Front Pages from All America 6/27

Every day, I comb through the front pages of just about every daily paper in America (provided via?The Freedom Forum ) and will highlight 10 front page items that have national significance, with my quick commentary

The Daily News Journal (Tennessee)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Marion County Murder-Suicide Shooter Barred from Guns

WHY IT MATTERS: The gun debate in America has another talking point as we learn that a man who killed his wife, family, and then himself was not supposed to possess a gun.

THE TAKEAWAY: It seems silly to have a debate about gun laws if law enforcement itself will not or will not be enabled to enforce those laws. It's amazing we let the loudest anti-gun voices get away with campaigns that only call for laws being passed and show no interest in applying them. That should serve as a the true "tell" for their dubious level of concern for victims and potential victims. They're just using crime and violence as a partisan tool.

The Times Record News (Texas)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: State Begins Textbook Analysis

WHY IT MATTERS: Politically and culturally charged textbook battles are continuing to rage in several states across the country.

THE TAKEAWAY: Don't be fooled. The textbook wars in America aren't really fueled by politics. They're fueled by money. I learned this 16 years ago when I was at FOX News and we were very directly ordered by Roger Ailes to air every story possible about developments in any state's textbook funding and content wars, (especially Texas). The reason was because Rupert Murdoch was working hard on a project with Steve Jobs to get iPads into public schools to replace textbooks in order to give schools the chance to edit content on the fly and reduce the weight of kids' backpacks, etc. The idea was to project to the public how chaotic it was to make an investment in regular textbooks that school districts would be stuck with for years.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: "He Murdered 11 Innocent Worshipers"

WHY IT MATTERS: As the penalty phase begins for the now-convicted Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, the prosecution is going for the death penalty.

THE TAKEAWAY: I think the big news here is that this trial and now penalty phase are barely cracking the national headlines. I have several explanations for this including: 1) Antisemitic violence is not considered as "interesting" or politically usable as other forms of bigotry 2) Anti-death penalty advocates inside and close to the news media are terrified this case will bolster support for the death penalty in liberal enclaves 3) The incident happened almost five years ago.

The Spokesman Review (Washington)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: City Council Makes Being in Spokane Parks after Hours an Arrestable Offense

WHY IT MATTERS: Another day, another city trying a different plan to cut down on drug addicts, homeless people, and rowdy teens from congregating in public.

THE TAKEAWAY: Is it 100% fair to arrest people who may be just peacefully be hanging out at a public park after dark? Maybe not. But such a policy is much more effective than sending the clear message to people that your town will allow people to do almost anything in public spaces.

The Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: AG Expects Litigation on Charter Schools

WHY IT MATTERS: The state AG believes that Oklahoma will still be sued for providing funds to a charter Catholic school, (despite a favorable ruling Monday in the U.S. Supreme Court).

THE TAKEAWAY: Well, now we know what will be fueling this "debate" for God knows how long into the future: The very lucrative legal and publicity game. The money and renown many lawyers and others will gain from fighting this battle out is the real goal, not any constitutional ethics, etc. Everyone can get busy lining up their favorite sponsors and media mouthpieces now.

The News Virginian (Virginia)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Hiring Deputies will Take Time

WHY IT MATTERS: More and more school districts are scrambling to beef up on-campus security.

THE TAKEAWAY: The fact that school districts are realizing the folly of not having police department-affiliated or controlled security teams, they're also realizing that filling job vacancies in police and all government departments is no easy feat. The political movements that convinced too many schools to push police departments out in recent years has now proven to be a public safety and fiscal disaster.

Green Bay Press-Gazette (Wisconsin)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Lambeau Field Completes East-Side Stadium Expansion

WHY IT MATTERS: The American pro stadium arms race continues, as there never seems to be any venue that the owners don't want to eventually replace or upgrade.

THE TAKEAWAY: The tiny Green Bay media market, a subset of the not too-much-larger Milwaukee market continues to sustain massive demand for the national brand that is the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay community still owns the team, and it appears to be making the wise decision to upgrade the player and coaching facilities at Lambeau Field. This is a good lesson in why supply and demand is more important that "corporate activism" when it comes to spending priorities. If the customers or key employees want something, it makes fiscal sense for a business to supply it. All other concerns may be more "important" in the grander scheme of things, but they are likely not what a business has the right tools to address.

The State (South Carolina)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Additional $1 Billion in S.C. Gas Taxes Improves Roads, Bridges

WHY IT MATTERS: The cost of America's roads are a 50-state challenge that puts pressure on states and cities 24/7/365.

THE TAKEAWAY: Most people have NO idea just how dangerous headlines like this one really are. By "reporting" that $1 billion in revenues improved roads in South Carolina, we're essentially being told 2 + 2 = 4. Any amount of money that is actually spent on road improvement will show some results. But that's not what we need to know. We need to know how much of that $1 billion really went into road improvement? How many roads were improved? How were costs maintained to make whatever money was spent on the roads went the longest way? The fact is, a huge chunk of "road improvement money" is often spent on projects that have nothing to do with roads, as I explained for CNBC in 2015 here.

The Citizens Voice (Pennsylvania)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: New Devices Installed in Downtown Wilkes-Barre to Combat Illegal Parking

WHY IT MATTERS: Another day, another city tries to tackle its public parking challenges... with shortsightedness and greed.

THE TAKEAWAY: I've got a better idea for Wilkes-Barre, why not take the money spent on hi-tech "gotcha" ticket-making devices and spend it one better city planning that welcomes more people downtown in ways that don't require cars and wasteful parking lots? It's not impossible, here's how it's done .

The Marshall News Register (Texas)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: East Texas Expected to Hit Triple-Digit Temps

WHY IT MATTERS: The heatwave hitting the South and the Southwest is for real. But it's not that unusual.

THE TAKEAWAY: The News Register is of course a local paper and it's decision to cover the weather prominently is the correct one. But have you ever noticed that the national news media ONLY reports on unusually warmer temperatures and almost never looks at unseasonably colder conditions? That's probably why almost all of you hadn't heard about the unseasonably cold weather in much of New England that badly hurt agriculture in that area over the spring. (Well, you knew about it if you read THIS front page review, but otherwise not).