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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 01, 2018 34 Comments
Philadelphia set the bar last year when officials added a 1.5 cents-an-ounce to sweetened beverages. It only brought in $78.8 million...$13 million less than they city hoped. You mean to tell me that when you charge a lot more for pop that people won't buy it? I'm SHOCKED! Not really. I mean, as a loyal Diet Coke consumer, the tax wouldn't have pushed me away. But come on. You shouldn't really rely on a tax on something that people can avoid.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 01, 2018 114 Comments
President Donald Trump campaigned "to protect the U.S. from what he has said are unfair trade practices." It looks like he has tried to keep that promise since he announced during a meeting with steel executives that the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum. We do not know yet if it will affect all countries or just ones like China, who has sent a lot of cheap metals to the states.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 27, 2018 60 Comments
The subject of school safety has become a hot topic after Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Arguments in favor of strict gun control are based on the claim, among other things, that there is an epidemic of school shootings that have increased in the past several decades. Northeastern University released a study Monday, however, that calls that assumption into question. The study that found schools are still the safest spot for children. The study also found that school shootings aren't as actually common as portrayed in the media and are not as common as decades ago.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 26, 2018 44 Comments
On Valentine's Day, a 19-year-old murdered 17 kids at Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Since then, the media has flaunted survivors and their families who vocalize an anti-NRA and anti-gun message. Despite these efforts, a gun show in Tampa, FL, had record attendance this past weekend with as many as 7,000 people on Saturday.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 26, 2018 32 Comments
You know, I'm really starting to see this as a power struggle. Nunes and Schiff are just trying to outdo each other. The memo wars have become more about who can come out on top rather than an effort to expose the truth. But I digress. House Intelligence Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) released his memo Sunday and claimed it refuted the memo released by  Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA). Of course, it took no time for Nunes to refute Schiff's memo, leading Schiff to release his own fact sheet. (See what I mean? They both want the last word.)

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 24, 2018 44 Comments
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) released his memo that he claims counters the GOP memo on the FBI and DOJ using a dossier with unverified information to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump's former campaign member Carter Page. Except...it doesn't. In fact, it also confirms that the agencies used the dossier to obtain that warrant.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 22, 2018 13 Comments
Former Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) lashed out at his opponent failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for not doing anything about Russian interference despite having the knowledge and also pushed back that he knew Russian bots backed his campaign. His campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, also told Politico that he has never seen evidence that Russian bots supported Sanders.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 22, 2018 37 Comments
Democrat Sara Jacobs, 28, has the opportunity to become the youngest congresswoman, but she has come under fire due to her "crusty, old Marine" comment she made during an interview. She denies it was toward her opponent, but even then, it doesn't bode well for her since the 49th district, which she wants to represent, has the West Coast's largest Marine base.
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