'My values have not changed'

This is hilarious

South Carolina dad David Warner is afraid to tell his sixth-grade son that he will have to leave his school, teachers, and friends because the state Supreme Court struck down the Palmetto State’s school voucher program. “Today definitely felt like a kick in the stomach,” Warner said. The Warner family was using an education savings account to send their son to a private, Christian school this year. But after the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday decided on the school choice law that enabled low-income parents to use education savings accounts to send their children to private schools, the Warner family will have to send their son back to a public school in the middle of the first semester of the school year. “I dread that conversation with my son, where I have to tell him, ‘We have to go back, and you’re going to leave all these new friends that you’ve met,’” Warner told The Daily Signal. “I’m going to have to sit down and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t going to work out, and not because of anything else, but that Dad doesn’t have the money to pay for it,’” Warner added. The court ruled the school voucher program violates the state’s “constitutional prohibition against the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private educational institutions.” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the Education Savings Trust Fund Act into law in March 2023, allowing 5,000 eligible students to apply for educational scholarships worth $6,000 each. The 3-2 court ruling orders that the program cease immediately, so students reliant on vouchers for private school tuition may have to change schools in the middle of the first semester of the school year. Six public school parents, along with the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and the South Carolina Education Association, a branch of the far-left National Education Association teachers union, filed the lawsuit against the state Department of Education over the school choice program in October 2023. “Our public schools already lack sufficient resources, so it makes no sense to use school vouchers to divide our limited state funds between public schools and unaccountable private schools,” plaintiff Candace Eidson said in a statement. Eidson is a Greenville County Public Schools mom. The school voucher program would have primarily benefited low-income families, as eligible families had to have a household income of less than 200% of the 2024-25 federal poverty guideline. For a family of four, the poverty threshold is $31,200. “This really insinuates that people who are low income don’t have the ability to make the best decision for their own families,” Warner said. “The court today basically said if you don’t make enough money, or if you’re lower income, sometimes for reasons that are not your own, then you are essentially not able to make good decisions for your own family.” Warner said his son was much happier in private school, where days started with Bible classes. He also appreciated that at private school, he didn’t have to worry about the explicit library books he found in his son’s public school library. “He’s going to be devastated,” Warner said of his sixth-grader. “He absolutely loves his new school and his new teachers, and he was excited about this whole thing.” “We had seen something we had never seen before,” the father continued, “and now it feels like that light’s about to go back out again.” At public school, Warner said he had to constantly worry about inappropriate content being taught to his son. “We have to be focused on not just whether they’re getting their education, but also whether there’s material that’s inappropriate being placed in front of our children,” he said. South Carolina Freedom Caucus Chairman state Rep. Jordan Pace said he would introduce a refundable tax-credit bill as an alternative to the Education Savings Trust Fund Act. “The refundable tax-credit model is, you go to whatever school you want to go to, and then on your tax form you check a box or indicate on that on your income-tax form that you sent your child to a private school or homeschool, and not government school, and you get $7,000 back on your taxes,” Pace told The Daily Signal. Students from South Carolina’s low-income households need educational choice, said state Rep. April Cromer, who serves on the state House Education Committee. “We are at the bottom of the scale for education,” Cromer told The Daily Signal. “Our kids are failing basic reading and math, and I think [school choice] gives children more opportunities to level the playing field and make sure their needs are being met, and it gives the parents more options, another tool in their tool belt, which I think is important if we are ever going to try and move the ball down the field.” In 2023, WalletHub ranked South Carolina 42nd out of 51 school systems in the country, including that of the District of Columbia. “We have to get creative with how we’re educating our kids, because what we’re doing now is not working,” Cromer said. McMaster said in a statement that the court’s “decision may have devastating consequences for