Thomas D. Klingenstein: Why the Recent Vice-Presidential Debate Matters

By Nicole Kiprilov In the days following last week's vice-presidential debate, there has been a barrage of polling and commentary focused on how the debate does not matter. While it is true that, historically and statistically, vice-presidential debates do little to shift public opinion, this particular debate between Vance and Walz is different in three important ways. First, the debate showed that Vance complements Trump in a way that expands the ticket's vision for America. This is important because Americans ultimately vote for a vision. Second, the debate is taking place in the context of unprecedented political times, which puts more emphasis on every public forum the candidates engage in, including last week's debate. Third, both Harris and Walz, since becoming a ticket, have given the fewest number of interviews and press conferences out of any presidential duo in history. This fact increases the significance of the debate as one of the few significant ways Americans can learn about the little-known Walz...

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Tomorrow: Senator Bryce Reeves to speak in Madison on October 15th

Team Miyares: Miyares Weekly Roundup

30 Years of TRIAD On Friday, AG Miyares celebrated the 30th Anniversary of TRIAD in Virginia in Williamsburg at the annual TRIAD Conference. TRIAD is a program dedicated to improving relationships between communities, senior citizens, and law enforcement that protects, serves, and empowers Virginia's seniors.  "TRIAD's success is a testament to what happens when state and local groups come together to safeguard our communities. As Virginia's senior population continues to grow, so too will our efforts to protect them." –Attorney General Miyares SEE THIS YEAR'S TRIAD AWARD WINNERS HERE

Miyares Settles With Marriott After Data Breach On Wednesday, AG Miyares announced a $52 million multistate settlement with Marriott International Inc. following the conclusion of an investigation into a large multi-year data breach of one of its reservation databases. In addition to the settlement, Marriott has agreed to strengthen its data security practices and provide certain consumer protections in the future.  "Businesses that collect sensitive data from consumers have a duty to safeguard it and prevent access by unauthorized parties. I am pleased that we were able to reach a fair and reasonable settlement to address the violations of law and restore consumers' confidence that their personal information is being adequately safeguarded." –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE HERE   Miyares: The Law Should Protect, Not Terrorize, Citizens Hear the Miyares Family's story firsthand from the A.G.'s hero–his mom.

Derrick Max: Your October 13, 2024 Sunday Summary: Virginia Polls, Spanberger's Unfair Social Security Plan, Car Tax, WMATA, China Buys TJ High School Model, Election Security, VMSDEP...and more.

