Scholar Gives ‘A’ Grade to Proposed Florida K-12 Civics and Government Standards

A new report released Wednesday that provides reviews and grades of the nation’s leading civics programs has rated the proposed Florida K-12 Civics and Government Standards with a grade of “A.”

Dr. David Randall, author of “Learning for Self-Government: A K-12 Civics Report Card,” published at the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, told The Florida Capital Star during a phone interview the “social studies standards in the states really matter.”

Read More

Commentary: American Business Dealings in China Show Stakeholder Capitalist Commitments Are Hollow

This is a bad year to have paid the International Olympic Committee $100 million for the right to put its iconic rings on your soda cans or shampoo bottles. But this is what the rarefied air of being a top Olympic sponsor buys you in 2022: The Winter Games are being played in an authoritarian state with an atrocious human rights record, and none of its underwriters are eager to play up their association in the important American market.

Read More

Florida Sen. Rick Scott Joins Colleagues in Calling for Accountability for Spying on Trump

A Florida U.S. senator Wednesday called for accountability after bombshell reports from Special Counsel John Durham that the intelligence community and Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, spied on former President Donald Trump’s campaign, and continued spying on him once he entered the White House.  

“For years the media parroted the Democrat narrative about Russian collusion,” Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) said. “And now as we’re learning, week after week, that was a complete lie. “The latest with the Durham report is that the Clinton campaign, the same group that fearmongered this Russian collusion, actually spied on the President of the United States.”

Read More

Senators Reveal Bipartisan Bill Targeting Big Tech Companies for Harms to Children

Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal unveiled a bipartisan bill Wednesday aimed at curbing online harms to children.

The Kids Online Safety Act is the result of several hearings and a months-long investigation led by Blackburn and Blumenthal into how use of social media platforms affects teens and young children. If enacted, the bill would require social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable “addictive” product features and allow them to opt out of recommendation algorithms.

Read More

Anti-Gun Black Lives Matter Activist Charged With Attempted Murder in Shooting of Louisville Mayoral Candidate

A gun control activist and Black Lives Matter radical was arrested on Monday in the targeted shooting of Louisville, Kentucky mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg.

Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment, after firing his gun inside Greenberg’s campaign office.

Read More

Consumer Spending Surged in January as Inflation Reached Near 40-Year High

Consumer spending surged in January amid soaring inflation, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

Retail sales grew 3.8% in January, far exceeding the 2.1% Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. January’s figure represents the largest monthly increase since March 2021 and a significant snapback from December 2021 when sales decreased by 2.5%.

Read More

FDA Executive Says on Hidden Camera That Yearly COVID Shots Will Be Mandatory for All Americans – Including Toddlers

The Biden administration plans to make yearly COVID shots mandatory for all Americans, including young children, a Food and Drug Administration executive told a Project Veritas undercover journalist on hidden camera.

In the sting video released on Tuesday, Christopher Cole, Executive Officer of Countermeasures Initiative for the FDA, said: “Biden wants to inoculate as many people as possible.” According to Project Veritas president James O’Keefe, Cole has “over 20 years experience” at the FDA, and “claims to be directly involved in the approval process.”

Read More

San Francisco Parents Lead Recall of Three School Board Members

Parents and residents of San Francisco overwhelmingly voted to recall three school board members in the city’s first recall election since 1983.

Alison Collins, Faauuga Moliga and Gabriella Lopez all lost their positions on the governing body, as the “Yes” option to the recall question gained more than 70 percent in all three cases. 

Read More

Commentary: Putin Won’t Wage a Big War in Ukraine

Russia’s months of military movements and Biden’s “strategic communications campaign” are psychological operations intended to intimidate Ukraine, Europe, and the rest of the world. 

There won’t be a big war any time soon. The Kremlin’s low-cost, high-impact campaign might succeed if some Western leaders, especially in the United States, can help Putin. 

Read More

‘A K-12 Civics Report Card’ Ranks America’s Leading Civics Education Programs

In a new report released Wednesday at the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, one of America’s top education scholars provides reviews and grades for the nation’s leading civics programs.

At a time when the purpose of civics education grows increasingly polarized, and many organizations present rival resources, Dr. David Randall, author of “Learning for Self-Government: A K-12 Civics Report Card,” evaluated 15 leading civics programs and graded them on their effectiveness.

Read More

Twitter Reverses Ban on Account That Highlighted Left-Wing Hypocrisy

Twitter Tuesday evening banned a well-known Twitter account called @DefiantLs, which posted screenshots pointing out left-wing hypocrisy. 

The owner of the account, who has always been anonymous and remains so, said the account was banned for an alleged “ban evasion,” despite the fact that the account owner says he or she has “never had an account suspended so I’ve never had a ban to evade.”

Read More

Emails Show School District Officials – Funded by Taxpayers – Teamed with Equality Florida to Advocate for LGBTQ Issues

Emails from a Florida Capital Star information request show that Florida school officials in districts across the state have been recruited by Equality Florida to promote LGBTQ issues.

Equality Florida is a left-wing political group that advocates for civil rights and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBQT+) residents in Florida. The group has come out against the current Parental Rights in Education bill now being considered in the Florida Legislature.

The emails, covering 2016 to 2020, show how De Palazzo, the Safe & Healthy Schools director for Equality Florida, engaged one school district official form Leon County to help with Equality Florida’s mission.

In 2016, Palazzo reached out to Dr. Kathleen Rodgers and wrote “I am working and meeting in about 20 school districts and would be happy to assist your district as well in the form of direct service, meeting with teams, etc. A friendly reminder that there is no fee for service because I know that budgets are tight and for this important subject, fees could be a deterrent.”

Later emails indicate Rodgers became part of what Palazzo often referred to as a “team”

Read More