Illinois Review

How did your Illinois state rep vote on the gas tax hike?

SPRINGFIELD - Twenty Republican House members voted to raise Illinois' gas tax to be the 3rd highest in the nation - almost as high as California and Pennsylvania's. The hike will go to fund Governor Pritzker's $45 Billion capital improvement program - the majority of which will be going to fund projects in Democrat districts.

The 19 cents per gallon gas tax hike will take effect Monday, July 1st - and there's a lot of interest in who exactly is responsible for this painful additional tax burden on Illinois drivers. The Democrat leadership really, really wanted the vote to be bi-partisan - so they wouldn't take the blame for it as a party.

Thorner: Higher education in critical need of reform, author says

University of Chicago

By Nancy Thorner - 

Education, especially the nature and quality of today's education from kindergarten through college, will have a profound impact on this nation and its future direction, for the children of today will be our future leaders of tomorrow.  

There is a definite need for a higher education reformation, as was the case made by Emina Melonic in her article of June 20, 2019, We Need an Education Reformation, who as a survivor of Bosnian war and its aftermath of refugee camps, migrated to the United States in 1996, becoming an American citizen in 2003.

How did your Illinois senator vote on the gas tax hike?

SPRINGFIELD - Twelve Republican senators voted to raise Illinois' gas tax to be the 3rd highest in the nation - almost as high as California and Pennsylvania's. The hike will go to fund Governor Pritzker's $45 Billion capital improvement program - the majority of which will be going to Democrat districts.

The 19 cents per gallon gas tax hike will take effect Monday, July 1st - and there's a lot of interest in who exactly is responsible for this painful additional tax burden on Illinois drivers. The Democrat leadership really, really wanted the vote to be bi-partisan - so they wouldn't take the blame for it as a party.

HOW DID YOUR STATE REP VOTE ON THE GAS TAX HIKE? 

Get ready - 19 cent per gallon Illinois gas tax hike hits Monday

(Ed Note: Our apologies - we mistakenly wrote the hike is .18 cents per gallon. It is instead .19 cents)

Next Monday, every driver in the state of Illinois will be paying 19 cents more per gallon in fuel taxes - and that means it will cost nearly $2.00 more to fill up a 10-gallon tank than it did Sunday. It's all to fund "capital improvements" throughout the state - and if you haven't been paying attention, Democrat districts will be getting twice as much "capital improvement" than Republican districts. Why? Because they felt like it. 

There's likely to be a cranky bunch of people gathering at the pumps Monday morning ... who will then proceed to be delayed as construction projects slow down traffic as people drive to work to make dollars to pay for the taxes they just paid. And on and on it goes - especially in the state of Illinois.

HOW DID YOUR IL SENATOR VOTE ON THE GAS TAX HIKE?

HOW DID YOUR IL STATE REP VOTE ON THE GAS TAX HIKE?

Thorner: Bannon and Gingrich join Hindu-Americans to discuss Communist China’s unrestricted warfare

By Nancy Thorner - 

On Saturday afternoon, June 22, the “Committee on the Present Danger: China” (CPDC) and the National Indian American Public Policy Institute (NIAPPI) hosted a public event, forum and panel discussion at the Rana-Reagan Community Center, 343 St. Paul Boulevard, Carol Stream, IL to address the “unrestricted warfare” waged for decades by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against American electronics and other manufacturers and the importance of India under the leadership of newly reelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi in addressing the threat posed by the two nations’ mutual foe: the People’s Republic of China. Referred to as a constitutional government and the largest democracy in the world, over 600 million Indian voters re-elected Modi by a landslide on May 23, 2019.  Modi is now considered the "new Reagan of India."

The Committee on the Present Danger: China, or CPDC, was launched in Washington, D.C. on March 25, 2019  by a group of Washington policy advisers, including Steve Bannon, and former U.S. government officials to facilitate “public education and advocacy against the full array of conventional and non-conventional dangers” posed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.  Not a new concept, a Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) likewise existed in 1976 composed of U.S. foreign policy experts to counter the Soviet Union during the cold war in the Regan administration.

