February 17, 2022 | The Ohio Star

State Chair Paduchik Denies The Ohio Star Credentials to Cover Friday’s Ohio GOP Central Committee Meeting

February 17, 2022March 18, 2022 Neil W. McCabe

The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party denied press credentials to The Ohio Star and its national political editor Neil W. McCabe for Friday’s Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee meeting at Lewis Center’s Nationwide Conference Center.

“I sent your request to Chairman Paduchik, and he asked me to send you this response on the record: ‘Your request for credentials to attend the meeting as a journalist have been denied because The Ohio Star is fake news and you’re not a journalist,’” said Daniel J. Lusheck, the 30-year-old party spokesman and Marine Reserve veteran.

Universal School-Choice Bill Gets First Ohio Hearing

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 The Center Square

Ohio lawmakers held the first hearing Tuesday on a bill that would open the state’s school voucher system to all students, offering universal school choice throughout the state.

Currently, school vouchers are available only if a student meets certain criteria regarding disability, family income or school performance. Around 90% of state students attend public schools.

Commentary: American Business Dealings in China Show Stakeholder Capitalist Commitments Are Hollow

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 RealClearWire

This is a bad year to have paid the International Olympic Committee $100 million for the right to put its iconic rings on your soda cans or shampoo bottles. But this is what the rarefied air of being a top Olympic sponsor buys you in 2022: The Winter Games are being played in an authoritarian state with an atrocious human rights record, and none of its underwriters are eager to play up their association in the important American market.

Senators Reveal Bipartisan Bill Targeting Big Tech Companies for Harms to Children

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal unveiled a bipartisan bill Wednesday aimed at curbing online harms to children.

The Kids Online Safety Act is the result of several hearings and a months-long investigation led by Blackburn and Blumenthal into how use of social media platforms affects teens and young children. If enacted, the bill would require social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable “addictive” product features and allow them to opt out of recommendation algorithms.

Anti-Gun Black Lives Matter Activist Charged With Attempted Murder in Shooting of Louisville Mayoral Candidate

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

A gun control activist and Black Lives Matter radical was arrested on Monday in the targeted shooting of Louisville, Kentucky mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg.

Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment, after firing his gun inside Greenberg’s campaign office.

Consumer Spending Surged in January as Inflation Reached Near 40-Year High

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Consumer spending surged in January amid soaring inflation, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

Retail sales grew 3.8% in January, far exceeding the 2.1% Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. January’s figure represents the largest monthly increase since March 2021 and a significant snapback from December 2021 when sales decreased by 2.5%.

Senator Rob Portman, Kellyanne Conway Endorse Jane Timken in Ohio U.S. Senate Race

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Cooper Moran

Former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken’s campaign for U.S. Senate has gained momentum, as Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway have endorsed the candidate.

Portman, whose seat Timken is running for, detailed that she was the best candidate to win the general election in November, a crucial seat for Republicans to gain control of the chamber.

FDA Executive Says on Hidden Camera That Yearly COVID Shots Will Be Mandatory for All Americans – Including Toddlers

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

The Biden administration plans to make yearly COVID shots mandatory for all Americans, including young children, a Food and Drug Administration executive told a Project Veritas undercover journalist on hidden camera.

In the sting video released on Tuesday, Christopher Cole, Executive Officer of Countermeasures Initiative for the FDA, said: “Biden wants to inoculate as many people as possible.” According to Project Veritas president James O’Keefe, Cole has “over 20 years experience” at the FDA, and “claims to be directly involved in the approval process.”

San Francisco Parents Lead Recall of Three School Board Members

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Cooper Moran

Parents and residents of San Francisco overwhelmingly voted to recall three school board members in the city’s first recall election since 1983.

Alison Collins, Faauuga Moliga and Gabriella Lopez all lost their positions on the governing body, as the “Yes” option to the recall question gained more than 70 percent in all three cases.

Commentary: Putin Won’t Wage a Big War in Ukraine

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Russia’s months of military movements and Biden’s “strategic communications campaign” are psychological operations intended to intimidate Ukraine, Europe, and the rest of the world.

There won’t be a big war any time soon. The Kremlin’s low-cost, high-impact campaign might succeed if some Western leaders, especially in the United States, can help Putin.

‘A K-12 Civics Report Card’ Ranks America’s Leading Civics Education Programs

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

In a new report released Wednesday at the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, one of America’s top education scholars provides reviews and grades for the nation’s leading civics programs.

At a time when the purpose of civics education grows increasingly polarized, and many organizations present rival resources, Dr. David Randall, author of “Learning for Self-Government: A K-12 Civics Report Card,” evaluated 15 leading civics programs and graded them on their effectiveness.

Twitter Reverses Ban on Account That Highlighted Left-Wing Hypocrisy

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Twitter Tuesday evening banned a well-known Twitter account called @DefiantLs, which posted screenshots pointing out left-wing hypocrisy.

The owner of the account, who has always been anonymous and remains so, said the account was banned for an alleged “ban evasion,” despite the fact that the account owner says he or she has “never had an account suspended so I’ve never had a ban to evade.”

Controversy Erupts over Claims by Ohio RNC Committeeman Jim Dicke That Documents He Circulated to ORP Is ‘Full Audit Report’ Which Explains What Lawsuit Says Is $3 Million in ‘Missing Funds in Financial Statements’

February 17, 2022September 9, 2022 Neil W. McCabe

A controversy over the financial records of the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) erupted in the days leading up to Friday’s meeting of the ORP State Central Committee (ORPSCC), the party’s 66 member governing body, at Lewis Center’s Nationwide Conference Center.The committee is widely expected to endorse Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) at that meeting in his bid for re-election in the contested May GOP primary.

Fork truck billionaire James F. Dicke II (pictured above), one of Ohio’s two National Committeemen on the Republican National Committee, ignited the controversy last month when he sent a message to all 66 members of the ORPSCC. Critics on the ORPCC, led by retired Ernst & Young partner Mark A. Bainbridge , say Dicke’s message materially misrepresents the nature of the financial report, known as an Agreed Upon Procedures report, produced for the ORP by Compass Pointe, a small Indiana accounting firm.