The Florida Capital Star

October 19, 2021

Vacation Rental Battle Lined Up for Florida Legislature

Regulation over the vacation rental industry is teed up, once again for the upcoming Florida Legislative session. Sen. Jason Fischer (R-FL-4) filed legislation to grant the regulation of vacation-rental platforms, like Airbnb or Vrbo, to the state. The bill, HB...

October 19, 2021

Mollie Hemingway Commentary: Taking on the Establishment

Before the 2018 midterm elections, Trump’s political advisors were thinking about the president’s re-election bid and noticed a curious commonality among incumbent presidents who didn’t get re-elected: they all faced challengers from within their own party. Five U.S. presidents since...

October 19, 2021

Manchin Reportedly Outlines Demands for Democrats’ Climate Change, Child Tax Credit Plan

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia reportedly opposed two pieces of his party’s spending package as negotiations over its price tag and reach continue to stall. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia’s opposition reportedly relates to the Democrats’...

October 19, 2021

Commentary: Vaccination Rates Not Linked to Lower COVID Rates, Epidemiology Paper Finds

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article noting that California has some of the lowest COVID-19 case rates in the US, even though the Golden State’s vaccination rate lags many states that are currently struggling with the delta variant. “One...

October 19, 2021

Harvard’s Endowment Ballooned by $11 Billion As It Fought off Student Class-Action Lawsuit over Tuition Costs

Harvard University announced Thursday that its endowment grew by $11.3 billion to a record $53.2 billion during the fiscal year ending in June, a year-over-year increase of 33.6%. The announcement comes after Harvard, which runs the nation’s largest private university...

October 19, 2021

‘Let’s Go Brandon’: Mischievous Meme Mocks Fake News and a Failing Presidency

It all started with a profanity that can't be repeated here. NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast was questioning NASCAR driver Brandon Brown about winning the Xfinity series at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 9. Crowd members began chanting, "F*** Joe...

October 19, 2021

Lawmakers Say Amazon ‘Misled’ and ‘May Have Lied’ to Congress

Top members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy on Monday questioning whether the tech company’s executives lied under oath to Congress. The letter, sent by a bipartisan group of lawmakers including House Judiciary...

October 19, 2021

Commentary: Biden’s Possible Abandonment of Taiwan

“Goodbye, great power competition and hello, strategic competition,” this is what the Biden Administration’s Pentagon spokesperson recently told Daniel Lipmann of Politico. According to analysts, these comments signal a shift toward a more cooperative, even conciliatory, American posture toward the Chinese...

October 19, 2021

Commentary: Colin Powell Was an American Patriot

It was an enormous shock to learn that Colin Powell died at 84 of complications from COVID-19. His devotion to duty, commitment to America, and innate sense of dignity and decency, made him seem ageless and timeless. We live near...

October 19, 2021

NYC’s Likely Next Mayor Says He’ll Expand Gifted Student Program, Not End It

Eric Adams, the likely next mayor of New York City, said Friday he would keep and expand the city’s gifted program which current Democratic Mayor Bill De Blasio planned to eliminate. “ can’t get rid of it until next year....

October 19, 2021

DHS Insider Blows Whistle on Biden Policies that Allow Sex and Drug Traffickers to Operate in U.S.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee has gone public to expose U.S. immigration policies that help sex traffickers and drug cartels operate in the United States. Aaron Stevenson, an intelligence research specialist for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),...

October 19, 2021

New Capitol Video Contradicts Justice Department, Media Narrative on January 6

Over the objection of Joe Biden’s Justice Department, a lengthy video clip showing U.S. Capitol Police allowing hundreds of people into the building on the afternoon of January 6 has been released to the public. In July, Ethan Nordean, an...

October 19, 2021

Commentary: The Steady Decline of Our Once-Beloved Military

The highest echelon of the U.S. military is becoming dysfunctional. There are too many admirals and generals for the size of the current U.S. military. It now boasts three times the number of four-star admirals and generals than we had...

October 19, 2021

Biden Administration Has Lost Track of 45,000 Unaccompanied Minors Who Entered Illegally

The Biden-Harris administration has lost track of at least 45,000 unaccompanied minors who were brought across the southern border illegally — and President Joe Biden has yet to issue a statement about it. So far this year, unaccompanied minors arriving...

October 19, 2021

‘Just Unconscionable’: Parents Protest Outside the Justice Department Against ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Label

Frustration at school boards boiled over for some parents and activists who protested outside of the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. Sunday. A small crowd gathered for the “Parents Are Not ‘Domestic Terrorists’ Rally,” a reference to Merrick...

