February 15, 2022 - The Virginia Star

Sandy Hook Families Reach Settlement with Gun Maker Remington: Reports

February 15, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Nine families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting have reached a settlement in their case against the firearms maker Remington, according to several news reports Tuesday.

The settlement comes roughly seven years after the suit was filed, according to a court document filed Tuesday and reviewed by CNN.

Remington was the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre in which the lone shooter killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut.

States Want a $20 Billion Federal Top-Off to ‘Zuck Bucks’ for Future Elections But They’re Already Sitting on a Pile

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022 RealClearWire

Graffiti of Mark Zuckerberg "You've been zucked"

Drawing on research from a multimillion-dollar Mark Zuckerberg-linked initiative viewed as pivotal in the 2020 presidential election, 14 states carried by Joe Biden have appealed to him for billions of dollars more to secure elections for the next decade. But most of them have spent less than half their shares of previous federal funding to counter alleged Russian election meddling and other “threats” to election security.

The states’ letter to the president cites a report by the Election Infrastructure Initiative, a progressive nonprofit that estimates $53 billion in taxpayer money will be needed to ensure election security over the next decade.

The Election Infrastructure Initiative is an arm of the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which in 2020 distributed nearly $400 million in private grants – $350 million from Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan – to local election offices in 48 states and the District of Columbia for the pandemic-challenged presidential election.

Former VA-2 U.S. Representative Scott Taylor Considers a Run for Old Seat

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Admin

Former U.S. Representative for Virginia’s Second Congressional District Scott Taylor is considering a run for his old seat.

In an email, Taylor stated that he is considering running for VA-2. He also shared the results of a poll that showed significant support for him in a Republican primary.

Commentary: The Woke War Machine vs. America’s ‘Minutemoms’

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Group protesting; "no justice no peace" sign

Critical social justice’s (CSJ) march through America’s institutions is very nearly complete. CSJ, and its woke evangelists, easily penetrated and commandeered U.S. colleges and universities.

Even White House occupant Joe Biden speaks incessantly about “white supremacy.” The Department of Homeland Security tells us white domestic terrorism is the top threat to America.

Not to be left out, corporate America has proclaimed its total fealty to woke ideology. Leaked documents show companies like Coke imploring their employees to “be less white.” Raytheon—whose laser-guided bombs are disproportionally dropped on people of color—tells its white, straight, Christian, able-bodied, English-speaking employees to deconstruct their identities, “identify [their] privilege,” and “step aside” in favor of other identity groups. AT&T offers employees training that says racism is a “uniquely white trait,” telling white employees that they “are the problem.” It’s pure racism, of course. But not a single Fortune 500 CEO has spoken out against it. They’re too frightened to do so.

House Republicans Deliver School Mask-Optional Bill to Youngkin

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Eric Burk

The House of Delegates passed SB 739, which will require schools to make masks optional. After Republicans were surprised by bipartisan votes in the Senate last week to amend the bill to include the mask clause and to pass the bill, Republicans hustled the bill through the necessary House committee hearing and through three required floor sessions, including a two-minute-long pro-forma session on Sunday. By 1 p.m. on Monday, Republicans had already delivered the bill to Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has committed to adding an emergency clause to make it take effect immediately.
After Youngkin adds the clause, both chambers can pass the bill and emergency clause with simple majority votes, setting up the bill to be law and in effect potentially by the end of the week, House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) said on The John Fredericks Show Monday morning.

“Once we adopt his [Youngkin’s] amendments, he’s already signed it and sent it back, it’ll be the law, and we can put this behind us,” Kilgore told The Virginia Star’s publisher, John Fredericks.

Vermont Poised to Become First State to Guarantee Right to Abortion in its Constitution

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

With support from its Republican governor, Vermont is on a course to become the first state in the nation to guarantee a right to abortion and contraception in its constitution.

The Vermont House voted 107-41 for Proposition 5, a proposed amendment that would guarantee sexual and reproductive freedoms to Vermonters once it is placed on the ballot and voters give their support in November.

Pelosi Evasive on Extending Individual Stock Trading Ban to Spouses of Lawmakers

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Democrats are weighing whether to extend an individual stock trading ban to spouses of lawmakers.

The Ban Conflicted Trading Act “prohibits a Member of Congress or certain congressional officers or employees from (1) purchasing or selling specified investments, (2) entering into a transaction that creates a net short position in a security, or (3) serving as an officer or member of any board of any for-profit entity.”

The legislation in its current form would not apply to the spouses of lawmakers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul has made headlines over the years with his millions of dollars in stock purchases, particularly with technology companies.

Commentary: Protect Small Businesses from the Scourge of Stolen and Counterfeit Goods

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 RealClearWire

Recent images from the Los Angeles railyards of a sea of cardboard wreckage, the remnants of thousands of stolen packages, have made national headlines. Union Pacific railroad said criminal rail theft in LA has increased by more than 2.5 times since December 2020. Yet while most media coverage focuses on this third-world scene, little has been made of the consequences for the small business sellers ripped off by this grand theft.

Whether it comes in the form of widescale package theft by criminal enterprises or organized smash-and-grab robberies at brick and mortar stores, theft has become a big problem for small businesses. A new survey finds that nearly all small business owners experienced an increase in theft in 2021.

