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** 1. Democratic-aligned voter registration website harvests personal data for partisan, political messaging ([link removed])
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By Todd Shepherd

“Vote.pa sounds very much like the real Pennsylvania Department of State website: vote.pa.gov. The website’s logo — a deep blue outline of Pennsylvania with a white ‘vote’ inside the borders — looks thematically similar to the blue keystone with a white ‘PA’ used in official state websites.

But tucked away at the bottom of the page is the note that the site is a project of Commonwealth Communications, a 501(c)(4) political nonprofit run by J.J. Abbott, Governor Wolf’s former press secretary turned political operative.

Why It Matters. “The website’sprivacy policy ([link removed]) page (whichstudies say ([link removed]) less than nine percent of website visitors actually read those disclaimers) makes clear: ‘We may use your personal information in connection with our political efforts and activities.’ And of note, Vote.pa asks for a phone number, while the state website makes clear that phone and email are optional.

And, ‘We reserve the right to share your personal information to third parties as part of any potential business or asset sale…’ — meaning the website is well within its rights to sell data collected from a visitor.”

Quotable. “Third-party organizations should under no circumstances collect people’s personal information under the guise of ‘voter registration,’” House Appropriations Chairman Seth Grove said. “Vote.pa is an obvious attempt to steal information from voters or potential voters who are very likely looking for the Department of State’s website. I believe all elected officials should call out these websites as bad actors and commit to sharing official government websites.”

And there’s more! A follow-up story by Todd Shepherd ([link removed]) shows that the chicanery goes all the way to the top. Like several other Democrats, Governor Josh Shapiro allowed his signature to be used on mailers guiding people to request mail-in ballots through the deceptive website. A request for comment to the governor’s office was not returned.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 2. Biden’s use of executive power threatens American democracy ([link removed])
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By Andy Bloom

“When it comes to using executive power to tamp down the invasion at the Southern border, President Joe Biden pretends to be confused.

In fact, Biden uses executive power when he wants, often testing constitutionality and dangerous to democracy.

Immigration, in general, seems to befuddle this administration – sometimes. Other times, he claims not to be confused or secretly favors what’s happening.

Biden was clear about using executive orders to undo the policies put in place by former President Donald Trump, which had slowed illegal immigration to the lowest levels in years.

On his first day in office, Biden suspended the Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy.”

Why It Matters. “Biden, or whoever is really running the country, has amazing moments of clarity when he wants to use executive power. Executive orders were used to undo many of his predecessor’s actions. He’s used executive powers to spend money without Congressional approval and even to ignore Supreme Court rulings. Heck, he thinks he can even change the Bill of Rights if he wants to.”

Quotable. Here’s what Nancy Pelosi, then House Speaker, had to say when Biden announced his plan. “People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,” she said during a press conference. “He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.”

The Supreme Court confirmed what Pelosi said in a 6-3 ruling.

Undeterred, Biden directed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to find a different path by which the administration could forgive student debt.

Continue Reading ([link removed])



** 3. Podcasts
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* Voices of Reason: Ep.3, Why the PA political map bleeds red while the vote leans blue ([link removed])
* Kitchen Table Politics: Tim DeFoor ([link removed])


** 4. Lightning Round
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* Shapiro tied to unofficial voter registration website secretly harvesting user data, mailers show ([link removed])
* Seth Higgins: Whom do nonprofit healthcare systems serve? ([link removed])
* Guy Ciarrocchi: Being a Democrat means never having to say you’re sorry ([link removed])
* Thom Nickels: Preserving a dream — Dream Garden and the Curtis Center ([link removed])
* David Mitchell: Nurse practitioners can solve rural health care shortages ([link removed])


** 5. What we're reading
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Media writing about the media is often just boring and self-obsessed. But with the NPR scandal now roiling the news, it is hard to look away. Two articles at National Review this week — one by Charlie Cooke ([link removed]) , the other by Jeff Blehar ([link removed]) — get to the heart of how at NPR (like most places) the fish rots from the head. The truly bizarre speeches, tweets, and rantings of NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher, sound like a parody of an excessively woke person. Sadly, they’re all too real.

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With gratitude,

— The Editors at Broad + Liberty
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