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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 May 19, 2017 11 Comments
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has passed Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which means it will finally proceed to the Senate floor. This is a major victory for us who despise too much regulation. From Reason:
Sponsored by Sen. Ran Paul (R-Kentucky), the REINS Act would require every new regulation that costs more than $100 million to be approved by Congress. As it is now, executive branch agencies can pass those rules unilaterally, and even though those major rules account for only 3 percent of annual regulations, they are the ones that cause the most headaches for individuals and businesses.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 19, 2017 14 Comments
*UPDATE* Weiner has pleaded guilty and the judge said "he would have to register as a sex offender. Former Rep. Anthony Weiner has decided to enter a guilty plea in federal court for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. He might have to register as a sex offender. From NBC 4 New York:
Weiner surrendered to the FBI Friday morning, officials familiar with the matter said, and will plead guilty to one count related to transferring obscene material to a minor. Prosecutors are expected to recommend two years in prison, though Weiner's attorneys are likely to ask for probation.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 18, 2017 3 Comments
President Donald Trump has officially alerted Congress that he will begin NAFTA renegotiation talks. This gives Trump's administration, Congress, and businesses a 90 day consultation period before he sits down with Canada and Mexico. From Fox Business:
"Today, President Trump is fulfilling one of his key promises to the American people," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters on Thursday. In a letter to congressional leaders, Mr. Lighthizer said the administration will start talks with Canada and Mexico as soon as 90 days from Thursday, in line with congressional rules on negotiating trade deals subject to expedited consideration by lawmakers.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 18, 2017 8 Comments
Roger Ailes, who founded and built news powerhouse Fox News, died today at the age of 77. No one has released a cause of death. His wife released this statement via CNBC:
In a statement to Drudge Report, his wife Elizabeth Ailes said, "I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning. Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise—and to give back. During a career that stretched over more than five decades, his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions. And so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life..."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 17, 2017 30 Comments
The Department of Justice has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller III as special counsel to its investigation into possible Russian interference in our presidential election. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation related to the 2016 race. Mr. Rosenstein said in a statement that “I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility of this matter.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 17, 2017 5 Comments
The world faced a massive ransomware attack using WannaCry, an NSA hacking tool last week, which affected 150 countries. While investigating the WannaCry attack, experts found another ongoing cyber attack. The cybersecurity firm Proofpoint said the newly discovered attack, using Adylkuzz, is a lot quieter than WannaCry, but "has likely generated millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for the unknown attackers." ABC News continued:
According to Ryan Kalember, the senior vice president for cybersecurity at Proofpoint, the attack employed the same hacking tools developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and leaked to the public by the hacker group Shadow Brokers in April to exploit vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 17, 2017 10 Comments
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has accused Anheuser-Busch InBev of handing out incentives to retailers and bars in the state to push Budweiser beer over other brands. The Wall Street Journal reported:
The state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission has issued a report detailing investigators’ findings and set a June hearing in Boston on the matter. The report alleges a subsidiary of AB InBev gave out bar equipment as incentives to hundreds of Massachusetts businesses in violation of a state law meant to keep beer companies from squeezing out competitors.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 17, 2017 17 Comments
President Donald Trump welcomed Turkish dictator president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House Tuesday. A group of protesters outside of the Turkish Embassy showed support for the groups that Erdogan regularly cracks down on in Turkey. Erdogan's bodyguards did not appreciate this move and decided to pummel the protesters in broad daylight...on Embassy Row.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 16, 2017 63 Comments
According to The New York Times, former FBI Director James Comey wrote a memo on February 14 that President Donald Trump asked him to let go of an investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor. However, the NYT admitted that the reporters did not see the memo and "a Comey associate read parts of it to a reporter over the phone." The source (remember the source isn't even Comey) claimed the memo said this:
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 16, 2017 39 Comments
Yesterday, The Washington Post caused mass hysteria when it released a report that President Donald Trump provided highly classified information to the Russian Foreign Minister and Ambassador. Of course the publication used anonymous sources. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster denied the story through a written statement and in front of the press. Then today he went before the press again and told reporters that Trump did not compromise any sources or methods to the Russians. He described the discussion as "wholly appropriate."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 15, 2017 20 Comments
Failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has emerged from the woods to join this resistance against President Donald Trump with a political action group. Yes, you can resist the Trump presidency if you send Hillary more money! Because she's totally not going to run again, right? This is totally not supposed to keep her relevant and in the spotlight, right?! This is ONLY to help others resist Trump! Uh huh...

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 15, 2017 30 Comments
Police across the country have developed different techniques to catch people who text while driving. The Wall Street Journal reported that authorities have a hard time going after people for texting while driving because it is hard to prove "and citations can be contested in court." Some officers have disguised themselves as construction workers while others pose as panhandlers in order to catch those who text and drive.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 15, 2017 25 Comments
Oh boy. Another controversy over conservative comments at Miss USA. Remember in 2009 when Miss California Carrie Prejean said she believes that marriage is between a man and a woman? The left tore her apart over her answer. Now they have a new target. Last night, Miss District of Columbia Kara McCullough, a scientist, told the audience and judges that she rejects modern day feminism and believes health care is a privilege, not a right.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 12, 2017 17 Comments
Earlier this week, U.S. officials began discussions over banning electronics larger than a cell phone on flights to America from Europe as a way to deter terrorism. Our officials have already placed this ban on flights from ten airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly discussed this ban today after many European officials expressed worry about the ban and want to persuade Kelly to change his mind.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 12, 2017 10 Comments
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has issued a memo to all 94 U.S. attorneys to advise them of a new charging and sentencing policy within the Department of Justice. This policy demands that the federal prosecutors "charge defendants with the most serious crime possible." He wrote:
First, it is a core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense. " This policy affirms our responsibility to enforce the law, is moral and just, and produces consistency. This policy utilizes the tools Congress has given us. By definition, the most serious offenses are those that carry the most substantial guidelines sentence, including mandatory minimum sentences.
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