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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Congress Passes Kevin McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Proposal, Now Heads to Senate

Fox News: House Republicans on Wednesday delivered Speaker Kevin McCarthy the biggest win of his tenure leading the chamber so far by passing his bill to raise the debt limit and slash spending, a bill that serves as the GOP’s position on how to avoid a debt crisis in the coming weeks. The bill passed in a narrow 217-215 vote. Every Democrat voted against it, as expected, along with four Republicans. Republicans cast the vote as a win that puts them in the driver’s seat in negotiations they hope can happen with President Biden in the coming weeks. Biden has refused to entertain anything other than a clean increase in the debt ceiling, while Republicans insist he should agree to some trimming in the federal budget as a condition of raising the government’s borrowing limit (Fox News). Spencer Brown: In any case, the debt ceiling ball is now entirely in the Democrats’ court — both at the White House and in the U.S. Senate. If Democrats don’t propose a plan and offer to negotiate with McCarthy to find common ground, then Biden and Schumer will own the first default in United States history (Townhall).

Planned Parenthood Scales Back Health Services, Increases Abortion Rates

National Review: On Tuesday, Planned Parenthood released its 2022 annual report. It provides further evidence that Planned Parenthood continues to make abortion its top priority. Indeed, the report indicates that Planned Parenthood performed 374,155 abortions in 2022. This is the second-most abortions that Planned Parenthood has performed in its history and represents approximately 40 percent of the abortions performed in the United States. The report also indicates that Planned Parenthood continues to cut back on several health services. Between 2021 and 2022, prenatal services fell by a whopping 29 percent. In addition to this, miscarriage-care fell by 5 percent, adoption referrals fell by 7 percent, STI tests fell by over 2 percent, and pregnancy tests fell by 3.7 percent (National Review). Life News: That means Planned Parenthood killed 1,025 babies in abortions every single day — even though the abortion giant claims its main focus is merely women’s health care. In other words, Planned Parenthood kills one baby in an abortion every 84 seconds (Life News).

Energy Secretary Granholm Aims to Make the Military Adopt All-Electric Energy by 2030

How will they ever expect to compete with China? This folly will get soldiers killed. Daily Caller: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that she supports electrifying the Department of Defense’s (DOD) non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2030, during an exchange with Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, at a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (Daily Caller). RNC Research: Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says she supports requiring the U.S. military to adopt an ALL-electric vehicle fleet by 2030 (Twitter). Katie Pavlich: Ah yes, this will work perfectly in places like Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Africa and everywhere else around the globe without electric charging stations. And how long does Granholm propose U.S. troops ask the enemy to hold off while they wait for days to recharge their military vehicles? Of course this is an idea also backed by President Joe Biden, who insists the military should be 100 percent electric in the next decade (Townhall).

Randi Weingarten Testifies About School Closures Before Covid Subcommittee

Townhall: On Wednesday, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten appeared in a House hearing held by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to discuss the impact of school closures due to COVID-19. In the hearing, Weingarten was pressed about the union’s influence on the federal government during this decision making process throughout the pandemic (Townhall). Nicki Neily: Rep. Malliotakis pressed Randi Weingarten on why more than $100 billion in funding was necessary to safely reopen schools in early 2021 if the majority of the money remains unspent to this day. Kids were held hostage while teachers unions & the Biden Admin shook down taxpayers (Twitter)! Townhall: QUESTION: “When was the first time you engaged with CDC?” Randi Weingarten: “Look, I’m 65 years old. I don’t remember everything any more” (Townhall).

DOJ Sues Tennessee’s Ban on Gender Care for Minors

WJHL: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to block Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. In its complaint, the department argues the new law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by discriminating on the basis of sex and transgender status. The department has asked the court to issue an order blocking the law before it goes into effect on July 1. The ban prohibits doctors from providing care such as puberty blockers, hormone treatment, or surgeries to minors as treatment for gender dysphoria. Violating the ban could result in a provider losing their license or facing fines (WJHL). Just the News: Included in the complaint is a section entitled “Factual Allegations” that offers a full-throated defense of gender ideology in defining the concept of being transgender. “Gender identity refers to a person’s core sense of belonging to a particular gender, such as male or female. Every person has a gender identity,” it reads. “Transgender people are people whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.” The DOJ is not the first entity to challenge the ban as the American Civil Liberties Union has pursued its own case. Roughly a dozen states have enacted bans on gender-related treatments for minors, including puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and sex reassignment surgeries (Just the News).

