolster diversity on campus but asserted that it is a “dangerous trend,” according to its analysis.

Federal Legislation Pays Farmers for Cattle Killed by Endangered Wolf

American agricultural workers could soon receive financial compensation when their livestock gets killed by a wolf that advocates are hoping to increase in population.

Lawmakers introduced the Wolf and Livestock Fairness Act to Congress on April 18. The bill would provide financial compensation to farmers whose livestock are harmed by the endangered Mexican Grey Wolf species. The one clause; don’t kill the wolf.

TikTok Lobbyists Visited Biden White House at Least 40 Times Last Year

April 24, 2023April 23, 2023 The Center Square

White House visitor records show that lobbyists and executives for the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok have visited the Biden White House at least 40 times in the past year.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the plethora of visits is part of the tech company’s broader plan for a massive public relations campaign aimed at rehabilitating its image, amid numerous setbacks including government bans on the app in various states and other countries. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have already spent over $13 million on federal lobbying since 2019, having hired lobbying firms such as SKDK, a major Democratic public relations firm.

Arizona’s Lamb Talks Immigration, Fentanyl and Sinema on Campaign Trail for U.S. Senate

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb hopes his law enforcement acumen in a border state will make him stand out in a potentially crowded race for the GOP ticket in Arizona’s next U.S. Senate primary.

Lamb has been on the campaign trail as the first Republican Senate candidate in Arizona to declare candidacy for the 2024 election. He spoke with The Center Square on Friday to discuss the border and state of the race.

Commentary: America Doesn’t Have a Free Press

Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk kicked the hornet’s nest when he labeled National Public Radio “state affiliated media.” The howls of protest were amusing, and telling. While they like to pretend otherwise, the mass media in the United States operate much like the state-run media of autocratic regimes.

And it isn’t just NPR. The New York Times and CNN are preoccupied with the generation of propaganda, narrative making, the enforcement of dogmas (“woke” agendas on race, climate, sex, etc.), and the censorship of dissenters.

U.S. to Begin Abrams Tank Training for Ukrainian Troops