Seven Stories

*According to The Free Press, a public elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, has erased Israel  from a map in one of its classrooms. On the map, of the Arab World, Israel is labeled “Palestine.” From the river to the sea, you know. At this rate, it won’t be long until maps in our public schools omit or rename the United States.

*Washington state Democratic state Reps. My-Linh Thai and Liz Berry have introduced House Bill 2238 imposing an additional 11 percent tax on (already highly taxed) ammunition. The bill also describes the purchase of ammunition as a "privilege.” HB 2238 notes that “nearly half” of all suicides in the state are from firearms. Which would mean that more than half aren’t. If owning ammunition is a “privilege,” and one that lawmakers are trying to make unobtainable for many, our Second Amendment rights are rendered moot.

*Oregon's Supreme Court recently said that it would not hear a challenge from five voters seeking to keep former President Donald Trump off the state's 2024 Republican primary and general election ballots. Five voters?!

*Assisted suicide is legal across Australia. Now, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is considering expanding “voluntary assisted dying,” or VAD. Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 was recently published and will almost certainly pass in 2024-- and would potentially extend to children under 18. So, what’s the big deal? I mean, it’s really just very late term abortion, right?

*Maine has begun paying rent for homeless immigrants living in apartments located in the town of Brunswick. The Pine Tree State has already budgeted nearly $3.5 million to provide 60 migrant families in Brunswick with two years of rent. Free rent, free healthcare, etc. And when we say “Maine,” we mean its taxpayers, of course. Bet they’re thrilled. Taxation without representation?

*A transgender professor reportedly recently provided “cultural inclusion” training to Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators. Judicial Watch noted that agents from the specialized IRS Criminal Investigation (IRSCI) unit were asked if they could “deliver cultural inclusion behaviorally.” Cultural inclusion? Rest assured that the IRS plans on taxing transgendered folk just as it does everyone else.

*A history teacher at a Seattle high school allegedly recently told students that identifying as "straight" is offensive, according to a parent who filed a complaint with school officials. The mother, who requested anonymity, provided a copy of a "Social Identity Wheel" worksheet the teacher assigned to his 10^th-grade class to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. The worksheet asks students to self-reflect on their various identities, including race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, first language, age, religious or spiritual affiliation, and physical, emotional, developmental disability. The parent said her 15-year-old son then labeled himself "straight,” at which point the teacher allegedly told the boy that he needed to pick a term that was less offensive. That is offensive. Talk about “hate speech!” If true, the teacher should be fired immediately. Or should I say, “straight away.”