Jason M. Reynolds

No Credible Evidence to Support Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s July Shutdown of Bars and Reduction of Restaurant Capacity, Despite Bullying Tactics by His Administration

Jason M. Reynolds

When Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced at a July 2 press conference that he was shutting down all the city’s bars for 14 days, reducing restaurant capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent, and temporarily closing event venues and entertainment venues, all due to “record” cases of COVID-19 traceable to restaurants and bars, he apparently knew that his own Metro Health Department said less than two dozen cases of COVID-19 could be traced to those establishments. But he failed to disclose that the “record” of bar and restaurant traceable cases to which he referred to was about one tenth of one percent of Davidson County’s 20,000 cases of COVID-19.

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Fox News Silences Former Speaker Newt Gingrich After He Points to George Soros as a Major Force Behind Big City Riots

Jason M. Reynolds

Guess who does not want Newt Gingrich to talk about George Soros? Fox News, that’s who.

Fox News personnel’s reaction to Gingrich’s use of the “Soros” word drew notice on Twitter, a platform on which the former House speaker is currently blocked.

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Conservative Clergy of Color Offers Corporate Training Program As Alternative to Racist Narrative Pushed by Black Lives Matter

Jason M. Reynolds

The Conservative Clergy of Color wants businesses to know they have an alternative to the racist rhetoric being thrown around for diversity training.

The organization this week announced the “Getting to All Lives Matter,” a fact-based, six-step training program that operates on the assumption all Americans want to build a better society. This is an alternative to the rhetoric pushed by Black Lives Matter, which attempts to scare businesses, they said.

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Broncos Organization Says It Is Proud of Kneeling Players in Monday Night Football Game with Titans, Even as Viewership Plummets 38 Percent

Jason M. Reynolds

More than 30 players from the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans knelt in protest during the national anthem prior to their Monday Night Football game, Breitbart reported.

Eighteen Broncos and 13 Titans took a knee and/or raised fists, the outlet said.

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Signing of Abraham Accords Is ‘Paradigm Shift’ for Israel-Gulf Relations, Sen. Blackburn Says

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) applauded the signing Tuesday of the Abraham Accords, calling it a “paradigm shift.”

Blackburn on Tuesday tweeted, “Today, we are witnessing history at the @WhiteHouse. 27 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain have achieved monumental peace. This deal brings great potential and opportunity to the region and is a paradigm shift in Israel-Gulf state relations.”

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California Mothers Sue California Gov. Newsom, Saying His Partial Reopening of Schools Hurts Special Needs Students, Causes Anxiety Over Grades

Jason M. Reynolds

Four mothers have filed a lawsuit against California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his coronavirus education plan, claiming adverse effects including anxiety over poor grades and lack of special education access.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 10 in Shasta County Superior Court by the Freedom Foundation on behalf of the northern California families. The complaint is available here.

The plaintiffs allege the plan that requires students to be in classes part-time denies them their constitutional right to a quality education as enshrined in the California Constitution.

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Data Show 40 Percent of Ohio Counties Experience Rise in Coronavirus Cases 7 Weeks After Mask Mandate Despite Claims by DeWine, CDC

Jason M. Reynolds

Has Ohio’s statewide mask mandate affected the coronavirus case counts in counties? Data show 40 percent of counties saw a net increase during a 21-day period, despite claims by Gov. Mike DeWine and the CDC.

The Ohio Star examined the state health department’s historic case counts. The summary data is available in a CSV file from a link on the Ohio Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard here.

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High School Students Moving Out of Illinois So They Can Play Sports

Jason M. Reynolds

Illinois high school student athletes and their parents who are tired of COVID-19 delays in sports are taking matters into their own hands — some are protesting, while others are moving out of state to play elsewhere.

Student athletes, coaches and students’ parents rallied in the dozens in McCook on Sunday to demand fall sports to resume, ABC 7 reported. Only golf, cross country, girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming and diving are playing for now.

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State Board Meets Today to Decide if Ohio Secretary of State May Spend Up to $3M to Prepay Absentee Ballot Postage

Jason M. Reynolds

A state board is meeting today to decide if Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose can spend up to $3 million to pay for absentee ballot postage for the November elections.

The Ohio Controlling Board will consider LaRose’s request today. Their agenda is here, and more information about LaRose’s request is here.

