October 31, 2021 - The Virginia Star

Trump, Wife Delight Braves Fans, Upset Liberal Writers by Doing Tomahawk Chop at World Series

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Donald Trump and crowd at the MLB Braves World Series game, doing the tomahawk chop

Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump joined Atlanta Braves fans Saturday night in doing the team’s signature Tomahawk Chop during a raucous Game 4 of the World Series.

The Trumps attended the game in a suite at Atlanta’s Truist Stadium, where the hometown team was playing the Houston Astros. The Braves won 3-2 to take a 3-1 advantage in the series.

The former first family joined in when fans started the Chop. Their participation lit up liberals and some sports writers on Twitter.

Trump: If My Base Turns out to Vote for Youngkin, He Will Win Virginia Gubernatorial Race

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Former President Trump said in an interview on Saturday that Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin will win if his base turns out to vote.

“I think he’s gonna do very well,” Trump said of Youngkin on Fox News’ “Justice with Judge Jeanine”.

Trump compared former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s comment in a debate with Youngkin, saying parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach their children, to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment of Trump supporters during the 2016 presidential race.

John Fredericks NFL Picks Week 8: Browns, Chiefs Desperate for Wins as Playoff Hopes Dim

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 John Fredericks

I have been on fire the last three weeks. I went 7-4-1 last week, bringing my season record ATS to 50-25-1. That’s 25 games over .500 through seven weeks. I’d put that up against anybody in Vegas. But you are only as good as your last selection. In the famous words of Big Tuna, Bill Parcells: “You are as good as your record says you are.”

This week features a few must win games: Kansas City has to get it done against a resurgent New York Giants, or they risk missing the playoffs. The ‘Niners debacle last Sunday night at home puts them at risk this week against the Bears to start making January vacation plans. And is Joey Burrow the new sheriff in town? If they lose to the lowly Jets, it’s just the same old Bungles.

Virginia Education Department Promotes Pro-Critical Race Theory Book, Despite McAuliffe’s Claims the Curricula Isn’t Taught in the State

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Admin

The Virginia Education Department promotes pro-Critical Race Theory books despite claims from state officials, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, that the curricula is not taught in its public schools.

The state’s Department of Education (DOE) promotes pro-Critical Race Theory (CRT) content on its “What We Are Reading” tab on its website, which compiles a list of resources from the Office of Equity and Community Engagement to recommend reading and develop its own work, Fox News first reported.

The list includes titles such as “Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education” that “acts to further spur developments in education policy, critical pedagogy, and social justice, making it a crucial resource for students and educators alike,” according to its description.

Newt Gingrich Commentary: Youngkin vs. McAuliffe and Their Two Opposing Strategies

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Virginia was supposed to be a solid blue state. Joe Biden carried it by 10 points. Since 2013, Democrats have won 13 straight statewide elections. Terry McAuliffe is a former governor who started this race with a massive name recognition advantage and presumably a substantial advantage in knowledge about state government.

Yet, today the race is too close to call. If McAuliffe does win, he will barely squeak through in a state the Democrat should be carrying handily.

And, of course, there is a distinctly real possibility (I would say a probability) that Glenn Youngkin will become the next governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Moms for Liberty Is Shaking Up 2022 Elections

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Moms for Liberty, a parental rights advocacy group focused on education, is grabbing national headlines as it rapidly expands throughout the U.S.

The Washington Post dedicated 2,000 words to the group in a piece which likened them to the Tea Party and the “moral majority” movement of the 1980s.

Commentary: Halloween’s Roots in the Christian Tradition

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Person decorating with candles and pumpkins

Conventional wisdom holds that Halloween is essentially a secular and pagan holiday, the result of the Christian Church appropriating an ancient Celtic harvest festival. But one strain of critical opinion tends to the view that the holiday was thoroughly Christian from the start.

