Perspectives; Thoughts; Comments; Opinions; Discussions

Archive for June, 2021

Wallace B. Henley Op-ed: Will America still be America? The dangerous altering of America’s DNA

Commentary By Wallace B. Henley, Exclusive Columnist| Wednesday, June 30, 2021

“There is nothing exempt from the peril of mutation,” said Elizabethan sage Walter Raleigh.

Or, as an anonymous patriot of his period put it to would-be agitators in his nation: “You will chip away and chip away until nothing is left that makes Scotland Scotland.”

Wallace Henley, former Senior Associate Pastor of 2nd Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. | Photo by Scott Belin

One looks now at the drastic alterations of America’s spiritual, psychological, social, and political DNA, and the mutating dynamics they set loose upon the nation’s very being, and wonders if America will be America for the present generation’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Scientists like Francis Collins taught us much about the human genome and the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that carries the information and genetics forming the nature of a person.

Collins led the task force that decoded the human genome. On the day of the announcement, President Clinton said: “We are learning the language in which God created life… We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, and the wonder of God’s most divine and sacred gift.”

On this July 4th it would be a good idea for Americans everywhere to reflect on the beauty and wonder of the “DNA” that formed the best of America.

Ages ago God led Moses and his people into the Sinai wilderness and to the foot of Mount Sinai. God summoned Moses up the mountain to renew His Covenant with the people. Receiving that Covenant would give birth to the nation, Israel. God made it clear that Israel must not worship the gods of the Canaanites lest they become like the Canaanites. (See Exodus 34)

So, to worship the “gods of the land” is to take on the spiritual “DNA” of the people of the land, and to take on the identity of the people of the land is to adopt their gods.

For example, previous generations in America—including people and churches identifying as Christian—embraced slavery, in conformity with their culture.

Thomas Jefferson, a slaveholder, nevertheless could not quiet the voice of judgment within his mind and heart: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

And it did not.

A nation-rending war resulted. Succeeding generations learned little and perpetuated discrimination through officially sanctioned racism and segregation.

God warned that If Israel worshiped the “gods of the land” when it arrived in Canaan, then Israel would cease to be Israel and lose its purpose and destiny.

America is by no means the “new Israel,” but she has had remarkable blessings of liberty, prosperity, and security.

God’s aim in history is for the good news of His beautiful Kingdom to be proclaimed to all the inhabited earth. This is the business, not of the state, but of the church within the nation. For this mission to be carried out there must be freedom of religion so the church can go about its business, and have the material means to take the gospel globally.

Any nation that permits such freedom will be blessed. The health of a nation, therefore, is in direct ratio to the health of the church within the nation.

Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington explored what we refer to here as America’s “DNA” in his book, Who Are We? There he discussed the American “Creed” comprised by these and other “DNA” components:

Liberty
Equality
Democracy
Individualism
Human rights
The rule of law
Private property

Huntington did not shy from crediting the Judeo-Christian worldview as the source of these elements of America’s spiritual “DNA”.

If there is socio-cultural sin in our past and present it is not because these principles were corrupt but because sinful human beings of all persuasions corrupted the “DNA”. We have too often worshiped the “gods of the land” and in the process defiled the Source of our blessings, to the hurt of many and alteration of our national character.

The present struggle in American society and culture spans the past, present, and future. All the generations are at stake: We are ashamed of the sins of the past, hopeless in the conflicted present, and anxious about an uncertain future.

Therefore, this Fourth of July we must reflect on the sobering truth of what will happen as America’s “DNA” is altered. The nation will go…

From the conviction that God is Transcendent—above all and to Whom all must give an account, including government—to the belief that there is nothing Transcendent but ourselves and ultimately our rulers
From the freedom not to believe to enforced state or cultural religion
From churches to re-education centers
From schools pursuing knowledge to schools indoctrinating
From the Bible as God’s revelation to us and the source of our formative worldview to the displacement of the Bible from public life
From constitutionalism to tyrannical edict
From healthy individuality to collectivism
From a free market economy to a state-controlled economy
From democracy to oligarchy through the elite establishments of Information, Entertainment, Academia, Politics, Corporations
From mature independence to socialist dependency
From a healthy respect for just law to antinomianism
From unity to fragmentation
From freedom of religion to bondage to the secular humanist religion of the state
From nuclear family to state-determined family

If all that happens our national “DNA” will be altered so drastically that America will no longer be America.

A violent revolution will not save America. The matter at the core is spiritual and only a spiritual revolution, “great awakenings,” will save us.

Pulpits must once again reach into the depths of biblical revelation and proclaim the Kingdom of God rather than the therapeutic or prosperity “gospels”.

Congregations must learn anew the importance of going to their knees… standing in the “gap” … for their nation before God.

ABOUT THE COMMENTATOR:

Wallace B. Henley’s fifty-year career has spanned newspaper journalism, government in both White House and Congress, the church, and academia. He is author or co-author of more than 20 books. He is a teaching pastor at Grace Church, the Woodlands, Texas.

For media inquiries, contact: ChristianPost@pinkston.co

Category:

Opinion, Political, Spiritual

Tagged with:

transgenderism

Iowa aquatic center permitted biologically female teen to walk around topless, use men’s, boys’ facilities because she identifies as male: Report

Reported by SARAH TAYLOR | June 30, 2021

Photo by AXEL HEIMKEN/DPA/AFP via Getty Images

An Iowa public pool complex in Pella reportedly permitted a biologically female teen to walk around the facility topless and enter the men’s and boys’ changing facilities because she was said to have told them that she identifies as male, the Iowa Standard recently reported. The incident was said to have taken place on June 16.

The Standard reported, “According to two people at the aquatic center, the incident did indeed happen and the aquatic center policy allows it to happen.”
An assistant manager at the facility told the outlet that the policy says that “anyone can wear the clothing necessary in line with their gender identity rather than biological sex.” The policy, according to the manager, was set by the city council.

A local resident told the outlet, “When brought to the facility’s attention, they explained there was nothing they could do. That state law protects this biological female, allowing her to walk around indecently exposing herself to all the families enjoying the facility. The facility is afraid if they act and require her to cover herself, they will face legal backlash.”
“I find it appalling that this would actually be state law,” the resident added. “If someone were to take a picture, it wouldn’t be viewed as some boy at the pool in his swim shorts. It would be a topless photo of a biological female and it would be child pornography.”
The center’s general rules are available on the City of Pella’s website, but do not contain any information about gender identity whatsoever. A portion of the rules read, “The Pella Aquatic Center is a family-friendly facility. Inappropriate behavior, language, or attire are not permitted and will be grounds for refusing admission or removal from the facility without a refund.”

On Tuesday, KNIA-FM reported on a statement that the City of Pella issued in regard to the issue at the Pella Aquatic Center.

“The City of Pella has received concerns related to the swimming attire of a patron who recently visited the Pella Aquatic Center,” the statement read. “The City has reviewed the matter with legal counsel and no further action will be taken. The City considers this matter concluded. The City of Pella operates its facilities consistent with state and federal law, which prohibits discrimination against any patron or participant on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability.”

On Wednesday, the station reported that a special Tuesday meeting of the city council heard several comments from area residents.

“The meeting was at capacity in the building, with multiple individuals following along outside and more than 200 watching the online stream,” the station’s report noted, pointing out that “several residents and regular visitors” of the Pella Aquatic Center spoke out against the policies in place at the pool.
“Mayor Don DeWard said in response to one citizen that the facility adheres to a 2007 state law outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and there is no specific City Code or policy in place as it relates to the swimming facility,” the report continued. “Many in attendance demanded immediate action from the city council, but Councilmembers Lynn Branderhorst and Bruce Schiebout asked for patience as they sort out what — if any, options exist to change guidelines at the Pella Aquatic Center.“

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

White Student Born in Drug and Alcohol Abuse Home Asks School Board How She Can Have ‘White Privilege’

Reported by Michael Austin | June 29, 2021

One brave girl from Fishers, Indiana, had some important questions for members of her local school board last week. Fighting back tears, the girl explained to the board members how they have “failed [her] as a student.” Her comments can be seen starting around the 41:57 mark in a video on the Hamilton Southeastern Schools website.

“I have been in counseling as long as I can remember because I was adopted from foster care at age 4,” she said at the school board meeting on Wednesday.
“The things I’ve learned along the way are being challenged now when my science or math teacher is trying to teach me how to be emotionally — and why are they teaching me about sexuality and how to identity?” the girl said.
“I don’t want to hear about sexuality during class in front of other students because that should be a private thing. This should be left in the homes and between students and counselors or one-on-one conversations.‘
“This has been a very traumatic part of my past, and the more that the school focuses on sexuality, the more it affects me and my anxiety.”

Following that, she revealed that she had been accused of having “white privilege” by school staff members.

“I was told I have white privilege. How can a child born in an abusive, drug and alcohol abuse home who lost her entire biological family, that has experienced all forms of abuse and neglect, be privileged?” the girl asked.
“If you found a child at 15 months in a home with holes in the floor eating cat poop, would you consider them privileged? Just asking, because when I was told that, I was upset and cried myself to sleep.”

A quick look at the website of the girl’s school district confirms that far-left “equity and inclusion” propaganda is being disseminated to students. Just as she said, this propaganda focuses on sexuality and anti-racism (which teaches about the supposed prevalence of “white privilege”).

An “Equity and Inclusion” web page on the district’s website offers various “Anti-Racism/Bias Resources,” presumably for teachers, students and parents to use for educational purposes.One resource recommended by the district encourages educators to read a book by Ibram X. Kendi, a controversial scholar known for pushing the philosophy of “anti-racism.” According to Kendi, you are either an anti-racist — a progressive political activist who agrees with Kendi’s vague redefinition of racism — or a racist. In his view, there is no in-between.

“What’s the problem with being ‘not racist?’” Kendi wrote. “It is a claim that signifies neutrality: ‘I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.’ … One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.”

In other words, vote for Democrats and radical socialist policies such as welfare redistribution — the very same policies that have impoverished the African-American community for decades — or you are a racist. These are the sorts of ideas that Hamilton Southeastern officials push on their students.

Another resource offered by the district links to a video defending the political goal of equity, also known as equality of outcomes.

In its argumentation for the necessity of equity policies, the video uses a popular meme that supposedly shows how equality, or treating people as equals, is not good enough to address supposed systemic inequity. Instead, the proponents of equity argue, in order to reach true equality of outcomes, minorities must be afforded special privileges in order to address the unique disadvantages they face.

Not only is such thinking illogical, but it is also deeply racist due to the fact that it treats minorities as helpless children in need of government aid. Moreover, as conservative commentator Ben Shapiro explained in a Feb. 2 Op-Ed, such reasoning is faulty because it fails to take into account group differences.

“This philosophy is both idiotic and perverse. It’s idiotic because all human groupings — literally all of them — will result in differential outcomes. Draw a line down the middle of any room in random fashion and the result will be unequal income distribution, criminal records, educational histories,” Shapiro wrote.
“When culture takes a hand, disparities can be more deeply rooted than random chance. Discrimination would still not be the cause of such disparity. As a basic logical matter, discrimination is not the cause of all disparity.’
“This philosophy is perverse because it attributes malice to those who have none; it fosters policy that actively discriminates, supposedly in order to alleviate unproven discrimination.”

Indeed, when it comes to the Hamilton Southeastern Schools, this philosophy certainly attributed “malice” to someone who has none.

A girl who has suffered abuse and neglect was called “privileged” just for being white.

Michael Austin

Michael Austin joined The Western Journal as a staff reporter in 2020. Since then, he has authored hundreds of stories, including several original reports. He also co-hosts the outlet’s video podcast, “WJ Live.”@mikeswriting

Category:

Education, Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Dummy and Dumber

A.F. BRANCO on June 30, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-dummy-and-dumber/

Some say Biden resembles Jeff Dunham’s puppet Walter but there are other comparisons.

Biden Obama Puppet — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

WALTER BIDEN

Ban On Goods Made With Forced Labor Slows Clothing Imports

Reported by KENDALL TIETZ, CONTRIBUTOR | June 28, 2021

Uyghur Women Getty — (Photo by PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Increased enforcement of a ban on imported products made with forced labor has led to cargo stoppages and complaints from importers, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers are charged with enforcing the ban on goods, such a cotton and tomato products from the Xinjiang region of China, where Uyghurs are detained in forced labor camps. The bans were first put in place during the Trump administration in an effort to remove forced labor from import supply chains, the WSJ reported.

The ban on cotton from the region has had an impact on retailers who rely heavily on the commodity and must prove their supply chains don’t rely on slave labor, the WSJ reported. Importers have three months from the time of detainment to prove products pass CBP standards, if not, cargoes will be exported or abandoned.

Retailer Uniqlo Co, had a shipment of men’s shirts detained in January at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach because customs officers suspected it violated the December ban on Xinjiang cotton, according to internal CBP documents, the WSJ reported.

This photo taken on June 2, 2019 shows buildings at the Artux City Vocational Skills Education Training Service Center, believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, north of Kashgar in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

This photo taken on June 2, 2019 shows buildings at the Artux City Vocational Skills Education Training Service Center, believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, north of Kashgar in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

Uniqlo objected, providing documents that showed the cotton came from Australia, Brazil and the U.S., the WSJ reported. But CBP still did not release the cargo, citing that the company was unable to prove the shirts weren’t made using forced labor.

Representatives for the retail industry say the burden of proof is too high and that expectations are unclear, the WSJ reported.

“It turns U.S. jurisprudence on its head. As opposed to innocent until proven guilty, it is now guilty until proven innocent,” said Nate Herman, senior vice president of policy at American Apparel & Footwear Association, the WSJ reported. ”Companies don’t know what they are trying to prove because they don’t know what part of the shipment triggered the detention or why it was in violation.”

One possible factor for the lack of transparency and stalled imports could be a shortage of CBP staff, which “limits its ability to pursue forced labor investigations,” a Government Accountability Office report said in October.

Trade lawyers and business groups said they expect more import bans and disputed shipments, due to an increasing focus on human rights, the WSJ reported.

“As President Biden made clear at the recent G7 summit, the United States will not tolerate modern-day slavery in our supply chains,” said Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas in a press release Thursday. “This Withhold Release Order demonstrates we continue to protect human rights and international labor standards and promote a more fair and competitive global marketplace by fulfilling the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ending forced labor.”

Category:

International Politics

Tagged with:

Woman Missing in Miami Condo Collapse Called Husband After She Saw Pool Turn to Sinkhole, Then the Line Went Dead

Reported by Amanda Thomason | June 28, 2021

By now, most of us have seen the horrific aftermath of the Florida condo tower collapse: A rubble heap where a 13-story tower once stood, and over 150 people still missing.

Crews are working around the clock, looking for any signs of life amidst the rubble. Specialized teams from other countries have shown up to help, and friends and family wait for news as time passes and hope dwindles.

As they wait, some are sharing stories about loved ones who still have not been located. Mike Stratton, 66, had an especially haunting last exchange with his wife, 40-year-old Cassondra “Cassie” Billedeau-Stratton.Advertisement – story continues below

The Strattons have lived on the fourth floor of the residential high-rise for the past four years. The jet-setting couple is often traveling, busy with their respective jobs that often take them to other bustling cities.

Last Monday, Mike had to leave to Washington, D.C. for work. That was the last time he saw Cassie.

Early Thursday morning, Cassie called him in a panic.Advertisement – story continues below

“I was in Washington, on the phone with her when the whole thing happened, 1:30 a.m.,” Mike told NBC News.

Cassie explained that the pool — which was normally visible from the couple’s condo — had simply disappeared. In its place, a sinkhole.

She continued to explain how the building was shaking, and with that, the call cut off. The line went dead.

“It was 1:30 a.m., I’ll never, never forget that,” Mike reiterated to the Miami Herald.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/woman-missing-miami-condo-collapse-called-husband-saw-pool-turn-sinkhole-line-went-dead/

Amanda Thomason, Contributor

Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she’s strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.

