May 5, 2021 - The Florida Capital Star

Investigation Finds Massive Wrongdoing by Prosecutor in Case Against Ex-Missouri Governor

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Missouri’s chief legal disciplinary officer accused St. Louis’ top prosecutor of sweeping misconduct in the failed prosecution of former Gov. Eric Greitens, saying she lied to judges in court filings and testimony, withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense, misled her own prosecution team and violated the constitutional right to a fair trial.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, one of the early local prosecutors bankrolled by liberal megadonor George Soros since 2016, engaged in 62 acts of misconduct that resulted in 79 false representations during Greitens’ now-dismissed criminal prosecution, according to Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel’s memo obtained Wednesday by Just the News.

Former President Trump Launches New Communications Platform ‘From the Desk of Donald J. Trump’

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Former President Trump has launched a new platform to communicate with the public, adding a page on donaldjtrump.com that looks something like a social media feed.

The page headlined “From The Desk of Donald J. Trump,” includes statements from Trump as well as a video at the very top of the feed apparently advertising the new communications outlet.

The posts have buttons for people to share to Twitter and Facebook. “This is just a one-way communication,” a source informed Fox News. “This system allows Trump to communicate with his followers.”

Florida Chief Financial Officer Patronis Announces Reelection Bid

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 Grant Holcomb

Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced his reelection bid for 2022. Patronis made the announcement by posting a video entitled “Let’s Keep Florida Open,” where he touted his work to get Florida’s economy back open after the COVID pandemic. Patronis and his family own the famous Capt. Anderson’s restaurant in Panama City, a point he made in the video while highlighting the work his family did to provide all they could for the families they employed during the pandemic.

Commentary: The Left Will Not Let Go of COVID

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

COVID’s grip on America is relaxing, not so the Left’s. The Left seized COVID as an unprecedented statist opportunity to advance their agenda. Unsurprisingly, they now resist relinquishing it. Since the Left refuse to let go of America, America must let go of the Left.

Last week the CDC relaxed its guidelines for outdoor mask-wearing by those fully vaccinated against COVID. It was more a rearguard action than a vanguard one, but at least it was a start. Several states are well ahead in their return to normalcy.

America’s virus statistics demonstrate the remission of the virus and validate accelerating relaxation of the lockdowns. On a seven-day moving average, active cases, daily new cases, and daily deaths have been plummeting since the beginning of the year.
On the ledger’s other side, vaccinations began in the U.S. in December, averaging over two million a day since February; as a result, around 31 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated at this writing.

Former State Attorney Aramis Ayala Looks to Challenge Senator Marco Rubio

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 Casey Owens

On Monday, May 3rd, former Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced on Twitter that she will be running for the U.S. Senate against current Senator Marco Rubio in 2022.

With the help from George Soros, a billionaire who contributed $1.4 million into political committees supporting her, Ayala was the first African American State Attorney in Florida’s history after a surprising defeat over former State Attorney Jeff Ashton in 2016. Once in office, controversy swarmed as she banned prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty in her district. Although Ayala was seen as a pioneer in anti-death penalty reform to Democrats, Republicans criticized her actions and pushed for the Florida Supreme Court decision in 2017 that established that the death penalty may not be refused in capital murder cases.

Florida Teachers’ Unions Fought Against Raises

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 RealClearWire

The pandemic has made it clear to parents that teachers’ unions don’t represent the interests of students. And while, in theory, the union should serve the interests of teachers, in practice they have another master: the Democratic Party. When these interests don’t align, the result can be fascinating political contortions – as when Florida teachers’ unions fought against pay raises provided by the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
In October 2019, DeSantis declared that 2020 would be the “year of the teacher.” Despite the massive budgetary uncertainty presented by COVID, in March 2020 DeSantis requested $600 million for teacher raises and $300 million for teacher bonuses. The legislature delivered $500 million for raises and $100 million for bonuses, which Jacob Oliva, chancellor of the Division of Public Schools in the Florida Department of Education, described as “the single largest compensation increase ever in Florida and a statement to the nation that Florida is elevating the teaching profession.”
One might expect teachers’ unions to applaud DeSantis and call on other governors to follow his lead. Instead, some local teachers’ unions actually fought against the raises, effectively keeping money out of their own members’ pockets.

