Day: September 7, 2020

Exclusive: Creator of Capitol Hill Musical ‘K Street’ Hosts First Zoom Table Read Wednesday

Neil W. McCabe

The creator and producer of “K Street, NW: A Capitol Hill Musical” told the Star News Network what motivated him to capture search for love while balancing principle and compromise in Washington and set it to music.

“It is about a young woman from Iowa, who comes to Washington, D.C, to be a Hill intern and as she learns about Capitol Hill, she rises up the ranks to become a chief of staff for a senator with promising political prospects,” said Karl Amadeus Notturno, who is a Publicus Fellow at the Claremont Institute.

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After Loudoun Turns Two Libraries into Daycares, Library Board Chair Denis Cotter Resigns

Eric Burk

Four days after announcements that two of Loudoun’s libraries would be converted to child care centers, Denis Cotter, chair of the library’s Board of Trustees (BOT), announced his resignation from the board. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (BOS) only notified Cotter and other library leadership after the decision to convert the libraries had been made.

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Commentary: We Know Why Donald Trump Wins Re-Election

Virginia Star Staff

Donald Trump wins reelection because his supporters enjoy but one means of political expression: the ballot box. Donald Trump loses reelection because his supporters enjoy but one means of political expression: the ballot box.
We do not know who claims victory for another two months but we already know why it happened.

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From Nixon to Trump: EPA Chief Touts Environmental Gains, Hits ‘Single Issue Advocacy’

Virginia Star Staff

Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the government has reduced air pollution by 7%, declared Superfund sites safe again at a record pace, and directed tens of billions of dollars to ensuring clean water, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Thursday in a speech marking the agency’s 50th anniversary.

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Coalition Argues Taxpayer Dollars Should Fund Students, Not Institutions

Virginia Star Staff

More than 60 organizations in the U.S. have created a movement – “Yes. Every kid” – promoting policies and funding at a national and local level that focus on the needs of families and students over institutions.

At a time when tens of millions of students face nearly six months without consistent schooling, and while many schools are not reopening, the coalition argues that tax and other dollars should be sent directly to families to determine which educational opportunities are best for them.

“Families have already paid for the ability to access public education” through tax dollars, the coalition says. “Any additional funds should be provided directly to families via grants, stipends, rebates, or other mechanisms designed to help cover the schooling, courses, devices, connectivity, tutoring, socialization, extracurricular activities, and other forms of learning that have been left to parents to pay for.”

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Harris’ Mostly Virtual Campaign to get Wisconsin Road Test

The Associated Press

Kamala Harris told a friendly crowd of Hollywood donors on Thursday they’d be surprised by how many states she’s visiting daily, if only virtually.

Earlier in the week, she’d campaigned before supporters in Minnesota, California and Connecticut, and she was greeting Missouri donors next.

Harris hasn’t been on a plane in more than a month. Three weeks after joining Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the California senator is still campaigning largely in front of a computer screen to relatively small audiences.

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Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Trump, Including Lodge in Biden’s Home State

Virginia Star Staff

The Fraternal Order of Police, one of the nation’s largest law enforcement organizations, on Friday unanimously gave its national endorsement to President Trump’s re-election, while its local lodge in Delaware turned its back on home state son Joe Biden to also support the GOP nominee.

“Look at what the national discourse has focused on for the last six months. President Trump has shown time after time that he supports our law enforcement officers and understands the issues our members face every day,” FOP National President Patrick Yoes said in announcing the endorsement. “The FOP is proud to endorse a candidate who calls for law and order across our nation. He has the full and enthusiastic support of the FOP.”

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Bishop Aubrey Shines Tells Sebastian Gorka Why Conservative Clergy of Color Demands Meeting with CEO of Nike

Julie Carr

During Saturday’s podcast of America First with Sebastian Gorka, host Gorka welcomed Conservative Clergy of Color member Bishop Aubrey Shines to the show to discuss his recent announcement that takes the CEO of Nike to task for contributing to a communist country and using slave labor for production while using his athlete foot soldiers to promote divisiveness in America.

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Peter Strzok Defends FBI Against FISA Abuse Allegations, Says Agents Were ‘Overworked’

Virginia Star Staff

Former FBI official Peter Strzok defended the bureau’s surveillance of former Trump aide Carter Page in an interview aired Sunday, attributing failures found in a government watchdog report to agents being “overworked.”

“I don’t think at all that it’s anything improper. You get people who are overworked, who make mistakes — and don’t get me wrong, inexcusable mistakes,” Strzok said in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning.”

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Michigan’s Top Elections Official Says That Results Won’t Be Available November 3

Virginia Star Staff

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Sunday that it could take up to a week to count all of Michigan’s absentee ballots for November’s election.

“We should be prepared for this to be closer to an election week, as opposed to an Election Day,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The bottom line is we are not going to have the full results and a counting of all of our ballots on election night.”

Benson said that Michigan’s election officials were “laser-focused” on ensuring that all ballots are counted accurately, and referenced how her office had purchased more voting tabulators in order to ensure that the influx of absentee ballots could be counted as efficiently as possible.

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Ohio School Bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag

Virginia Star Staff

An Ohio county commissioner asked a superintendent on Tuesday to step down for banning thin blue line flags from “pre-game activities,” according to letters obtained by a local NBC affiliate.
Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri criticized Superintendent Michael Hanlon Jr.’s announcement that thin blue line flags would be prohibited from school activities after members of the Chardon football team carried one onto the field before a Friday game, 3WKYC Studios reported.

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U.S. Sens. Alexander, Scott Key in Growing Push to Include School Choice in Federal Relief Bill

Virginia Star Staff

As Congress remains at an impasse regarding the next round of COVID-19 relief, a measure that would create a permanent tax credit scholarship for students to attend schools of their choice could be included in the relief package.

The School Choice Now Act, presented by U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) has the support of President Donald Trump’s administration, and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has advocated strongly for the measure to be included in the next round of COVID-19 relief funding.

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Trump Says He Will Stop Funding Schools That Teach New York Times’ 1619 Project

Virginia Star Staff

President Donald Trump said in a tweet Sunday that the Department of Education would stop funding California public schools if they teach the New York Times’ 1619 Project.

“Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded!” Trump said in a tweet as a response to a post that claimed “california has implemented the 1619 project into the public schools. soon you wont recognize america[sic].”

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White Professor at George Washington University Admits to Pretending to Be Black

Virginia Star Staff

A professor at George Washington University is facing widespread backlash after admitting that, after years of pretending to be black, she is actually White, according to CNN.

The professor is Jessica Krug, who teaches African and Latin-American Studies, and has written numerous papers on Africa and Latin America, repeatedly citing her own alleged heritage from both continents. However, Krug confessed to the racial lie in a blog post on the website Medium titled “The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies.”

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Commentary: When Wish Replaces Thought

Virginia Star Staff

Don’t you just love Paul Krugman? One of loudest of the many anti-Trump hysterics employed by the New York Times, the former economist has been a reliable source of comedy at least since election night 2016. Once the worst was certain and the world learned that Donald Trump had indeed been elected president of the United States, Krugman pondered the markets, which had plunged overnight. “When might we expect them to recover?” he asked. “A first-pass answer is never . . . So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.”

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UVA Announces No Fans at Fall Sporting Events, Only Coaches and Families of Athletes

Jacob Taylor

The University of Virginia (UVA) athletics department announced Friday that no fans will be allowed at fall sporting events until further notice, including football.

The current state guidelines for sports venues under the Forward Virginia plan put in place by the Commonwealth allow for less than 50 percent occupancy of the facility or 1,000 people.

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