This appropriation of state funds will be used by the Ohio Secretary of State to pay the cost of returning absentee ballots on behalf of any Ohio voter who opts to use that manner of voting in the November 3, 2020 General Election. This will not expand Ohio’s existing absentee voting opportunities and will not permit universal vote by mail. There will still be in-person voting at polling locations on Election Day, November 3, 2020. 

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America’s Founding Biblical Values Can Heal Nation from Racial Strife, Conservative Clergy of Color Tells Christian Leaders

Jason M. Reynolds

America’s biblical founding values can peacefully resolve the racial strife present in today’s culture, Bishop Aubrey Shines, chairman of Conservative Clergy of Color, said Saturday.

Shine delivered his remarks at the inaugural Get Louder Faith Summit at Liberty University’s Falkirk Center in Lynchburg, Virginia. The summit addressed the issues dividing the nation and how to fight back based on America’s founding Judeo-Christian values.

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Ohio Leaders Play Both Sides of Mask Debate

Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio’s reported coronavirus cases and hospitalizations dropped significantly on Sunday from the 21-day average.

The Ohio Department of Health on Sunday reported 773 more coronavirus infections, increasing the number of cases to 130,558. That is below the 21-day average of 1,061 newly reported cases a day.

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DeWine Administration Lays out Its Work Over the Past Week, from Providing Kids with Books to Implementing School Virus Reporting Requirements

Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration provided a “Week in Review” for the past week, with actions ranging from providing free books to kids to requiring schools to report coronavirus cases to local health departments.

The week started off Monday with DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announcing assistance for five projects to create 574 new jobs and retain 1,058 jobs statewide. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) reviewed economic development proposals brought to the board by JobsOhio and its regional partners. Collectively, the projects are expected to result in more than $23 million in new payroll and spur more than $68 million in investments across Ohio.

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Shelby County Says Woman Dead for Six Months Contracted COVID-19, Needs to Isolate

Jason M. Reynolds

When is a COVID-19 patient not a COVID-19 patient? When the person has been dead for six months, as has reportedly happened in Memphis.

Media reports have carried the story, including coverage here by KVUE.

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Liberty University Hires Outside Firm to Investigate Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Tenure

Jason M. Reynolds

Liberty University says it is conducting a forensic investigation of Jerry Falwell Jr. a week after he resigned as president.

Falwell resigned last Tuesday after amid conflicting claims about a sexual relationship his wife Becki Falwell had with a business partner, The Associated Press reported. Falwell reportedly participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.

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Trump Campaign Discusses Biden’s Hands-Off Approach to Violent Rioters

Jason M. Reynolds

President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement addressing Joe Biden’s reluctance to take on violent leftist rioters.

“Joe Biden just yesterday indicated he would not send the National Guard into cities and states where left-wing mobs are rioting – in Portland’s case, for more than three months. Last month he issued a written statement specifically about Portland, in which he called the rioters ‘peaceful protestors’ and accused federal law enforcement officers of ‘stoking the fires of division’ while the mob was literally setting fire to the federal courthouse. …”

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Virginia Man Arrested on Charges of H-1B Visa Fraud Worth $21 Million

Jason M. Reynolds

A Sterling man was arrested last week on charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and for inducing aliens to come to the United States using fraudulently obtained H-1B visas, the Department of Justice said.

According to court documents, Ashish Sawhney, 48, allegedly used four corporations to orchestrate the improper submission of fraudulent applications for H-1B specialty-occupation work visas, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Advocates Sound Alarm Over Absentee Ballot Signature Verifications in Michigan

Jason M. Reynolds

Election integrity advocates believe something fishy is going on in Wayne County with absentee ballots, and they say Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is undermining the security of the process there and across Michigan.

Glen Sitek of the Election Integrity Fund provided an exclusive statement to The Michigan Star.

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Timken, FirstEnergy Helped Householder Achieve His Dream of Regaining Position as Speaker

Jason M. Reynolds

FirstEnergy donated generously to Mike DeWine, his son Patrick DeWine, Larry Householder, who wanted to become House speaker for the second time in his life, as well as the Ohio Republican Party, as our special series shows.

FirstEnergy, as well as Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, helped Householder achieve his dream in January 2019. His first time as speaker was 2001-2004.

Householder, according to a story by cleveland.com, recruited a group of candidates for the House’s 2018 election who would need his help to gain office, the newspaper said, citing a federal charging document.