thousands of low-income families who relied on these scholarships for their child’s enrollment in school last month.” “It may also jeopardize the future enrollment of tens of thousands of students in state-funded, four-year-old kindergarten programs and state-funded scholarships utilized by students at private colleges and [historically black colleges and universities],” he added. The court ruled that Education Savings Trust Fund Act funds are public funds, so they are subject to constitutional restrictions. “We sever and find unconstitutional § 59-8-110 (13)(e), which allows payments from ESTF scholarships for ‘tuition and fees for an approved, nonpublic online education service provider or course,’” the ruling states. “We also enjoin the Department from disbursing ESTF scholarships for the tuition and fees of nonpublic educational service providers under S.C. Code Ann. § 59-8-110 (13)(a) and (l).” The South Carolina Supreme Court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Gary Hill, said the only path forward for school choice advocates is to amend the Constitution. “If the spending of public funds for the direct benefit of private schools is an idea the people wish to embody in our Constitution (and Respondents proclaim there is public clamor for it), the Constitution provides a ready method to amend its terms,” Hill wrote. Chief Justice John Kittredge wrote the dissenting opinion, accusing the court’s 3-2 majority of pulling the rug out from under the feet of the General Assembly, as well as those of “the students the law was designed to serve.” “Our duty is to serve the Constitution, the supreme policy of our land,” Kittredge wrote. “As such, our obligation is not to allow a rug to cover up well-marked constitutional ground, no matter how inconvenient that ground may prove to be to otherwise arguably salutary policies. The entire concept behind the Constitution and the rule of law is that the end cannot justify the means.” The court ruling does a disservice, especially to single parents, said Christi Dixon, South Carolina Moms for Liberty legislative chair. “The [education savings accounts] empowered many families in South Carolina, families that are lower income and in underserved communities that don’t have a lot of education choices,” Dixon told The Daily Signal. “It provided them with choices to meet the needs of their specific child. I think that this is a disservice to the families, especially in those communities who are single parents.” The post ‘Kick in the Stomach’: South Carolina Court Nixes School Choice Program for Low-Income Families appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Six secretaries of state from across America fielded questions in congressional testimony Wednesday about increasing public confidence in elections.   House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., was among committee members who pushed the top state election officials on campaign finance, noncitizen voting, and other election security issues. The secretaries of state who testified were from both parties: Republicans Cord Byrd of Florida, Mac Warner of West Virginia, and Frank LaRosa of Ohio, plus Democrats Adrian Fontes of Arizona, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan, and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico. Here are four key moments from the hearing.   1. ‘Red Line’ for Noncitizens on Voter Lists? Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., asked the secretaries of state how many noncitizens should be on voter registration lists.  The three Republicans and three Democrats all agreed: zero. These responses come as most Democrats in Congress oppose a Republican-backed bill to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.  “Democrats say there is not a significant number of noncitizens registered to vote, but yet there is still evidence of noncitizens on voter rolls,” D’Esposito said. “Tell us, what’s the red line?” the New York Republican added. “What is the number that we think makes it significant? What is the number that would require the federal government to implement policies to prevent noncitizens from voting in our elections?”  Byrd, Florida’s secretary of state, pointed to the 2000 presidential election in which Republican George W. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore by just 537 votes.  “It should be a zero tolerance policy,” Byrd said of noncitizens being registered to vote. He added: “Small numbers of people matter in elections.” LaRosa, Ohio’s secretary of state, said every vote matters.  “Every year, dozens of elections come down to a single vote. Those are usually local elections. But those matter,” LaRosa said. “We say every vote matters. We mean that, and we should not allow any noncitizens to be on our voter rolls.” 2. Voter ID Not a ‘Magic Bullet’ New Mexico’s Oliver, a Democrat, said everyone should work together to increase confidence in election outcomes.  However, Oliver said voter ID would not help on that front. New Mexico doesn’t require photo identification for voting.  