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 January 19, 2017 36 Comments
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Energy Department, will face the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at 10AM EST. During the 2012 primary, Perry said he would abolish the Department of Energy if he became president. He also famously forgot the name of the department during one of the debates in November 2011. But that didn' bother Trump:
"As the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry created created a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as Secretary of Energy," Trump said in a statement. "My administration is going to make sure we take advantage of our huge natural resource deposits to make America energy independent and create vast new wealth for our nation, and Rick Perry is going to do an amazing job as the leader of that process."

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 18, 2017 5 Comments
I live blogged Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's senate hearing for the EPA, but three other cabinet choices had their own senate hearings today. That included Rep. Tom Price for Health and Human Services, Wilbur Ross for Commerce, and Nikki Haley for UN. Obamacare took control of Price's hearing, since the Republicans in D.C. want to repeal and replace it. Price told the committee that states should lead on a replacement.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 18, 2017 24 Comments
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the EPA, will face the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at 10AM EST. This has potential to become one of the more feisty confirmation hearings because of his ties to everything Democrats hate: fossil fuels, skeptical of man-made climate change, and lawsuits against the EPA. Please watch live with us below and follow along as I live blog the hearing!

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 17, 2017 4 Comments
Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for education secretary, has her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at 5PM ET. The Democrats picked her as one of the eight nominees they want to grill the most. DeVos has remained an advocate for school choice and used money to help establish charter schools in Detroit, MI. Of course, the Democrats have concerns over her massive donations to Republicans, including some that sit on the panel, and the Republican National Committee. We'll be liveblogging beneath.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 17, 2017 11 Comments
Three more American companies have announced plans to add and keep jobs in America on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. Walmart wants to add 10,000 jobs in 2017 across the country while General Motors (GM) will invest $1 billion into several factories to help more than 1,000 jobs. With Walmart, the company will add these new jobs by building new stores, expansion, and adding more e-commerce services. The construction of the new stores will add 24,000 construction jobs:
"Walmart is investing to better serve customers,” said Dan Bartlett, Walmart executive vice president for corporate affairs. “With a presence in thousands of communities and a vast supplier network, we know we play an important role in supporting and creating American jobs. Our 2017 plans to grow our business – and our support for innovation in the textile industry – will have a meaningful impact across the country.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 16, 2017 19 Comments
Liberal pundit Bob Beckel will reunite with Eric Bolling, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Greg Gutfeld, and Dana Perino on Fox's The Five starting today. Fox released a press statement announcing his return:
In making the announcement, Murdoch said, “Bob was missed by many fans of The Five and we’re happy to welcome him back to the show.” Beckel commented, “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to go home again and join my television family around the table of The Five. I have no doubt it will be a vigorous yet entertaining debate.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 16, 2017 19 Comments
The Clinton Foundation has decided to eliminate the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), the networking platform for the charity. The foundation filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the New York Department of Labor. The foundation will lay off 22 employees and shut down its New York main office. The process began in September as the charity continued to lose foreign donations, "signaling the organization’s clout was predicated on donor access to the Clintons, rather than its philanthropic work."

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 15, 2017 7 Comments
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, President-elect Donald Trump said he may lift the Russian sanctions and has no commitment to the One China policy:
“If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?” he said.
Trump also said the One China policy remains up in the air "until he saw what he considered progress from Beijing in its currency and trade practices." Yeah, needless to say, those comments did not please Beijing.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 15, 2017 27 Comments
The governments in Florida, Washington, and Alabama have begun to consider passing legislation that will allow it to overrule "certain state court decisions." However, some have concerns over this due to separation of powers. Florida GOP Rep. Julio Gonzalez filed two bills that gives the Florida government or the U.S. Congress the ability "to override or nullify court decisions." House Joint Resolution 121 will add an amendment that allows lawmakers to take that step "by a two-thirds vote of each chamber for up to five years after a decision at any level - county, circuit, appeal or supreme court." His House Memorial 125 aims at "Congress to propose a similar amendment, but to the U.S. Constitution, granting Congress the power to nullify federal court decisions." The Washington bill will also allow its legislators "to vote to 'reject the determination of the court,'" if a court rules an act unconstitutional. In Alabama, two legislators have proposed legislation that will not allow a judge to impose the death penalty if the jury recommends life imprisonment.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 14, 2017 21 Comments
Trolls gonna troll and who owns the title as World's Biggest Troll? Russian President Vladimir Putin! And the troll strikes again. Russia has invited President-elect Donald Trump's administration to participate in Syrian peace talks with Turkey and Iran later this month. I can hear everyone's head explodes as they use this as more evidence of a cozy relationship between him and President-elect Donald Trump. Or Putin has simply just latched onto the hysteria and wants to cause even more problems.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 13, 2017 26 Comments
FBI Director James Comey just cannot win! Yesterday, Kemberlee blogged that the Department of Justice will review his investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server. Today, House Democrats are angry after a confidential briefing over allegations that Russia "hacked" the DNC and Hillary campaign chair John Podesta to sway the election towards President-elect Donald Trump. Those briefed believe Comey is "unfit to lead the agency."

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 13, 2017 17 Comments
The media has gone ballistic during the first week of confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees since the most of them have different views than Trump. Trump has shown thin skin with those who disagree with him so of course the press has attempted to stir the pot even more, but it has not worked.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 17 Comments
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a waiver by a vote of 24-3 allowing Gen. James Mattis to serve as President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense. Becuase he retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, he needed the waiver to bypass a rule stating an individual must be out of the service for seven years before serving a new appointment. Only Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal, and Elizabeth Warren voted against the waiver. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said the committee should pass the legislation "because the U.S. is at war and the Trump administration needs Mattis as quickly as possible."

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 11 Comments
Former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Housing and Urban Development Secretary, will have his confirmation hearing today at 10AM ET in front of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Carson turned down Trump's request to leads the Human and Health Services, but accepted the HUD nomination. He often fought with Trump in the primary and even said he would never work in Trump's administration. Trump chose Carson for "his 'brilliant mind' and passion about 'strengthening communities and families within those communities.'" Carson has said:
"I grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there, and have dealt with a lot of patients from that area and recognize that we cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities," he said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 44 Comments
Meow. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) came out with the claws during the hearing for former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state. Rubio started by asking Tillerson if he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Tillerson, who ran a company that had many deals with Russian STATE OWNED companies, refused to take the bait:
"I would not use that term," Mr. Tillerson said.
Accessibility by WAH