October 12, 2021 - The Virginia Star

Witness Signature Will Be Required for Virginia Absentee Ballots, but Some Dems Oppose

October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 The Center Square

A witness signature will be required for absentee ballots cast in Virginia in the gubernatorial election next month, but some Democrats are asking Gov. Ralph Northam to waive the requirement.

Until last year, all absentee ballots were required to be signed by a witness who confirmed the authenticity of the voter. The rule was temporarily suspended during the 2020 election as a COVID-19 precaution, but is currently in place for the 2021 elections, in which Virginians will select their next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state house delegates.

Youngkin Campaign Responds to McAuliffe’s Denial of CRT in Virginia Schools

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

The gubernatorial campaign for Republican Glenn Youngkin responded to former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, running for his second nonconsecutive term in that office, who once again denied that Critical Race Theory (CRT) is being taught in schools in Virginia.

“Virginians know that Terry McAuliffe doesn’t have the best interests of parents and students in mind,” Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez told The Virginia Star. “McAuliffe wants to keep parents out of the classroom so his special interest allies can force their radical political agenda into classrooms and tell children what to think instead of teaching them how to think. As governor, Glenn Youngkin will empower parents, ban critical race theory, restore excellence in our public schools, and raise teacher pay.”

Commentary: A.G. Garland’s Use of Police Power Against Parents Could Be His Undoing

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Destruction of the family has always been at the center of the collectivist project. In chapter two of The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels point out that the destruction of private property will never be complete until the “abolition [Aufhebung] of the family” is accomplished. The dream is perennial among snarling misanthropists. A couple of years ago, an interview in The Nation with a radical feminist explained that if you “want to dismantle capitalism” then you have to “abolish the family.”

It is worth keeping that in mind as the little drama of Merrick Garland versus the parents of America unfolds. I wrote about the attorney general’s absurd but troubling memorandum shortly after it was released on October 4. As all the world knows (but only some precincts of the world admit), Garland threatened to mobilize the entire police power of the state against parents. Why?

After Legislative Map Failure, Virginia Redistricting Commission Has Airing of Grievances, Thinks About Congressional Maps

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Eric Burk

The Virginia Redistricting Commission hasn’t made a formal decision, but it seems to be moving on after missing a Sunday deadline to complete General Assembly maps. In a virtual meeting Monday, commissioners couldn’t take any votes, but they heard preliminary presentations from the partisan legal teams about redistricting Virginia’s congressional maps. When Co-Chair Mackenzie Babichenko (R) tried to wrap up the meeting with a summary of action items for a meeting later this week, Delegate Les Adams (R-Chatham) questioned Co-Chair Greta Harris (D) status on the commission, launching what Babichencko called an “airing of grievances” from frustrated commissioners.

On Friday, Harris and two other citizen members broke quorum, ending a fraught meeting. At the time, she said, “At this point I don’t feel as though all members on the commission are sincere in their willingness to compromise and to create fair maps for the Commonwealth of Virginia. And so at that point, if I can’t believe that the people I’m supposed to work with are true and sincere, regrettably, I am done. So thank you very much for the opportunity to serve, but I will remove myself from the commission at this point.”

Trump Wishes Ashli Babbitt a Happy Birthday, Calls for DOJ to Reopen Investigation into Her Death

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Former President Donald Trump appeared in a video message to wish happy birthday to the late Ashli Babbitt, the woman fatally shot by a police officer at the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 breach. Trump additionally took the opportunity to call for the Justice Department to reopen its investigation into her death.

The Capitol Police officer who fired the shot that killed Babbitt was formerly exonerated by the department following an assessment by the Office of Professional Responsibility that concluded his conduct was “lawful and within Department policy.”

Democrats’ Budget Set to Include Global Minimum Tax, Treasury Secretary Says

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that she is confident that the Democrats’ budget will include a global minimum tax for corporations just days after nearly 140 countries endorsed the measure.

“I am confident that what we need to do to come into compliance with the minimum tax will be included in a reconciliation package,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told ABC News on Sunday. “I hope that it will be passed and we will be able to reassure the world that the United States will do its part.”

Though the United States and 135 other countries signed the agreement, each nation must pass its own legislation to enact the minimum tax rates. Democrats are currently crafting the budget, a spending package that would reshape the social safety net, but the process has slowed by disagreements between the party’s moderate and left wings.

Allen West, Former Texas GOP Chair Seeking to Oust Greg Abbott, Hospitalized with COVID-19

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Allen West, the former chair of the Texas Republican Party who is primarying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, is hospitalized with COVID-19 but said Sunday that he was “doing great.”

Allen West told the Associated Press that he had “no complaints” and was “just relaxing” in a hospital in Plano, Texas. West said on Twitter that both he and his wife, Angela, were hospitalized with the virus and that they underwent monoclonal antibody infusion therapy.