Rossi: Lake County Insults our Brave Ancestors

By Randy Rossi - 

The Illinois Review article reporting on Lake County canceling the 28^th annual Civil War Days was important, accurate, and insightful but it lacked one thing. It did not express the outrage that any informed patriot would feel about this disgusting and “politically correct” attack on our brave ancestors. More than 600,000 Americans died and 1,200,000 were wounded in the Civil War to free the slaves. Cancelling this event is a perfect example of cowardly “Political Correctness” which attacks truth and justice. Instead of celebrating the bravery of our ancestors who fought for freedom and gave their lives and/or blood for that freedom, these cowardly politicians focused on Confederate flags instead of those brave Union soldiers that fought for freedom. This is a massive insult to our brave ancestors.

But it is even worse than that. Based on news reports I have read, at first Angelo Kyle said he wanted to cancel the Civil War Days this year because of those Confederate flags and other controversial  issues regarding the Civil War (real or imagined). But he got so much grief that he backed off and let it continue this year hoping it will be cancelled next year. Then suddenly the story switched to “safety concerns” and the Civil War Days were again cancelled this year. But I have read that the Lake County Sheriff has said that they are not aware of any threats or anything else that would involve “safety concerns” at the event. If this isn’t pure politics, what is?

Nearly 800,000 criminal records could be expunged, thanks to Dems legalizing cannabis in Illinois

CHICAGO - Officials suggest nearly 800,000 criminal records could be cleared next year, when the Illinois law goes into effect legalizing recreational marijuana. Tuesday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the measure effective January 1, 2020. 

Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) says she’s proud of the bill that is cutting-edge policy included in the measure she helped write.

Chicago cocktail waitress on leave after spitting on Eric Trump

CHICAGO - Tuesday night a cocktail waitress at Chicago's Aviary Bar was arrested by Secret Service and placed on leave after she allegedly spit on President Trump's middle son Eric. 

“It was purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems,” Trump told Breitbart News. “For a party that preaches tolerance, this once again demonstrates they have very little civility. When somebody is sick enough to resort to spitting on someone, it just emphasizes a sickness and desperation and the fact that we’re winning.”

Title X Protect Life Rule Unanimously Upheld by U.S. Ninth Circuit Judges

CHICAGO - The US  Ninth Circuit's recent decision to allow the Trump Administration to redirect millions of federal dollars away from the abortion industry was applauded by the Thomas More Society, in partnership with Susan B. Anthony List.

The Title X grants, first enacted in 1970, have never legally funded abortions or abortion referrals, the two groups said.

“Title X has always prohibited the use of its funds by programs where abortion is a method of family planning,” explained Sarah Pitlyk, Thomas More Society Special Counsel. “The now reaffirmed regulations simply enforced those terms, ensuring that taxpayer funds will only be used for permitted purposes. The Thomas More Society will continue to support the goal of ensuring that taxpayer dollars do not support the abortion industry.”

Rockford residents protest public library's Drag Queen Story Hour

ROCKFORD - Last Saturday, Rockford area residents gathered outside the East Branch Rockford Public Library upset with a Drag Queen Story hour going on inside the taxpayer-funded venue. While these parents and concerned citizens stood outside, a man and a 13 year old boy - both dressed as females - explained their gender choices to toddlers, preschoolers and elementary age children. 

The use of tax dollars to advocate a lifestyle in direct contradiction to the protesters' religious beliefs and world views prompted "hundreds" - according to a local TV news story - to voice their opposition in front of the library.

From Rockford news coverage

Di Leo: Iranian Provocations and the Risks of Inaction

By John F. Di Leo -

The news of the day concerns Iran, a country that shot down a hundred-million-dollar American drone in international airspace… and the question of how the United States should respond to such an act of war.

