Ohio Senators Portman and Brown Sponsor Senate Version of Bill Expanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

Ohio’s two U.S. senators this week proposed a Senate bill making full-time students eligible for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. 

U.S. Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) and Danny Davis (D-IL-7) introduced a House version of the measure earlier this week. The proposed change to the program would make LIHTC, which provides tax relief to developers who build or rehabilitate low-cost rental units, allow full-time students to live on sites that were funded by the credit. The current prohibition on such students living in those buildings was intended to prevent LIHTC from aiding the construction of dormitories. 

Read More

Fan-Supported ‘The Chosen’ Season Three Tops Box Office with No. 3 Open

The premiere of Season 3 of The Chosen, a free streaming series based on the life of Jesus, opened at a stunning No. 3 spot at the box office this past weekend.

The first two episodes of the premiere of The Chosen Season 3 has drawn a historic number of viewers, pushing its original five-day run in theaters to December 1, and grossing $8.7 million in the United States.

Read More

Ohio Church to Host Holiday Children’s Story Time with Drag Queens

LGBTQ rights activists have scheduled a Holi-drag Storytime, a faction of Drag Queen Story Hour, geared towards small children as young as two years old for next weekend in Central Ohio.

The event is scheduled to be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus on December 3rd and is being marketed as an annual LGBTQ+ holiday tradition for the entire family.

Read More

Michigan Department of Education Provided Educators with Materials on How to Create a ‘Gay Straight Alliance’ Club

The Michigan Department of Education (MDOE) promoted resources for educators on how to start a “Gay Straight Alliance” (GSA) club in their schools, according to training materials.

The MDOE’s LGBTQ Students Project includes trainings and resources for LGBTQ students as well as educators on getting a GSA club “up and running,” according to the materials. For starting a GSA club, the department promoted a GSA resource list and brainstorming activity for educators to teach them how to advertise the club and insure student confidentiality.

Read More

NHL Boasts of Trans, ‘Non-Binary’ Hockey Tournament

On Tuesday, the National Hockey League (NHL) boasted on Twitter about its first-ever “Team Trans Draft Announcement” tournament over the weekend, pushing back on criticism that such a league would present clear disadvantages to certain players.

Fox News reports that the tournament, which took place in Middleton, Wisconsin, consisted entirely of so-called “transgender” and “non-binary” players; the league claims that up to 80 players were part of the tournament. The tweet included the hashtags #HockeyIsForEveryone and #NHLPride.

Read More

GOP Struggled with Voters 18-29 in 2022 Election over Abortion, Gun Rights, Climate Change

The Republican Party struggled with young voters ages 18-29 in the 2022 midterm election, largely due to issues such as abortion, gun rights, and climate change, according to an analysis from Look Ahead Strategies. 

CNN found that House Democratic candidates “won voters under 30 by 28 points,” which was a two-point increase over the 2020 election data for that age group.

Read More

Commentary: Four Issues to Unify the GOP and Realign America

If Republicans hope to unify their party and realign American politics in their favor, they will need to do more than pour billions of dollars into television ads that highlight rampaging looters and the despairing jobless. They have to offer hope tied to an achievable agenda. Americans are ready for an alternative to Democratic fearmongering and stagnation. Give it to them.

Standing in the way of Republicans developing a comprehensive agenda they can agree on is the deepening rift within the party. On one side is the legacy party, represented by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and other so-called moderate Republicans. Opposing them is the MAGA movement led by Donald Trump and backed up by, among other groups, the Freedom Caucus, which now constitutes a majority of House Republicans.

Read More

Commentary: People Are Fighting Back Against the Government’s Use of Drones to Spy on Americans

Americans have long been concerned about government surveillance, and rightly so. Being watched by the government is incredibly disconcerting, especially when government agents are probing into your private life.

The rise of drone technology has not helped on this front. Whereas before a government would need a plane or helicopter to get aerial views of you or your property, now they just need a small remote-controlled device.

Read More

Poll: Voters in Five Key States Oppose Same-Sex Marriage Bill over Religious Liberty Concerns

Voters in five Republican-leaning states oppose a same-sex marriage bill under consideration by the U.S. Senate on the grounds that it undermines religious liberty and punishes people of faith.

The survey of 2,000 likely voters in Indiana, Iowa, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming puts support for the deceptively named Respect for Marriage Act at just 41% compared to 47% who oppose the bill. The opposition is even higher among Republicans (70%) and conservatives (73%).

Read More

Economists: Buying a Home May Not Get Any Cheaper Even If the Economy Tanks

Despite expecting a recession and reduced inflation that would ordinarily put downward pressure on prices in 2023, a critical shortage of housing means prices are unlikely to change much, two economists told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The median sales price for existing homes increased 6.6% in October compared to the same month in 2021, jumping to $379,100, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), primarily due to demand outstripping supply, according to both Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research at the NAR, and E.J. Antoni, economist at the Heritage Foundation. The inventory of unsold existing homes fell to 1.22 million in October, down 10,000 from September 2022, and less than the 1.39 million unsold existing homes in December 2019, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Read More

San Francisco Has More than 130 Gender Options for Its Guaranteed Income for Transgender People Program

There are more than 130 gender, sexual orientation and pronoun options listed on the San Francisco’s Guaranteed Income For Transgender People (GIFT) program application.

Under the GIFT program, 55 San Francisco residents who earn less than $600 monthly and identify as one of the many genders listed will receive $1,200 per month. Aside from woman and man, some of the genders eligible for the money include “genderfuck,” “boi,” “sistergirls” and “butch.”

Read More

Growing Body of Evidence Shows ‘Social Influence’ Is Causing Teens to Undergo Sex Changes

The recent surge in transgender identification is caused in part by peer influence, a growing body of evidence suggests, and some transgender advocates are acknowledging this issue.

Many activists argue that transgenderism has become more prevalent because growing social acceptance allows more transgender people, who would otherwise keep their gender identity a secret, to live openly. Critics of youth gender transitions, however, argue that the growing rate of transgender identification in adolescents, along with rapidly changing demographics of transgender people, are evidence that peer influence is driving young people to identify as transgender who otherwise wouldn’t.

Read More

Commentary: Department of Health and Human Services Giving $4.5 Million to Train on Implicit Bias

by Adam Andrzejewski   The Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $4.5 million in grants to public colleges to train maternal health providers in implicit bias. The grant summary states, “the purpose of this program is to address implicit bias among maternal health care providers to reduce health…

Read More