The long-awaited kickoff to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign for 2020 has finally arrived and much like the president himself, it is turning out to be the first of its kind, anywhere. The event – an all day affair Tuesday dubbed “45 Fest” – is already setting records as…
Read MoreDay: June 18, 2019
Ohio’s Public Defender Recruitment Program Could Cost $3 Million Over Two Years
by Todd DeFeo The House Finance Committee is expected to allocate $3 million over the next two years to fund a program aimed at attracting more public defenders throughout Ohio. With little discussion, the state Criminal Justice Committee passed House Bill 5 to create the Public Defender State Loan…
Read MoreCommentary: The One-Two Punch to Knock Out Electoral Democracy
by Michael S. Kochin If you thought, or hoped, that the brave (or nobly self-interested) Democratic Governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak had thwarted the push for a National Popular Vote by vetoing the bill, think again. On June 12, 2019, Oregon Democratic Governor Kate Brown signed it into law for her state.…
Read MoreEarly Ohio Endorsements for Donald J. Trump for President in 2020
Just ahead of President Trump’s official campaign kickoff Tuesday, the conservative group Ohio Value Voters (OVV) announced their full-throated endorsement of the unconventional incumbent. “President Trump’s social conservative agenda has galvanized the support of faith-based and conservative Ohioans,” OVV President John Stover said in a statement; adding that the reasons…
Read MoreWe Build the Wall Approaches Record of Top GoFundMe Page, Founder Brian Kolfage Says
We Build the Wall is on the verge of becoming GoFundMe’s largest ever fundraising campaign, founder Brian Kolfage says. Kolfage made the announcement Monday in a press release. He said the record belongs to TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund which is a major force in the “MeToo” movement. TIME’S…
Read More‘Penny Plan’ Falls as National Debt Exceeds $21.5 Trillion
by Bethany Blankley The U.S. national debt exceeds $21.5 trillion. That’s almost quadruple the national debt when President George W. Bush first took office in 2001. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate held a vote on Sen. Rand Paul’s Penny Plan, which would reduce federal government spending and implement…
Read MoreTrump’s Immigration Czar Pick Tom Homan Rips Into Sanctuary Cities, Calls Them ‘Un-American’
by Jason Hopkins President Donald Trump’s pick for “immigration czar” wrote an op-ed that rips apart the arguments immigrant-rights groups use to defend sanctuary city policies. Tom Homan – a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration, and the president’s pick to for immigration czar…
Read MoreCommentary: Why Is the University of North Carolina Funding a ‘Hub for Social Justice?’
by Magdalene Horzempa Campus protests started in the 1960s, but protests on today’s college campuses have a different vibe. While protests in the past pitted students against university leadership, protests in the present are supported and accommodated by presidents and administrators. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,…
Read MoreNineteen Arrests Later, a Texas Town Is Torn Apart Over Voter Fraud
by Fred Lucas The story that thrust a Rio Grande Valley city into the national spotlight is hardly a new anomaly, say residents such as Richard Monte. “Down here, voter fraud is not all that unusual,” says Monte, a city planning consultant in a brown suit jacket, sitting with…
Read MoreNetanyahu Unveils ‘Trump Heights’ In Israel’s Golan Heights
by Molly Prince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his administration gathered in the Golan Heights on Sunday to unveil a sign for the community, newly named “Ramat Trump,” which translates into “Trump Heights.” “We are proud to have the opportunity to establish a new community,” Netanyahu said during…
Read MoreSupreme Court Dodges Same-Sex Wedding Dispute Over Christian Baker, ‘Sweet Cakes by Melissa’
by Kevin Daley The Supreme Court lifted an order Monday punishing a Christian baker in Oregon who refused to produce a wedding cake for a same sex couple, telling a lower court to reconsider the dispute in light of the 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop decision. The decision keeps a contentious…
Read MoreHuawei Founder Says Revenue Will Be Billions Below Forecast
Huawei’s founder said Monday that the Chinese telecom giant’s revenue will be $30 billion less than forecast over the next two years, as he compared the company to a “badly damaged plane” in the face of U.S. government actions against it. “We never thought that the U.S.’s determination to…
Read MoreOhio Senate’s Budget Outspends House’s Budget by $205 Million, Expert Says
Greg Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, is taking his message of sustainability to the Ohio Senate Finance Committee, which is currently hearing testimony on its version of the state’s biennial budget. As The Ohio Star previously reported, Lawson has been urging lawmakers all session to avoid…
Read More