My book “The Myth of Voter Suppression” notes that more than 30 states have some form of voter ID law. Requiring voter ID is highly popular across all demographics, averaging about 80% support in most polls. It is also commonly used in almost every European country. “We need to strengthen America’s confidence in our elections,” Steil said. “I think there are real commonsense reforms that can be done to make sure Americans have that confidence in our elections. … Would photo ID increase Americans’ confidence in our elections?” Oliver responded: “I don’t believe so.”  Steil seemed surprised.  “You don’t believe having an individual show their ID, showing they are who they say they are, increases confidence in our elections?” he asked.  Oliver replied: “You asked me a yes or no question. I don’t think that’s a magic bullet.”  But Ohio’s LaRosa, a Republican, agreed with Steil. He stressed that voter ID is “vastly popular among both Republicans and Democrats.”  Steil said photo ID is common in other parts of life.  “If you board an airplane, you’ve got to show your ID. If you want to buy a six-pack of beer, you’ve got to show your photo ID,” Steil said. “If you go into vote, it makes total sense that you should have to show your photo ID just to simply show you are who you say you are.” Steil stressed that New Mexico doesn’t require photo ID to vote.  “New Mexico doesn’t have a photo ID law, something the state of New Mexico should look at,” Steil said. “There are real commonsense reforms we would like to see made in states like New Mexico that doesn’t have a photo ID law.” 3. Foreign Influence on Elections Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, noted that Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine, also a Republican, signed a bill into law in June to block direct and indirect foreign funding for ballot referendums. Foreign nationals already are banned from contributing to candidates.  Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss contributed $6 million to organizations supporting redistricting reforms on the Ohio ballot related to redrawing congressional and legislative maps.  “A lot of people outside of Ohio had a lot of interest in what Ohio was doing in its election,” Carey said, noting that only $200,000 of the money supporting the ballot initiative came from Ohio—out of $26 million raised.  LaRosa, the Ohio secretary of state, said the law is needed.  “Unfortunately it is needed because there are foreigners who think they have a role in Ohio’s elections, including, by the way, a Swiss billionaire—who the day the governor called the special session to pass the bill barring foreign people from contributing made a contribution because he was trying to get in under the wire,” LaRosa said.  4. ‘Worst Election Interference in American History’ West Virginia’s Warner, a Republican, stressed that restoring confidence in elections will require accountability from federal agencies that interfered in the 2020 election.  “The worst election interference in American history was done in 2020 by 51 so-called intelligence experts,” Warner told the House committee.  He was referring to the 51 former federal intelligence officials—some of them still contractors with the government—made the debunked claim that Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop and its contents were Russian disinformation.  “It was a lie and they knew it was a lie,” Warner said.  “Today’s hearing is about restoring election confidence. The first step to solving a problem is to admit there is one,” Warner said. “A number of U.S. government institutions need to publicly admit the enormity of improperly influencing a presidential election before confidence can be restored.” West Virginia’s secretary of state said the security clearances of the 51 intelligence veterans should be revoked, and that the 51 should not hold another government position.  “Shame on the FBI for not timely exposing the lie and telling social media to suppress the story,” Warner said. “[Facebook founder] Mark Zuckerberg now admits that he shouldn’t have listened to the FBI.” The post 6 Secretaries of State Testify to Congress on Reliability of Elections. Here Are 4 Takeaways. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Do you carry a gun? Bad idea, says Hollywood. Civilians with guns are fools. You are more likely to hurt yourself than the bad guy. “Leave it to a good guy with a gun to really screw things up,” says a cop on ABC’s “The Rookie.” Liberal politicians agree. “A good guy with a gun will stop bad guys with a gun? It doesn’t hold up,” smiles New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “An adolescent rescue fantasy,” adds an “expert” on CBS. Now, I’m not a gun person. I was raised among lefty gun haters. I assumed Hollywood and “experts” were right. When I saw economist John Lott‘s book “More Guns, Less Crime,” I rolled my eyes. But now I understand that Lott makes a good point. “A couple million times a year, people use guns defensively,” he says in my new video. “When a civilian tries to stop one of these instances, they’re overwhelmingly successful.” But FBI reports say self-defense with guns is rare. “They’re simply missing a huge number of cases,” says Lott. He’s posted a list of cases the FBI ignored, in which civilians stopped shooters. >>>Related: What These 11 Examples of Self-Defense With Guns Ought