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DeWine, Timken, Householder Learn the Art of Funneling Donations Through Ohio Republican Party

Jason M. Reynolds

The Dayton Daily News in January 2014 reported on allegations of pay-to-play in Attorney General DeWine’s office concerning an advisory panel.

His calendar shows he met frequently with (now deceased) Alex Arshinkoff, a lobbyist and the chairman of Summit County Republican Party who represented four companies doing business with DeWine’s office.

DeWine was not the only Ohio Republican engaging in pay-to-play. Indeed, previous news reports and public records show the Ohio Republican Party funneled money to DeWine and now disgraced former House Speaker Larry Householder from such donors as FirstEnergy.

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Data Shows Long History of Pay-to-Play Among Ohio Republican Party, DeWine, Householder and FirstEnergy

Jason M. Reynolds

Mike DeWine, as former Ohio attorney general, often awarded no-bid contracts to lawyers and collections agencies to do state work. Many of those chosen vendors also happened to be his campaign donors.

The Dayton Daily News in July 2014 reported on the connections between Attorney General DeWine’s awarding of collections contracts to vendors who also just happened to be campaign donors.

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Dana Loesch Will Present Keynote Speech at Citizens for Community Values’ Gala in Cincinnati

Jason M. Reynolds

Conservative media personality Dana Loesch will be the keynote speaker at the Citizens for Community Values (CCV)’s upcoming Celebration Gala to be held in Cincinnati.

Loesch will speak at the gala on Thursday, October 1 at Xavier University.

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Attorney General Barr Tells House Judiciary Committee There Is a Separate Investigation Into Unmaskings

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) asked Attorney General William Barr about “unmaskings” in a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.

The committee grilled Barr on a number of other topics as well, including police reform.

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Conservative Organizations Call For Next Ohio House Speaker to Have Character, Be Supporter of Faith and Family

Jason M. Reynolds

Even as the Ohio House of Representatives looks to replace disgraced Speaker Larry Householder, a coalition of conservative organizations is urging lawmakers to be thoughtful in how they do so.

Householder and four others were arrested July 21 in connection with a $60 million federal bribery probe in connection with the Legislature’s 2019 bailout of FirstEnergy and its nuclear power plants.

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Political Operative Tyler Fehrman Wore a Wire for the FBI to Catch Matt Borges

Jason M. Reynolds

Details are emerging on how Tyler Fehrman came to help the FBI bust Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Matt Borges and three others in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme.

Cleveland.com reported on the details, including an interview with Fehrman, here.

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Gov. DeWine Orders Nearly Everyone in Ohio to Mask up and Travelers to and from Certain States to Quarantine for Two Weeks

Jason M. Reynolds

Whether you live in metropolitan Columbus or rural Beaverdam, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine demands that you wear a mask when you step foot outside your door.

DeWine is imposing a statewide mask mandate starting today at 6 p.m. His announcement is available here.

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DeWine Tells Meet the Press He May Implement Statewide Mask Mandate

Jason M. Reynolds

As Ohio’s coronavirus testing and case numbers are increasing, Gov. Mike DeWine is threatening to impose a statewide mask mandate.

While Ohio’s coronavirus tests and cases are increasing, the rate of deaths is decreasing, even as Gov. Mike DeWine says he has not ruled out a statewide mask mandate.

DeWine spoke about mask mandates on Meet the Press on Sunday.

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Lawyers Help Ohio Business Owners Organize Lawsuits Into Class Action to Take on DeWine’s Shutdown Regulations

Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio business owners who are fed up with Gov. Mike DeWine’s ever-lasting shutdown regulations are joining their lawsuits together into a class action against the state.

Three lawyers are working together to help combine existing lawsuits and are looking for other owners whose livelihoods are being threatened by what they say are unconstitutional orders. The suit against the DeWine administration and other government agencies was filed in the Ohio Court of Common Pleas in Lake County.

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Conservative Clergy of Color Defends Sen. Blackburn After Democratic Strategist Calls Her ‘Inbred Racist Trash’ For Standing Up to Black Lives Matter

Jason M. Reynolds

Conservative Clergy of Color’s Chairman Bishop Aubrey Shines denounced an attack lobbed at U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) Wednesday for speaking out against Black Lives Matter.