1.) In the Richmond Times Dispatch, political scientist Mark Rozell reiterated the point I made last week that early voting appears to be more robust in Republican leaning areas. However, early voting remains lower than four years ago, which could mean less enthusiasm for both candidates. The most recent poll I could find from Christopher Newport University has V.P. Kamala Harris up by 11 points over former President Donald Trump among likely voters in Virginia. Dwayne Yancey of Cardinal News makes the interesting point that polls show the concerns of independent voters match those of Republicans and could impact the outcome in Virginia. I'll let you decide if Virginia is in play…but votes count, polls don't. 2.) Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger argued that job changing federal workers are denied their full Social Security benefits. While surely good campaign rhetoric, Andrew G. Biggs from the American Enterprise Institute wrote for our Jefferson Journal that her argument fails to understand how Social Security works and her proposed fix would unfairly give job switchers funds they did not earn. Worse, her proposal would bankrupt Social Security almost a year earlier for everyone. Spanberger's bill shows a lack of leadership on an important issue to all Virginians. 3.) On "car tax day," our Kimberly Pinter and Callahan Burton wrote about the inconsistent way the car tax is calculated, how lower income areas pay higher effective car tax rates, and how former Governor Gilmore's effort to end the car tax needs to happen.   4.) Jeff Schapiro of the  Richmond Times Dispatch joined our call for a serious fix of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA or Metro), but opted to support a new regional government with taxing authority to provide Metro with needed funds. The truth is WMATA is financially broken -- and just reported that 70 percent of its bus riders don't even pay their fare! Why should taxes from families in downstate Virginia bail out this system, when riders aren't even willing to pay? 5.) Governor Youngkin is looking into a National Review report that the intellectual property behind the once highly successful Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has been sold to a Chinese Communist Party entity who has copied the school's curriculum, syllabi, and floor plans to create twenty "Thomas Schools" in China. The $3.6 million payment from China was marked as "donations" -- but evidence suggests the payments were contractual to secure rights to clone the schools.   6.) Sadly, academic excellence has been slipping at Thomas Jefferson High School, as reported by James Bacon. Since 2018-19 SOL advanced pass rates have fallen by 43% in math and 48.8% in science. The number of National Merit semifinalists has fallen from 157 in 2020 to 81 for 2025. Thomas Jefferson High School has dropped from being the top high school in the country, to now being ranked 14th. My guess is the CCP did not purchase TJ's new relaxed admissions criteria.    7.) Governor Youngkin and the Board of Elections are caught between a rock and a hard place, with Republicans saying that Youngkin's Executive Order 35, which purged 6,303 non-citizen from the voting rolls, is not enough, while Democrats and the DOJ have filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria to stop any more changes in the voter rolls. Governor Youngkin has been expressing concerns about the threat to democracy posed by non-citizen voting. I get plenty of mail on both sides of this debate whenever I state my belief that Virginia's elections have been and remain secure. I do think mail in voting, extended early voting, and the death of in-person "day of voting" increases risk. But, the real threat to fair elections is our biased media…and the growth of censorship by social media moguls.    8.) A new report on the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program puts this program that pays tuition for dependents of service members killed during service back in the lap of the General Assembly only months after they balked on much needed changes to this program last session. The chart below shows that as the General Assembly expanded the definition of disability, relaxed the residency rules, included the dependents of all members who died during military service instead of just those who died in combat, the size of this program has exploded. Virginia has one of the most generous programs for Gold Star families and the General Assembly and Governor need to muster the political courage to make reforms as suggested in this report or this program will continue to grow beyond what the Commonwealth can afford.

9.) Another new report to the Virginia General Assembly by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission warned that seven Virginia colleges and universities should be monitored for risk due to declining enrollment, including the University of Mary Washington, Virginia State University, Radford University, Longwood University, Christopher Newport University, UVA Wise, and Norfolk State University. None appear to be in immediate danger of closing. The schools at highest risk relied most heavily on state funding. Coincidence?

10.) Sweet Briar College is in its own fight for survival as the college's President and a group of disgruntled alumni are battling over the question of "what is a woman?" President Hutson is defending their new policy that attendees must be "born and live as a woman." Opponents of this policy are encouraging students to find new schools and to not donate to the school until they allow transgender females. Supporters are threatening to pull funding if they change the policy. Sadly, the existence of Sweet Briar College, who has resisted enrolling men since its opening, hangs in the balance over this disagreement.    11.) Education Secretary Aimee Guidera celebrated the success of another lab school. This one being run cooperatively by Blue Ridge Community College, James Madison University and Rockingham County Public Schools. This lab school allows students in grades 9 to 12 to explore career opportunities and training in a unique half day, hands-on program.    12.) The Wall Street Journal discussed Virginia resident, and gambling recovery counselor, Sean Fournia who has lost approximately $500,000 from gambling and is now a gambling recovery counselor. Starting out with lottery scratch offs, moving to race tracks, then illegal bookies, to skills games -- his path of addiction has followed the growth of gambling in Virginia. The Virginia Mercury highlighted the concern of problem gambling, particularly sports betting, amongst men under 25. They report that betting on football nationwide should bring in $35 billion in legal bets.   13.) A great Reagan joke told to Reynolds Metal Company employees in Richmond Virginia is a reminder that government control of industry leads to long wait times...enjoy!