Las Vegas Introduces ‘Equitable Grading’ to Detriment of Students

Wall Street Journal: Las Vegas high-school English teacher Laura Jeanne Penrod initially thought the grading changes at her school district made sense. Under the overhaul, students are given more chances to prove they have mastered a subject without being held to arbitrary deadlines, in recognition of challenges some children have outside school. Soon after the system was introduced, however, Ms. Penrod said her 11th-grade honors students realized the new rules minimized the importance of homework to their final grades, leading many to forgo the brainstorming and rough drafts required ahead of writing a persuasive essay. Some didn’t turn in the essay at all, knowing they could redo it later. “They’re relying on children having intrinsic motivation, and that is the furthest thing from the truth for this age group,” said Ms. Penrod. Leaders in the 305,000-student Clark County district said the new approach was about making grades a more accurate reflection of a student’s progress and giving opportunities to all learners. Equitable grading can take different forms, but the systems aim to measure whether a student knows the classroom material by the end of a term without penalties for behavior, which, under the theory, can introduce bias. Homework is typically played down and students are given multiple opportunities to complete tests and assignments (Wall Street Journal).

Disney Sues Ron DeSantis, State Officials Looking to Make Florida’s Actions Against the Board Unenforceable

National Review: The Walt Disney Company sued Florida governor Ron DeSantis and other state leaders on Wednesday, alleging that they are involved in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against the company for publicly criticizing a controversial education law last year. The 77-page lawsuit accuses state leaders of weaponizing government power against Disney in “as clear a case of retaliation as this Court is ever likely to see.” The lawsuit was filed shortly after a DeSantis-appointed board overseeing the special district that includes Disney World voted to nullify two agreements that a previous Disney-controlled board made, handing control of development over to Disney (National Review). Wall Street Journal: Disney is asking the court to declare the board’s actions unlawful and unenforceable for various reasons, including violating the U.S. Constitution’s contracts clause, unlawfully taking Disney’s property rights in violation of the takings clause and arbitrarily voiding Disney’s agreements in violation of the due process clause (Wall Street Journal).

Trans Participant in London Marathon Beats Out 14,000 Women, Participated as Male ne Month Ago

Daily Mail: A transgender woman who finished the London Marathon ahead of nearly 14,000 runners in the female category has offered to give back her finishing medal. Glenique Frank, 54, from Northamptonshire, hit back at claims it was ‘wrong and unfair’ for her to compete in the female category of Sunday’s mass race in London, crossing the line with a time of 4hr 11min 28sec. She said: ‘If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say, “OK, fine. No problem,”‘ after the furore broke out on Sunday evening. The elite races in the London Marathon are subject to World Athletics rules, which exclude transgender women from elite female competition if they have gone through male puberty (Daily Mail). Former Elite Marathon Runner Mara Yamauchi: This male ran in yesterday’s #LondonMarathon as Glenique Frank in the female category (Mass race) finishing in 6160th place out of 20123. So nearly 14,000 actual females suffered a worse finish position bc of him. Last month, he ran in the Tokyo Marathon, as Glen Frank (Twitter). National Review: Earlier this month, the Biden administration took steps to enshrine transgender participation in sports into policy. The proposed rule would expand Title IX protections to include gender identity, making a ban on transgender athletes playing on teams that match their stated gender identity illegal (National Review).

San Francisco Abandons Case Against Homeless Man Who Beat Retired Fireman with Crowbar

New York Post: San Francisco prosecutors have decided not to charge the transient accused of repeatedly bashing the city’s former fire commissioner in the skull with a crowbar — even after obtaining video of the man taking practice swings moments before the attack. The district attorney’s office dropped the case against Don Carmignani’s alleged assailant, Garrett Doty, after deciding the homeless man was acting in “self-defense.” Prosecutors heeded Doty’s arguments and ruled that the attack was not senseless — they said Carmignani instead instigated the vicious assault after deploying pepper spray on the homeless man, who lived outside his mother’s property in the city’s affluent Marina District. The retired firefighter could even face charges for deploying pepper spray on the men in an attempt to boot them from his mother’s property. The source said the San Francisco Police Department and district attorney’s office failed to interview Carmignani about his version of events before dropping the case (New York Post).

10.

Washington School District Cuts 4th Grade Music Class Because of White Supremacy

Daily Wire: A large school district in Washington has canceled music lessons for fourth graders as the school board director linked teaching children to play instruments to racism, suggesting that music lessons could “inculcate and allow white supremacy culture to continue to be propagated and cause significant institutional violence.” The comments, made by school board director Scott Clifthorne, came as the school discussed ways to save money for the school. By eliminating band and orchestra for fourth and fifth grade, the Olympia School District would save $530,000; the district agreed to keep the fifth-grade programs. “We’re a school district that lives in … is entrenched in … is surrounded by white supremacy culture. And that’s a real thing,” Clifthorne told parents (Daily Wire).