This occurred a week after the same country attacked foreign-flagged oil tankers sailing in international waters. 

And a week before that? And the week before that?  Well, this country – Iran, as ruled by the mullahs who have run it since 1979 – has been spreading terrorism all over the world, developing client states around the middle east, and declaring itself to be at war with the United States (which it calls “The Great Satan”), for forty years now.  Every week, there’s another provocation, either against the USA or against others.

It’s just what they do.

Pierce: When Vocabulary Aids Those Who Degrade Society

By Sam Pierce - 

Perhaps some of us on the right struggle with vocabulary more than others. Some can speak or write eloquently and impact policy or its perception. Still others string words together in an artful yet shallow manner. it really does seem that vocabulary and phraseology are often stumbling blocks or at least challenges to effective communication of arguments for life, liberty, and property.

The challenge presents itself on multiple fronts. The most egregious and dastardly of these are the intentional misleading abuse of language by the enemies of society on the left. The trickiest challenge, though, comes from the actual broad definitions of politically charged words such as abortion, immigrant, and gender.

'It's totally unfair': Chicago, where the rich live 30 years longer than the poor

In rich white Streeterville, Chicagoans can expect to live to 90. In poor black Englewood, it’s just 60 – the most divergent of any U.S. city.

The gulf between the two communities which share a city, a mayor, a police force and a school system is just as apparent by the numbers. A recent analysis from the City Health Dashboard, published by the department of population health at New York University, found that the two neighborhoods have the most divergent life expectancy of any in the US that share the bounds of a city.

More HERE

Why Is Illinois Hemorrhaging Residents?

It’s known here as The Exodus.

People are leaving Illinois in droves. Republicans blame the state’s high taxes and its unfunded pension liability, which tops $130 billion. Democrats believe it’s the state’s lack of investment in education and infrastructure.

One thing is certain: Illinois’ population has declined by 157,000 residents over the past five years, making it one of only two states — West Virginia is the other — to lose people over the past decade.

Who Does the Media Most Want to Silence?

In the mainstream media, women on the left are almost always portrayed as paragons of compassion and virtue. But when it comes to conservative women, it’s a different story. Why is this? Heather Higgins, chairman of Independent Women's Forum and CEO of Independent Women's Voice, explains the reasons behind the double standard.

Gorsuch Slams The Supreme Court For Turning A Blind Eye To Overcriminalization

Most government is unconstitutional. Nick Sibilla writes:

The U.S. Supreme Court made it much easier for federal agencies to create new crimes and prosecute them, rejecting a constitutional challenge based on the separation of powers. In an unusual split that saw Justice Samuel Alito join the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, Gundy v. United States upheld the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), a “comprehensive national system” Congress established in 2006 to register sex offenders, which gave the Attorney General vast powers of rulemaking and enforcement. [...]

Thanks to SORNA’s broad transfer of power, the Justice Department previously acknowledged that the Attorney General “could require some but not all to register (or comply with some but not all of the registration requirements); he could do nothing at all or wait several years before acting; or he could change his mind at any given time or over the course of different administrations.” Moreover, SORNA “does not require the Attorney General to act within a certain time frame or by a date certain; it does not require him to act at all.” 

Yet under the Constitution, “all legislative powers” are “vested” in Congress, while Congress cannot “delegate” or outsource those powers to another branch of government. As anyone who’s seen Schoolhouse Rock may recall, the federal government is a system of checks-and-balances: the legislature (Congress) makes the law, the executive (President) enforces the law, and the judiciary (Supreme Court) interprets the law. [...]

Impeach Trump rally fizzles on state capitol steps

Photo from Indivisible Springfield's Facebook Page 

SPRINGFIELD - Though widely publicized leading up to the event, a disappointingly-small group gathered on the Illinois Capitol steps Saturday, weakly demanding US Congress start an investigation to impeach President Donald Trump. 