In the church calendar, Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) is the beginning of a triduum of holidays commemorating the dead, continuing with All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. It was common practice among the early Christians to commemorate the deaths of various martyrs at the places of their demise. In the 9th century Pope Gregory IV decided that the time had come for a single universal feast to commemorate all the saints, as well as a day to pray for one’s deceased loved ones. The pope chose a time of year—the end of harvest and the beginning of winter—when many people’s thoughts naturally turned to the idea of death.

The macabre aspects which have grown up around Halloween in modern times—the emphasis on witches, ghosts and other ghoulish figures, the glorification of gore and violence—have led many people to doubt its Christian character and many Christians to shun it. Yet according to some historians, these demonic elements of the holiday originated from a distinctively medieval Christian idea of exorcising evil by ridiculing it. Christian theology holds that Jesus conquered sin and death; and death loses its sting precisely when one is able to laugh at it.

Report: Facebook Lobbyists Are Being Ignored and Banned from Lawmakers’ Offices

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Facebook lobbyists are struggling to meet with lawmakers, Politico reported, as the tech giant faces congressional scrutiny and negative press surrounding its business practices.

Several lawmakers’ offices are ignoring Facebook’s policy team and even refusing to meet with lobbyists, Politico reported. Several congressional aides told the outlet that recent news reports on Facebook’s business practices, including its knowledge of how its platform affects teen users and its amplification of “misinformation,” have contributed to lawmakers’ hostile attitudes.

“Mark Zuckerberg has done more to polarize the country probably than anyone else and yet despite that, the antipathy towards him is one of the most bipartisan things that remains in the country,” a Democratic House staffer told Politico.

New Hampshire School Boards Are Dumping the National School Boards Association After It Called Parents ‘Domestic Terrorists’

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The New Hampshire School Boards Association chapter is the latest state-level organization to withdraw its membership from the National School Boards Association.

The New Hampshire School Boards Association (NHSBA) sent out a letter to its members on Thursday that informed them of its plans “to withdraw its membership from the National School Boards Association, effective immediately.” The group cited the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) actions that “have made our continued membership untenable.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James Launches Bid for Governor

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday officially launched a bid for governor against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

James’ announcement comes just two months after the resignation of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo due to multiple claims of sexual harassment. As attorney general, James oversaw the five-month investigation into the claims, which the inquiry found to be credible.

Biden Admin Rescinds ‘Remain in Mexico’ Again Despite Court Ruling

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration said Friday that it intends to repeal former President Donald Trump’s “Remain In Mexico” policy after a federal judge denied its first attempt, the Department of Homeland Security announced in a statement.

President Joe Biden had originally suspended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, mandating non-Mexican migrants wait in Mexico until their immigration court date in the U.S., in June. However, a Texas federal judge ruled in August he was violating federal law in the way he went about ending it.

Commentary: Biden’s Banking Nominee Would Pursue Soviet Economics

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 RealClearWire

Magicians try to distract the audience from looking at one hand by dangling something shiny in the other. So do politicians.

The left’s latest magician: Saule Omarova, President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. OCC is an important agency — it has power to regulate all national banks and federal savings associations. OCC’s wrong moves negatively affect millions of Americans, making banking and other services more expensive and inaccessible, particularly for vulnerable, unbanked Americans.

Rather than answer serious congressional inquiries about whether she is the right fit for OCC, Omarova has attacked duly-elected members of Congress whose voters empower them to serve their interests. By refusing to answer basic questions about her work and worldview, Omarova has obstructed the constitutionally prescribed legislative process.

Donated Frequent Flyer Miles Provide 40,000 Flights for Afghan Refugees

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Frequent flyer miles donated over a two-month period will provide around 40,000 flights for Afghan refugees, the Associated Press reported.

The Biden administration is considering doubling the number of miles available to refugees, and around 3,200 flights already covered by the donated miles have allowed Afghan refugees to resettle in communities around the U.S. from temporary housing at military bases, according to the AP. Miles4Migrants organized the donations, and the group has provided aid to refugees using donated airline miles and credit card points since 2016.

“Government resources are limited, and we knew that the American people wanted to support Afghans who were arriving and help them find safe homes,” Miles4Migrants Co-Founder Andy Freedman said, the AP reported. “That’s when we turned to the airlines.”