Category:

General

Tagged with:

Dr. Carlos Campo Op-ed: Resisting cancel culture: Teaching college students how to think

Commentary by By Dr. Carlos Campo, Op-ed Contributor| Tuesday, June 29, 2021

A few years ago, we were surprised to read Pew research statistics indicating that, “for the first time in U.S. history,” Americans felt like higher education was “headed in the wrong direction.” As we dug into the reasons why, tuition costs topped the list, but other factors got our attention. In particular, we were intrigued and troubled by the complaint that “professors bring their social and political views into the classroom,” and that “colleges and universities are too concerned with protecting students from potentially offensive views.”

The report went on to state that, “When asked about the trade-off between allowing free speech, however distasteful, on college campuses versus protecting students from views they may find offensive, the public comes down clearly on the side of free speech.” Nearly 90% indicated that “it’s more important to allow people to speak their minds freely, even if some students find their views upsetting or offensive, than it is to ensure that students aren’t exposed to views they find upsetting or offensive, even if that limits what people are allowed to say.”

After reading the study, we felt as though the opinions expressed therein certainly did not reflect the ethos here at Ashland University, but we weren’t exactly sure how to quantify how we differed from these perceptions. We decided to take some specific actions to try to counter those views. For one, we adopted our version of the “Chicago Principles” of free speech, so named because the University of Chicago founded them in 2014. We became the 33rd institution to take this action, and the list now tops 100. We reinforced our fundamental commitment is “to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the University community to be offensive, unwise, immoral or wrong-headed. It is for the individual members of the University community, not for the University as an institution, to make those judgments for themselves, and to act on those judgments not by seeking to suppress speech, but by openly and vigorously contesting the ideas that they oppose.” A good first step.

We also borrowed from Alan Jacobs’ work and printed out and posted dozens of “Thinking Person’s Checklists” that featured items like, “Remember that you don’t have to respond to what everyone else is responding to in order to signal your virtue and right-mindedness,” hoping to foster greater civility and more vigorous dialogue. Our noted Ashbrook Scholars program had already doffed textbooks, relying instead on primary documents for their rigorous study of history and political science.

Next, we coined the phrase, “Teaching students how to think, not what to think.” The positive response to this tagline was immediate and overwhelming. I even had one student stop me in a hallway and say, “My grandfather made me come to Ashland because he read your slogan and said any school that is committed to that ideal deserves my money!” Heartened by affirming reactions all around, we applied for and were granted a trademark for the phrase. We understood the inherent limitations of the phrase, as we surely teach students “what to think” when it comes to certain elements of math, science, and at least bare historical facts, but liked how it expressed our disdain for inculcation.

But we soon realized how difficult it is to stand behind our aspirational “how to think” stance in 21st century academic life in America. The initial challenge came in the wake and undertow of the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor atrocities. We—like many universities—declared this a “watershed moment” in our history, one that demanded immediate and sustained action. Among other initiatives, we quickly constructed a module for all freshmen on race, which included “an introduction to diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and competencies.”

While our intentions seemed pure enough, the struggle to formulate a “basic introduction” to these “concepts” while holding true to our trademarked mantra was formidable. Surely we had an obligation to “tell students what to think” about these complex issues. There are certain indisputable “facts” regarding white privilege, unconscious bias, and a number of other topics seminal to an introduction like this. We, of course, teach that racism is evil. We don’t offer a set of anthropological theories and leave it up to the students (except in the sense that believing anything we teach is up to the students) whether or not to think that whites are superior, blacks and Jews are inferior, etc. We reject all of those propositions outright, with no pretense of neutrality whatsoever.

But some in our community believed we had a “duty” to educate our students a certain way about these topics. In particular, many felt as though Critical Race Theory (CRT) should be the primary underpinning for our students’ understanding of these issues. Others emphasized that “standard Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) theories” featured certain elements all students needed to know. We decided that we could not stand by our commitment to “unfettered intellectual inquiry” and not present all sides to our students—they deserved the right to formulate their own conclusions. If teaching CRT (and/including standard DEI theory) meant nothing more than opposing bigotry as traditionally understood and applying the moral truisms most of us learned as children, then yes, of course. But this is not the case: these theories rely on a set of highly controversial and theoretical principles that are not uniformly accepted. We were fine presenting and consider the approaches outlined in CRT and DEI, but out of respect for our students and commitment to the unencumbered pursuit of truth we could not treat any of it as settled truth. In the end, we wound up with a seminar that simply outlined very basic concepts, defined them from multiple viewpoints, and was ultimately more rudimentary than many hoped and probably not all that successful. “Teaching students how to think, not what to think” is harder business than we knew.

Our trials with our seminar on race emphasized a crucial dilemma facing American colleges and universities. In academia today, we realize that “viewpoint discrimination” has become so rampant that our essential function as places where the unencumbered pursuit of truth is indeed threatened. Intellectual intolerance has grown to a point that many faculty members feel silenced, and even students who voice “dangerous” opinions face intimidation and even expulsion. Places like FIRE and ACTA (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni) are fighting to preserve intellectual freedom on our campuses, but their good work is often muted in academe.

Our hope is that more schools will resist the cultural pressure to simply adopt what the “academic intelligentsia” ratify as acceptable. The best colleges in our nation established their reputations on being places that openly challenged us, and never “canceled” perspectives or limited subjects—they wrestled with them in ways that developed some of the best minds and people we have ever known. Let us rise once again to the high calling of unconstrained learning. It is hard work, but worth it.

ABOUT THE COMMENTATOR:

Dr. Carlos Campo is the 30th president of Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He previously served as president of Regent University. He is serving as educational consultant for the Gates Foundation and as chair of the Alliance for Hispanic Education for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Dad shoots ‘peeping Tom’ after allegedly catching creep staring at his young daughter through her bedroom window

Reported by PHIL SHIVER | June 29, 2021

A Texas father took action with his licensed firearm over the weekend after allegedly catching a man peeping at his young daughter through her bedroom window and fondling himself. The father, along with his wife, reportedly confronted an intoxicated man who was inappropriately touching himself outside their 10-year-old daughter’s window late Sunday night, according to KTRK-TV.

The child spotted the man first and screamed, alerting her parents to the situation. When they came running into the bedroom, the couple said they saw the man looking into their child’s window. The parents, both armed with handguns, then ran into the front yard and attempted to detain the “peeping Tom.”

The father reportedly told Harris County Sheriff’s deputies that he and his wife instructed the man to lie down in the grass and wait for police to arrive, but the suspect didn’t listen. Instead, he fled across the street to a Valero gas station, and the couple followed him. At the gas station, the father recalled to KTRK that while he went inside to ask the attendant to call the police, his wife held the suspect at gunpoint. The suspect, however, was able to wrestle with the mother and take her gun away. The father said he exited the gas station to find the man pointing a gun at his wife — and that’s when he opened fire, striking the man three times.

According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect was taken to a nearby hospital in critical but stable condition. No other injuries were reported.

Deputies noted that both the husband and wife are licensed handgun carriers.

The mother, who wishes to remain unidentified, later recalled the terrifying details of the incident to KPRC-TV.

“She looks over at the window and this guy is at her window,” the mother said of her daughter. “I can’t say that he tried to take my daughter’s innocence. He took my daughter’s innocence.”
Then describing what was going through her mind when the suspect wrestled with her in the gas station parking lot, she said, “He is wrestling with me, with my gun, and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to let you get my gun, you are not going to kill me or shoot me.'”
“My husband just said he heard a ‘ca, ca,’ but by that time the guy had already grabbed me, got my gun, and pulled it on myself,” she said.
“We didn’t want this guy to get shot,” the mother added. “We were waiting for police to detain him because I’m pretty sure if he did this to my children, he’s doing it to a lot of other children out here.”

“We are praying for the suspect and we are also praying for his family,” the mother went on to say. “Because [just like how] we have children, a mother, a father, grandparents, and friends, and other family — he does, too.”

The father, who also wishes to remain unidentified, reportedly told KTRK that his daughter had complained about someone watching her through the window in the past, but he didn’t believe her. He added that while he pursued the suspect across the street, the man pleaded with him, saying he “wouldn’t do it again.”

The incident will now reportedly be referred to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for a grand jury review.

Category:

Law

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Powerlifter

A.F. BRANCO on June 29, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-powerlifter/

NBC and the world seem to have no problem embracing the China Olympics though they use slave labor.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE100 Mbps Internet for Business: $55.99Say yes to our 100% fiber-optic network ranked in Top 5 Fastest Fiber Internet by U.S. News & World Report.Ad by Frontier See More

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

CRUZ MOVES: Senator Introduces Bill to Block Federal Funding for Critical Race Theory

posted by Hannity Staff – 6.26.21

Senator Ted Cruz moved this week to block federal funding for the promotion of ‘Critical Race Theory’ in public institutions and ensure US taxpayers don’t “contribute to this radical ideology.”

“The federal government has no right to force a political agenda onto Americans, especially one that aims to tear down our institutions and divide us based on race. Critical Race Theory originated out of the critical race studies movement. It is a Marxist ideology that sees the world as a battle, not between the classes – as classical Marxism does – but between the races. This is inherently bigoted,” Cruz said of Critical Race Theory.
“On President Biden’s first day in office, he rescinded the Trump administration’s commonsense executive order ensuring no government funding goes to anti-American or racist and sexist training, like CRT, in the workplace. President Biden’s decision was unsurprising but shows the Democratic Party will stop at nothing to indoctrinate Americans,” he added. “I am proud to introduce this bill to block federal funding for CRT and ensure the U.S. government doesn’t contribute to this radical ideology.”

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Facebook Loses Teen Sex Trafficking Case, Legal Defeat Puts Social Media Platforms in Crosshairs

Reported by Jack Davis | June 26, 2021

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled against Facebook as the social media giant tries to use a controversial federal law to dodge liability for its platform being used by human traffickers to recruit victims. The ruling allows three survivors of human trafficking who want to sue Facebook to move forward with their cases, according to Forbes. Facebook had argued it was not responsible for what its users say under Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act.

Section 230 has become a controversial piece of law, with critics saying it gives social media companies too much power. Forbes reported that in 2018, Congress carved out exceptions to Section 230 so that lawsuits could be brought against companies that violate human trafficking laws. In his opinion, Justice Jimmy Blacklock noted those limits.

“We do not understand section 230 to ‘create a lawless no-man’s-land on the Internet’ in which states are powerless to impose liability on websites that knowingly or intentionally participate in the evil of online human trafficking,” he wrote.
“Holding internet platforms accountable for the words or actions of their users is one thing. … Holding internet platforms accountable for their own misdeeds is quite another thing. This is particularly the case for human trafficking.”
“Section 230, as amended, does not withdraw from the states the authority to protect their citizens from internet companies whose own actions — as opposed to those of their users — amount to knowing or intentional participation in human trafficking,” the ruling said.

The case involved three women who, according to the ruling, “allege they were victims of sex trafficking who became entangled with their abusers through Facebook.” One was 15 years old when she was befriended by a Facebook user who told her he would help her pursue a modeling career.

“Shortly after meeting him, Plaintiff was photographed and her pictures posted to the website Backpage (which has since been shut down due to its role in human trafficking), advertising her for prostitution. As a result, Plaintiff was ‘raped, beaten, and forced into further sex trafficking,’” the ruling said.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/facebook-loses-teen-sex-trafficking-case-legal-defeat-puts-social-media-platforms-crosshairs/

Category:

Business, Political

Tagged with:

US Conducts Airstrikes In Iraq, Syria Against Iran-Backed Militia Groups

Reported by SHELBY TALCOTT AND TAYLOR GILES, CONTRIBUTORS | June 27, 2021

US-POLITICS-DEFENSE — Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border Sunday.

The strikes targeted “operational and weapons storage facilities” in Syria and Iraq, according to a press release from Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. The facilities were used by Iranian militia groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), according to the press release.

“As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel,” Kirby said.

Iran-backed militias were targeted in the strikes as a result of the militias’ ongoing attacks against U.S. interests in the region.

“The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope,” Kirby went on to say. (RELATED: Biden Reportedly Called Off Second Syria Airstrike After Woman, Children Spotted At Site)

The Pentagon sought approval from Biden in May and were delayed twice prior to Sunday’s announcement, a source familiar with the situation told the Daily Caller. The airstrikes occurred following reported attacks against U.S. forces at bases in Iraq, the source added. These recent attacks reportedly included a “bomb-laden drone” and rocket attacks, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.

Pentagon spokesperson Commander Jessica McNulty told the Daily Caller that President Joe Biden determined the airstrikes “would protect U.S personnel.” She called the strikes “necessary” and “appropriate.”

“We always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing to protect and defend our people; today was the right moment to act,” McNulty said. “The President determined that taking this action would protect U.S. personnel, and that these strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope.”
“The strikes were necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation,” she added. “Through these and other means, we seek to make clear to Iran and Iran-backed militia groups that there will be serious consequences if they continue to attack, or to arm, fund, and train militia groups that attack our people. We will take necessary and appropriate measures to defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region.”

McNulty also confirmed recent reported attacks against facilities used by U.S. personnel – the reason behind Sunday’s airstrike.

“Iran-backed militias have conducted at least five one-way UAV attacks against facilities used by U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq since April as well as ongoing rocket attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces,” she said in a statement.
Biden has previously been criticized for targeting Iranian-backed militias in airstrikes back in February. “We ran on ending war, not escalating conflicts in the Middle East. Our foreign policy needs to be rooted in diplomacy & the rule of law, not retaliatory airstrikes without Congressional authorization,” Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna tweeted in February.

Category:

Military

Tagged with:

Report: Black, Latino voters reject radical far-left policies like ‘defund the police’

Reported by CHRIS ENLOE | June 27, 2021

Far-left progressives who advocate radical criminal justice reform policies like “defund the police” claim abolishing traditional policing systems will benefit minority communities. But according to a New York Times report, Hispanic and black communities aren’t buying what far-left Democrats are selling.

The race to become New York City’s next mayor has focused on crime and safety. Interestingly, Eric Adams, a former New York City Police captain who denounces radical anti-police policies, won a 10-point preliminary lead in the Democratic primary, which, though held last Tuesday, probably will not be officially determined until mid-July.

The Times explained what Adams’ success means in terms of far-left Democratic policies and minority voters:

In a contest that centered on crime and public safety, Eric Adams, who emerged as the leading Democrat, focused much of his message on denouncing progressive slogans and policies that he said threatened the lives of “Black and brown babies” and were being pushed by “a lot of young, white, affluent people.” A retired police captain and Brooklyn’s borough president, he rejected calls to defund the Police Department and pledged to expand its reach in the city. Black and brown voters in Brooklyn and the Bronx flocked to his candidacy, awarding Mr. Adams with sizable leading margins in neighborhoods from Eastchester to East New York.

The results show the majority of black and Hispanic voters, two groups of people Democrats assume will support them, are more moderate than progressive Democrats assume. In fact, according to Hakeem Jefferson, an assistant professor of political science at Stanford University, the average black voter shares more in common with Adams than, say, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

“Black people talk about politics in more practical and everyday terms… What makes more sense for people who are often distrustful of broad political claims is something that’s more in the middle,” Jefferson told the Times. “The median Black voter is not AOC and is actually closer to Eric Adams.”

The phenomenon of minority voters rejecting the ideology and policy agenda of progressive Democrats is not something reserved to New Yorkers.

“[A] growing body of evidence indicates that large numbers of Black and Latino voters may simply take a more centrist view on the very issues — race and criminal justice — that progressives assumed would rally voters of color to their side,” the Times reported.

In fact, the share of white Democrats who identify as “liberal” increased from the early 2000s by more than double compared to the share of black and Hispanic Democrats who identify as liberal, according to an analysis conducted by Gallup. The analysis again suggests that black and Hispanic voters are more moderate than Democrats assume.