The anti-Trump rally, attended by members of Illinois' Indivisible Team and the Resist Sisterhood, heard from keynote speaker Renato Mariotti, a CNN legal analyst and a 2018 Democratic candidate for Illinois attorney general.

Lake County cancels 28th annual Civil War Days due to "safety concerns"

LAKE COUNTY - Lake County Democrats won the majority on their county board last fall in the 2018 "Blue Wave," and as a result, things are changing. For instance, Lake County's decades-long annual "Civil War Days" are canceled, due to "safety concerns."  

Because Lake County's Board of Commissioners double as the county's Forest Preserves Board, they elect a president and vice-president among themselves. The newly-elected Forest Preserves President is Angelo Kyle, an African-American. 

Kyle told the Chicago Tribune he had been to the event with former board member and fellow African-American Audrey Nixon and, ‘Some of the things I experienced I cannot talk about here,’ while referencing the sight of Confederate battle flags.

Chicago man sentenced to life for sex trafficking in city and suburbs

CHICAGO — Last week, a federal judge has sentenced a Chicago man to life in prison for forcing women and children to engage in commercial sex acts in Chicago and the suburbs.

Samuel Nichols led a sex trafficking operation that violently forced at least 12 women and children into the sex trade. Some of the minors were as young as 13 years old when Nichols trafficked them, the Northern District of Illinois' US Attorney's office reported.

"Nichols kept the money earned by his victims, often taking in $1,000 per day. He openly flaunted his role as a trafficker, flashing money in Instagram posts, having “#1 Pimp” tattooed on his stomach, and using the trafficking proceeds to fund a Chicago-area rap group that posted music videos on websites such as YouTube," the office said.

Another family bids Illinois a fond farewell

Illinois is losing more and more taxpaying citizens as the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly and the cooperating Democrat Governor JB Pritzker rack up higher and higher taxes, along with more and more restraints on personal freedoms. This faithful Illinois Review reader is the latest to bid Illinois farewell.

From the piece: "Staying in Illinois would mean paying more, receiving less, while giving up our liberty, constitutional rights, and quality of life. It would mean continued, unabated confiscation of what we have worked so hard to achieve..." 

By Jeffrey Crane - 

Emancipated, at last!

As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye to my friends and colleagues and wish all of you well. We will miss you all!

I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of it. After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. BUT enough is enough! I have called Illinois home for essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is honest, competent and cost-effective government. We have chosen to vote with our feet and our wallets since the ballot box encourages more of the same. We, hence, will no longer participate.

Illinois bans immigrant detention centers; prohibits law enforcement from coordinating with ICE

CHICAGO - With the notice that President Trump was authorizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) units in major cities like Chicago to enforce judges' rulings rejecting certain families' asylum requests, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law three bills protecting those living in Illinois without legal papers.

Last Friday, the governor signed the measures in an effort "to protect Illinois' immigrant community amid growing attacks from the federal government,"  Pritzker's office said in a press statement. While signing the bill, Pritzker blasted the president's actions.

Thorner: High drama anticipating U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 Census ruling

By Nancy Thorner - 

John and Andy Schlafly, following in the footsteps of their late mother Phyllis Schlafly who wrote weekly commentaries spanning over a period of many years, wrote the following as their commentary of April 23, 2019, High Noon for Citizenship at High Court:  

“It was high drama on Tuesday [April 23, 2019] at the Supreme Court as the Justices heard what many consider to be the most important case of the Term.  At issue is whether the upcoming 2020 census will be allowed to include the following question: 'Is this person a citizen of the United States?'"

Trump's Buy-American policies strengthened with Bost amendment

WASHINGTON DC — Last week, the US House of Representatives approved an amendment offered by Illinois' 12th CD U.S. Rep. Mike Bost that supports President Trump’s executive order to strengthen “Buy-American” preferences for infrastructure projects.