October 19, 2021

Department of Justice Issues Stinging Rebuke of Biden’s Hope of Capitol Riot Prosecutions

The U.S. Department of Justice this week issued a rare and pointed clapback against President Joe Biden after the latter expressed a desire to see prosecutions in connection with the Jan. 6 congressional investigation. Asked on Friday what should happen...

October 19, 2021

Expect Inflation, Supply Shortages to Last Well into 2022, Economists Say

High inflation will last well into 2022, economists say, indicating that supply chain bottlenecks will keep increasing prices and curbing production. Experts expect to see average inflation of 5.25% in December, slightly down from the current maximum predicted 5.4% figure, according to The Wall...

October 19, 2021

Music Spotlight: A Tale of Two

If Bonnie and Clyde had been musicians instead of bank robbers, they would have been the vocal duo, A Tale Of Two. Combining the best of Americana and Blues melodies with timeless “Southern Gothic” storytelling, Nashville-based A Tale Of Two...

October 19, 2021

Roughly 40 Percent of Americans Say They Recently Suffered Financial Difficulties, Study Shows

Over 40% of U.S. households said they experienced severe financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing difficulties paying bills, credit cards and draining their savings, according to a Harvard University report. The survey conducted by the Harvard T.H.Chan School of...

October 19, 2021

Gang Blamed for Kidnapping 17 American Missionaries in Haiti

A gang known for previous abductions has been blamed for the kidnapping of 17 American missionaries in Haiti on Saturday, NBC News reported. The Christian Aid Ministries missionaries were kidnapped on their way from the construction of an orphanage, according to a...

October 19, 2021

Mike Doyle the Latest Democratic Congressman to Retire Ahead of Midterms

Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania announced his retirement Monday after 14 terms in the House, becoming the latest Democrat to retire just over a year from the midterms. Doyle represents Pittsburgh and is the dean of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation....

October 19, 2021

AAA Says Gas Prices in Florida Will Continue to Rise Through Winter Months

In a recent report from AAA auto club, it suggests that gas prices in Florida will continue to increase into the winter months as a result of global supply concerns over crude-oil and gasoline. According to AAA, as of Monday,...

October 19, 2021

Illinois Democrats Seek to Maximize Their Party’s Seats, Axe Republicans in New Proposed Congressional Map

Democrats in Illinois’ state legislature Friday released a new map that would shore up all of their party’s incumbents in Congress and likely eliminate two of the state’s five Republicans. The proposal would give Democrats a 14-3 advantage in the...

October 19, 2021

Virginia Tech Replaces Professor Who Apologized for Being White on Syllabus

Virginia Tech University Department of Human Development and Family Science just removed Crystal Duncan Lane from teaching a course after she apologized for her Whiteness in the course syllabus. April Few-Demo, the head of the Department of Human Development...

October 19, 2021

Florida State Sen. Annette Taddeo Announces Bid for Governor

Florida State Sen. Annette Taddeo (D-FL-40) announced her bid for governor yesterday, totaling the number of Democrats in the gubernatorial race to three. Taddeo is joining her former gubernatorial running mate from 2014, Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL-13), and Florida Agriculture...

October 18, 2021

Colin Powell, First Black Secretary of State, Dead at 84 of COVID-19 Complications

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died Monday morning due to complication from COVID-19, according to his family. He was 84. Powell was the first black U.S. secretary of state, serving in the second Bush administration from 2001-2005. From 1989-1993,...

October 18, 2021

Florida Seeking Long-Term Rule on Mask Mandates, Quarantines in Schools

The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) is proposing a new long-term rule to ban mask mandates and enshrine its new quarantine rules for students in Florida’s public school system. Florida’s new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, signed off on the...

October 18, 2021

Commentary: Solving the Supply Chain Problem Requires Less Government, Not More

During the latter part of the 20th Century, Americans became accustomed to hearing stories of shortages of basic items in the Soviet Union. The metaphor of “waiting in line for bread” came to signify anything where a state-managed effort led to...

October 18, 2021

Holiday Blues: Economic Challenges Threaten Season with Delays, Shortages and Price Hikes

A series of economic struggles that have grown increasingly worse this year will likely have a significant impact on the holiday season, many economic experts predict. After President Joe Biden gave remarks from the White House this week, one reporter...

October 18, 2021

Report Card Measuring U.S. Grades in Education Shows ‘Concerning’ Results

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress results showed that the reading and mathematics scores of 13-year-old students fell from 2012 to 2020. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results showed no...

October 18, 2021

Millions of Illegal Immigrants Could Get Amnesty, College Tuition Help and More Under Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill

Millions of illegal immigrants could have access to amnesty, assistance with college tuition, various tax credits and waived grounds for inadmissibility to the U.S. under the Democrats’ proposed reconciliation bill. The reconciliation bill might allow illegal immigrants with expunged criminal...