“Increased liberal identification has been particularly pronounced among non-Hispanic white Democrats, rising 20 percentage points from an average 34% in the early 2000s to 54% in the latest period. By contrast, Gallup trends show a nine-point rise in the percent liberal among Hispanic Democrats, from 29% to 38%, and an eight-point increase among black Democrats, from 25% to 33%,” Gallup explained.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Today’s TWO Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Not So Gentle Giant

A.F. BRANCO on June 27, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-not-so-gentle-giant/

9-year-old Courageous Novalee pointed out to the school board their blatant leftist hypocrisy.

Black Lives Matter in Schools — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Suck Ups

A.F. BRANCO on June 28, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-suck-ups/

Democrat Propagandist, CNN continues running defense and offense for the Biden Administration.

CNN Suck ups to Democrats — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT CARTOON by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Poor Sport

A.F. BRANCO on June 25, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-poor-sport/

Women’s sports are in danger of being destroyed by allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports.

Transgender Olympics — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Jason Whitlock OP-ED: Fearless: Jason Whitlock’s letter to black America explaining the real purpose of made-for-TV racial conflict

Commentary by JASON WHITLOCK | June 25, 2021

Dear Black People:

We are being lied to and set up. The mainstream media, Democratic politicians, social justice activists, and perhaps even your church pastor have led you to believe America is in the midst of a racial conflict similar to the Civil War and the civil rights movement.

They have pitted us against the Proud Boys, the KKK, rural militia groups, and Trump supporters in a made-for-TV race war. Just five years after Barack Obama completed two terms as president of the United States, we’re supposed to believe America has been overrun by violent white supremacists determined to reinstate segregation, Jim Crow laws, and maybe even slavery.

Evidence of this massive wave of 1920s-style bigotry amounts to three things:

Republicans want all voters to show a government-issued ID;
On January 6, unarmed Trump supporters crashed the Capitol and took pictures inside Nancy Pelosi’s office;
Across the nation, police kill on average 250 black men and 450 white men per year.

Oh, I almost forgot. There’s a fourth piece of evidence. Colin Kaepernick failed to land a job as a starting quarterback after pissing off a large segment of football fans by taking a knee during the national anthem.

Those are the main smoking guns proving that white supremacy is the most dangerous domestic threat America faces. George Floyd, a habitual criminal and drug addict, is the Crispus Attucks of this raging race war. He is our rallying cry and hero.

It’s a setup. We’re being used as decoys and distractions in a war that has nothing to do with race.

The real war is about global power and the future of America’s system of government. This country’s elite, global citizens, and corporations prefer communism over capitalism and democracy. They prefer China’s system over our system.

America has been the world’s leader in racial progress and fairness. The mainstream media are not allowed to explain this to you. Advertisers, aka major corporations, will no longer support media outlets that back our current democratic and capitalistic systems of governance.

You say, what about Fox News? Turn it on. It’s filled with a bunch of MyPillow and wounded soldier commercials. America’s big, global corporations, the ones looking to improve their market share in China, are not financially supporting Fox News. The most popular voices at Fox News dislike China.

The faux race war the mainstream media have promoted is a tool being used to convince you and non-black Americans that our system of government has been a giant failure. They want you to believe that a great reset is necessary to achieve fairness.

The reset is communism, which starts with the gateway drug of socialism and ends in full-blown Marxism. China is run by the Communist Chinese Party. Communism has no respect for individual freedom or religion of any kind. Communism has no tolerance for political dissent.

Your religion and free speech will not survive the reset. Communism is racial oppression’s best friend. When a nation is stripped of religious faith and free speech, few people have the courage to defend the rights of minorities. The elites cozying up to China do not care about you. They are aware of how despicably China treats black people. They are aware of how China squashes dissent.

Do your own research on communism and what it stamps out and how it oppresses. Don’t take my word.

You might be wondering why Oprah Winfrey or LeBron James or some other super popular black celebrity isn’t telling you what I am. They’re global elites. The reset won’t hurt them or their loved ones. Communism favors wealthy elites far more than capitalism and democracy do. Oprah, LeBron, and the other uber-wealthy black tokens will thrive under socialism and communism.

You won’t. Unless you’re a 6’6″ basketball star or some other black entertainer capable of entertaining the people in power. That’s a tiny percentage of black people.

Why won’t your favorite white cable newsman or newswoman tell you what I’m telling you? Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo, Joe Scarborough, aren’t they our allies? No. They’re not. They’re political lobbyists working on behalf of the corporations and politicians pushing the reset.

OK. What about me? You might think I’m a political partisan working on behalf of conservative Republicans. That is certainly how I’ve been painted by left-leaning media outlets and social media platforms. And I’m now partnered with Blaze Media, a platform that leans right.

Judge my career. I have been at this for more than 30 years. I have been equally despised by the left and the right. I have publicly feuded with Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann. I’ve been a guest on their old Fox News and MSNBC shows. I’ve worked and/or written for ESPN, Fox Sports, the Huffington Post, Playboy Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal. I spent years bashing Sarah Palin.

I don’t play for any political team. I’ve never voted. I go wherever I believe I can speak, follow, and write the truth. The truth I believe the most is that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. I believe Jesus is under attack. That’s why I’m at Blaze Media. You can’t defend Jesus at corporate media outlets. Advertisers won’t allow it. You can discuss the religion of racism every day at ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, and even Fox Sports. But it’s taboo to discuss the cure for racism — Jesus — on those platforms.

I’m not saying any of this because there’s a big paycheck for black men espousing my views. The money for black broadcasters and journalists is connected to preaching the race-bait religion.

Let me be clear. I’m not broke by any stretch. I’ve earned and saved a substantial sum of money. But I’ve bypassed far more money than I’ve earned with the choice I’ve made to follow the truth wherever it leads and my refusal to support the racial groupthink dictated by global elites.

My faith won’t allow me to jump on board with the lunacy, racism, and sacrilege of Black Lives Matter, a movement founded by three lesbian self-admitted trained Marxists. BLM is an atheist movement in support of LGBTQ issues and the reshaping of America into a communist country. BLM is part of the deception.

Black people tell me all the time: “I don’t support the BLM organization, but I support the slogan and sentiment.”

Let me translate that. You despise the devil’s tree but love the fruit it produces. That’s some Don Lemon-Lori Lightfoot-Van Jones-Colin Kaepernick level of hypocrisy. You know, all the Malcolm X-wannabe, anti-white radicals in relationships with white partners. They hate the white tree but can’t live without the white fruit.

We have to stop letting everyone use us. We’re being played. We’re all being played, black and white working-class people. It’s all a giant setup. Look at what they did to Trump supporters. They were manipulated into storming the Capitol, and then the corporate media portrayed it as a bloody, violent KKK rally intended to overthrow democracy. The so-called “insurrection” is an excuse for the government to seize more power and crush dissent.

We, black people, have been convinced the crushing of working-class white people is good for us. It’s not. Working-class white people, Christian white people, are our true allies, not the elites. We can’t see that because of the made-for-TV hyper-focus on racial conflict.

The defunding and demoralizing of police are tactics deployed to increase violence in major cities. Local media outlets are focusing on this rise in crime, national media outlets have followed suit, and social media platforms are generating viral videos exposing the crime wave. Guess who are the stars of this content. Black perpetrators.

It’s all a massive setup. The stirring of racial animus between Obama worshippers and Trump worshippers is orchestrated by billionaire elites, executed by trained Marxists, promoted by millionaire influencers in the media, sports, and entertainment worlds, and co-signed by religious leaders pursuing popularity.

Black America, print this letter and share it with family, friends, co-workers, and, most importantly, your pastor.

My critics will tell you: “Oh, Jason Whitlock is a sellout. He hates black people.”

That’s laughable. It’s part of the deception. I despise the people deceiving us, manipulating us to participate in a racial clash that will be used to destroy the religious and individual freedoms that liberated us.

There’s a reason black and brown people across the globe fight to get into this country and excel when they do. They love the American tree and the fruit it produces.

Thanks for reading, Jason Whitlock

Category:

Opinion, Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Dying To Vote

A.F. BRANCO on June 25, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-dying-to-vote/

Democrats fail to pass their “Fool the People Act” that would have federalized elections nationally.

GOP Suppressing Illegal Voting — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Biden’s Education Dept. releases ‘Dear Educator’ letter warning teachers against trans-discrimination

Reported By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter| Thursday, June 24, 2021

Transgender — A sign outside a classroom taken in 2016. | REUTERS/Tami Chappell

Just a week after the U.S. Department of Education concluded that the protections of Title IX extend to LGBT students, the Biden administration has sent a letter to schools across the nation informing them of the policy change and providing examples of actions that now constitute as discrimination.

The “Dear Educator” letter was published Wednesday, the 49th anniversary of the implementation of Title IX, which was created to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in education. Written by Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, Suzanne Goldberg, the letter informs educators about the recently issued public notice by the Department of Education, announcing that “Title IX’s protection against sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The department made that determination based on the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person” because of their sexual orientation or gender identity “without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” In addition to the Bostock decision, Goldberg cited “the particular vulnerability of LGBTQI+ students and the often overwhelming challenges these students face in education compared to their peers” as a rationale for the new interpretation of Title IX.

“The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights works to ensure that Title IX’s mandate protects students in all aspects of their education, including recruitment, admissions, and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; protections from sex-based harassment, (sic) which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; discipline; equal access to classes and activities; and treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) students,” Goldberg wrote.
Goldberg vowed that the “OCR will fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the department.” Additionally, a fact sheet about “Confronting Anti-LGBTQI+ Discrimination in Schools” accompanied the Dear Educator letter. The fact sheet provided examples of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity that the OCR could investigate.

Under one such example, “a transgender high school girl is stopped by the principal” on the way to use the girls’ bathroom. “The principal tells the student to use the boys’ restroom or nurse’s office because her school records identify her as ‘male.’” In other words, according to President Joe Biden’s Department of Education, refusing to allow a biological male who identifies as a girl to enter the girls’ bathroom constitutes discrimination under Title IX.

In that same scenario, the trans-identified male “joins her friends to try out for the girls’ cheerleading team and the coach turns her away from the tryouts simply because she is transgender.” Based on the Department of Education’s understanding of Title IX, it is considered discriminatory to require student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond to their biological sex as opposed to their chosen gender identity.

In another scenario, “an elementary school student with intersex traits dresses in a gender neutral way, identifies as nonbinary, and uses they/them pronouns.” In this particular example, “the teacher tells the class that there are only boys and girls and anyone who thinks otherwise has something wrong with them.”

The characterization of this scenario, as an example of discrimination, illustrates that the Department of Education sees it as discriminatory to acknowledge the biological fact that there are two genders.

Even before the federal government implemented its new interpretation of Title IX, a teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia, was placed on leave for stating that he would not “affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa.” He was ultimately reinstated to his position by a judge, and the school district is appealing that decision.

Conservative groups quickly panned the Department of Education’s Dear Educator letter, elaborating on the new interpretation of Title IX. “It’s an unhappy anniversary for Title IX,” said Meridian Baldacci, policy and communications strategist at the Family Policy Institute in response to the letter.

“Today, the Biden administration single-handedly turned Title IX on its head to say that women are discriminating against men when they have concerns about men being called ‘women,’ using their locker rooms, competing on their sports teams, or taking away their championships and scholarship opportunities. That the Department of Education is demanding this in the name of ‘protecting’ students and stopping ‘discrimination’ is stunning. This move is misguided and antithetical to the purpose of Title IX,” she added.

This is not the first time that the federal government has attempted to force schools to allow biological males who identify as females to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. Toward the end of the Obama administration, where Biden served as vice president, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued a joint letter requiring schools to allow trans-identified students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

‘We Have A Deal’: Biden Reaches Bipartisan Infrastructure Agreement

Reported by ANDERS HAGSTROM, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT | June 24, 2021

President Biden Speaks On Country's COVID-19 Response And The Vaccination Effort — (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden reached a deal with a bipartisan group of senators to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, he announced at the White House on Thursday.

Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday evening they had reached the beginnings of an agreement. The meeting, which included five Republican senators, five Democratic senators and several top White house officials, continued with Biden at the White House on Thursday.

Biden met with the group for just 30 minutes before emerging from the West Wing and announcing “We have a deal.”

The $1.2 trillion deal includes $579 billion in new spending, which will fund measures like expanding broadband access, addressing water shortages in the West U.S., improving public transit and more than a dozen other infrastructure projects, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.

The deal also proposes several means of gathering funds to pay for itself, including a sale of the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve and the redirection of unused emergency relief funds from 2020. The bill also relies on the expected positive economic impact of upgraded infrastructure as a cost offset.

Senators at the meeting echoed Biden’s words during a joint press gaggle outside the West Wing.

“Today, we are announcing the framework for an historic investment in infrastructure,” Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman told reporters. “I’m pleased to see today that we’re able to come together on a core infrastructure package. This is not non-infrastructure items without new taxes…This was a team effort.”
“No one got everything they wanted in this package,” Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said. “We all gave some to get some…We are delighted to go back to the Hill and begin earning more support from both Republicans and Democrats to get this bill across the finish line.”

Specifics of the agreement are still forthcoming, but it is significantly smaller than Biden’s initial $2.3 trillion plan

Biden and Republicans have repeatedly gone back and forth on potential infrastructure deals, with talks stalling out a number of times. The Thursday deal may not be the end of the road, however, as some Democratic senators have expressed disappointment with Manchin’s deal with Republicans. The 10 Republicans he picked up with the plan may be counter acted by Democrats who drop their support for the bill. Many senators on both sides of the aisle have yet to see the specifics of the deal.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Ann Coulter Op-ed: Don’t Stop at Juneteenth!

Commentary by Ann Coulter | Posted: Jun 23, 2021

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com, and WhatDidYouSay.org.

Don't Stop at Juneteenth!

Source: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Happy Juneteenth! I hope you all had a lovely week celebrating the nation’s newest federal holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery throughout the Confederacy.

How could you not? The media was chock-a-block with commentators telling us what a fantastic, transformative event for our nation this was. But the media ignored the best part of all!

What Juneteenth commemorates is not technically the abolition of slavery, but the notification thereof to a particular group of slaves.

Although President Lincoln officially ended slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t until two years later, on June 19, 1865, that the slaves of Galveston, Texas, got the news, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into town and issued a series of proclamations announcing that the hideous institution had been abolished and, henceforth, slaves would be considered hired labor.

This takes Juneteenth to a whole new level. Think of all the new federal holidays we could create using Juneteenth as our template! (Anyone who’s dealt with the federal government knows that those workers well deserve another paid day off.) We just need horsemen to ride around the country, correcting the errors of those who falsely believe something bad about America.

Thus, for example, next month we should have some bright young fellow gallop up to a BLM rally, Gen. Granger-style, dismount and announce:

I come with good news! Systemic racism no longer exists! It was done away with by the 1964 Civil Rights Act and parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act! Any victims of racism today can demand remedies in federal court!

And with a hardy “Hi-De-Ho,” our hero would ride off to the next BLM rally, as the march participants disband and hold a celebratory brunch. The date would be remembered each year as the Julyteenth holiday.

Then in August, we’ll send men on horseback to MSNBC with this proclamation:

Trump isn’t going to run for president again! Republicans aren’t afraid of him! They don’t kiss his ring half as much as Democrats kiss Al Sharpton’s ring and parts posterior. As soon as you guys denounce Sharpton, they’ll denounce Trump. Please calm down.

It’s not the fault of MSNBC that they operate on this glaring misconception. Not unlike the slaves, they’ve been kept in the dark, fed lies by people in whom they placed their trust: reporters. The day they learn the truth should live forever in history as Augusteenth — and, of course, federal workers would get that day off, too.

Next, we’ll need some volunteers to saddle up and head over to The New York Times building to proclaim:

Good news, New York Times! Your repeated claim that 1 in 5 women will be the victim of rape is FALSE!