This isn’t the shoplifting of your parent’s generation. Elaborate criminal networks steal and resell goods at below-market rates on internet marketplaces such as Amazon, Facebook, eBay, and Alibaba. The cost of lost inventory and ensuing cut-rate online competition puts tremendous pressure on small business margins that are already strained by the highest inflation in 40 years and severe supply chain disruptions.

Biden Administration Silent After Border Patrol Agents Rescue Illegal Migrants from Raging River

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Border Patrol agents on Saturday morning saved the lives of an illegal immigrant family trapped in the Rio Grande River. The Biden administration has been publically silent on the daring rescue.

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents at about 7:40 a.m. saw what appeared to be a family attempting to cross the river, according to a Customs and Border Protection press release. As the group neared the U.S. border, the ground collapsed beneath them. The family struggled to swim as the current carried them downriver.

Soros-Backed, Prosecutor’s Office in Virginia’s Loudon County Hired a Registered Sex Offender Without Background Check

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Admin

The Virginia Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, in the state’s Loudoun County, unknowingly hired a registered sex offender, having failed to submit the successful applicant to a background check.

The unidentified male was hired as a paralegal and fired days later.

In an interview with a local Fox News affiliate, the man, identified only as John, said he is trying to rebuild his life following five years in prison, in which he spent his time studying legal issues.

NFL’s San Francisco 49ers Hit by Ransomware Attack

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The San Francisco 49ers team fell victim to a ransomware attack affecting key corporate operations, the team announced Sunday.

Hackers using BlackByte ransomware tools listed the San Francisco 49ers on a dark web site identifying the team as a target for extortion attempts, The Record reported. The team confirmed to The Record on Sunday that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack.

Fast-Growing Number of Democrats Want Hillary Clinton Investigated for Her Role in Russiagate

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

An increasing number of Democrats believe Hillary Clinton should be investigated by special counsel John Durham in connection with her alleged involvement in manufacturing ties between 2016 presidential rival Donald Trump and the Russia, according to a recent survey.

The survey, by TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, found 75% of respondents who follow the story think Clinton and her campaign advisers should be investigated for her role in so-called Russiagate, according to several news reports.

National School Boards Association Executive Reportedly Knew About Attorney General’s Memorandum Targeting Parents Before It Was Published

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

A National School Boards Association (NSBA) executive reportedly knew about Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memorandum targeting concerned parents before it was published, according to new information obtained by Parents Defending Education.

Chip Slaven, then-interim executive director of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) knew about Garland’s memorandum that called on the FBI to “use its authority” against parents who threaten or use violence against public school officials, according to an email obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE) through a public records request.

“I understand Chip knew about the U.S. AG Directives before they were published,” Alabama NSBA member Pam Doyle told Florida NSBA member Beverly Slough in an Oct. 5, 2021 internal email exchange. “So much for communicating with the BOD,” she added.

FDA Announces Postponement of Approval of COVID Vaccine for Babies and Young Children

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Young girl with a blue shirt on getting a vaccine

Pfizer and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday they are delaying their plan for Pfizer’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its coronavirus vaccine for children under five years old due to insufficient data on the efficacy of a third dose.

Pfizer announced February 1 FDA had asked the drug company, and its partner BioNTech, to submit data on a COVID vaccine series for babies as young as six months old and young children up until age five.

Tea Party Patriots Action Slam Clinton Campaign, Media over Campaign Spy Allegations

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Cooper Moran

Tea Party Patriots Action slammed members of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the media, after Special Counsel John Durham filed a motion that detailed Clinton’s team paid individuals to “infiltrate” servers in Trump Tower and the White House.

The filing comes after former President Donald Trump made similar statements in the past; however, members of the media quickly dismissed the claims.

Commentary: Biden Nominee Reaps the Financial Rewards of Being ‘Connected’

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 RealClearWire

Who among us hasn’t made $1.5 million for sitting on an advisory board for two years? Not you? Come to think of it, me neither. Such money comes only to the well connected.

And “connected” is a good word to use in regard to Sarah Bloom Raskin, nominated last month by President Joe Biden to be Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve System. Previously, from 2010 to 2014, she served as a Governor of the Fed, and then, from 2014 to 2017, she worked as Barack Obama’s Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.

John Fredericks Interviews Delegate Terry Kilgore on the End of Virginia School Mask Mandates

February 15, 2022 Julie Carr

Monday morning on The John Fredericks Radio Show, host Fredericks welcomed House Delegate Terry Kilgore to the show to discuss the process of new legislation that will undo mask mandates will go through the House, Governor, and Senate.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Signs His First Bill

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin signed his first bill on Monday. HB 828, sponsored by Delegate Tony Wilt (R-Rockingham), was the first bill passed out of the 2022 General Assembly last week. It passed without receiving any recorded ‘no’ votes in either the House or the Senate.

In 2021, Delegate Wendy Gooditis (D-Clarke) sponsored a bill to create a state-run assistance program to help dairy farmers participate in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage Program that provides financial assistance for small and mid-sized dairy farmers when milk prices drop. In January, Wilt said in committee that the federal government didn’t have the program available in time, which meant that farmers would miss an application deadline at the beginning of February.

“So what this bill simply does is extend that time to May 15,” Wilt said.