Commentary: Beware of Regime-Approved Whistleblowers

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Ritual humiliation of social media companies is becoming something of a tradition. Most typically, social media CEOs are hauled before Congress, harangued for a day, promise to “do better,” and then go back to business as usual.

Last week a new kind of social media witness appeared: a whistleblower. Frances Haugen emerged with a great deal of fanfare, complete with a public relations firm, a verified account on Twitter, and a fawning entourage, including members of the press and Congress. But instead of denouncing social media for its excessive power, wealth, and hostility to traditional American values, Haugen pleaded for regulations that happen to align with the peculiar values and interests of Silicon Valley.

U.S. to Provide Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The U.S. will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan but won’t recognize the Taliban as the country’s leaders, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.

U.S. and Taliban officials met for the first time since American forces left the county in August in Doha, Qatar, according to the Associated Press. U.S. officials said they would provide aid to Afghanistan, which faces an economic disaster, at the meeting’s conclusion.

U.S. officials said the leaders “discussed the United States’ provision of robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people,” the AP reported. The aid was promised after officials agreed it didn’t mean the U.S. would officially recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government.

Republican Leaders Push Back Against Global Business Tax

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 The Center Square

Republican lawmakers are pushing back against the Biden administration’s plan to join a global compact implementing a tax on U.S. corporations regardless of where they operate.

One hundred and thirty six136 countries agreed Friday to implement a global business tax, and G-7 finance leaders agreed to the plan Saturday. President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen praised the plan.

Proposed by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental economic organization, the global tax is necessary to respond to an “increasingly globalized and digital global economy,” OECD said.

Report: Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden Resigns Following Release of Offensive Emails

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Cooper Moran

Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden on Monday resigned following the release of multiple emails where Gruden used highly-offensive language, according to a report from ESPN.

Gruden, who in the fourth season of a 10-year contract worth $100 million, repeatedly made derogatory statements towards black and gay players and women associated with the National Football League (NFL), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times described.

Mexican Authorities Find More Than 600 Migrants Hidden Within Truck Trailers

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Mexican officials discovered more than 600 migrants hidden in trucks near the southern border Thursday, according to reports.

According to the Associated Press, more than half of the 642 migrants discovered were children, while the vast majority were of Guatemalan descent.

Emerson College Suspends Turning Point USA over Anti-CCP Stickers

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Turning Point USA’s chapter at Emerson College has been suspended pending an investigation into alleged violations of the college’s Code of Community Standards.

“Effective immediately your organization cannot hold events on campus, this includes but is not limited to hosting programs, meetings and/or tabling,” an Oct. 1 letter signed by Julie Rothhaar-Sanders, the college’s director of Community Standards said. The letter accused the group of being involved in “Bias Related Behavior” and “Invasion of Privacy.”

Two Corporate Executive Parents Found Guilty in First College Admissions Scandal Trial

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Two corporate executive parents whose children attend prestigious universities were found guilty in federal court Friday for bribing university staff to rig the admissions process, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Gamal Abdelaziz, former chief operations officer of Wynn Resorts Development and John Wilson, a private-equity financier and former chief financial officer of Staples, who were tried together in federal court, each spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to falsify their childrens’ academic and athletic records to gain admission to the University of Southern California (USC), Stanford and Harvard as athletic recruits with the help of scandal ringleader and admissions consultant Rick Singer.

The two men were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery involving a school that receives federal funds, the WSJ reported. The jury also found Wilson guilty of aiding and abetting in fraud and bribery and filing a false tax return.

Commentary: If Polls Are Right, Democrats Are Doomed But If They’re Wrong, It’s Worse

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 RealClearWire

In less than three months, President Biden’s approval rating has tumbled from a remarkable position in a polarized nation to the lowest of all but two presidents since 1945. Democrats are panicked though refusing to course-correct, hoping the pandemic will retreat, the economy will rebound, and their agenda will pass through Congress and turn out to be popular down the line.

The standing of the party with voters, at this time, isn’t in doubt. It’s awful. Biden’s average job approval rating on July 20 was 52.4% in the RealClearPolitics average before tanking precipitously and taking the party’s fortunes with him as the delta variant surged and American troops withdrew from Afghanistan in a deadly and tragic exit. RCP currently has him at 43.3%. His approval in Gallup has dropped 13 points since June, six points in this last month. The latest Quinnipiac University poll had Biden’s approval/disapproval at 38/53, down four points in three weeks. Specific findings on leadership questions were dreadful, with Biden’s numbers falling since April by nine points on the question of whether he cares about average Americans, seven points on whether he is honest, and nine points on whether he has good leadership skills.