First, my friends, all “in their lifetimes” statistics are a scam. They make any crime sound rampant. More than 8 out of 10 Americans will be the victim of a violent crime “in their lifetimes,” and 9.9 of 10 will be a victim of personal theft “in their lifetimes.”

Second: Even by this ridiculous measure, it’s not “1 in 5.” According to an extensive study by Obama’s Department of Justice examining 18 years of data, 1 in 10 women will be raped “in their lifetimes.” About 2 in 10 will be robbed and 4 in 10 will be injured during a robbery.

Third: The annual rate of rape victimization isn’t close to “1 in 5.” Instead, it’s 1.75 per thousand raped each year.

Fourth: This is including rapes that never happened, but are threatened or attempted.

Isn’t that terrific news, New York Times? Instead of 1 in 5 women succumbing to the awful crime of rape this year, fewer than 1.75 per thousand will be!

Let’s call this holiday Septemberteenth, to commemorate the joyful day Times reporters realized they are not living in a dystopian world of sexual predators. Cheers will erupt! (Some from federal workers.)

In October, our ersatz Gen. Granger and his trusty steed will ride south to the Capitol and proclaim:

I come bearing good news: No one’s vote is being “suppressed”! It’s a bait and switch! Last year’s preposterous voting rules were instituted because of COVID-19! Remember? They told us: IT’S A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC! WE MUST ALLOW UNIVERSAL EARLY VOTING, NO IDENTIFICATION AND MAIL-IN BALLOTS! DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO DIE? We can go back to pre-pandemic voting rules without fear of returning to the dark days of Jim Crow! Now, if some of you would be kind enough to give my trusty steed some water?

The late-breaking discovery that Republicans aren’t “suppressing the vote” might be called Octoberteenth.

The slaves of Galveston were understandably ecstatic to be freed of the yoke of slavery — as no doubt will be the misinformed BLM protesters, New York Times reporters and other recipients of our horsemen’s good news. Think of their unbridled joy to be free of these false notions about America! They will shout to the heavens, giving thanks to the bounty of this land, their joy surpassed only by that of federal workers.

Category:

Opinion, Political

Tagged with:

Today’ TWO Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Cause and Effect

A.F. BRANCO on June 23, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-cause-and-effect/

Democrats continue to berate and defund the police causing the crime rate to sore sharply.

Bashing the Police — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – What’s In A Name

A.F. BRANCO on June 24, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-whats-in-a-name-2/

Critical Race Theory is about dividing the country and indoctrinating children with Marxism.

Critical Race Theory Brainwashing — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

82% of Americans say religious freedom is key to ‘healthy American society’: poll

Reported By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, June 23, 2021

More than four-fifths of surveyed Americans believe that freedom of religion is an important aspect of a “healthy American society,” according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports and Summit Ministries.

In findings announced Tuesday, the report found that 67% of respondents said freedom of religion is “very important to a healthy American society,” while 15% said it was “somewhat important to a healthy American society.”

Some 9% of respondents said they believe freedom of religion was either “not very important” or “not at all important” to a “healthy American society,” while 9% said they were unsure.

Party affiliation only offered slight variance, as 86% of Republican respondents said freedom of religion is very important or somewhat important, while 83% of Independents and 79% of Democrats also responded that it was very or somewhat important.

The poll also found that 50% of Americans believe that churches and faith-based charities should not be required by law to hire people who oppose their religious beliefs, while 20% of Americans say they should be required, and 30% of Americans were not sure.

Summit President Jeff Myers said in a statement included in the announcement that he believed the findings showed “that the American people overwhelmingly support the continued protection of the Constitutional right of freedom of religion.”

“Yet, leaders in Washington, D.C., are aggressively pushing forward on legislative measures such as the mislabeled Equality Act, which specifically strips away religious freedom protections,” stated Myers.

“In an era of hyper-partisanship, freedom of religion retains broad, bi-partisan support among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.”

The poll drew from a sample of 1,000 likely voters in the United States, being conducted June 16-17 and with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in which they conclude that a Christian foster agency could not be forced to place kids in same-sex households.

Known as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the high court ruled city officials were wrong to quit working with Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for refusing on religious grounds to place children with same-sex couples.

“Government fails to act neutrally when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the court.

“The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.”

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Category:

Political, Religion

Tagged with:

Chinese scientists deleted key data that could help identify origins of COVID-19, study claims

Reported by CHRIS PANDOLFO | June 23, 2021

Chinese researchers appear to have deleted important data from a global database operated by the National Institutes of Health that could provide key insights into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, a preprint study claims.Preview Fearless with Jason Whitlock, talking about the biggest names in sports media. Colin Cowherd, Dan Le Batard, Jemele Hill, and more.

An American scientist recovered the deleted data from cloud storage and published his analysis Tuesday. The paper, “Recovery of deleted deep sequencing data sheds more light on the early Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 epidemic,” suggests that early virus samples from the Wuhan seafood market that until now have been the focus of most studies on the origins of the pandemic “are not fully representative of the viruses actually present in Wuhan at that time.”

The paper is not yet peer-reviewed, and its findings should not yet be considered conclusive. The recovered virus samples do not support either the “lab leak” hypothesis or the “natural origins” hypothesis of the origins of SARS-CoV-2, according to scientists who have examined the paper. But these scientists say it does suggest the virus was spreading in Wuhan earlier than the Chinese government claimed, and the paper’s author, Dr. Jesse Bloom, says his findings should reinforce skepticism that China has fully shared all relevant data on COVID-19.

Bloom, an influenza virus expert at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, also says his study should be a cause for hope that scientists can recover additional information about the early spread of SARS-CoV-2 without an international investigation.

In the course of his research into SARS-CoV-2, Bloom read a paper that analyzed data from a project by Wuhan University that sequenced 45 positive coronavirus cases from January and early February 2020. The Chinese study, which developed an improved technique to test for and diagnose COVID-19 cases, was peer-reviewed and published in June 2020.

The SARS-CoV-2 sequences obtained by the Chinese researchers were uploaded to the NIH’s Sequence Read Archive (SRA), a database for storing what are essentially maps of how viruses are built. These sequences can help scientists study how a virus originated and evolved over time, and such study may lead to knowledge that can prevent the next pandemic.

But when Bloom went to the SRA to examine the Chinese sequences, he found the data had been deleted. He explained in his paper that the SRA “is designed as a permanent archive of deep sequencing data.” The only circumstances under which data can be removed is if the original researchers make an email request to have it deleted, provide reasons for doing so, and have that request approved by SRA staff.

A spokesperson for the NIH told the Telegraph that the NIH had “reviewed the submitting investigator’s request to withdraw the data” in June 2020 and subsequently removed it.

“The requestor indicated the sequence information had been updated, was being submitted to another database, and wanted the data removed from SRA to avoid version control issues,” the spokesperson said. “Submitting investigators hold the rights to their data and can request withdrawal of the data.”
Bloom attempted to contact the Wuhan University researchers asking why they requested the data be deleted but did not receive a response. He noted in his paper that “there is no plausible scientific reason for the deletion” and suggested “it therefore seems likely the sequences were deleted to obscure their existence.”

Fortunately, he was able to recover some of the data from the Google Cloud, obtaining 34 early positive COVID-19 samples, and he was able to reconstruct partial viral sequences from 13 of them.

In a Twitter thread about his paper, Bloom explained why these sequences are crucial for understanding the origins of the virus.

“Although events that led to emergence of #SARSCoV2 in Wuhan are unclear (zoonosis vs lab accident), everyone agrees deep ancestors are coronaviruses from bats,” Bloom said.
“Therefore, we’d expect the first #SARSCoV2 sequences would be more similar to bat coronaviruses, and as #SARSCoV2 continued to evolve it would become more divergent from these ancestors. But that is *not* the case!” he continued.
“Instead, early Huanan Seafood Market #SARSCoV2 viruses are more different from bat coronaviruses than #SARSCoV2 viruses collected later in China and even other countries.‘

These findings suggest that the first virus samples from Huanan Seafood Market, originally suspected by scientists to be the source of viral outbreak, were not the earliest evolutions of the virus. That would mean SARS-CoV-2 was circulating before China reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Dec. 8, 2019, and did not necessarily originate in the wet market.

Reacting to this new information, University of California, Berkeley, Professor Rasmus Neilsen, a genomics expert, said the findings “are the most important data that we have received regarding the origins of Covid-19 for more than a year.”

Bloom said his work has several important implications.

“First, [the] fact this dataset was deleted should make us skeptical that all other relevant early Wuhan sequences have been shared,” he tweeted, noting that China ordered many labs to destroy early samples of the virus.
“Sequence sharing could be further limited by fact that scientists in China are under an order from the State Council requiring central approval of all publications,” he added.
The second major implication of this work is that “it may be possible to obtain additional information about early spread of #SARSCoV2 in Wuhan even if efforts for more on-the-ground investigations are stymied.”
Bloom explained in his paper that “it should be immediately possible for the NIH to determine the date and purported reason for deletion of the data set analyzed here, since the only way sequences can be deleted from the SRA is by an e-mail request to SRA staff.” He also suggested that SRA email records should be reviewed to determine if there were any more requests to delete early SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the database.
“Importantly, SRA deletions do not imply any malfeasance: there are legitimate reasons for removing sequencing runs, and the SRA houses >13-million runs making it infeasible for its staff to validate the rationale for all requests,” Bloom said. “However, the current study suggests that at least in one case, the trusting structures of science have been abused to obscure sequences relevant to the early spread ofSARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan.‘
“A careful re-evaluation of other archived forms of scientific communication, reporting, and data could shed additional light on the early emergence of the virus.”

Category:

Health, Political

Tagged with:

Wuhan virus

Ted Cruz says the ‘Church is asleep,’ must ‘wake up’ to defeat ‘woke assault’: ‘Revival is coming’

Reported By Emily Wood, Christian Post Reporter| Monday, June 21, 2021

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for the Church to “wake up” if the “woke assault” is to be defeated in the United States, promising during his speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference on Friday that a “revival is coming.”

Cruz’s address to the crowd of Christian conservatives gathered for the national evangelical grassroots organization’s annual conference held this year in Kissimmee, Florida, centered around two messages: the need to “defend America” and a coming revival.

“If we are going to defeat the woke assault, then all of us need to wake up,” the staunch conservative said, followed by applause from the crowd.
“The slumbering Church needs to wake up…,” Cruz continued. “We need to wake up. We need to energize. We need to engage. … We can win and we will win.”

If we are going to defeat the woke assault, then all of us need to wake up. pic.twitter.com/Dtqulpk8JW
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 19, 2021

Billed as the nation’s “premier pro-life, pro-family event”, the conference also included speakers such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other conservative congressmen and political leaders.

“Today, politics is culture,” Cruz, a 2016 presidential candidate, said in contrast to the idea that “politics is downstream from culture.”
“If you want to hold on to your faith, if you want to hold on to your freedom, then you have to rise and answer the call to defend America,” he stressed.
The senator issued a “call to rhetorical arms” for Americans to be “prayer warriors” who organize, mobilize and go to the ballot box. He urged: “use your arms to vote the bums out.”

Cruz said that out of roughly 90 million evangelical Christians in the U.S., only about half vote because the “Church is asleep.”

While millions of lives have been lost to abortion and “values are being stripped away,” Cruz shared how his dad, Raphael Cruz, who is a pastor, says “no one bears more responsibility for that than the pastors in America … who hide behind the pulpit.”

Cruz proclaimed that the nation’s foundations and “eternal principles” are under a “relentless” assault like never before.

“America is great,” he contends. “Christopher Columbus discovering America was a good thing. George Washington was an American hero. Thomas Jefferson was an American hero. Abraham Lincoln was an American hero. Our founding fathers were extraordinary patriots. America has been a force for good in the world. We should stand for our national anthem.”
“Police officers keep us safe. Marriage is a holy covenant before God,” he continued. “An unborn child is a child. Children do best when they are raised by a mother and a father. Israel is our friend. The Wuhan virus came from Wuhan. And there is a difference between boys and girls.”
Cruz went on to explain that just a few years ago, each statement he made “would have been utterly uncontroversial and blazingly obvious, even to the most dimwitted among us.”
“And today, we are at a moment where saying those words can get you canceled,” he added. “Saying those words can get you fired. Saying those words can get you erased.”

Cruz condemned critical race theory, which is being pushed into school curriculums, calling it “bigoted” and “a lie.” He argued that critical race theory “seeks to turn us against each other” and is “every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.”

The politician said that even though the political left wants to convince patriots that they need to retreat and “give up on America,” such an argument is “built on a pile of lies.”

“Common sense is there. It is real. And the American people are with us. We’ve just got to see it, we’ve got to believe it,” he said.

Cruz said he remains hopeful despite the constant negativity and demoralization in politics because there is a “natural pendulum to politics.”

“The further and further and further crazy left they go, the more the American people are going to bring us back and pull this country back from the edge of the cliff,” the Texas senator said.

He expressed optimism for the 2022 and 2024 elections, which could allow Republicans to reclaim Congress and the White House.

“It took Jimmy Carter to bring us Ronald Reagan,” Cruz maintained. “Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0, and I’m here to tell you revival is coming.”

He quoted Psalm 30, which says, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

“I’m here to tell you morning is coming,” Cruz encouraged the crowd. “We’re going to win in 2022 and retire [Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer. And then we’re going to win in 2024 and send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris a one-way ticket finally to our southern border.”

“Revival is coming,” Cruz concluded his speech. “God bless America. Revival is coming.”

Emily Wood is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: emily.wood@christianpost.com

Category:

Political, Religion

Tagged with:

Kamala Harris Tells Activists to Knock on Doors and Harass People Who Haven’t Been Vaccinated in Desperate Push to Meet 4th of July Goal (VIDEO)

Reported By Cristina Laila | Published June 22, 2021

Kamala Harris told left-wing activists to knock on doors to pressure people to get vaccinated as Biden’s July 4th vaccine goal is likely to fall short. The Biden Admin set a goal to fully vaccinate 70% of Americans by July 4th.

Americans are refusing to get the Covid vaccine for many different reasons, but the Biden Admin is pushing for 70% vaccination so they can wield power over the unvaccinated.

It’s all about power.

Kamala Harris told so-called ‘volunteers’ in Atlanta to knock on doors and harass people who may be hesitating to get the vaccine for one reason or another. Harris even gave the activists several pointers on how to overcome objections.

“For example, if you knock on the door and someone says they ‘don’t have the time to get the vaccine’ — because people are busy. They’re just trying to just make it through the day. Or they say that pharmacies are never open when they do have time, well, let’s address that. Because now, you can let them know that pharmacies across our country are keeping their doors open for 24 hours on Fridays in June, including today. Because we need to meet people where they are! Some folks are working two jobs…” Harris said.
“And what if they say they can’t miss work? Well, you can tell them that there are employers across the country who are offering paid time off for their employees to get vaccinated and we want to encourage and challenge more employers to do the same,’ she said.

Have young children? Kamala’s got you covered.

“Other folks who need time to recover after they get the shot, right? And may need a little moment where they need some help with their kids. So we have partnered with the YMCA, with KinderCare, and the Learning Care Group to provide free childcare for both vaccination and recovery. We need to meet people where they are.”

“You might run across people as you’re out talking and knocking, folks might say, ‘I don’t have a car’ or ‘there’s no public transportation or bus that comes by my house.’ And that’s fair, because how can we expect them to get to a vaccination site? Well, now, as part of the solution, rideshare companies are giving free rides to and from vaccination centers,” Kamala said.

VIDEO:

Cristina Laila

Cristina began writing for The Gateway Pundit in 2016 and she is currently the Associate Editor.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

WATCH: CONGRESSMAN SAYS OFFICIALS NEED MORE ‘BODY BAGS’ THANKS TO BIDEN

Reported by Daphne Moon | June 22, 2021

There is no doubt that what is happening with the current administration at the southern US border is inhuman but you may be shocked to know that it’s proving to be insanely fatal for border crossers. Biden’s open border policies has created a sick situation both in and outside of the detention centers that further driven this crisis into a cruel and disgusting rhelm.

Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales made a shocking claim on ‘Wake Up America’, saying that the supplies he gets asked for the most from judges in his district are body bags:

“My [county] judges are asking for one thing in particular,” Gonzales said. “I sit in front of them and I go, ‘If I can do one thing for you, what would that be?’ And this is the ask I’m getting. They go, ‘Tony, we need more body bags.’ And I’m going, ‘Body bags? Why do you need body bags?’ They go, ‘Migrants are dying at record numbers, and we don’t have body bags to handle the situation.’
“That’s what is happening on the ground,” Gonzales added.

The migration crisis along the southwestern border shows little sign of slowing down. On Wednesday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that they had stopped more than 180,000 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the frontier last month, the most in a single month since April of 2000. May also marked the third consecutive month of more than 170,000 apprehensions by CBP, the first time that has happened since January-April 2000.

NYP reported that historical trends indicate the number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border will slowly decrease in the summer months, officials are warning that more who do attempt the crossing will not make it.

“Typically our busiest months are July and August,” Stern said. “We’re not even there yet.”

All or part of six of the counties in Stern’s jurisdiction lie within Gonzales’ district, which stretches over 29 counties from Western San Antonio to the outskirts of El Paso and covers more than 800 miles of the border. When asked how he felt about vice president Harris’s lack of effort, Gonzalez called her ‘disrespectful’. The tone-deaf politician has repeatedly ignored the pleas from the residents in border states.

“It’s disrespectful to districts like mine, it’s disrespectful to the people that live and work along the border that are having to deal with this crisis every single day …,” he said. “No member of Congress has been on the border more than I have. I’ve hosted 25 members, and I’ve never gotten any word from the vice president, or anyone from the administration, that wants to take any interest in what is happening.”

Watch

Gonzales told viewers that the administration “has no interest in solving this border crisis” and added that Congress needs to get off their butts and do their jobs again:

“Congress needs to lead again,” he said. “Congress needs to come together and find a way to solve this issue, because folks are tired of it. It’s unfair to everybody. It’s unfair to the law enforcement … it’s unfair to the citizens that are seeing these record number of migrants, and it’s unfair to the migrants. You know, these migrants are making very dangerous treks, and here’s the thing: The temperature is getting hotter, so it’s only gonna be more dangerous.”

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

MOM COULD FACE LAWSUIT AFTER ASKING LIBERAL SCHOOL ONE SIMPLE QUESTION [VIDEO]

Reported by Daphne Moon | June 22, 2021

I couldn’t imagine being threatened with a lawsuit from a tax-payer-funded school system just for asking questions but that’s exactly what Nicole Sola of Rhode Island says she now faces when she requested more information about the school system’s Critical Race Theory curriculum, according to her interview on Fox News:

“I wanted to speak out because I have to fight for my daughter’s education and I’m in a special position. I don’t have a job to lose because I’m a stay-at-home mom. My daughter is just starting out in school. So if I have to send her to private school, I will,” Solas told “Fox & Friends.”
“And I think it’s really important for parents to start asking more questions, because the more parents that ask more questions, the harder it will be for schools to retaliate against a lot of parents.”

She called the principal and was told that they don’t refer to “kids as boys and girls.”

“I was also told that they refrain from using gendered terminology in general terms of anti-racism. I was told that kids in kindergarten are asked what could have been done differently at Thanksgiving, and this struck me as a way to shame children for their American heritage,” Solas said.

After failing to get meaningful answers, Solas sought to see the curriculum for herself, which was a challenge, she explained to Fox. She had not yet gotten a copy of the curriculum after requesting it. Solas was advised by the school district to submit a public records request through the Access to Public Records Act. Upon receiving some information, Solas said she “did not see any evidence of gender theory or anti-racism” but knew that it was being taught to students. She continued to use the APRA request system to seek answers to more of her questions.

“I have a lot of questions. I’m asking them. I wish that my questions would have been answered without having to do it this way. But they told me to do it with their own questions. They’re teaching something that they’re trying to hide from you. … They’re being opaque about it.”

Here is the kicker, a local report a school committee is allegedly considering to sue Solas’ just for basically questioning the curriculum. You would have to be unconscious not to see how that line of thought parallels communism.

Watch Video

The school has reportedly painted the mom as being some negative-Nancy whose questions only sever to shed a negative light on the CRT curriculum. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if it wasn’t corrupt how in the world could asking for more information shed negative light?

Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma are just a few of the states to ban Critical Race Theory training in their school system.

Category:

Education, Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Destroying America for 200

A.F. BRANCO on June 22, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-destroying-america-for-200/

The conditions at the border are beyond out of control and still no leadership from the Biden administration.

Border Crisis, America in Jeopardy — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Michael Brown Op-ed: What the IRS got remarkably right in the midst of a terribly wrong ruling

Commentary By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor| Monday, June 21, 2021

Just type the words IRS, Christian, and Bible in your search engine and you’ll get a flood of results, most of them starting with headlines like this: “IRS denies Christian nonprofit tax exemption, saying biblical values are Republican.” Or this, “IRS denies tax-exempt status to Christian nonprofit group because ‘Bible teachings are typically affiliated with the Republican Party’.”

Naturally, there has been outrage among Christian conservatives over this ruling, pointing to this yet another example of the IRS’s anti-Christian, anti-conservative bias. That’s also why most of the commentary has focused on the egregious ruling itself, which is being appealed.

Yet, in the midst of this very wrong ruling, the IRS made a very right observation: by and large, the Republican Party is more aligned with biblical teaching than is the Democratic Party.

Of course, neither major party is fully aligned with God and His Word. And, without a doubt, the world of politics cannot be confused with the purity of the spiritual realm and the kingdom of God. We can also debate which party’s policies are closest to biblical values when it comes to helping the poor or the immigrant.

That’s why, on principle, even though I have voted for Republican candidates for years while not voting for a single Democrat, I am registered as an Independent. It’s just my way of saying that I cannot align myself fully with any political party.

At the same time, when it comes to important biblical values, in the great majority of cases, the Republican platform is more aligned with Scripture than is the Democratic platform, to the point of getting the backhanded recognition of the IRS.

As for the organization involved in this ruling, it is called Christians Engaged, and its stated purpose is: “to awaken, motivate, educate, and empower ordinary believers in Jesus Christ to.”

Their threefold emphasis is: “Pray for our nation and elected officials regularly. Vote in every election to impact our culture. Engage our hearts in some form of political education or activism for the furtherance of our nation.”

Yet when they applied for tax exempt status, they were rejected.

In the words of the official IRS ruling (I’m quoting the most relevant section), “Specifically, you educate Christians on what the Bible says in areas where they can be instrumental including the areas of sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, biblical justice, freedom of speech, defense, and borders and immigration, U.S. and Israel relations. The Bible teachings are typically affiliated with the [Republican Party] and candidates. This disqualifies you from exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3).”

Again, the mocking headlines were well deserved, including this one, from RedState: “The IRS says if you believe in God and the Bible, you are working for the GOP.”

That’s why, for good reason, the ruling is being appealed by First Liberty Institute, which has argued that the IRS ruling “errs in three ways: 1) [it] invents a nonexistent requirement that exempt organizations be neutral on public policy issues; 2) [it] incorrectly concludes that Christians Engaged primarily serves private, nonexempt purposes rather than public, exempt purposes because he thinks its beliefs overlap with the Republican Party’s policy positions; and 3) [it] violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech, and Free Exercise, and Establishment clauses by engaging in both viewpoint discrimination and religious discrimination.”

Yet in the midst of the pushback against the IRS, many have missed the biting irony of the words of the ruling where biblical teaching is associated with the Republican Party. In large measure, the IRS got this exactly right.

As noted in RedState, “The Bible, yes, IRS, the word is capitalized, is not neutral on the sanctity of life. It is not neutral on homosexuality. It is not neutral on marriage. It is not neutral on justice.”

Let’s remember that the Democrats positioned themselves as the party of the Religious “Nones” (meaning, people with no religious affiliation).

And it is the Democrats who have become increasingly radical in their pro-abortion zeal.

And the Democrats who are pushing the Equality Act, which guts religious liberties in favor of LGBT extremism.

As I noted in September 2019, “There is no question about it. There is not even a desire to hide it. The Democrat Party continues to grow spiritually darker to the point of actually proclaiming itself the party of the religiously non-affiliated. Is it any surprise?”

Or, as I pointed out in August 2020 (with regard to the Biden-Sanders “Unity Plan”), “God is never mentioned in the document. Not once.” In contrast, “the word gender occurs 22 times.

“More importantly, ‘transgender’ occurs twice, and in very specific contexts: ‘we will act expeditiously to reinstate Department of Education guidance protecting transgender students’ rights under Title IX and make clear that schools shall not discriminate based on LGBTQ status.’”

In sum, “LGBTQ” is “mentioned 17 times in the plan” while “‘religion’ is mentioned once, ‘Christian’ and ‘Jew’ and ‘God’ are not mentioned at all, but ‘LGBTQ’ is mentioned 17 times. Need I say more?”

And what of the rising, virtually unchecked tide of anti-Zionism and antisemitism within the Democratic Party?

For good reason the IRS pointed to what “the Bible says” with regard to “U.S. and Israel relations.” Here, too, the Republican Party stands much closer to Scripture than does the Democratic Party.

So, while the IRS ruled quite wrongly in denying Christians Engaged tax-exempt status, it ironically got one thing right: if you teach the Bible accurately, by and large, you’ll end up siding with the Republicans rather than the Democrats.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 40 books. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

Category:

Political, Spiritual

Tagged with:

Democrat warns Catholic Church it may be stripped of tax-exempt status if politicians denied communion

Reported By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor| Monday, June 21, 2021

Members of the congregation take part in a communion with social distancing during a mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception June 22, 2020 in Washington, D.C. The government of District of Columbia has begun phase two of reopening due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with houses of worship resuming at maximum of 50% capacity, and no more than 100 people. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

As U.S. Catholic bishops draft a controversial document on whether priests can deny communion to politicians who support abortion, one House Democrat has implied that the Catholic Church should lose its tax-exempt status if churches institute such a ban.

“If they’re going to politically weaponize religion by ‘rebuking’ Democrats who support women’s reproductive choice, then a ‘rebuke’ of their tax-exempt status may be in order,” wrote Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., in a Twitter post lashing out at Catholic bishops.

Huffman’s post came after nearly 60 House Democrats released a statement of principles to warn the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops against what they deem as “weaponizing” the Eucharist. The statement was released after the USCCB voted Friday to approve the continued drafting of the document “on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.”

An overwhelming majority of the bishops (168) voted in favor of proceeding with the draft document, while 55 voted against proceeding. The bishops will continue working on the document, which will be presented to the public at a later date. While the document will provide guidelines for the reception of communion, it will leave “decisions on withholding Communion up to individual bishops.”

In their statement, the Democrats “solemnly urge” the Church “to not move forward and deny this most holy of all sacraments, the source and the summit of the whole work of the gospel over one issue.”
“… We seek the Church’s guidance and assistance but believe also in the primacy of conscience,” it reads. “In recognizing the Church’s role in providing moral leadership, we acknowledge and accept the tension that comes with being in disagreement with the Church in some areas.”
It continues: “We recognize that no political party is perfectly in accord with all aspects of Church doctrine. This fact speaks to the secular nature of American democracy, not the devotion of our democratically elected leaders. Yet we believe we can speak to the fundamental issues that unite us as Catholics and lend our voices to changing the political debate — a debate that often fails to reflect and encompass the depth and complexity of these issues.”
It adds: “We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents. The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.”

The debate over whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should receive communion has intensified following the election of President Joe Biden, a pro-abortion Catholic who attends mass regularly. As he campaigned for president ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a priest in South Carolina refused to serve Biden communion due to his abortion advocacy.

Last month, more than 60 bishops also wrote a letter to Archbishop Jose Gomez calling for the delay of the debate over whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should receive communion, citing concerns that implementing a national policy on the matter would pose a threat to the unity of the Church.

Supporters of withholding communion from pro-abortion Catholic politicians, both inside and outside the Church hierarchy, point to the Church’s Code of Canon Law as the justification for their position. The Code of Canon Law states that those who are “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

Category:

Political, Religion

Tagged with:

Nebraska State Troopers Will Help Texas Law Enforcement Manage Border Crisis

Reported by KAYLEE GREENLEE, REPORTER | June 21, 2021

US-MEXICO-POLITICS-MIGRANTS — (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Nebraska State Patrol Troopers will help Texas law enforcement manage the border crisis, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Saturday. The Nebraska Republican said he is sending around 25 state troopers to Del Rio, Texas, to assist the state’s Department of Public Safety for a maximum of 16 days, according to Ricketts.

“Nebraska is stepping up to help Texas respond to the ongoing crisis on their border with Mexico,” Ricketts said in a statement.
“The disastrous policies of the Biden-Harris Administration created an immigration crisis on the border,” Ricketts added. “While the federal government has fallen short in its response, Nebraska is happy to step up to provide assistance to Texas as they work to protect their communities and keep people safe.”

Texas state troopers watch over Venezuelan immigrants before they are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents on May 19, 2021 in Del Rio, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The assistance from the Nebraska state troopers was announced in response to Texas emergency management official’s request for help through the multi-state partnership Emergency Management Assistance Compact, according to Ricketts.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration over the border crisis in southern Texas. The order directed law enforcement officials to prosecute illegal immigrants under all applicable laws and claimed that illegal immigration caused damage to private property and hurt landowners in the region.

“President Biden’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous gangs and cartels, human traffickers, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to pour into our communities,” Abbott said in a statement. “Meanwhile, landowners along the border are seeing their property damaged and vandalized on a daily basis while the Biden Administration does nothing to protect them.”

Abbott’s disaster declaration ordered all federally contracted facilities holding migrants who illegally entered the country to close, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. The Biden administration threatened to sue Abbott for discriminating against the federal government if he enforces the closure.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Meghan McCain trends on Twitter after proclaiming ‘abortion is murder’ on ‘The View’

Reported by CHRIS PANDOLFO | June 21, 2021

“The View” co-host Meghan McCain trended on social media Monday after she criticized President Joe Biden’s support for federal funding for abortion, claiming “he’s doing grave spiritual harm to himself” by violating the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings.

Her comments came as “The View” discussed how the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last week advanced plans to produce a document that could deny Communion to public officials who support abortion. The effort is largely seen as a rebuke of President Biden, the first Catholic U.S. president in nearly 60 years and an advocate of abortion rights.

“When it comes to the separation of church and state, the onus is on the government, not the church,” McCain said, adding that the church attempts to exert its influence whenever possible. She noted that previously several U.S. bishops expressed support for excommunicating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) after he signed a radical pro-abortion bill into law, so the actions toward Biden are not unprecedented.

McCain reminded viewers of Biden’s flip-flopping positions on abortion, most notably his previous support for the Hyde Amendment — a law that bans federal funding for abortions — which Biden renounced on the 2020 campaign trail. The president’s most recent budget removes the Hyde Amendment, fulfilling a campaign promise to pro-abortion activists and signaling his shifting public views on abortion under pressure from the left.

“If you are a devout Catholic, as President Biden claims to be, abortion is a cardinal sin that can do deep spiritual harm to you, and President Biden had been supportive of the Hyde Amendment up until 2019 when he decided to run for president,” McCain said.
“I know the women on this show disagree with me, but as far as I’m concerned abortion is murder and that means the government-funded killing of the unborn,” she continued.
“It’s ultimately up to the church, but he’s walking a very fine line here, and ultimately, all of these issues are literally life and death for Catholics, for devout Christians,” she said. “And he’s going to have to ultimately talk to his creator when the time comes as we all do, and reconcile his politics with his — with his personal faith, and I believe he’s doing great spiritual harm to himself and harm to this country.”