Former Democratic Oregon House Speaker Arrested in Sex Trafficking Sting

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Former Democratic Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt is facing charges after being arrested in an April sex trafficking sting, the Portland Tribune reported.
Dave Hunt and seven other men were arrested after clicking on decoy advertisements, which Portland police posted on popular human trafficking websites, the Portland Tribune reported. The men were charged with commercial sexual solicitation after contacting undercover police officers to pay for sexual acts.
Hunt voted in favor of legislation that made commercial sexual solicitation illegal in 2011, according to the Portland Tribune. He sponsored a separate bill that was designed to combat sex trafficking in 2007.

Gov. Abbott: Smugglers Transporting 2,000 People Every Day Through Texas

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 The Center Square

Gov. Greg Abbott gave Americans a view of the Texas border area being breached every day by cartels and human smugglers in an interview on Sunday with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. Flying above the Rio Grande River, he said 2,000 people are entering Texas every day in rafts, boats, and through gaps in the unfinished border wall.
Abbott said known criminals are entering Texas and the U.S. illegally as a result of the Biden administration’s open border policies. In the month of March alone, the Texas Department of Public Safety made 598 criminal arrests and 16,000 referrals to U.S. Border Patrol. Many being arrested are known criminals, sex-offenders and gang members, he said.
Abbott said the Biden administration’s border policies “have created an open season for human traffickers, for drug smugglers, for drug cartels and gangs.

Biden Promotes 'Free' Community College for Americans, 'Dreamers'

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 The Center Square

President Joe Biden touted a key part of his education initiative Monday, pushing for two years of free community college nationwide, but some critics question the long-term efficacy of his plan.
Biden spoke at Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Virginia, to promote his proposal, which would provide, among other things, $109 billion for two years of tuition-free community college.
“Do we want to give the wealthiest people in America another tax cut, or do you want to give every high school graduate the ability to earn a community college degree?” Biden asked during his speech, arguing that 12 years of schooling is not long enough in the modern economy. “That’s why the American Families Plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in America – two years of universal, high-quality pre-school and two years of free community college.”

Biden Regime Poised to Use Private 'Research Firms' to Surveil American Citizens Online

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration is reportedly planning to revive an Obama-era surveillance work-around that will allow the government to spy on American citizens (under the pretense of “tracking extremist chatter” online). Because privacy laws prevent the Department of Homeland Security from infiltrating private chat groups of political adversaries, DHS is considering a plan to use outside entities to legally access private groups on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, according to CNN.
This wouldn’t be the first time a Democrat administration has used outside actors to target political adversaries.
The Obama administration infamously used intelligence gathered by former British spy Christopher Steele—who was working for the opposition research firm Fusion GPS—to obtain surveillance warrants on Donald Trump in 2016.

Chauvin Juror Says He Attended BLM Protest Before Trial Because He'd 'Never Been to DC'

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

A man who served on the jury that voted to convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin defended his participation in a Black Lives Matter protest prior to the trial.
Brandon Mitchell said he attended the Aug. 28 “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks!” protest organized by activist Al Sharpton because he had never been to Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press. Photos recently circulated online show Mitchell wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt at the event.
“I’d never been to D.C.,” Mitchell told the AP. “The opportunity to go to D.C., the opportunity to be around thousands and thousands of Black people; I just thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of something.”

Florida Democrats Criticize DeSantis for Banning Mask Mandates

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Despite the fact that every American over the age of 15 is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Florida’s Democrats are not ready to return to normal.

Instead, they are bashing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who Monday signed an executive order banning local governments from requiring mask mandates.