Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Author: Mary Chastain

Profile photo

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 July 31, 2017 49 Comments
After a mere ten days, Anthony Scaramucci is out as White House Communications Director. From The New York Times:
Mr. Scaramucci’s abrupt removal came just 10 days after the wealthy New York financier was brought on to the West Wing staff, a move that convulsed an already chaotic White House and led to the departures of Sean Spicer, the former press secretary, and Reince Priebus, the president’s first chief of staff.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 31, 2017 16 Comments
Desperation and panic have shown up in the Democrat Party today. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, told The Hill that the party will not withhold funds from Democrat pro-life candidates:
“There is not a litmus test for Democratic candidates,” said Luján, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman. “As we look at candidates across the country, you need to make sure you have candidates that fit the district, that can win in these districts across America.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 31, 2017 19 Comments
After failing to do anything with Obamacare, Congress has gone on recess without addressing the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned Congress to address the debt ceiling for the past seven months and do something before recess. Mnuchin said the government needs to raise the debt ceiling before September 29 or it will run out of money to pay the bills.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 31, 2017 8 Comments
President Donald Trump has said that he will sign a bill that will place new sanctions against Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The sanctions against Russia have received the most attention, especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate. But the bill has sanctions against North Korea and Iran over nuclear weapons and missiles, which both countries vow to continue working on.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 30, 2017 22 Comments
I have noticed lately that people are happy about Wonder Woman since she provides young girls with a positive role model. I enjoy that, too, but she has superpowers. I have no problem with young girls looking up to her, but it's unrealistic. Whether we like it or not, kids of both sexes look up to actors and actresses as role models. How about ordinary females in lead roles who overcome adversity without the help of superpowers? One blog I came across pointed out that these superhero females still give females the "short shrift." Females can be badass, strong, and powerful without the superpowers. To me, those are better role models. I've listed six everyday ordinary females who kicked ass and took names without superpowers.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2017 18 Comments
Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak dismissed a challenge to the county's beverage tax as unconstitutional, which means the tax will go into effect on Wednesday. From The Chicago Tribune:
In the immediate aftermath of Friday's ruling, retailers and beverage industry groups lamented the setback, while health groups and county officials cheered. Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak also dissolved the temporary restraining order that had halted implementation of the tax, which originally had been set to take effect July 1 and applies to both sugar- and artificially sweetened drinks.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2017 53 Comments
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has asked the private sector to help foot the bill to fix the subway in New York City. From New York Daily News:
"We have to change our attitude. This is our MTA [Metropolitan Transportation Authority], right? This is our transit system," Cuomo told members of the Association for a Better New York as he stood beneath a jumbo screen that flashed the words “We must change our attitude: OUR MTA.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 28, 2017 17 Comments
Eleven-month-old Charlie Gard, who suffered from mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, passed away on Friday, just a week before his first birthday. His mother announced that "Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie."

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 28, 2017 5 Comments
President Donald Trump hasn't even signed the bill to pass new sanctions on Russia, but the Kremlin decided not to waste time. On Friday, Russian officials demanded that America reduce its number of diplomats to 455 by September 1 and shut down numerous American properties in the country. No one knows exactly how many people work at the U.S. Embassy, but Russian parliamentary vice-speaker Sergei Zheleznyak claims the move will kick out 700 people.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 28, 2017 11 Comments
Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration decided to abandon the controversial border adjustment tax (BAT) and concentrate more on corporate tax in their tax reform approach. The joint statement read:
While we have debated the pro-growth benefits of border adjustability, we appreciate that there are many unknowns associated with it and have decided to set this policy aside in order to advance tax reform.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 27, 2017 17 Comments
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News and CNN that the Senate Judiciary Committee learned from Bill Browder, the CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital, that Fusion GPS, the firm behind the dossier that contained false information about President Donald Trump, also worked for the Russians. He said:
"What we learned today is that the Russians were behind the organization that tried to get dirt on Trump. The dossier against Donald Trump was created by Fusion GPS and their organization and, guess what, the Russians were helping them. This man said the Russians were behind Fusion GPS.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 27, 2017 65 Comments
Marine Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has announced that the military will not change its transgender policy until President Donald Trump sends the Pentagon direction on changes and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis implements it. From Politico:
“I know there are questions about yesterday's announcement on the transgender policy by the President,” Dunford wrote in the message, a copy of which was provided to POLITICO. “There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2017 18 Comments
Coca-Cola stunned the country on Wednesday when the company announced it will stop selling Coke Zero in America and replace it with a new soft drink: Coke Zero Sugar. Coke Zero Sugar "is a reinvention of Coke Zero" said CEO James Quincey. It has a new recipe and design.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2017 48 Comments
President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that the military "will not accept or allow" transgender people: "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you"
Accessibility by WAH