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 December 13, 2016 31 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. Trump said:
“His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States. Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 12, 2016 11 Comments
Former Philadelphia Rep. Chaka Fattah has received 10 years in prison for racketeering, fraud, and money-laundering after his conviction on June 22. A jury found Fattah guilty "on 22 counts related to misspending federal grant money and for schemes linked to an illegal $1 million loan he received from a friend to help fund a failed 2007 mayoral campaign in the city."

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 12, 2016 15 Comments
Actions speak louder than words -- or at least that's what Pepsi's latest endeavor to expand into the health food department seems to suggest. People say they want healthier foods, but Pepsi has found that people prefer taste over nutritional information. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi wants to make the company a "health juggernaut," but to keep up with the consumer wants, the company has increased the sugar content of its products.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 09, 2016 7 Comments
EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove will tell the EU interior ministers on Friday that experts have found 1,750 ISIS jihadists have come back to Europe to perform terrorist attacks:
Up to 35 percent have returned - some with 'specific missions' - and 50 percent remain in the battle theatre, which amounted to between 2,000 and 2,500 Europeans.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 09, 2016 5 Comments
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) that protects FBI whistleblowers. Chaffetz said:
"While a great many changes remain to be made in how DOJ and the FBI respond to whistleblowers, this commonsense clarification is not minor. If implemented, it would have far-reaching implications in protecting whistleblowers at the FBI, just as Congress intended in 1978 in the first whistleblower protection law.”
Case after case has shown the FBI did not not protect its whistleblowers as well as other departments. Whistleblowers often faced retaliation and threatening emails. A few even lost their jobs all because they wanted to expose wrong doings in their divisions.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 08, 2016 14 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as his Secretary of Labor. His company owns Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. Puzder has long criticized the Affordable Care Act and workplace regulations, which he claims "have stifled growth in the restaurant industry." He also pushed back against raising the minimum wage past $9 an hour.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 22 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has picked retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security, who has become well known for his bluntness. Trump has now picked three generals for positions within his administration:
General Kelly, 66, who led the United States Southern Command, had a 40-year career in the Marine Corps, and led troops in intense combat in western Iraq. In 2003, he became the first Marine colonel since 1951 to be promoted to brigadier general while in active combat.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 22 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as Ambassador to China, who has a strong relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ian Millhiser at Think Progress took a shot at the decision because, you know, no matter what Trump does the liberals will hate it. Millhiser responded to Trump's pick by saying that the governor from a "landlocked state full of white people" does not know enough about China. Let's tell him a bit about Iowa and China's relationship!

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 6 Comments
75 years ago today, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. On December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered one of the most famous speeches, which the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum will display until December 31:
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 17 Comments
The Washington Post has revealed that the Pentagon hid $125 billion in wasteful spending because officials feared Congress would use the evidence "to slash the defense budget." The study started with good intentions. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert O. Work wanted the Defense Business Board to operate the study in order to become "more efficient and reinvest any savings in combat power." But Work immediately changed his mind when the board presented its findings.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 06, 2016 21 Comments
In the summer of 2014, Justin Ross Harris left his 22-month-old son Cooper in the car for seven hours as he went to work. Harris claimed he forgot to drop Cooper off at daycare, but prosecutors revealed he sexted with numerous women, including the day his son died. A grand jury indicted Harris in September 2014. On Tuesday, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark sentenced Harris to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Accessibility by WAH