Day: February 14, 2023

Government School Districts Plan K-12 Closures as Student Enrollment Plunges

Susan Berry, PhD

Some of the largest public school districts in the nation are planning to close K-12 schools as they face plummeting student enrollment rates. “Nationwide, public school enrollment fell by more than 1.4 million students to 49.4 million between fall 2019 and fall 2020—a decline of roughly 3%, according to data from the U.S. Education Department,” reported the Wall Street Journal in January. “The following school year, enrollment failed to return to prepandemic levels and remained roughly flat.”

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California Democrat Sen. Feinstein Announces Won’t Seek Re-Election

Just the News

California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday she’s retiring at the end of her term and won’t seek 2024 reelection. 

“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein, 89, tweeted.

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Lois Lerner 2.0: IRS Chilling Dissent with Interrogation of Nonprofit, Election Integrity Activist Says

Just the News

Much as the Obama IRS targeted conservative groups for audits, the tax collection agency has subjected an elections nonprofit to a battery of prying questions about its policy positions, language choices and methodology for arriving at correct opinions and conclusions prior to peremptorily rejecting its application for tax-exempt status without appeal.

Starting in 2010, the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit directed by Lois Lerner targeted the Tea Party and other conservative groups for intrusive scrutiny, effectively freezing them with lengthy audits. After the politically motivated harassment was exposed in 2013, the Obama administration claimed to find the IRS actions “inexcusable.” But after Lerner invoked her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Congress and the House cited her for contempt, the Obama Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges.

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The Progressive Movement to Ban New Homes from Having Any Natural Gas Gains Steam

Admin

by John Hugh DeMastri   A growing number of states and cities are considering or implementing bans for the future construction of not just gas stoves, but natural gas hookups themselves, a move that would raise costs for consumers and potentially have negative environmental consequences, natural gas advocates told the…

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Southern Florida Continues to See Record Apprehensions, Gotaways of Illegal Immigrants

Admin

In January, Border Patrol agents apprehended 1,402 foreign nationals illegally entering Florida, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. 

They also reported 58 gotaways, those who were known and reported to have illegally entered and got evaded capture by law enforcement. Combined, these totaled 1,460.

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Commentary: ‘Conservatives Need Not Apply’ Under Biden Administration’s Proposed Hiring Rules

Admin

In a move that has gotten little notice in the press, the Biden administration is proposing federal hiring rules that easily could be abused to deny employment to anyone who questions liberal, woke policies, criticizes the government, or belongs to a politically incorrect organization.

The vague, nebulous language of the proposed changes in existing government hiring regulations could be exploited and allow biased government managers to put up a virtual “Conservatives Need Not Apply” sign when it comes to the federal civil service, leaving rejected applicants with little recourse.

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Emails Reveal National Archives Staff Worked to Quietly Collect Biden Records, After Escalating with Trump

Just the News

The National Archives (NARA) coordinated with President Biden’s attorneys for the discreet collection of classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., displaying a collaborative spirit in marked contrast to its adversarial stance toward Donald Trump and his legal team in the former president’s federal records case, newly disclosed emails reveal.

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Commentary: The Chivalrous Advocates for Human Rights Behind Today’s Valentine’s Day

Admin

Valentine’s Day annoys many people.

For many in a relationship, the pressure to impress a partner can weigh heavily, and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of the relentless commercialization of the holiday. Meanwhile those still looking for love approach the day with trepidation – another reminder of their single status and the pressure to find a partner.

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California School District Refuses to Let Parents Opt Kids Out of ‘Anti-Racist’ Classes

Admin

In California, a public school district is ordering its teachers to tell the parents of students that their children cannot opt out of diversity classes featuring “anti-racist” lessons, and gender and sexual identity.

According to the Daily Caller, the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) gave the order in a staff-wide email dictating the terms of the district’s “Non- Discrimination & Harassment and Equity & Anti–Racism” policy. The order declares that any effort to let children opt out of such classes would be enabling “active discrimination.” While the email does say parents are allowed to opt their children out of classes on “comprehensive sexuality education,” they are still required to take classes with “anti-bias lessons about people who are LGBTQ.”

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