Bost’s amendment, approved by a bipartisan 373-51 margin, gives American companies a better chance of being selected for contracts and funding by federal agencies. The amendment must still be accepted by the U.S. Senate and signed by Trump before it becomes federal law.

Barnett: Thanks To Republicans, The Free Internet Is Flourishing

One year ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed the Restoring Internet Freedom (RIF) rule, and the internet is flourishing. The rule supplanted an Obama-era rule that regulated the internet like a utility monopoly instead of an information service platform.

Shockingly, the internet has not disappeared, as some “netizens” claimed it would under the new rule.

Consumer access has not suffered one iota, either. Indeed, in 2018, broadband speeds increased by almost 40 percent. Prices for wireless telephone services have continued to fall, and prices for internet services have not increased. Fifth Generation (5G) broadband services, which will accommodate increased video streaming and augmented and virtual reality, are becoming readily available.

More HERE

Of Course a Memorial Cross Doesn’t Establish Religion

A cross memorial does not establish a state religion. The Supreme Court ruled this week that a large cross—a WWI memorial—located at the junction of three roads in Bladensburg, Md., does not violate the Constitution’s establishment clause and therefore does not have to be removed. Ilya Shapiro comments on the Court’s decision in American Legion v. American Humanist Association:

Coming to IL? CA Lawmakers Trying to Force Pastors to Embrace LGBT Ideology.

California Assemblyman Evan Low and three dozen other lawmakers are pushing a resolution in the state Assembly Judiciary Committee that's aimed at telling religious leaders in California what they should preach from their pulpits.

Why a Bigger Social Security Program Would Make Us Worse Off

Social security is like a leaky bucket. And making it bigger just makes the leaks bigger. Rachel Greszler writes:

Within the next month or so, the House of Representatives will likely pass the Social Security 2100 Act, which would make Social Security solvent by imposing super-sized tax increases.

A Tribute to Art Laffer

He helped expand freedom, and he was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Trump awarded Arthur Laffer a Presidential Medal of Freedom this week. Dan Mitchell writes:

Inequality Has Surged Since 1989, and Life Has Become Much Easier

Inequality and standards of living have both risen. John Tamny writes:

In 1989 then prominent computer maker Tandy released the Tandy 5000. Though the poorest of today’s poor would haughtily turn their noses up to the 5000 today, at the time this “most powerful computer ever!” was rather expensive. Try $8,499 (mouse and monitor not included) expensive. Nowadays one can buy a brand new Hewlett-Packard computer that’s exponentially more powerful than the 5000 for $200 (no monitor needed, mouse included) at Best Buy, not to mention computers that perform quite a bit better for not much more at any Apple Store or at Dell.com.

The nearly $9,000 “most powerful computer ever!” came to mind while reading New York Magazine writer Eric Levitz’s latest “damning indictment of capitalism.” What has Levitz worked up is that the richest 1 percent have increased their wealth to the tune of $21 trillion since 1989. [...] [S]imple explains soaring ‘1 percent’ wealth: thanks to technological advances hatched by 1 percenters past and present, the strikingly talented can meet the needs of more and more people around the world. So shrunken by technology is the world in the figurative sense that it’s almost as though Jeff Bezos lives next door to all of us in terms of his ability toserve us.

Fighting Crime or Raising Revenue: Testing Opposing Views of Forfeiture

Civil forfeiture turns police into bandits with a badge. Police respond to tight budgets by seizing more assets, finds a new study by Brian Kelly:

The fact that law enforcement agencies can often spend forfeiture proceeds—and, indeed, in the case of equitable sharing proceeds, must use them as a budget supplement—has led to charges that agencies undertake forfeiture more to realize revenue than to disrupt or deter crime. Considerable anecdotal evidence, as well as some scholarly evidence, suggests there is at least some truth to these charges, and my results provide additional support. Using data for the period 2004 through 2014, I find a statistically significant link between increases in fiscal stress, as measured by local unemployment, and increases in equitable sharing activity, suggesting police do make greater recourse to forfeiture when local budgets are tight. [...]