McCain’s comments stirred up controversy on social media, with pro-lifers expressing support for her and critics attacking her views. After she started trending, McCain observed that the attention she received was likely due to being “the only pro-life woman in mainstream media.”

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Today’s FOUR Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Commander in Thief

A.F. BRANCO on June 19, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-commander-in-thief/

Biden won’t give credit to President Trump but would rather plagiarize his achievements.

Plagiarizing Promises — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Inside Job

A.F. BRANCO on June 19, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-inside-job/

Biden gave Putin a list of targets that are off Limits. Hope that didn’t include the nuclear codes?

Biden’s No Sabotage List — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Street Smarts

A.F. BRANCO on June 20, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-street-smarts/

Governor Walz doesn’t seem to care about the radial left building an autonomous zone in downtown Minneapolis.

Minneapolis No Go Zone — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Ignorance is Bliss

A.F. BRANCO on June 21, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-ignorance-is-bliss/

Biden Administration deflects from their disaster at the border to phony “white supremacy.

Biden Border Deflection — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

WHAT I CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT RACISM

By Carol Swain

Let me tell you how my story ends: I become a tenured, award-winning professor of political science at an Ivy League university, and then at one of the leading universities in the South.

Now let me tell you how my story begins: I grow up in rural Virginia, literally dirt poor. I drop out of school in the eighth grade and have three children by the time I’m 20.

I consider myself to be a reasonably modest person, but even I have to admit that’s quite a journey.

How did I do it?

I worked hard. Not crazy, 24/7 hard—just hard. I made good decisions. Not brilliant, three-dimensional-chess decisions—just good ones. I met people along the way who helped me and sincerely wanted to see me succeed—not because they had something to gain, but because they were decent people. Almost all of these individuals, by the way, were white.

But mostly, I think I was blessed in one crucial way: I was born in America, a true land of opportunity for anyone of any color or background. In this country, where you start your life does not determine where you end up.

That works in both directions, by the way. You can start out with every advantage and waste them all. Or you can start out with nothing and become a success. It all depends on you. Your attitude is far more important than your race, gender, or social class in determining what you will accomplish in life.

When I hear young blacks—or anyone, for that matter—talk about systemic racism, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I want to laugh because it’s such nonsense. I want to cry because I know it’s pushing untold numbers of young blacks into a dead end of self-pity and despair. Instead of seizing the amazing opportunities America offers them, they seize an excuse to explain why they’re not succeeding.

I was born into a world where systemic racism was real—no-fooling, outright-bigotry, back-of-the-bus real. But here’s what you need to know: Yes, that racism shaped the black experience—but even then, it did not define it. Change was in the air. Call it systemic reform.

The modern Civil Rights Movement was in its infancy, and the leaders who fought for equal rights for blacks were men and women of all races. They believed in America and were determined to see it live up to its highest ideals—ideals manifest in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Did I know, growing up, that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? I don’t think I ever thought about it. If I did, I’d like to think that I would have had enough common sense to know that we can’t judge men who lived 250 years ago by the moral standards of our own day.

But I know that Jefferson wrote the words in the Declaration of Independence that made slavery ultimately impossible: that all men are created equal. And I know that Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Adams and the rest of the Founders risked everything to make my world, my America, possible. How could I not be grateful for that and for the sacrifices so many others have made to preserve it?

The truth is I cannot remember a time when I did not love America and feel pride in the belief that I live in the greatest country in the world. I knew if I diligently pursued my ambitions, I could leave the poverty of my early years, with all its abuse and depression, behind me.

I was fortunate in another way. I was spared the life-sapping, negative messages about America that are crippling a generation of young people. These ideas are poison:

☆ White privilege.

☆ Whiteness as a form of property.

☆ Unconscious racism.

☆ Reparations.

☆ Microaggressions.

☆ Police have it out for blacks.

☆ That the United States was created to protect and promote slavery.

These are the ideas young people are told they must accept. And then they’re told to reject the ideas that can save them—the antidote: the success principles that enabled me and millions of other Americans to escape lives of poverty.

These principles aren’t complicated: work hard, learn from your mistakes, take personal responsibility for your actions. When I made the decisions to get my high school equivalency, attend a community college, and then earn four additional college and university degrees, I believed that my education would open doors. And it did.

It was only when exposed to academic theories of oppression in graduate school that I was informed that because I was black, poor, and female, I could never do what I had already accomplished.

Thank God, it was too late for these toxic messages to stop me. Don’t let them stop you.

______________________________________________

Carol Swain is a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Michael Brown OP-ed: When mental health professionals recognize the healing powers of spirituality

Commentary By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor | Friday, June 18, 2021

Critics of the COVID lockdowns often argued that, in the end, the lockdowns would do more harm than good, not just financially but also medically. One reason was that patients needing treatment would be less inclined to visit a doctor or hospital, increasing their health risks. Critics also pointed to the psychological aspects of the lockdowns, leading to increased loneliness, depression, and even suicide.

What about forbidding Christians (and other people of faith) from gathering for worship, prayer, and ministry? What kind of impact did this have on the overall health and wellbeing of tens of millions of Americans (along with countless others worldwide)? Or, conversely, what positive role did faith play in the overall health and wellbeing of Americans during the lockdowns?

A new article posted in the Scientific American, by David H. Rosmarin, and titled “Psychiatry Needs to Get Right with God,” addressed these very questions.

According to Rosmarin, “Spirituality has historically been dismissed by psychiatrists, but results from a pilot program at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts indicate that attention to it is a critical aspect of mental health care.”

He noted that, “In the past year, American mental health sank to the lowest point in history: Incidence of mental disorders increased by 50 percent, compared with before the pandemic. Alcohol and other substance abuse surged, and young adults were more than twice as likely to seriously consider suicide than they were in 2018. Yet the only group to see improvements in mental health during the past year were those who attended religious services at least weekly (virtually or in-person): 46% report ‘excellent’ mental health today versus 42 percent one year ago.”

It looks like churches and houses of worship were delivering “essential services” after all.

Unfortunately, Rosmarin explains, “Since Sigmund Freud’s characterization of religion as a ‘mass-delusion’ nearly 100 years ago, mental health professionals and scientists have eschewed the spiritual realm. Current efforts to flatten the COVID-19 mental health curve have been almost entirely secular. The American Psychological Association’s extensive set of consumer resources makes no mention of spirituality. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s only spiritual recommendation is to “connect with your community- or faith-based organizations.” Of more than 90,000 active projects presently funded by all 27 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health, fewer than 20 mention spirituality anywhere in the abstract, and only one project contains this term in its title.”

He continues, “This situation goes beyond separation of church and state. Health care professionals falsely disconnect common spiritual behaviors and experiences from science and clinical practice. As a result, we ignore potential spiritual solutions to our mental health crisis, even when our well-being is worse than ever before.”

Of course, God’s Word, the Bible, was quite aware of these realities, demonstrating an understanding of the connection between body, mind, spirit, and emotions, to the point of offering what could be called psychosomatic observations.

When writing my doctoral dissertation on the primary Hebrew word for healing, the root raphah, I noted that the fundamental meaning of this root was “to restore, make whole,” out of which the other meanings (including physical healing) flowed. Put another way, the concept of healing was holistic. The results of that dissertation, in a much more expanded – and hopefully, more readable! – form were published in my 1985 volume, Israel’s Divine Healer. The book has been very useful in curing insomnia. Start reading it late at night, especially focusing on the 85,000 words of endnotes, and you’ll soon be out like a light.

In my studies, I also noted how some verses in the Book of Proverbs, a treasure trove of practical, divine wisdom, directly addressed the connection of internal and external health.

For example, Proverbs 3:7-8 exhorted, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be healing to your fleshand tonic to your bones.” So, humility and godly living would lead to physical health as well.

Proverbs 14:30 observed, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” As the Jewish commentator Malbim aptly noted, “flesh and bones are only as healthy as the spirit they encase.” Indeed.

Other verses state, “What brightens the eye gladdens the heart; good news puts fat on the bones” (15:30). And, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (17:22). And, “A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (18:14).

Commenting on these verses (and others), popular Christian author Elmer Josephson wrote, “Right attitudes encourage and refresh the soul and strengthen the moral spirit; actually, then the blood and the sympathetic nervous system are rejuvenated, which make for good cell construction and build healthy body tissues. Wrong relationships and attitudes depress the mind and fill the blood with alkaloid poison. The involuntary sympathetic nerve system actually causes a malformation of cell construction and tissue arrangement” (See God’s Key to Health and Happiness).

Yet Josephson made these observations back in 1976, citing medical studies to back his claims. (Whether medical professionals would agree with every one of his points or not, the overall claims are certainly true.)

It’s a shame that mental health professionals, along with other healthcare providers, have been so slow to recognize the important connection between spiritual health and mental health.

I say it’s high time for the wellbeing of those struggling that naturalistic biases and presuppositions be removed in the interest of truth and health. We are more than material beings, and that by divine design.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Category:

Spiritual

Tagged with:

‘Bombshell’ Document from Georgia Investigator Reveals ‘Massive’ Election Integrity Problems

Reported by Erin Coates | June 18, 2021

A 29-page memo from a Fulton County, Georgia, election monitor outlined “massive” election integrity failures and mismanagement, according to a new report.

Just the News published what it described as a “bombshell report” that cited problems including double-counting votes, insecure storage of ballots and the removal of election material at a vote collection warehouse.

“This seems like a massive chain of custody problem,” Carter Jones wrote in his memo.

The time stamp on the notation was at 4 p.m. on election day and Jones said he observed absentee ballots arriving at the scanning center at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena “in rolling bins 2k at a time.”

“It is my understanding is that the ballots are supposed to be moved in numbered, sealed boxes to protect them,” he wrote.

“Too many ballots coming in for secure black ballot boxes.”

In another instance, he noted that he observed someone taking the wrong suitcase of poll pads.

“Seems to be a mystery who this person was,” he wrote. “Should have chain of custody paperwork!! That means that a stranger just walked out with sensitive election materials?”

Jones also appeared concerned about workers from a firm called Happy Faces. He reported the workers could be heard saying they were ready to “f*ck sh*t up.”

“I must keep an eye on these two,” he wrote.

“Perhaps this was a bad joke, but it was very poorly timed in the presence of a poll watcher.”

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/bombshell-document-georgia-investigator-reveals-massive-election-integrity-problems/

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Black father destroys critical race theory at school board meeting: ‘How did I get where I am right now if some white man kept me down?’

Reported by NEWS DAVE URBANSKI | June 18, 2021

Ty Smith — a black man who has two sons, 17 and 19 — absolutely annihilated critical race theory during his comments to an Illinois school board earlier this month, saying it will teach children of different races to “hate each other” and will reverse Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that all people may be judged by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skin.

“You’re going to deliberately teach kids, ‘This white kid right here got it better than you because he white?'” Smith asked the board of Bloomington School District 87. “You’re going to purposely tell a white kid, ‘Oh, the black people are all down and suppressed.’ How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed?”

Watch this parent absolutely obliterate Critical Race Theory at an Illinois school board meeting:

“How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed?” pic.twitter.com/gmCRJaphXt
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 17, 2021

Smith added that he grew up with no mother or father in the house and “worked my way through college, sat there and hustled my butt off to get through college. You’re going to tell me somebody look like all y’all white folks kept me from doing that? Are you serious? Not one white person ever came to me and said, ‘Well, son, you’re never gonna be able to get nowhere because, you know, the black people,’ but guess what? What’s sickening about this whole thing is what y’all doing right now is already something I do in my community right now, to speak out against [this stuff] because black folks are getting told by other black folks, ‘Oh, you know, you ain’t going to be able to do nothing out there in the world because them white folks ain’t going to let get no … the white man gonna keep you down.'”

Smith said he wasn’t buying critical race theory because how he chose to live his life proved to him that his skin color wasn’t a barrier.

“How did I get where I am right now if some white man kept me down? How am I now directing over folks that look just like you guys in this room right now? How? What kept me down? What oppressed me?” Smith asked what appeared to be a room full of mostly white listeners. “I worked for myself from off the streets to where I am right now, and you’re going to sit here and tell me this lie of critical race theory? … The reason why black folks can’t get ahead because of white folks? Are you kidding me? This is what we’ve come to? I can’t believe we even talking about this right now.”
He added that if critical race theory is allowed to be taught to children in the schools, it will reverse King’s dream of racial equality: “So, when February comes, don’t talk about Martin Luther King … if y’all going to sit there and just pretty much just pee on his grave with this nonsense. That’s exactly what’s about to happen.”

Smith concluded his remarks by saying critical race theory is “BS.”

Following his school board address, Smith spoke with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum about his concerns regarding critical race theory and his life experiences. Smith — who is host of “Cancel This with Ty Smith” on WRPW-FM — told MacCallum that despite the disadvantages he grew up with, he made decisions along the way to make his life better.

“I went beyond this stuff,” he said, which led to him “becoming successful.”

Indeed, Smith’s radio station bio notes that he “grew up in the tough neighborhoods of Decatur, and knows first hand the struggles people in poverty have. He will dive into why the media’s message to disadvantaged people is wrong, and what we should be telling those struggling.”

Smith also wasn’t buying leftist virtue-signaling — particularly those who march in the streets with “their fists up,” because he said “none of them” ever go to the communities he works with every day. He added to MacCallum that he also began asking questions like, “This systemic racism, where’s it at?” But in the end, despite trying to find it so he could figure out how to deal with it, no one could ever show Smith evidence of systemic racism.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Quid Pro Art Show

A.F. BRANCO on June 18, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-quid-pro-art-show/

We’re learning Hunter Biden has hidden talent as an artist or is it just another Quid Pro Quo scam?

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Judge rules against Christian baker Jack Phillips in transgender ‘birthday’ cake case

Reported By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, June 16, 2021

A judge has ruled that Colorado Christian baker Jack Phillips violated state anti-discrimination law by refusing to bake a pink-and-blue transgender birthday cake. Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones ruled Tuesday that Phillips violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act by refusing to make the cake for Autumn Scardina. In his opinion, Jones concluded that Phillips engaged in unlawful discrimination by denying “goods and services” because of Scardina’s “transgender status.”

The ruling states that Phillips’ wife had initially agreed to make a pink cake with blue frosting for about six to eight people. But the cake was rejected after Scardina disclosed the meaning behind the cake’s custom design.

“Defendants admit that they were willing to make the requested cake until Ms. Scardina identified that she chose the colors to reflect and celebrate her identity as a transgender female,” wrote Jones.
“Defendants are, however, willing to make cakes for non-transgender individuals that reflect that person’s gender. And Defendants would ‘gladly’ make an identical looking cake for other customers.”
Jones also wrote that it was possible that “the analysis would be different if the cake design had been more intricate, artistically involved, or overtly stated a message attributable to Defendants.”
“Defendants’ expressive conduct argument fails because Defendants presented no evidence that a reasonable observer would attribute any message that was conveyed by the cake to Defendants,” he continued.
“Defendants have failed to carry their burden to show that providing the requested cake constituted any type of symbolic or expressive speech protected by the First Amendment.”

Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner, whose organization represents Phillips during his years of legal battles, vowed to appeal the decision.

“Radical activists and government officials are targeting artists like Jack because they won’t promote messages on marriage and sexuality that violate their core convictions,” said Waggoner.
“We will appeal this decision and continue to defend the freedom of all Americans to peacefully live and work according to their deeply held beliefs without fear of punishment.”

Over the past several years, Phillips has weathered extensive legal battles over his religious objections to making cakes for a same-sex wedding and a cake to celebrate transgender identity. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission unfairly treated Phillips when it punished him for refusing to make a same-sex wedding cake in 2012.

Scardina filed a lawsuit against Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop in June 2019 after the baker refused to make Scardina’s transgender birthday cake. The lawsuit claimed that Phillips violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act when he refused on religious grounds. In March, Judge Jones dropped the charge that Phillips had violated the CCPA by allegedly engaging in “an unfair or deceptive trade practice.”