In Freedom,

Logan Sekulow, ACLJ: Pray for God's Hand To Guide Us

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. . . . "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:1–2, 10)

Governor Glenn Youngkin Issues Statement on Noncitizen Voting Lawsuit Filed by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice

RICHMOND, VA— Governor Glenn Youngkin, after being notified this afternoon that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice was filing a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia, released the following statement: 

"With less than 30 days until the election, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice is filing an unprecedented lawsuit against me and the Commonwealth of Virginia, for appropriately enforcing a 2006 law signed by Democrat Tim Kaine that requires Virginia to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls - a process that starts with someone declaring themselves a non-citizen and then registering to vote. Virginians - and Americans - will see this for exactly what it is: a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy. With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us. Virginia's election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections, period."

Jeremy Beck - NumbersUSA.com: Exposed: Mass immigration bypasses Americans to exploit foreigners

The next time someone says "immigrants do the jobs 'Americans won't do," please remember this story from The Wall Street Journal's Patrick Thomas about the living conditions of Haitian immigrants working for the global food company JBS in Greeley, Colorado:

"They slept on the floor, as many as eight to a room, and cooked meals on hot plates on the carpet....

"....The supervisor, himself an immigrant from the African nation of Benin, set up others to stay in a five-bedroom, two-bathroom unit he had leased in a house in town. There, too, they slept on floors. At one point, 30 or more people were living there, workers said. When the power went out in the winter, they cooked in their coats. They were charged $60 a week in rent."

They cooked their coats for heat.

Why should any American want that job?

Why should any American want that job for an immigrant?

Why should any job in America reduce a laborer to such conditions?

The Jefferson Journal: The Spanberger-Graves Social Security Fairness Act is Unfair

By Andrew Biggs

10/11/2024 -- Over 300 Members of Congress from both parties, including Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Abigail Spanberger, are pushing for legislation that would grant a nearly $200 billion Social Security benefits windfall to a group that neither paid for these benefits nor truly needs them. That legislation, called the Social Security Fairness Act, is actually anything but. As costly as this bill is, the topic is so complex that many people have little idea what is happening. Here I'll explain the issues. Social Security's benefit formula works more or less as follows. When a person goes to claim benefits, Social Security's computers look back at the earnings the person received under jobs that were covered by Social Security. The computer adds these earnings up, and divides by 35 to produce an annual average, which is then converted to a monthly average. Those Average Indexed Monthly Earnings are then run through a progressive formula in which Social Security benefits are paid equal to 90 percent of the first xx on monthly earnings, 32 percent of earnings between x and y, and 15 percent of earnings between y and the maximum amount of that's subject to payroll taxes. Because of the progressivity of the benefit formula, Americans with low average earnings receive a higher "replacement rate" than those with higher average earnings. For instance, imagine a middle-income employee who earned the national average wage each year throughout their career. At retirement, they would receive a Social Security benefit equal to about 43% of their pre-retirement earnings. Now imagine a much lower-income worker who earned just 25% of the national average wage throughout their career. They would receive a Social Security benefit equal to about 80% of their pre-retirement earnings. In other words, the lowest earners receive about twice as much benefits per dollar contributed as does a middle-income worker. There's nothing wrong with that. It's how Social Security was designed. But that system doesn't work when handling state and local government employees who do not participate in Social Security. The reason is that these people have earnings from jobs that weren't covered by Social Security. Social Security's benefit formula doesn't "see" these earnings, and so Social Security treats these public employees as if they were much poorer than they really are. For instance, imagine a middle-income person who earned the national average wage every year of their career. But they only spent one quarter of that career in a Social Security covered job, and the other three-quarters in a public sector job where they didn't pay into Social Security. At retirement, Social Security's benefit formula would only see the years that person worked in a Social Security covered job. Those years of covered earnings would be added up and divided by 35. Their Average Indexed Monthly Earnings would be equal about 25% of the national average wage. And so, as far as Social Security's benefit formula is concerned, this person would be indistinguishable from an employee who worked their entire career at very low earnings, when in fact they earned four times that amount. That public employee would receive a much better return on their Social Security contributions than a person with the same earning who worked their entire career under Social Security. The public employee would receive roughly twice as much benefits per dollar of taxes paid than would the non-public employee. This isn't fair. There's no reason that one middle-income employee should receive twice the return on their Social Security taxes as another middle-income employee. It's also not necessary: state and local government employees almost universally participate in traditional pension programs that are much, much more generous than the 401(k)s that private sector workers have. Moreover, the pensions offered to public employees who don't participate in Social Security are typically even more generous than pensions for public employees who are covered by Social Security. Sure, everyone likes to get more money in retirement. But giving that extra money to people who neither truly paid for it nor truly need it isn't in the spirit of Social Security. That's why Congress passed laws called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement benefits for an individual who is entitled to both Social Security benefits and a pension from a non-covered job. The GPO reduces survivors benefits to people who also receive a public sector pension. The reason is that, ordinarily, a survivor can receive the greater of their own Social Security benefit or their spouse's benefit, but not both. Without the GPO, a survivor could receive both their own full public pension benefit and a full Social Security survivor's benefit. Without the WEP and GPO provisions, individuals with public sector pensions that don't pay into Social Security would receive additional Social Security benefits that are intended to be paid only to the poor. The WEP and GPO formulas are complex, which is one reason that many public employees resent them. And there would be more efficient and equitable ways to impose the WEP and GPO today, using data that wasn't available when the laws were passed in 1983. Various laws have been proposed to reform the WEP and GPO to better ensure that these provisions are not merely correct on average, but treat each individual fairly. These reform laws generally have low costs. But the Social Security Fairness Act would cost almost $200 billion over its first 10 years, during a period when Social Security itself is moving toward insolvency. Moreover, the Act's title not withstanding, it wouldn't be fair: there is no reason that middle-income public sector employees should be entitled to the extra boost that Social Security's progressive benefit formula ordinarily grants only to low-wage workers. The Urban Institute estimated that repealing the WEP and GPO rules would increase benefits for about 4.5% of seniors, by an average annual amount of over $9,200 in today's dollars. Moreover, the richest retirees – those with lifetime earnings in the top fifth – would receive benefit increases that are 2.5 times larger than for the poorest seniors.  It is not that public employees are attempting to cheat Social Security. But the Social Security Fairness Act would allow state and local government workers who don't participate in Social Security in their public sector jobs to exploit a loophole in the program's benefit formula, that Congress 40 years ago made the decision to close. On Social Security, we need better leadership than this.

Competitive Enterprise Institute: Regulations hindering hurricane recovery

Deregulation could help with post hurricane recovery - The Milton and Helene cleanups could take years. CEI's Ryan Young says the best thing that policymakers can do right now is lift never-needed rules that prevent people from helping each other. 
Read more here.

Congressman Good Update: Ongoing Hurricane Response

Ongoing Hurricane Response 

All eyes have been on the catastrophic hurricanes hitting our neighbors here in Virginia and to our South. Millions of Americans are currently without power, thousands of homes have been destroyed, and there have been more than 200 fatalities. 
 
The good news is the American spirit is still alive and well. Churches, businesses and civic organizations across the 5th District continue to organize volunteers and supply deliveries to those in need. I am encouraged by this outpouring of support, and I ask you to join me in contributing to this effort and praying for everyone who has been impacted by this natural disaster. 
 
The bad news is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whose responsibility it is to come to the aid of the affected areas, has not met the urgency of the moment. The Biden-Harris Administration's priorities have been exposed. FEMA has been celebrating spending $640.9 million dollars for handouts to illegal aliens, including housing, food, and cellphones for individuals who did not pay taxes nor have any legal right to be here. Yet, story after story on the ground in the impacted hurricane zones are reporting that FEMA is actually hindering recovery efforts. 
 
When Congress returns to Washington, we are likely to consider an emergency funding bill for FEMA. I am calling on my colleagues to join me in demanding answers for the hurricane response, identifying other unnecessary spending we can cut to pay for it, and ensuring that none of the money sent to FEMA as part of any new spending bill is used to facilitate illegal alien resettlement. 