to Teach Liberals The FBI lists the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Forty-nine people were killed. “One week afterward,” says Lott, “there was a similar attack at a nightclub in South Carolina.” But there, a civilian shot the attacker. “Still had 125 rounds of ammunition on him when he was stopped,” says Lott. Somehow, the FBI missed that case, along with so many others. When 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that got lots of news coverage. Few people know that “just a few months later in Titusville, Florida, [at] an elementary school,” says Lott, “a man came up, started firing his gun. Fortunately, a hot dog vendor [with a] concealed handgun was able to wound the attacker and stop him before he was able to kill.” “Stepped in and saved a lot of people’s lives,” said a local police officer. But the FBI somehow missed that, too … Lott’s list of ignored cases includes the story of Raul Mendez, who was at a party when a guest opened fire. “Bullet enters right by my ear, goes straight through my face and out my left eye … Blind from one eye and covered in blood, I unloaded four rounds and finished him off.” Mendez probably saved the lives of a dozen people at that party. I tell him, “The FBI records instances like this, but somehow they have no record of your case.” “They’re not recording the true numbers,” Mendez replies. I ask Lott why. “There’s a lot of political views that infect their data,” he says. “I had interactions with the people in the FBI. … I had people tell me, ‘Well, I’m a Democrat.'” I push back. “The FBI, who carry guns, are anti-gun? It’s not believable.” “They think that it would go against the narrative that they want to push,” answers Lott. Stossel TV asked the FBI why they don’t include self-defense cases like Mendez’s. They replied that their data is “not intended to explore all facets of active shooter incidents.” Too bad politicians and the media don’t realize that. “It’d be great if we could just make all guns disappear,” says Lott. “But when you ban guns, it’s basically the most law-abiding, good citizens who obey. Every place in the world that’s banned all guns or all handguns has seen murder rates go up.” So-called experts like a psychiatrist featured on Detroit’s CBS station confidently say, “There haven’t been good guys with a gun who stop mass shootings. It’s the kind of thing you learn reading comic books.” Mendez replies: “I was prepared, and it saved lives. There’s no comic book story about that. Those are facts. That’s what happened. I was there. I’m sure there’s many more out there that go unheard.” COPYRIGHT 2024 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Good Guys With Guns appeared first on The Daily Signal.

NYPD Cop Wins Lawsuit over Police 'Courtesy Cards'

President Joe Biden surprised and delighted many when he happily put on a Trump 2024 hat before onlookers while at a fire station in Pennsylvania Wednesday. Biden was visiting the volunteer fire department in Shanksville on the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks on 9/11 when someone asked him to wear a cap from the Trump presidential campaign. 'Kamala did so bad in last night's debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat,'Video of the moment was widely circulated on social media. The Trump campaign seized on the moment to poke fun at the Harris campaign. "Thanks for the support, Joe!" the Trump War Room social media posted. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates issued a brief statement explaining the president's decision to wear the hat. He said that Biden "spoke about the country's bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that" to people at the fire station. "As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it," said Bates. The Trump campaign added another statement. “Kamala did so bad in last night's debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat,” they added. The Trump hat appropriation was not the only moment of political civility on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shared a friendly handshake during the remembrance ceremony. Many on social media were supportive of the comity they showed each other after a contentious debate Tuesday night. Here's a video of the Trump hat incident.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

One of the major benefits of living in the most diverse country on Earth is the wide variety of exotic international cuisine available to even the most provincial American.Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Middle Eastern, Italian ... the list goes on. You may not have a passport, but your stomach might need one.And thanks to our robust immigration policy, we're learning about new tastes and all the time.The latest craze is Haitian food — best experienced in Springfield, Ohio's vibrant, bustling "Little Port-au-Prince" neighborhood, which seems to have popped up almost overnight. While most of us won't get the chance to visit in person — with some 20,000 new residents, we hear Springfield is pretty much booked up for the near future — we've got some recipes that you can bring a touch of exotic Springfield to your own home.Public park-harvested roast Canada gooseIn Springfield, it's not uncommon to see enterprising chefs exiting a park, swinging a freshly killed goose by the neck. In a tradition dating back months, these birds are often plucked, gutted, and roasted right out in the open. You can replicate this charming cucina rustica at home by borrowing a neighbor's driveway or lawn.Ingredients1 whole Canada goose, freshly caught from public park1 piece of goose liver1 small hunk or slice of breadblack pepperclovesvinegarsaltgoose fat drippingsInstructionsGooseStart a fire. You will want to have hot coals by the time you are ready to cook your goosePrepare a spit: Cut two forked sticks about three feet long, stick each in the ground about three feet apart, in front of (not directly over) the fire. Find a green stick about four feet long, of sufficient thickness that it can hold your goose.Dry pluck the feathers from the goose. (Dipping the goose in scalding but not boiling water can loosen the feathers.)Clean the goose: Lay it breast side up, feet facing you. Find the wishbone area of each breast and make an incision with a sharp knife lengthwise to each drumstick. Peel back the skin on either side and remove entrails, innards, and organs. Set aside the heart, gizzard, and liver. (NOTE: be careful when separating gall from liver, as the bile can foul the meat.)Clean the cavity of the bird with a rag or paper towel.Run the spit through the cavity of the goose. Secure with twine or wire. Turn gently. Place a pan under the goose to collect the drippings.Black pepper sauceRoast liver and bread over fire. Roast the bread until it is almost black. Soak the bread in vinegar. Grind cloves and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Add a pinch of salt.Add the bread and the liver to the mortar, and grind all ingredients together. Cook mixture in pot over fire. Add drippings and vinegar to dilute. If you're drinking beer or wine, feel free to add a splash as well. Carve goose and ladle sauce over meat.Korean-style dog-meat stew (bosingtang)Springfield has even more exotic Haitian fare to tantalize the taste buds of those in the know. Local foodies whisper of here-today, gone-tomorrow pop-up restaurants serving common domestic house pets.While the location of these mobile, al fresco feasts is a jealously guarded secret, and reservations are all on a strict word-of-mouth basis, we imagine the techniques involved aren't far from those employed in countries such as South Korea, where the traditional dog-meat stew known as bosingtang is prized as a source of vitality in coldest winter or hottest summer.Ingredients1 lb. leg meat (sirloin tips) from medium-sized domesticated dog breed (whatever is readily "available"), cubed2 tablespoons sea salt1 tablespoon lard2 onions, chopped4 cloves garlic, minced2 tablespoons miso paste2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste; may use Sriracha or red chili paste instead)1 tablespoon soy sauce1 tablespoon honey1-3 tablespoons paprika6 cups water5 oz. wild mustard leaves (may substitute spinach or fiddleheads)1 handful chopped cilantro1 teaspoon sesame oil2 green onions, slicedInstructionsMix sea salt and water. Add cubed dog meat and let sit for at least two hours. Remove the meat and pat dry.Put deep soup pot over open campfire. Add lard to pot. Add dog and sear until browned on all sides, about 5-10 minutes (work in batches for more efficient browning). Reduce heat to medium, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add miso paste, gochujang, soy sauce, honey, and paprika, then pour over the 6 cups of water or stock. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 2 hours. Add the mustard, sesame oil, and half green onions and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adjust by adding more salt or chili flakes as necessary.Serve in bowls, garnish with remaining green onions and the cilantro.'Little Tiger' (thịt mèo), Vietnamese house cat stir-fry As for preparing cat, we've decided to experiment with a little Vietnamese flair. The country's booming cat meat trade is driven in part by the demand for the stir-fried snack "Little Tiger," or thịt mèo. Ingredients1 lb. cat meat (black cats especially prized), cubed1 onion, chopped1 bell pepper, chopped1 bird's eye chili, minced4 cloves garlic, minced2 tablespoons soy sauce1 tablespoon brown sugar2 tablespoons fish sauce1 tablespoon ground black pepper4 cloves garlic3 scallions1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon sesame oil2 tablespoons butterInstructionsMake marinade: Combine soy sauce, garlic, pepper, fish sauce, brown sugar, and garlic in small bowl. Mix well. Reserve one tablespoon of marinade and set aside. Put cubes of cat meat in marinade. Stir to coat. Let sit for 45 minutes to an hour. Put large frying pan over open campfire. Add oil to pan until it smokes. Add cat meat cubes and sear on all sides by shaking pan. Transfer cat to bowl and set aside. Add butter to pan and cook bell pepper, onion, and bird's eye chili, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cat meat and reserved marinade back to pan. Stir-fry for a minute to finish, being careful not to overcook cat. Garnish with scallions and serve with cold Vietnamese beer such as 333 or Bia Hanoi.