“Defendants contend that Plaintiff cannot show an unfair or deceptive trade practice because the most salient materials Plaintiff allegedly relied on are not advertisements. Because the Court agrees with this contention, it need not address Defendants’ remaining arguments,” wrote Jones.
“Plaintiff has failed to establish an actionable unfair or deceptive trade practice. Accordingly, summary judgment enters in Defendants’ favor on Plaintiff’s CCPA claim.”

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Supreme Court rules Christian foster agency can’t be forced to place kids with same-sex couples

Reported By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Thursday, June 17, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Philadelphia can’t exclude a Catholic charity from its foster program because the organization won’t place children with same-sex couples in accordance with religious beliefs. In a unanimous decision released Thursday morning in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the high court ruled city officials were wrong to quit working with Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for refusing on religious grounds to place children with same-sex couples. The decision reversed a judgment of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and remanded it for further proceedings.

Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the court’s opinion, concluding that “the City has burdened the religious exercise of CSS through policies that do not meet the requirement of being neutral and generally applicable.”
“Government fails to act neutrally when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature,” wrote Roberts.
“The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.”

Roberts also pointed out that Philadelphia can grant an exemption from the city’s anti-discrimination policies to CSS, noting that city contracts include many exemptions.

“Once properly narrowed, the City’s asserted interests are insufficient. Maximizing the number of foster families and minimizing liability are important goals, but the City fails to show that granting CSS an exception will put those goals at risk,” continued Roberts.
“The creation of a system of exceptions under the contract undermines the City’s contention that its nondiscrimination policies can brook no departures.”

The opinion refutes the notion that fostering children is tantamount to a public accommodation.

“Certification as a foster parent, by contrast, is not readily accessible to the public,” the opinion reads. “It involves a customized and selective assessment that bears little resemblance to staying in a hotel, eating at a restaurant, or riding a bus.”
“As the City itself explains to prospective foster parents, ‘[e]ach agency has slightly different requirements, specialties, and training programs,'” Roberts wrote. “All of this confirms that the one-size-fits-all public accommodations model is a poor match for the foster care system.”

In addition to the court opinion, there were also multiple concurring opinions.

Although Alito concurred in the judgment, he expressed concern that the Supreme Court decision will not have a lasting impact on the dispute between Philadelphia and CSS.

“The City has been adamant about pressuring CSS to give in, and if the City wants to get around today’s decision, it can simply eliminate the never-used exemption power,” wrote Alito in a concurring opinion joined by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
“Not only is the Court’s decision unlikely to resolve the present dispute, it provides no guidance regarding similar controversies in other jurisdictions.”

In 2018, Philadelphia stopped placing children in the homes of foster parents affiliated with CSS and Bethany Christian Services of Greater Delaware Valley due to the groups’ refusal to place children with same-sex couples for religious reasons. Although Bethany eventually changed its policy, foster parents and others who worked with CSS filed a lawsuit against city officials, arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Plaintiff Sharronell Fulton fostered as many as 40 kids during her 25 years of working with CSS. Fellow plaintiff Toni Simms-Busch is a former social worker who adopted her foster children through CSS. Both were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Becket argued that CSS was the “most successful” foster care agency in the city and that the city ended its partnership with the organization at a time that city officials admitted an urgent need for foster families with thousands of kids in the system.

“I am overjoyed that the Supreme Court recognized the import work of Catholic Social Services and has allowed me to continue fostering children most in need of a loving home,” Fulton said in a statement. “My faith is what drives me to care for foster children here in Philadelphia and I thank God the Supreme Court believes that’s a good thing, worthy of protection.”
Simms-Busch stressed that the justices “understand that foster parents like me share in the common, noble task of providing children with loving homes.”
“Our foster-care ministry in Philadelphia is vital to solving the foster care crisis and Catholic Social Services is a cornerstone of that ministry,” Simms-Busch stated. “The Supreme Court’s decision ensures the most vulnerable children in the City of Brotherly Love have every opportunity to find loving homes.”

The Supreme Court decision follows the ruling of a three-judge panel of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the city in April 2019. The panel concluded that the First Amendment “does not prohibit government regulation of religiously motivated conduct so long as that regulation is not a veiled attempt to suppress disfavored religious beliefs.”

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Category:

Political, Religion

Tagged with:

Raffensperger’s Own Team Was Saying “Bad, Bad Things” Were Happening in Fulton County Elections — He Ignored Them and Attacked Trump Instead (VIDEO)

Reported By Jim Hoft | Published June 17, 2021

Back in January Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told “60 Minutes” the state of Georgia, “Had safe, secure, and honest elections.”

Of course, NOTHING could be further of the truth.

This was after a Gateway Pundit report exposed Georgia election officials repeateldy feeding hundreds and possibly thousands of ballots through the voting machines late at night in Atlanta, Georgia after the election observers were sent home.

Earlier this week a Fulton County Georgia election official admitted that the chain of custody documents that are legally required per state law are missing from 24% of the ballots from the 2020 election.

Brad Raffensperger, the corrupt Secretary of State in Georgia is ultimately responsible. For the first time an elections official admitted the chain of custody documents are missing in Georgia per the Georgia Star. Then today John Solomon and Just The News reported that an audit of documents found that more than 100 batches of absentee ballots are missing in Fulton County Georgia!

Later this morning John Solomon told the War Room that Brad Raffensperger’s own team was saying that “bad, bad things” were coming out of Fulton County.

Didn’t Brad Raffensperger continuously say it was a perfect election? Now we know for a fact that he knew there was all sorts of problems all along?

Jim Hoft

Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Ann Coulter Op-ed: The John Lewis Act Is the Dems’ Path to Permanent Power

Commentary by Ann Coulter | Posted: Jun 16, 2021

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com., and WhatDidYouSay.org..

The John Lewis Act Is the Dems' Path to Permanent Power

Source: AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File

The official position of Fox News is that the Democrats’ John Lewis vote-stealing bill is “narrower” than the Democrats’ “For the People” vote-stealing bill. (This will be an exhibit in my museum titled, “Stupid People Can Never Help Your Cause.”)

Yes, it’s “narrower” in the sense of being 1 MILLION times worse. The John Lewis bill will do everything the “For the People” bill does — and so much more! They just don’t tell us what, exactly. The language of the bill is full of anodyne, uplifting language about equal voting participation — but the details will be turned over to left-wing zealots at the Department of Justice, suddenly empowered to enforce voting rules so insane that no elected official would dare vote for them.

Inasmuch as nearly every congressional Democrat is fine with the provisions in the “For the People” bill — which are ludicrous — imagine how much worse the “You Can’t Blame Me” bill is.

It will be faceless bureaucrats at the Department of Justice who give meaning to the happy words in the John Lewis bill. Federal government employees — i.e., the people actually making the rules — cannot be voted out of office. (Or fired — this is government work.) Indeed, these are people who could never be elected to any office on account of their repellent political views and, often, repellent physical appearance.

This is how Democrats impose fascistic rules on the citizenry without ever having to cast a dangerous vote: They write laws with vague statements of high principle, then dump the actual rule-making onto a government agency, where refugees from the ACLU issue edicts outlawing private property, due process, free speech and honest elections.

Recall:

— It wasn’t elected members of Congress who ordered a nice Idaho couple to halt work on their home because it was allegedly on a protected wetland (in the middle of a subdivision with many other homes). That was environmentalist wackos at the EPA.

— It wasn’t elected members of Congress who required universities to deny basic due process rights to students accused of rape. That was feminist loons at the Department of Education.

— It wasn’t elected members of Congress who directed Obama’s IRS to target groups with “tea party” or “patriots” in their names. That was liberal ideologue Lois Lerner and other civil service functionaries.

The lunatics at these agencies look like Reason Personified compared to the DOJ’s voting rights attorneys.

In 2013, author Charlotte Allen described one fair-minded DOJ staffer, whose job it was to rewrite state voting laws:

“On the morning of January 21, [2013] just before President Obama’s second inauguration, Rep. Paul Ryan … was roundly booed by the gathered crowd as he left the Capitol to attend the ceremonies …. Within minutes Daniel J. Freeman, a young career trial lawyer with the Voting Section of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division … took credit in a Facebook post for instigating the anti-Ryan derision.”

1. Paul Ryan? Pencil-necked, open borders, Never-Trump Paul Ryan? That’s the guy who got Freeman so riled up?

2. The obnoxious Freeman is no longer a young career trial lawyer at the DOJ. Now he’s a senior career trial lawyer at the DOJ.

Among the innovations dreamed up by fanatics like Freeman, Arizona was informed it could not ask for identification from people delivering more than 10 early ballots. Nothing fishy about that!

Arizona’s voting laws were subject to federal oversight because of its well-known history as a slave state and avid practitioner of Jim Crow. (I may have to check my notes on that.)

Actually, Arizona was bossed around by liberal activists at the DOJ for 40 years because back in 1972, it didn’t have bilingual ballots. Those weren’t instituted until 1974. They may as well have donned white hoods and burned crosses!

Oddly, Mississippi’s election laws were also subject to approval by the DOJ — despite the fact that blacks already voted at far higher rates than whites in that state. By contrast, Massachusetts did not require oversight of its voting laws, although in that fancy liberal state, black people voted at far lower rates than whites.

It’s almost as if only red states have their voting laws nitpicked by left-wing lawyers in Washington. I wonder if that would help Democrats win presidential elections?

Ironically, meaning totally predictably, the original 1965 Voting Rights Act was necessary because Democrats were trying to prevent black people from voting. Today, Democrats are using these new “voting rights” bills to ensure that 110% of black people vote, even if they are convicted felons, don’t live in the state, didn’t actually fill out a ballot or are dead.

It wasn’t until 2013 that the Supreme Court mercifully overturned key portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. (Citing the overwhelming Senate vote for the wonderfully named Voting Rights Act, Justice Antonin Scalia remarked at oral argument: “This is not the kind of a question you can leave to Congress.”)

While it’s great that ideologues like Dan Freeman had their wings clipped by the Court, the previous 40 years of their harassment tells you what they want to do. The John Lewis voting rights bill will put them back in the saddle!

States will be ordered to keep dead voters on the rolls, give violent felons the right to vote and jettison any voter I.D. requirements. (Interestingly, even after all the media demagoguery, black people still overwhelmingly support voter I.D. laws.)

There’s no disincentive to government lawyers pursuing frivolous cases to the end of the Earth. Even if they eventually lose, they don’t have to worry about court costs or legal fees. They don’t pay ’em. You do.

The “For the People” voting rights bill is the floor of what these petty bureaucrats will require. Those are the bare-minimum “voting rights” that will be imposed on the states by the DOJ. That’s the level of absurdity Democrats are willing to vote for in plain sight. What great ideas does Dan Freeman have that even Democrats couldn’t endorse on the record?

What is the voting “rights” equivalent of the EPA’s relentless persecution of homeowners, the Duke lacrosse case or the IRS’s abuse of power? Because that’s what the John Lewis voting rights bill will deliver.

Category:

Opinion, Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Enemies List

A.F. BRANCO on June 17, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-enemies-list/

AG Garland says white supremacists are the #1 threat to the Homeland while ignoring the left burning down our cities.

Garland’s White Supremacists — Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

WHITE SUPREMIST

Daniel Horowitz Op-ed: A group of Florida parents cultured their children’s masks and found dangerous bacteria

Commentary by DANIEL HOROWITZ | June 16, 2021

The idea of children, including preschoolers, walking around with bacteria traps on their breathing orifices all day so shocked the conscience that last summer, a bunch of internet parodies were produced illustrating such absurdity. Then, within weeks, most local governments mandated this cruel form of child abuse for an entire year without any study of the side effects. Now a group of parents from the Gainesville, Florida, area have shown that such masks are traps for harmful bacteria that potentially make children much sicker than from COVID — the virus for which the masks were required, but failed to mitigate.

In a press release obtained by TheBlaze and posted at RationalGround.com, six Alachua County, Florida, parents reported the findings of the lab cultures of their children’s masks worn in school. The parents sent the six masks to the University of Florida’s Mass Spectrometry Research and Education Center after they were worn for five to eight hours, most during in-person schooling by children ages 6 through 11. Although many students across the country likely wore dirty masks indefinitely for numerous days, the face masks studied in this analysis were new or freshly laundered before wearing. One of the masks submitted was from an adult who wore it at work as a cosmetologist.

The resulting report found that five masks were contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi, including three with dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria.

The lab used a method called proteomics to extract proteins from the masks and sequence them. The analysis detected the following 11 alarmingly dangerous pathogens on the masks:

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumonia)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis)
Neisseria meningitidis (meningitis, sepsis)
Acanthamoeba polyphaga (keratitis and granulomatous amebic encephalitis)
Acinetobacter baumanni (pneumonia, bloodstream infections, meningitis, UTIs — resistant to antibiotics)
Escherichia coli (food poisoning)
Borrelia burgdorferi (causes Lyme disease)
Corynebacterium diphtheriae (diphtheria)
Legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires’ disease)
Staphylococcus pyogenes serotype M3 (severe infections — high morbidity rates)
Staphylococcus aureus (meningitis, sepsis)

“Half of the masks were contaminated with one or more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria,” according to the release. “One-third were contaminated with one or more strains of meningitis-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. In addition, less dangerous pathogens were identified, including pathogens that can cause fever, ulcers, acne, yeast infections, strep throat, periodontal disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and more.”

For a control, the parents submitted a T-shirt worn by one of the children at school and unworn masks. No pathogens were found on the controls.

Obviously, the naysayers will immediately jump on this and criticize it as being a rudimentary study and small sample size. But that is the entire point. Of course, this issue needs further study. But why has this not been done over the course of the entire year by our government or any well-funded institution? How can we mandate such draconian policies without studying the side effects, including the spread of pathogens? Why is this left to helpless parents trying to raise awareness of these concerns?

It’s not like these concerns are novel. On March 8, 2020, Dr. Fauci told “60 Minutes” that masks can only block large droplets, they give a false sense of security, and they cause people to get more germs on their hands by fiddling with them. Several weeks later, Surgeon General Jerome Adams punctuated this point about the counterproductivity of wearing masks in public. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on March 31, Adams said that based on a study that shows medical students who wear masks touch their faces 23 times more often, one has to assume that “wearing a mask improperly can actually increase your risk of getting disease.”

A 2014 study of hospital workers wearing surgical masks in a Bangkok hospital found their masks to be saturated with Staphylococcus aureus (found on some of the masks in the Alachua study) and the fungus Aspergillus. Another study of hospital workers in China from 2019 observed that after more than six hours of use, masks worn by medical personnel also contained viruses, including adenovirus, bocavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza viruses. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hypothesize that a warm and humid microclimate cultivated by a mask is going to serve as an incubator for all sorts of pathogens. Not surprisingly, studies have shown that pathogen density on masks grows exponentially after two hours of use.

To this day, Fauci and CDC researchers have never answered how those concerns were no longer valid after their political U-turn on masks, given the terrible conditions with which we’ve witnessed the entire country wearing and reusing masks. The same reason why Fauci said last summer they never planned to embark on a randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of masks is likely why they never studied the side effects of masks either. They didn’t want to discover the truth that they themselves originally understood.

These findings are important for two reasons. First, there is a need to ensure that mask mandates are never implemented again. The Boston Globe is already advocating their use for the flu season. Second, as much as the mask mandate has ended for most consumers, workers in many professions are still required to wear them for hours on end without regard for the hazards they pose. A Florida appeals court has already ruled that the mask mandate in Alachua County is presumptively unconstitutional because it violates bodily autonomy. The risk of masks cultivating and spreading other pathogens is just another reason why something this personal to the body must remain a personal choice.