Abuse of America's Children This week, the watchdog group Do No Harm released an online database outlining the number of surgeries, hormone treatments and puberty blockers given to U.S. children, including children across Virginia. According to the database, nearly 14,000 children have received such treatments since 2019, including more than 5,500 children who have been permanently mutilated via surgery. You can view the database for yourself here: stoptheharmdatabase.com     We must put a stop to the horrific and irreversible harm being done to our children.

Farmers for Derrick Anderson luncheon - October 12th

 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/farmers-for-anderson-lunch-tickets-1030249904197?aff=oddtdtcreator

 

America's Frontline Doctors: Ending Big Pharma's Immunity

Big Pharma has been running the show for far too long, with no accountability. 

 

It's time to end their immunity and reclaim our healthcare. 

 

In 1986, vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop producing vaccines because of lawsuits over injuries that were bankrupting them. Instead of demanding safer vaccines, the government caved. 

 

They passed the National Childhood Vaccine Act, granting Big Pharma immunity from liability for vaccine-related injuries and deaths. 

 

This immunity has had devastating consequences.

 

Before the 1986 Act, children received 24 vaccine doses. Today, it's 72 doses before age 18. The result? There is a skyrocketing rate of childhood cancers, diabetes, autism, and allergies. 

 

The science shows it: We're sicker than ever before, and it's time to face the truth.

 

Pharmaceutical companies have grown richer while our children's health has been put at greater risk. And when these vaccines cause injury, it's not Big Pharma paying the price—it's the taxpayers. 

 

Over $4.6 billion has been paid out by the government's "vaccine court" for injuries, with thousands more claims dismissed or ignored. The system is rigged against the people it's supposed to protect, and many families never see a dime for their suffering.

 

That's why Congressman Paul Gosar has introduced the End the Vaccine Carveout Act. 

 

This bill will finally strip away the legal immunity that vaccine manufacturers have enjoyed for decades, holding them accountable for deaths and injuries to hundreds of thousands of people. 

 

The 1986 Act must be repealed, and vaccine manufacturers should face the same scrutiny and liability as any other industry. 

 

But Big Pharma is powerful. 

 

They pay off politicians, single-handedly fund media outlets, and bury the truth. 

 

I have personally been on the receiving end of corrupt politicians, lawless courtrooms, Fake News Media stories, and a Big Tech machine that canceled me, censored AFLDS content, and even shut down our website. 

 

They lied for THREE YEARS about our work, our recommendations!

 

The result is this: My team at AFLDS and I will NEVER bend or bow to corruption or be swayed by corporate interests.

 

We stand for truth, and we will never stop fighting to protect public health from corporate greed and push for fundamental safety standards for vaccines.

The Family Foundation: The Porn Industry Picks Its Favorite Candidate!

The porn industry has launched a $100,000 ad blitz targeting young men in seven critical swing states, aiming to specifically help Kamala Harris get elected who they believe will ensure their industry continues to thrive. They're mobilizing voters to oppose pro-family policies, trapping young men in a cycle of addiction and exploitation to secure the Left's political future.

This shift is not surprising, as recent research indicates that young men are increasingly leaning toward conservative views. The number of young men identifying as conservative now surpasses those identifying as liberal, and this gap is widening. Additionally, for the first time in modern American history, young men are becoming more religious than their female counterparts. The secular left will not stand for these trends and is now resorting to one of its most powerful weapons—pornography—to reassert control over young men.

 

But there's hope: 19 states, including Virginia, have passed age verification laws (HB 1515). Thanks to bold leadership, Pornhub has been kicked out of most of these states by requiring age verification to access explicit website content. This victory protects our families and children, but now the left is working to undermine this progress. They're determined to bring the porn industry's influence back, and they've gone all in on this election to ensure it happens.

 

The porn industry is determined to:

• Trap young men in addiction: Their ads target the most vulnerable demographic, ensuring an endless stream of voters hooked on pornography and its destructive influence.
• Prop up the left's morally bankrupt agenda: The secular left has embraced an industry that exploits young men for profit, and they're using this election to solidify their power.
• Undermine American families: With every dollar spent, the porn industry seeks to tear apart the foundation of our society—destroying families and weakening our communities.