Great Lakes Reveal a Fatal Flaw in Climate Change ‘Science’

The evidence is wherever they look. John Merline writes:

[J]ust a few years ago, climate scientists were insisting that a warming climate would cause water levels to decline. [...] 

Since the Great Lakes account for 21% of the world’s surface fresh water, these stories were all wrapped in doom-and-gloom scenarios about the impact on drinking water, shipping, recreation, and so on.

The very next year, however, water levels started rising. 

So what are scientists saying now? Simple. They’re now claiming that the fall and rise of Great Lakes’ water levels are due to climate change.

Is Accepting Information About a Political Opponent From a Foreigner 'an Assault on Our Democracy'?

Can information be a campaign contribution that violates federal law? If you think so, writes Jacob Sullum, then you are interpreting campaign finance laws in a way that makes them unconstitutional:

Some of the president's critics have argued that the Trump Tower meeting violated a federal law that prohibits foreign nationals from contributing "anything of value" to a political campaign. But that interpretation is controversial. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller noted in his report on Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, "No judicial decision has treated the voluntary provision of uncompensated opposition research or similar information as a thing of value that could amount to a contribution under campaign-finance law." Given that uncertainty, it would be hard to make the case that Trump Jr. knowingly violated the law, which is required for a conviction.

Furthermore, if the law were understood to cover situations like this, it would effectively criminalize constitutionally protected speech. Mueller noted that "such an interpretation could have implications beyond the foreign-source ban," such as limits on campaign contributions by Americans, and "raise First Amendment questions."

Trump, in other words, is on solid ground in arguing that such contacts are legal. [...]

Tlaib Proposes A Disastrous Cash Giveaway

Far-left congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has released a plan that would pay lower- and middle-income Americans thousands of dollars every year—in exchange for doing absolutely nothing.

The Washington Post reports, “Tlaib’s bill would give direct cash help to those at the bottom of the income distribution — annually offering $3,000 to individuals and $6,000 to families — in an attempt to reduce poverty in the United States and bolster the wages of the poor.”

In an interview with a Fox affiliate in Detroit, Tlaib called her plan “earned income tax credits on steroids.”

“This is basically a broader umbrella for families that make $50,000 or less if you are single, or $100,000 or less if you are a family,” Tlaib added.

More HERE

Will County Board rejects proclamation supporting county's unborn babies

WILL COUNTY - A resolution offering protection for babies developing in their mothers' wombs was rejected by Will County Board's Democrat majority Thursday night.

The proclamation, written by Will County Board member Steve Balich with the help of colleague Judy Ocala and Illinois Family Institute's David E. Smith, was the first denied by board leadership in the past six years, Balich said.  

"After the meeting, several members of the Democrat (Socialist) Caucus yelled at Republicans in one on one conversations for taking a position against EXECUTION on live babies after they are born," Balich wrote in his Will County News report.

The wording of the proclamation is as follows:

Do You Understand the First Amendment?

Do you understand the First Amendment and why it exists? What is the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the freedom of the press? Will Witt explains the liberties protected under the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.

Chicago bike advocates celebrate new annual $50M taxpayer-funded windfall

CHICAGO - Chicago bicyclists are celebrating the super duper prize they grabbed in the state's new capital program - $50 Million annually to spend on walking and bicycling projects. $50 Million per year to spend as they see fit into perpetuity.

That means $50 Million less on road repairs, bridge reconstruction, sewer repairs, and all those projects Illinois lawmakers apparently believe are less-important throughout the state.