Blackburn tweeted, “The life of every African American matters. But Black Lives Matter is a 501 (c)(3) organization run by “trained Marxists.” We cannot allow our great country to be destroyed under the pretense of social justice.”

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White Singing Group Formerly Known as Lady Antebellum Seeks Legal Ruling to Confirm Appropriation of Name ‘Lady A’ from Black Singer

Jason M. Reynolds

The white country band formerly known as Lady Antebellum has chosen to show racial “sensitivity” by suing to appropriate the name “Lady A” from Anita White, a black singer who has used the moniker for decades.

Lady Antebellum on June 11 said they would start going by the name Lady A since “antebellum” carried racial connotations, Billboard said. The suit was filed July 8 in Nashville’s U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

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DeWine’s Baseball Team’s Paycheck Protection Program Loan Nets Millionaire Governor $189K of Forgivable Taxpayer Handout

Jason M. Reynolds

With news that Gov. Mike DeWine’s minor league baseball team cashed in on the Paycheck Protection Program, one may ask how Ohio’s top executive came to own a team in North Carolina or why he needed a taxpayer handout.

DeWine has a 32 percent stake in the Asheville Tourists minor league team, The Ohio Star reported this week.

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Buckeye Institute Sues Over Law Allowing Columbus to Collect Income Taxes From Commuters Despite Emergency Order Preventing Them from Working in the City

Jason M. Reynolds

The Buckeye Institute said that it and three employees filed a lawsuit over the taxing of workers’ income in Columbus since they do not live in the city and were not allowed to work there during Ohio’s Stay-at-Home order.

The lawsuit, which is available here, was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Franklin County.

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Sen. Blackburn Says Rep. Ilhan Omar Should Resign After Calling for Dismantling of U.S. Economic, Political Systems

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should resign after the representative called for the “dismantling” of the U.S. “economy and political systems.”

Omar made the remark during a speech Tuesday to the Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, The Daily Wire reported.

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President Trump Endorses Christina Hagan in Her Bid to Unseat U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan in 13th Congressional District

Jason M. Reynolds

President Donald Trump has set his sights on one of Ohio’s big races — former State Rep. Christina Hagan’s bid to defeat U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).

Trump on Friday tweeted his support for Hagan.

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Ohio Republican Party Frays, Leadership Falters As 2020 Election Heats Up

Jason M. Reynolds

  Is Jane Timken the leader the Ohio State Republican Party needs to help President Donald Trump win re-election when her party seems to be engaged in a civil war? The stakes are high in the Buckeye State. Trump and Biden are locked in a dead heat, according to a…

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Reddit Bans Pro-Trump Group in Latest Attack on Conservative Speech

Jason M. Reynolds

Reddit, one of the top internet sites in the world, on Monday banned a major pro-President Donald Trump group that had about 800,000 members, citing “hate speech.”

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Facebook, Contractor Pass the Buck on Who Fired HR Manager Who Said ‘No One Has the White Man’s Back Anymore’

Jason M. Reynolds

Leslie Brown, the woman who appeared in a Project Veritas video about Facebook who made incendiary comments that debuted Thursday, has been fired.

That’s according to a text message received by Project Veritas CEO James O’Keefe. Project Veritas made the announcement here.

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Police Push Protesters Back From Andrew Jackson Statue in Front of White House as They Attempt to Pull it Down

Jason M. Reynolds

The attack against American history continued Monday evening as police blocked protesters attempting to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the White House.

Reporter Shomari Stone tweeted, “BREAKING: Metropolitan Police and US Park Police move demonstrators back from Lafayette Square Park. Two separate protesters tell me the groups want to tear down the Andrew Jackson statue near the White House. @[email protected] @nbcwashington”.

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DeWine Opines on ‘Fast Reopening’, Walks With His Dog in Exclusive Dispatch Interview

Jason M. Reynolds

What’s a newspaper to do when given an exclusive interview with the governor during a pandemic that has ravaged the state’s economy and rioting that has ravaged the capital city? Would you push against answers that are not true?

If you’re The Columbus Dispatch, you allow Gov. Mike DeWine to talk about the “quick” reopening of the state, his walks with his dog Dolly and how he social distances with his grandkids.