Analysis: More Than a Third of Unvaccinated Workers Will Quit Their Jobs If Forced to Take Weekly COVID Test

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

More than a third of U.S. workers who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19 say they will quit their jobs if their employer requires them to take a weekly test or get the shots as a condition of employment, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports.

The data come from the foundation’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, an ongoing research project that tracks the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations. It combines surveys and qualitative research, as well as public opinion on vaccine confidence and acceptance, information needs, messages and other criteria.

Satanists Convince School to Overturn Ban on Satanic Clothing for Students

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A Pennsylvania Satanic organization was able to convince a school district to alter its dress code to remove a ban on clothes that were “satanic in nature,” local news station WPVI-TV reported.

Joseph Rose, the founder of Satanic Delco, told WPVI-TV that the children of Satanists enrolled within the Rose Tree Media School District, which is near Philadelphia, made him aware of the dress code.

Commentary: The Freak-Out over Tucker’s January 6 Documentary Begins

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night played a brief trailer for his three-part documentary looking at the events of January 6. “Patriot Purge” will premiere on Fox Nation, the network’s streaming service, on November 1.

Clips hint that the film compares the prosecution of Capitol protesters and anyone associated with the events of January 6 to the initial war on terror, a wholly legitimate comparison that my reporting confirms. For example, as I explained in April, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines issued a report earlier this year warning “domestic violent extremists” pose a heightened threat to the nation. Not one for subtlety, Haines included a sketch of the U.S. Capitol in the document; House Republicans at the time blasted Haines for working outside her legal authority—the intelligence community is supposed to hunt foreign terrorists, not MAGA-supporting meemaws—to target American citizens.

Unfortunately, most Americans are unaware that the Biden regime, with a big assist from the news media, is indeed conducting a domestic war on terror aimed at the political Right.

White Executive Wins $10 Million in Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A former executive in North Carolina has won $10 million in a lawsuit after he was fired for being White, the New York Post reports.

David Duvall previously served as a senior vice president of marketing and communication at the health care system Novant Health. But in July of 2018, Duvall said that he was fired with no prior warning or justification, around the same time that the company decided that it needed more “diversity” in its executive ranks.

“We are pleased that the jury agreed that Duvall’s race and gender were unlawful factors in his termination — that he was fired to make room for more diverse leaders at Novant,” his attorney, S. Luke Largess, said in a statement after the verdict on Tuesday. “Duvall was a strong advocate of diversity at Novant. We believe the punitive damages award is a message that an employer cannot terminate and replace employees in order to achieve greater diversity in the workforce.”

Commentary: Keep Slandering Red States, Corporate Media and We’ll Keep Winning

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

One of the delights of living in Montana under complete Republican governance is that even though your state can be mercilessly trashed by the arrogant blue state corporate media, they can’t do much to stop you or your neighbors from living your best lives.

I kept that in mind this week with the simultaneous appearance of not one, but two extended hit pieces on the poor, benighted, ignorant, awful, rednecks in Montana: one in Jeff Bezos’ propaganda fishwrap, the Washington Post, and the other in the failing New York Times.

I had low expectations before reading each, and in that sense the articles did not disappoint; but they are worthy of forensic examination, because both, in different ways, provide sterling examples of the arrogant ignorance that epitomizes our failing elite class, and the hysterical desperation they feel as both power and the narrative slip from their grasp.

Virginia Confederate Monuments on the Ballot in Mathews, Nottoway, and Middlesex Counties

October 31, 2021November 6, 2021 Eric Burk

Local voters in three counties are voting in advisory referenda on what to do with confederate monuments in Matthews County, Nottoway County, and Middlesex County. The referenda are non-binding, but are used as a tool to understand public opinion before local officials make a final decision.

In 2020, the General Assembly changed its laws about monuments, finally allowing localities to decide if they want to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover publicly-owned monuments, as long as they provided two periods of 30-days notice and a public hearing. The law also allows the localities to hold optional referenda.