Unbelievable?  Here's the press release the Active Transportation Alliance distributed prior to their celebration at Daley Plaza Friday:

Conflict on Fetal Rights Lies at the Heart of America’s Abortion Debate

More HERE

Rossi - The Case for Trump: “Sometimes You Need a Dirty Harry”

By Randy Rossi - 

It was amazing to watch the incredibly high energy at President Trump’s Orlando campaign rally when he officially announced his candidacy for president in the next election. Compare that enthusiasm for President Trump with the incredible lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden and many other Democrat candidates in their campaign rallies. Personally, I think that Trump enthusiasm comes from the fact that many Americans understand that America is at critical point in history which will determine if our great nation continues to climb or begins to fall.

I think Bill Bennett, President Reagan’s Secretary of Education, best explained this enthusiasm for Trump when he was asked what he thought of President Trump and he said; “Sometimes you need a Mother Theresa and sometimes you need a Dirty Harry”. Those enthusiastic Trump supporters at Orlando understand  that America needs “A Dirty Harry” right now who is not afraid to speak the harsh truth about how America has been headed in the wrong direction for several years as Democrats aggressively move toward socialism, have allowed China to steal $500 billion a year from America to put us out of business, and illegal immigrants to cost American tax payers $135 billion a year while they take critical medical and education resources away from American citizens and legal immigrants.

The War to Destroy Christianity in America

“Radicals in America today don’t have the political power to execute religious people and destroy their houses of worship,” Horowitz wrote. “Yet they openly declare their desire to obliterate religion. In their own minds, their intentions are noble — they want to save the human race from the social injustice and oppression that religion allegedly inflicts on humanity. ‘Religion must die in order for mankind to live,’ proclaimed left-wing commentator and comedian Bill Maher in Religulous, the most-watched documentary feature of 2008.”

Frank Gaffney, president and chief executive officer of Save the Persecuted Christians coalition, told The New American that the coalition has been making the case since it was formed in January 2018 that the persecution of Christians in other parts of the world is a “precursor to what can happen closer to home if we’re not careful, and if we don’t do a better job than we have to date in trying to stop” persecution around the world.

More HERE

Denver council member wins with promise to impose communism ‘by any means necessary’

Candi CdeBaca won a runoff race last week against former Denver city council president Albus Brooks, and she did it by promising to implement communist policies “by any means necessary.”

CdeBaca was among three candidates that unseated incumbents in the Tuesday runoff, preliminary results show, and she’s already drawing comparisons to Socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old who unseated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in New York’s 14^th congressional district in 2018.

More HERE

Climate Science Poll Made of Opinion, not Data

A new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says by 2100 melting ice sheets will create up to 7.5 feet of sea-level rise (SLR), inundating many coastal communities.

The alarming prognosis is being touted by the media as further proof of catastrophic climate change. For example, a story on NBC’s website states, “A provocative new study suggests that as Earth’s climate continues to warm and the planet’s ice sheets continue to melt, seas could inundate coastal cities around the world, submerging vast swaths of land and displacing almost 200 million people by the end of the century.”

Gosh, that really does sound dire! However, a close look at the study shows it’s not based on any science at all, but rather a poll of scientists’ opinion. Yes, it’s an opinion piece, and a collective one, too. It’s not based on scientific data.

More HERE

Trump’s Expansion of Health Reimbursement Accounts Improves Health Care Choices

More health care choices. Robert Moffit writes:

The Trump administration unveiled this week a final rule that will dramatically improve workers’ ability to access health insurance of their choice.

The new rule will significantly expand the permitted uses of tax-advantaged health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs.

Today, these special employer-based accounts, in which funds can be rolled over year to year, are used by employees to cover medical expenses, including out-of-pocket costs and services uncovered by traditional insurance.

But with this rule, for the first time in the history of these tax-free accounts, the administration would allow employees to use them to pay premiums for individual health insurance. [...]

FBI raids yet another Chicago alderman's office

CHICAGO - Wednesday, the FBI raided Chicago 34th Ward Alderman Carrie Austin's office while the alderman was with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at the Percy Jillian High School. 