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

North Korean defector says indoctrination at Columbia Univ. crazier than Kim regime

Reported By Brandon Showalter, Christian Post Reporter | Tuesday, June 15, 2021

A North Korean defector who Christian missionaries helped escape to freedom said attending Columbia University, an Ivy League institution, was crazier, as far as its forced ideology and conformity, than the brutal Kim regime.

Yeonmi Park recounted how she came to the United States to attend Columbia after transferring from a South Korean university in 2016 and was troubled to find a culture of indoctrination, which she detailed in recent interviews about her frustration while pursuing a humanities degree at the prestigious university.

“I expected that I was paying this fortune, all this time and energy, to learn how to think. But they are forcing you to think the way they want you to think,” Park, the author of the bestseller In Order to Live, said in an interview with Fox News.
“I realized, wow, this is insane. I thought America was different, but I saw so many similarities to what I saw in North Korea that I started worrying.”

Park explained that a university staff member antagonized her when she said she enjoyed classic literature and authors like Jane Austen. She recounted the person telling her that such writers had a colonial mindset and were bigots and racists, and their messages were subconsciously brainwashing her. Similarly, gender issues, specifically as they pertained to language, also took the then-North Korean student by surprise. Each course at the Ivy League school began with students declaring the pronouns by which they prefer to be addressed.

“English is my third language. I learned it as an adult. I sometimes still say ‘he’ or ‘she’ by mistake, and now they are going to ask me to call them ‘they’? How the heck do I incorporate that into my sentences?” she asked.
“It was chaos,” she added. “It felt like the regression in civilization.”
“Even North Korea is not this nuts. … North Korea was pretty crazy, but not this crazy,” Park said, adding that she eventually learned not to say anything after several arguments with professors and students in order to maintain a good GPA and graduate.

The North Korean woman made a grueling journey through Asia to escape what is arguably the most repressive nation in the world. By the time she was 13 years old, she had watched people fall dead due to starvation. At age 13, in 2007, she crossed into China with her mother over the frozen Yalu River where human traffickers captured them and sold them into slavery. She was sold for less than $300, and her mother was sold for $100.

They managed to flee to Mongolia with the assistance of Christian missionaries, traversing across the Gobi desert. Park later found refuge in South Korea. Her 2015 memoir recounts how she survived North Korean oppression and what it took to escape to freedom, which she also shared in a TedTalk in 2013.

In the United States, people “are just dying to give their rights and power to the government. That is what scares me the most,” Park, who now advocates for the human rights of North Koreans, told Fox News.

“In North Korea, I literally believed that my Dear Leader [Kim Jong un] was starving,” she said.
“He’s the fattest guy, how can anyone believe that? And then somebody showed me a photo and said, ‘Look at him, he’s the fattest guy. Other people are all thin.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, why did I not notice that he was fat?’ Because I never learned how to think critically.”
“That is what is happening in America,” she stressed. “People see things, but they’ve just completely lost the ability to think critically.”

Send news tips to: brandon.showalter@christianpost.com Listen to Brandon Showalter’s Life in the Kingdom podcast at The Christian Post and edifi app Follow Brandon Showalter on Facebook: BrandonMarkShowalter Follow on Twitter: @BrandonMShow

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Virginia school district to appeal order reinstating teacher opposed to transgender pronouns

Reported By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, June 16, 2021

A public school district in Virginia that was ordered to reinstate a teacher punished for criticizing a proposed policy to require teachers to use trans-identified students’ preferred pronouns says it will appeal the decision to the state’s supreme court. Last week, a judge told the Loudon County School Board to reinstate Byron Tanner Cross, a physical education teacher at Leesburg Elementary School placed on administrative leave.

In a statement last Friday, Loudoun County Public Schools said that it will file an appeal of the June 8 decision, claiming that Cross’ comments were harmful. “LCPS respectfully disagrees with the Circuit Court’s decision to issue the injunction, and it is appealing this ruling to the Supreme Court of Virginia,” stated LCPS.
“Many students and parents at Leesburg Elementary have expressed fear, hurt and disappointment about coming to school. Addressing those concerns is paramount to the school division’s goal to provide a safe, welcoming and affirming learning environment for all students.”
The school district went on to state that while they respect “the rights of public school employees to free speech and free exercise of religion, those rights do not outweigh the rights of students to be educated in a supportive and nurturing environment.”

In May, LCPS held a meeting to discuss a proposed policy that would require students and faculty alike to use the preferred pronouns of youths who identify as transgender or “gender-expansive.”

Cross attended the meeting and spoke out against the proposal, telling the school board that he was “speaking out of love for those who suffer with gender dysphoria.”
“I love all of my students, but I will never lie to them regardless of the consequences. I’m a teacher, but I serve God first and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it’s against my religion,” stated Cross at the meeting.

Two days after the meeting, Cross was put on administrative leave with pay and prohibited from going onto any school properties unless given permission. In response, Cross filed a complaint against LCPS and was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal nonprofit that handles religious liberty cases and has won several U.S. Supreme Court cases in recent years. ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said in a statement that he believes public schools cannot “suspend someone simply for respectfully providing their opinion at a public meeting.”

“The school district favors a certain set of beliefs on a hotly contested issue, and it wants to force Tanner to cry uncle and endorse them as well,” stated Langhofer. “That’s neither legal nor constitutional, and neither was the school’s move to place Tanner on leave.”

Last week, Judge James E. Plowman of the 20th Judicial Circuit of Virginia granted Cross’ request for a temporary injunction against the board’s decision to place the teacher on leave. Plowman concluded that punishing Cross was “extreme” and “an unconstitutional action” since the views of the teacher, even if controversial, were nevertheless “permissible.”

“The Court agrees with Plaintiff’s analysis and concludes that Defendants’ actions to suspend the Plaintiff, as well as the additional restrictions placed upon him, adversely affected his constitutionally protected speech,” wrote the judge.
“Here, it was clear that the Plaintiff was speaking as a citizen, not in his official capacity. His speech was not conducted at his usual place of employment, occurred during non-working hours and at a forum where public comment was invited.”

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Category:

Education, Political

Tagged with:

White House Forced to Issue Clarification on Gesture Biden Made in Opening Seconds of Putin Meeting

Reported by Erin Coates | June 16, 2021

The White House quickly issued a clarification that President Joe Biden’s answer to a reporter’s question Wednesday in Geneva was not what it seemed. Prior to Biden’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland, the two leaders appeared together for a brief and chaotic photo opportunity, according to The Associated Press. When a reporter asked if Putin could be trusted, Biden appeared to nod in agreement.

“Inside, a pooler shouted Mr. President, do you trust Putin? Biden nodded yes up and down,” CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson tweeted, quoting the print pool. Political reporter Yamiche Alcindor added that it appeared that Biden “looked directly at the reporter and nodded affirmatively.”

The White House communications staff moved quickly to claim the president wasn’t answering the Putin question but was just giving “a general head nod in the direction of the media.”

“During a chaotic free for all with members of the press shouting questions over each other, the President gave a general head nod in the direction of the media,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Alcindor.
“He wasn’t responding to any question or anything other than the chaos.”

White House Communications Director Kate Beddingfield offered a similar explanation, adding that two days ago Biden said “verify, then trust” in relation to Putin.

Biden has previously called Putin a “killer” and has claimed that as vice president a decade ago he looked into Putin’s eyes and told him he was missing a “soul.”

Journalists and security officers were shoving to get into the small room Wednesday, creating a bit of chaos prior to the meeting, according to the AP.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/white-house-forced-issue-clarification-gesture-biden-made-opening-seconds-putin-meeting/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=aa-breaking&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=firefly

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Texas reporter who said ‘Fox Corp.’ was muzzling her during rogue live shot is fired, says station tried to squash hydroxychloroquine stories

Reported by NEWS SARAH TAYLOR | June 16, 2021

Ivory Hecker, the Fox affiliate reporter who went off-script during a Monday report that went viral, has been fired from her job at the Texas network. Hecker, who stated that “Fox Corp.” was “muzzling” her and stopping viewers from receiving “certain information,” now states that the station has been trying to prevent its reporters from covering hydroxychloroquine and its use in treating COVID-19 patients.

Hecker, a general assignment reporter, said Tuesday that she was fired after the viral report. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Hecker said that she lost her job via text after an initial suspension. KRIV-TV confirmed to the outlet that Hecker is no longer employed at the station and slammed her for going to James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas with the allegations.

In a statement, the station said, “FOX 26 adheres to the highest editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality. This incident involves nothing more than a disgruntled former employee seeking publicity by promoting a false narrative produced through selective editing and misrepresentation.”

Hecker told the outlet that she has no interest in working for another news corporation after this experience.

“I have been longing to part ways with this strange, slightly unhinged corporation since last August when I realized what they were,” Hecker admitted. “The piece with Project Veritas doesn’t touch what they did. Fox 26 knows I’m fearless. … I have zero interest in working for another corporation. They all toe the same line.”

The Project Veritas interview in question featured Hecker speaking with O’Keefe about what she said was an agenda in quashing reporting that didn’t follow the line of corporate headquarters.

According to the Daily Beast:

In one piece of surreptitiously recorded footage, Fox 26 assistant news director Lee Meier was seen explaining why the station does not do more stories on Bitcoin. In the clip, Meier said it’s “an editorial choice” to not cover the cryptocurrency because it likely would not appeal to the station’s early-evening broadcast viewership.
“I have passed on Bitcoin stories by almost every single reporter for our five o’clock audience, because that’s not our five o’clock audience,” Meier stated. “So, there are lots of reasons. If I know our numbers are tanking from five to six and in one particular segment… I may say, yeah, and Bitcoin for poor African-American audience at five, it’s probably not going to play. That’s a choice I’m making.”
Reacting to Meier’s rather mundane remarks about the incentives of broadcast news, Hecker declared to O’Keefe: “I want out of this narrative news telling! I want out of this corruption!”

Hecker also said that the station attempted to prevent her from covering hydroxychloroquine in treatment of COVID-19 patients:

In a recorded call with Meier and Fox 26 vice president and news director Susan Schiller, Hecker was told she “failed as a reporter” for not looking at the “latest research” on the drug before boosting a post from a local doctor hyping it as a COVID-19 treatment.
“You need to cease and desist posting about hydroxychloroquine,” Schiller told Hecker.
Station management’s critical comments to Hecker appear to center around an August Facebook post the reporter shared last August, featuring Dr. Joseph Varon’s claim that he used hydroxychloroquine to “good success.”
In the call with her bosses, Hecker claimed the studies downplaying the effectiveness and safety of the drug made Varon’s comments more newsworthy. At the same time, she brought up Dr. Stella Immanuel, noting that she also referenced clinical research about hydroxychloroquine’s efficacy in her story about the controversial doctor. Immanuel, who believes sex with demons makes you sick, baselessly insisted that the anti-malarial drug is a “cure for COVID,” drawing praise from Trump but bans on social-media platforms. Hecker’s reporting on Immanuel at the time was largely sympathetic, painting her as a victim of “mass censorship.”
“They sent me to interview Dr. Joseph Varon, a highly respected doctor who did 1,600 media interviews,” Hecker told The Daily Beast. “They banned me permanently — after my interview — from covering COVID-19 medical treatments.”

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Lost in Space

A.F. BRANCO on June 16, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-lost-in-space/

Biden is proving not to be equipped mentally to deal with foreign leaders on the world stage.

Biden Lost on the World Stage — Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco coffee table book “Keep America Laughing (at the left)” ORDER HERE

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich Responds to Biden Admin’s Threats: “My Office Is NOT AMUSED With DOJ’s POSTURING”

Reported By Jordan Conradson | Published June 14, 2021

Last week, the Biden DOJ put their dirty hands in the wrong place, warning state lawmakers that if they proceeded to audit fraudulent elections they will be targeted.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to AG Merrick Garland clarifying that this is not a game for AZ officials.

OAN correspondent Christina Bobb tweeted the following update.

AZ Attorney General Mark Brnovich steps up big time to support the AZ Senate. Sends letter to AG Garland saying “My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing.” Brnovich says he will protect state sovereignty.
— Christina Bobb (@christina_bobb) June 14, 2021

“AZ Attorney General Mark Brnovich steps up big time to support the AZ Senate. Sends letter to AG Garland saying “My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing.” Brnovich says he will protect state sovereignty.”

The full letter is below.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-000 I
Dear Attorney General Garland,
June 14,2021

Late last week, you made troubling comments about the ongoing efforts in states to ensure election integrity. Your statements displayed an alarming disdain for state sovereignty as defined under
the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution and the election provisions in Articles I and 11.

Your comments followed a May 5 letter from Pamela Karlan of the Department of Justice’s Civil
Rights Division, on the subject of the Arizona Senate’s oversight of the Maricopa County audit. This
letter appeared more interested in supporting the hysterical outcries of leftist pundits on cable television,
rather than the rule of law.

My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing and will not tolerate any effort to undermine or
interfere with our State Senate’s audit to reassure Arizonans of the accuracy of our elections. We stand
ready to defend federalism and state sovereignty against any partisan attacks or federal overreach.
It is important to remember that the states created the federal government, not the other way
around. America’s founders intentionally restrained the federal government’s constitutional boundaries to
ensure each state could flourish in unique ways. Today, our federal government has largely forgotten the
Founders’ intent, but my office has not.

There are no issues more important for states to prioritize than the integrity of our elections. This
is the cornerstone of our republic, binding together the peoples’ trust in the whole of government. Today,
we see mistrust in our elections from Americans on all sides of the political spectrum. This should not be
a partisan issue. States can and should take every opportunity to reassure all citizens that their vote
counts.

My office looks for ways to work alongside the federal government to uphold our laws within the
constraints of the 10th Amendment and the election provisions in Articles I and II. As I have
demonstrated several times, however, Arizona will not sit back and let the Biden administration abuse its
authority, refuse to uphold laws, or attempt to commandeer our state’s sovereignty.

Respectfully,
Mark Brnovich
Attorney General

AZ State Senator Wendy Rogers had a similar message, threatening jail time for Garland if he lays a finger on Arizona’s election.

The Biden administration forgets a lot. They must have forgotten about states’ rights.

These goons belong in Tent City!

Category:

Political

Tagged with:

Perspectives; Thoughts; Comments; Opinions; Discussions

Archive for June, 2021

Commentary By Wallace B. Henley, Exclusive Columnist| Wednesday, June 30, 2021

“There is nothing exempt from the peril of mutation,” said Elizabethan sage Walter Raleigh.

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by SARAH TAYLOR | June 30, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by Michael Austin | June 29, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Dummy and Dumber

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by KENDALL TIETZ, CONTRIBUTOR | June 28, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by Amanda Thomason | June 28, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Commentary by By Dr. Carlos Campo, Op-ed Contributor| Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by PHIL SHIVER | June 29, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Powerlifter

Share this:

Like this:

posted by Hannity Staff – 6.26.21

Senator Ted Cruz moved this week to block federal funding for the promotion of ‘Critical Race Theory’ in public institutions and ensure US taxpayers don’t “contribute to this radical ideology.”

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by Jack Davis | June 26, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by SHELBY TALCOTT AND TAYLOR GILES, CONTRIBUTORS | June 27, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by CHRIS ENLOE | June 27, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Not So Gentle Giant

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Suck Ups

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Poor Sport

Share this:

Like this:

Commentary by JASON WHITLOCK | June 25, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Dying To Vote

Share this:

Like this:

Reported By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter| Thursday, June 24, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by ANDERS HAGSTROM, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT | June 24, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Cause and Effect

A.F. Branco Cartoon – What’s In A Name

Share this:

Like this:

Reported By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported by CHRIS PANDOLFO | June 23, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported By Emily Wood, Christian Post Reporter| Monday, June 21, 2021

Share this:

Like this:

Reported By Cristina Laila | Published June 22, 2021

Kamala Harris told left-wing activists to knock on doors to pressure people to get vaccinated as Biden’s July 4th vaccine goal is likely to fall short. The Biden Admin set a goal to fully vaccinate 70% of Americans by July 4th.

Share this: