November 21, 2020 - The Virginia Star

Arlington Prosecutor Deghani-Tafti Battles to Not Prosecute Marijuana Possession Violations

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Eric Burk

Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Deghani-Tafti is in an unusual battle for a prosecutor — she’s fighting for a lower penalty to be imposed on a defendant alleged to have been transporting 50 pounds of marijuana at the Reagan National Airport. According to reporting by the Washington Post, Judge Daniel Fiore II refused to accept a plea deal arranged by Deghani-Tafti, a move that also forced Fiore to recuse himself from further involvement in the case. Now, Deghani-Tafti is arguing to have the original deal applied — one that would give the defendant probation with a possibility of having his felony charges purged.

Commentary: Flawed Globalist Ideology Underlies Opposition to Trump

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

There is a reason that nearly every powerful special interest in the United States is doing everything in its power to defeat Donald Trump, and it has nothing to do with the media’s fraudulent portrayal of him as a racist. Nor does it have anything to do with his allegedly abrasive personality.

Dominion Voting Systems ‘Lawyers Up,’ Abruptly Backs Out of Pennsylvania State House Fact-Finding Hearing

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Dominion Voting Systems Thursday night abruptly backed out of attending a fact-finding hearing that was set for Friday morning with the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee.

At a press conference Friday morning, State Govt Committee Chair Seth Grove said the 1.3. million Pennsylvanians who used Dominion’s voting machines have been “hung out to dry and slapped in their faces.”

Plans to Disarm Portland State Campus Police on Hold After Too Many Quit

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Portland State University announced in August its plan to disarm campus police officers by replacing their firearms with tasers, but those plans have been put on a temporary hold.

The plan to disarm officers was announced earlier in 2020 after rallies and protesters at PSU called for justice for Jason Washington, who was killed by officers in 2018. Campus Reform reported on the efforts of PSU students and staff to disarm officers in 2019.

Federal Judge Blocks New Criminal Disqualifiers to Asylum

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 The Associated Press

A federal judge on Thursday blocked a Trump administration rule about to take effect that would have put up new roadblocks for asylum-seekers convicted of a variety of crimes.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco said the rule “sweeps too broadly” and was unnecessary because current federal law already includes a host of disqualifying crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting.

Biden Adds Obama Administration Veterans to Top Staff

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 The Associated Press

President-elect Joe Biden is adding four Obama-Biden administration veterans to his top ranks as he continues to build out his White House team.

Cathy Russell, who was Jill Biden’s chief of staff during the Obama administration, will serve as director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, evaluating applicants for administration roles. Louisa Terrell, who served as a legislative adviser to the president in the Obama administration and worked as deputy chief of staff for Biden in the Senate, will be director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Terrell has already been engaged in Capitol Hill outreach as part of Biden’s transition team.

Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

November 21, 2020December 26, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

Commentary: Citizenship and the Nation-State

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

A prominent immigration scholar, David Jacobson, writes that “[t]ransnational migration is steadily eroding the traditional basis of nation-state membership, namely citizenship. As rights have come to be predicated on residency, not citizen status, the distinction between ‘citizen’ and ‘alien’ has eroded. The devaluation of citizenship has contributed to the increasing importance of international human rights codes, with its premise of universal ‘personhood’.”

Commentary: The Dirty Game of Influence Peddling

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Back in the early months of 2016, I was invited to an Ivy League school by one of the world’s most honored scholars of Dante, to give a lecture commemorating the 750th anniversary of the poet’s birth. The lecture was that year’s entry in a series financed by one of the professor’s friends, a former student and a high-stakes industrialist. He was also the big financier of Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign, and one of his closest advisers.

University of Arizona Linguist Declares ‘Words Matter,’ Then Attacks ‘White Evangelicals’

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

University of Arizona linguist Sonja Lanehart gave an interview with a local media outlet in which she stressed that “words matter.”

The next day, she took to Twitter to link white evangelicals to white supremacy.

In Sworn Statement, Prominent Mathematician Flags up to 100,000 Pennsylvania Ballots

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

In a sworn declaration, a respected mathematician says his analysis of election data and phone interviews with Pennsylvania voters raises questions about as many as 100,000 absentee ballots requested in the key battleground state where President Trump and Joe Biden are separated by just about 82,000 votes.

Court Declines to Block Construction of Mountain Valley Pipeline

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Eric Burk

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay a Biological Opinion, a type of permit, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), according to Reuters. The Wednesday decision allows construction of the 303 mile natural gas pipeline to go forward while the courts consider the merits of other legal challenges to the pipeline.

RPS Has Worst Graduation and Dropout Rates in the Commonwealth

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Jacob Taylor

Richmond Public Schools (RPS) has both the lowest graduation rate and the highest dropout rate among school districts in the state of Virginia, Superintendent Jason Kamras said.

In the daily RPS direct newsletter for Wednesday, Kamras gave an update on the graduation and dropout rates from the 2019-20 academic year for the school districts high schools. Included within Kamras’ online newsletter was data from a presentation given to the school board on Monday by RPS chief academic officer Tracy Epp.

Extended Unemployment Benefits Federal Program Ending in Virginia

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 Jacob Taylor

Approximately 20,000 Virginians who have been relying on extended unemployment benefits over the last several months amidst the coronavirus pandemic will no longer receive those payments come Saturday.

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced Wednesday that it has been notified by the U.S. Department of Labor that the Extended Benefits Program in Virginia will end on November 21.

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