October 18, 2021

Biden Admin Now Says It Will Get Around to Flying Americans out of Afghanistan by the End of the Year

State Department evacuation flights out of Afghanistan will resume by the end of the year, a senior State Department official told The Wall Street Journal. The operation to retrieve U.S. citizens and Afghan allies left behind will require coordination with...

October 18, 2021

Some Credit Unions Already Losing Accounts over Democrats’ Plan to Expand IRS Tracking

Organizations representing community banks and credit unions are blasting the Democrats' commitment to expanding IRS reporting requirements, calling the proposal a government overreach that would require financial institutions to spend more money on compliance costs at the expense of products...

October 18, 2021

Nearly 47 Percent of Americans Think Natural Immunity to COVID-19 as Effective as Getting Vaccinated, Poll

Nearly half of Americans believe natural immunity to COVID-19 is as effective as the getting vaccinated, according to a new Convention of States Action/ Trafalgar Group poll. Among the roughly 1,000 respondents in the national survey of likely 2020 voters,...

October 18, 2021

Commentary: Campus Radicals Destroy What Made American Universities Wonderous Institutions

There is no faster – or more amusing – way to make a campus radical lose his composure than to fuss about the importance of cultural literacy. The term “cultural literacy,” made popular by the controversial scholar E.D. Hirsch, describes a...

October 18, 2021

Retail Sales Beat Expectations Amid Surging Inflation

U.S. retail sales increased in September, beating expectations amid growing inflation and supply chain disruptions, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday. Retail sales increased 0.7% in September, beating experts’ estimates of 0.2%, according to the Census Bureau report. The number rose 0.8%, excluding...

October 18, 2021

Police Union Boss Urges Chicago Police Officers to Defy Mayor’s Vaccine Mandate

A Chicago police union boss has instructed officers to defy the city’s upcoming COVID-19 vaccination reporting mandate, and predicted that at least half of the police force could be taken off the streets, this weekend. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced...

October 18, 2021

Democrats Laden $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill with ‘Green New Deal’ Handouts

Democrats have inserted numerous provisions and subsidy programs into their $3.5 trillion budget that would benefit green energy companies and speed the transition to renewables. The Build Back Better Act would invest an estimated $295 billion of taxpayer money into...

October 18, 2021

Experts Slam Biden’s Plan to Build Government-Funded Wind Farms

Energy experts criticized President Joe Biden’s plan to prioritize wind farms, arguing wind power is costly, inefficient and indirectly produces greenhouse gas emissions. Wind energy, like solar, is often unreliable since it is intermittent, or highly dependent on nature and...

October 18, 2021

Commentary: Spy Couple Follow in the Grand Tradition of Treasonous Leftist Couples

In the wake of the recent arrest of Maryland nuclear engineer, Jonathan Toebbe, and his wife, Diana Toebbe on charges they tried to sell classified nuclear warship information to a foreign country, the mainstream media has focused on the “mystery” of how...

October 18, 2021

Prominent Liberal Watchdog Group Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Jen Psaki

A prominent liberal watchdog group filed a Hatch Act complaint against White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday, saying her apparent endorsement of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McCauliffe during a White House press briefing may have violated federal law....

October 18, 2021

University of Minnesota Beats First Amendment Challenge to ‘Heckler’s Veto’ Against Ben Shapiro Event

Sixteen minutes after learning that a University of Minnesota student group booked conservative commentator Ben Shapiro to speak at its main campus in Minneapolis, then-president Eric Kaler declared, "I do not want this in the middle of campus." All he...

October 18, 2021

Democratic Activist Calls Virginia Parents’ Lawsuit Against School over Sexual Assault Allegations a ‘Witch Hunt’

A Democratic activist told Loudoun County conservative parents that they are part of a “witch hunt” during a press conference condemning the district’s recent handling of sexual assault allegations within its high schools, Fox News reported Thursday. At the press...

October 18, 2021

Michigan Elementary Schools Cancel Halloween, Valentine’s Day over ‘Exclusion’ of Certain Students

In East Lansing, Michigan, multiple elementary schools have announced the sudden cancellation of the celebrations of two beloved holidays, Halloween and Valentine’s Day, baselessly claiming that these holidays represent discrimination against some students, as reported by USA Today. Schools in...

October 18, 2021

DeSantis Announces $5.8 Million Grant for Glades Technical College

On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced more than $5.8 million in Florida Job Growth Grant Funds to support the opening of iTECH Glades Technical College in Moore Haven, a new location of Immokalee Technical College. “When I took office, I...