The latest Morning Consult/Politico findings from last week showed Biden’s approval underwater across the board, at 45% approval overall, at 40% on the economy, 44% on health care, 40% on national security, 33% on immigration and 36% on foreign policy. The only number not underwater was Biden’s COVID approval of 49%-46%, 30 points lower than it was last spring. Across all polling Biden’s approval on the questions of competence and accomplishment have suffered. And that Morning Consult/Politico survey stated, “The shares of independent and Democratic voters who say Biden has underperformed expectations have doubled over the past three months.”

‘Devastating’: Biden Ignores Lawmakers’ Pleas, Orders Massive Expansion of Utah Monuments

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden will order the Department of the Interior Friday to vastly expand two Utah monuments which the Trump administration reduced in size.

The president will restore protections for both the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments located in Utah, the White House announced. Biden’s order will re-expand the monuments from their reduced size of slightly more than 1 million acres to 3.2 million acres.

Ethics Watchdog Wants Probe of Possible Improper Gift to Senate Panel Chasing Trump-Russia Hoax

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A watchdog group is calling for a Senate ethics investigation into a Democratic staffer for the Armed Services Committee regarding the Russia collusion hoax.

Empower Oversight sent a letter of complaint to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics requesting an investigation into Thomas Kirk McConnell, a staffer on the Armed Services Committee, for asking for and receiving professional services from former FBI analyst Dan Jones and his nonprofit, The Democracy Integrity Project (TDIP), in the Russia collusion investigation, which were performed at no cost to the committee.

TDIP, rather than just providing information to the Armed Services Committee, “appears to have obtained the nonpublic data used for its analysis from the Committee itself,” to use for its final report, the letter reads.

Pennsylvania Schools Would Be Required to Post Curriculum Online Under Proposed Bill

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 The Center Square

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved a measure this week that would require schools to post curriculum online.

Prime sponsor Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Harrisburg, said it’s only an extension of what some districts already do – and gives parents access to what their kids are learning without having to visit a school building in person.

Commentary: The Insufferable Piety of the Progressive Elites

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Freedom in Australia is now at the mercy of a state and its police apparatus bent on controlling people’s every movement.

But despite the extensive footage of protests gone violent, neither American liberal media nor domestic social justice movements are raising alarms about police brutality in that country.

Orchestrated Crisis to Bring Tens of Thousands of People to Southern Border in Coming Weeks

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

LAREDO, TEXAS – U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended another large number of individuals inside a tractor-trailer during a failed human smuggling attempt in north Laredo, for the second time this week. The event occurred on the evening of July 13, when a tractor hauling a white trailer approached the U.S. Highway 83 checkpoint. During an immigration inspection of the driver and passenger, both U.S. citizens, the driver readily admitted that there were people inside the trailer. Upon opening the trailer, agents found 35 individuals who were illegally in the United States from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The inside trailer temperature was recorded at 126.1 degrees Fahrenheit at the time the individuals were discovered. All were evaluated and offered medical attention by a Border Patrol emergency medical technician. All subjects were placed under arrest, to include the U.S. citizen driver and passenger, pending further investigation by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents. Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, smugglers continue to endanger the lives of individuals they exploit and the health and safety of our Nation. U.S. Border Patrol agents strive to prevent the flow of illegal immigration and slow the spread of COVID-19. Photo provided by: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Tens of thousands of migrants from other countries are making their way north to the southern border, an open border activist and government officials warn.

Irineo Mujica, Director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, an NGO that provides “shelter and safety to migrants and refugees in transit” and accompanies them “in their journey,” says a new Haitian caravan is making its way to the U.S. border from Tapachula, Mexico.

He also says 800 Haitians and Central Americans are crossing the Guatemalan border every day making their way north.

Lawmakers Seek Federal Grand Jury Investigation for COVID-19 Statistical Manipulation

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The CDC adopted a “double-standard exclusively for COVID-19 data collection” that inflated cases and deaths starting early in the pandemic, violating multiple federal laws and distorting mitigation policies, Oregon lawmakers told the feds’ top lawyer in the state.

Advised by “a large team of world-renowned doctors, epidemiologists, virologists, and attorneys,” state Senators Kim Thatcher and Dennis Linthicum petitioned U.S. Attorney Scott Asphaug to approve a grand jury investigation into how the pandemic is being measured.

Gubernatorial Candidates Use Ads and Political Appearances to Boost Enthusiasm

October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 Eric Burk

Gubernatorial candidates Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe have launched competing ads. A McAuliffe ad links Youngkin’s calls for election integrity to Trump’s claims about the 2020 election, while the Youngkin ad fact-checks McAuliffe’s recitation of recent COVID-19 case numbers.

“On at least three separate days – September 28, September 29, and October 7 – McAuliffe claimed there had recently been 8,000 cases in Virginia, a gross inflation that amounts to nearly three to four times the actual number of cases,” a Youngkin press release explains.