What can you do?

• Stand against this attack. The porn industry and the left want to normalize their destructive influence—don't let them win.
• Share this alert. Spread the word to friends, family, and your community. Together, we can expose this insidious agenda.
• Get involved in this election. Your vote is critical in pushing back against Kamala Harris and the forces that want to degrade our nation's moral fabric.

Together, we can ensure that our families, communities, and values are protected from the greed and corruption of this morally bankrupt industry.

GreenMedInfo: DoD Policy Raises Constitutional Alarms 🌀

The recent reissuance of Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 5240.01 approved at the highest levels of the Pentagon and signed into effect by the Secretary of Defense, represents a significant challenge to the core Constitutional protections that we hold dear. Here's how it threatens these freedoms:

• Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act: This Act limits the powers of the federal government in using military personnel for domestic law enforcement. The new DoD directive, by permitting the use of lethal force through military assistance in civilian law enforcement, effectively overrides these limitations. 
• Erosion of the First Amendment: Natural health advocates, and others exercising their First Amendment rights, such as questioning the government's response to COVID-19 or the integrity of elections, are now being labeled as potential domestic extremists. This directive expands those classifications into lethal force interventions, potentially silencing voices under the guise of national security.
• Fourth Amendment Infringement: This directive also allows intelligence sharing between military and law enforcement under emergency conditions, raising concerns about the right to privacy and unlawful surveillance.
• Due Process Violations (Fifth Amendment): The possibility of military use of lethal force in domestic scenarios introduces concerns about bypassing due process protections before potentially life-ending decisions are made.

Gary Bauer: End Of Day - 10-10-24 - Exploiting Emergencies, Un-American

Exploiting Emergencies

The left has a saying, "Never let a crisis go to waste," meaning they will exploit anything to advance their agenda. It's hard to imagine, but we saw it again yesterday when President Biden gave a briefing about Hurricane Milton as it was about to hit Florida.

Breaking every norm, he used it to launch partisan political attack on Donald Trump. They have politicized every aspect of our government – our intelligence agencies, our Justice Department, the Pentagon, and now FEMA. Biden not only lied about Trump; he lied about what Trump said.

But Biden really crossed the line when he called Trump "un-American." We can't blame this on his dementia. This is one of the left's main smear tactics, and they've been doing it for years. That's what the whole Russia collusion hoax was all about.

The purpose here is clear. They want you to be confused about the difference between America the country and the government of the United States.

In countries like communist China, Cuba, and North Korea, if you are critical of the government, you are labeled an enemy of the nation.

In America, we have a right to be critical of the government, while still loving our nation.

"Get that book out of my child's school!"

"Why do I have to stand in line at the DMV for hours? An illegal immigrant can get into the country faster than this."

"Congress is spending too much money!"

The Biden administration gives us plenty of reasons to criticize it every day. And as Americans, we have a First Amendment right to criticize them.

Biden calling Trump "un-American" is ridiculous.

Would someone who is "un-American" fly the biggest American flag possible?

Would someone who is "un-American" open up one of his luxury resorts to house nearly 300 linemen who will be working hard to restore power?

Would someone who is "un-American" help raise more than $7.5 million for hurricane victims?

Would he champion the theme "America First"?

No, he wouldn't do any of those things.

Un-American

If Joe Biden wants to talk about what is "un-American," I'm happy to set him straight.

Un-American is using your big city political cronies to file ridiculous charges in order to put your political opponents in jail.

Un-American is kicking your political opponents off the ballot.

Un-American is censoring free speech and restricting religious liberty.

Un-American is telling parents to shut up when the government forces our daughters to share restrooms with boys or exposes our children to graphic LGBTQ propaganda.

Un-American is opening our borders so millions of people can come illegally into our country, bringing crime to our communities and overwhelming public services.

Un-American is putting illegal aliens ahead of our own citizens.

That's not misinformation. That's exactly what is happening.