The raid took place at Austin's 34th Ward office on West 111th Street. Austin is the second-longest serving alderman on the City Council behind 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, whose offices were raided last year. Burke is  facing an array of political corruption charges himself.

Thorner: Extremism leads Democrats' Path to Communism

By Nancy Thorner - 

It is possible to have Socialism without Communism, but it’s a fine line with the latter denoting totalitarianism. Confusion exists because there are socialistic societies that aren’t tyrannies, such as in Scandinavia. An example of pure Socialism was the kibbutzism, as were the commune hippies created in the  60's. Neither lasted because they go against human nature. The only way for the system to last is to morph into Communism, wherein the dictators can force Socialism down the throats of the people.

President Trump's Campaign Travel Since 2017

Rossi: Shameful-600 American Companies Put Profits Ahead of America

By Randy Rossi - 

China has a strategic plan to essentially put America out of business and destroy your kid’s futures by using massive cheating and stealing and it is working. Are you OK with that? Well apparently 600 major American companies are totally OK with that as they have signed a letter they sent to President Trump that says his tariffs on China to stop their massive cheating and stealing would hurt US families, jobs, and the US economy. Their goal is to get President Trump to stop his tariffs which are designed to protect America so that they can make more profits.

Comrade Bernie’s American Socialist Nightmare

If you were thinking Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., might back away from his pledge to transform America into a socialist paradise now that he’s running for president, think again. Comrade Bernie’s proud to be what he calls a “democratic socialist” and he wants everyone to know it. 

Last week, Sanders – one of the leading contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – delivered a speech featuring so much socialist propaganda that it would have probably drawn a standing ovation and tears of joy from Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stain if those comrades were still with us.

Sanders spent much of his speech ranting about what he contends is an “oligarchy” of wealthy individuals and businesses that supposedly controls every aspect of American society. He could have called it “a vast right-wing conspiracy” if Hillary Clinton hadn’t already made the phrase her own.

More HERE

Green New Deal Is a Grave Threat

The tremendously expensive proposal would devastate the U.S. economy and cause more environmental destruction than protection.

The “Green New Deal” (GND) resolution proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) proports to be a radical plan required to avert a future climate change catastrophe. Its proponents also claim it would improve the environment and bolster the economy. However, the truth is the GND is a dangerous combination of environmental extremism and socialism. The tremendously expensive proposal would devastate the U.S. economy and cause more environmental destruction than protection.

Despite extensive coverage, the left-leaning media has refused to conduct a rigorous examination of the Green New Deal’s planks, and it has largely chosen to ignore many of the GND’s unrealistic provisions and promises. Even a cursory look at the proposal shows it would be impossible to fully carry out in 10 years and that it would be economically, socially, and politically detrimental, almost beyond imagination.

More HERE

When It Comes to Government, Bigger Is Not Better

After more than two centuries of (somewhat) limited government in the United States, is the tide turning against individual freedom and state sovereignty in favor of an empowered collective and unfettered federal power?

According to recent polls, a large number of Americans (especially Millennials) prefer the latter. Millions of Americans say they support Medicare for All, the “Green New Deal,” and other programs that would vastly increase the size and scope of the federal government. If you think this is hyperbole, you might want to consider how a self-avowed democratic socialist almost became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and is now a frontrunner for the same position in 2020.

Although it is too early to tell if Americans will choose more liberty or more government in the decades to come, this author is optimistic those calling for more liberty will prevail. However, by no means is the gift of liberty guaranteed to future generations.

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IR Opinion: Which inconvenient humans will be denied rights next in Illinois?

CHICAGO - Columnist Dennis Byrne makes an excellent and saddening point about the Illinois "Reproductive Health Act" in which for the first time to his knowledge, a state declared any person - specifically in this case young, helpless babies forming in their mothers' wombs - as having no independent rights. 

"A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State,"  the Illinois' newly enacted Reproductive Health Act says.