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Citizens for Community Values Pushes Back Against Hit Piece in The Columbus Dispatch

Jason M. Reynolds

Citizens for Community Values is pushing back against a “blatantly biased” story in The Columbus Dispatch newspaper attacking them for working with the state to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CCV says it is “Ohio’s Family Policy Council” and “We endeavor to create an Ohio where God’s blessings of life, family, and religious freedom are treasured, respected, and protected.”

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Ohio GOP Central Committee Censures Former Chairman Matt Borges for Supporting Biden

Jason M. Reynolds

Matt Borges has been censured by the Ohio Republican Central Committee for working to defeat President Donald Trump and ensure Joe Biden wins the election.

Borges is the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. However, he has been running the Right Side PAC to support Biden, The Plain Dealer reported. The party said they took the action as well due to an FEC violation and Borges’ continued criticism of Trump. They also stripped his “chairman emeritus” status. 

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Franklin County Democratic Party Tells Local FOP Lodge Its Candidates Do Not Want Police Endorsements

Jason M. Reynolds

The Franklin County Democratic Party has decided that the local Fraternal Order of Police does not need to endorse any of its candidates.

Party Chairman Michael Sexton informed the FOP Capital City Lodge #9 of the decision in a letter, available on the Democratic chapter’s Facebook page here from a Friday post.

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Lorain County Commission Candidate Sues to Overturn Primary Results, Saying Thousands of Republican Voters Were Disenfranchised

Jason M. Reynolds

A Lorain County commission candidate who lost his race is suing to have the results from Dr. Amy Acton’s delayed primary election set aside, citing about 90 violations of state election law and the Ohio Constitution.

The candidate, Gerald W. Phillips, filed the election contest complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Lorain County. 

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Antifa Militia Wing Says They Believe in Abolishing ‘Everything, Including the Police’ in New Project Veritas Video

Jason M. Reynolds

Project Veritas on Tuesday released a third installment of the #ExposeAntifa series, in which members of the militia wing talk about abolishing everything, including the police.

The video is available here.

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Eight Bars, Restaurants Sue Acton, DeWine Over ‘Constitutionally Vague’ Restrictions

Jason M. Reynolds

A lawsuit has been filed against Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton and Gov. Mike DeWine in Lake County Common Pleas Court over “constitutionally vague” restrictions on restaurants and bars, The News-Herald reported.

The case has been assigned to Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O’Donnell. The plaintiffs are eight bars and restaurants, all but one being located in Northeast Ohio.

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Sherrod Brown and Four Other Democratic Senators Kneel at George Floyd Memorial

Jason M. Reynolds

Five Democrat senators knelt during a moment of silence for George Floyd in a caucus meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) knelt, which lasted for eight minutes and 46 seconds, The Hill reported. That was the length of time fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck before he died. Chauvin faces a second-degree murder charge over the incident.

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Black Cincinnati Councilman Calls Out Violent Protests: ‘This Is Cincinnati Police. This is Not Minneapolis Police’

Jason M. Reynolds

WLWT captured Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Pastor, who is black, on video delivering an emotional dressing down of the violent protesters in his city’s downtown.

The riots are in protest of the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

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Ads for Children’s Book on 19th Amendment Written by Sen. Blackburn and Her Daughter Banned by Instagram

Jason M. Reynolds

Instagram reportedly believes a children’s book written by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and her daughter, about the history of the 19th Amendment, may “influence the outcome of an election,” so the tech giant has banned advertising for it.

The Federalist reported on the book’s ban.

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Executive Order Takes Aim at Leftist Tech Giants’ Censorship of Conservatives

Jason M. Reynolds

After years of warning, President Donald Trump took action Thursday in the form of an Executive Order to remove a key protection companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google enjoy that shields the tech giants from lawsuits by individuals and other entities with claiming bias, censorship, and otherwise unfair treatment.

The Order, titled “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship” comes two days after Twitter added a controversial “fact-check” of two of his tweets about fraud and absentee ballots, NPR reported.

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Foundation Says Breach of Unemployment Claimants’ Data Causes Loss of Public Trust in Ohio Government

Jason M. Reynolds

With the data breach exposing the information of unemployed Ohioans, one foundation is saying that the government’s failure to address known flaws with the benefits system means the public has lost trust in the state.

Deloitte Consulting is handling pandemic unemployment assistance claims for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. At least 130,000 independent contractors who filed 1099 forms but have not yet received benefits had their information, including addresses and social security numbers exposed on the Deloitte system, WLWT reported.

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