Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021..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
Human trafficking | Reuters
During a human trafficking investigation in California, called “Operation Lost Angels,” the FBI recovered 33 missing children, eight of whom had been sexually exploited, the agency said.
For the operation, which began Jan. 11, the FBI worked with more than two dozen law enforcement and non-governmental partners “to identify, locate, and recover missing children, particularly those who have been or were suspected of being sexually exploited and/or trafficked.”
Of the underage victims recovered, eight were being sexually exploited at the time of recovery, the agency said in a statement, as part of Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
“Two were recovered multiple times during the operation while on the ‘track,’ a common term used to describe a known location for commercial sex trafficking. It is not uncommon for victims who are rescued to return to commercial sex trafficking either voluntarily or by force, fraud, or coercion,” it said.
“The FBI considers human trafficking modern day slavery and the minors engaged in commercial sex trafficking are considered victims,” said Assistant FBI Director Kristi K. Johnson.
In the 2020 Report on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the State Department warned about “the increasing number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers due to the instability, isolation, and lack of access to critical services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The effects of COVID-19, as with other catastrophic events, are disproportionately impacting communities suffering from systemic or generational inequality – the same communities traffickers often prey upon,” the report said.
The FBI also revealed that its caseload for trafficking-related crimes, for both sex and labor, had increased significantly in the past several years. Last year, the agency started 664 human trafficking investigations across the country, arresting 473 people. As of last November, there were more than 1,800 pending trafficking investigations, including those involving minors exploited through commercial sex trafficking, the FBI said.
The Tallahassee Police Department, Florida, announced last November that more than 170 people were charged as part of a two-year investigation uncovering a sex trafficking network in the state.
“Operation Stolen Innocence,” a secretive probe into the commercial trafficking of a teenaged girl, began in November 2018 when police investigators saw images of a child being posted on a website advertising sex for money.
Last October, the U.S. Marshals rescued 27 missing children in Virginia as part of nationwide operations to save exploited children. The Department of Justice announced at the time that the five-day law enforcement effort, called “Operation Find Our Children,” took place throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Top Republicans in the state as well as local leaders in communities that border the Permian Basin — one of the most productive regions in the U.S. — say any moves to make permanent the suspension would be economically devastating for the state. Half of New Mexico’s production happens on federal land and amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties each year.
Congressional members from other western states also are raising concerns, saying the ripple effects of the moratorium will hurt small businesses already struggling because of the pandemic.
“During his inauguration, President Biden spoke about bringing our nation together. Eliminating drilling on public lands will cost thousands of New Mexicans their jobs and destroy what’s left of our state’s economy,” Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway told The Associated Press on Friday. “How does that bring us together? Environmental efforts should be fair and well-researched, not knee-jerk mandates that just hurt an already impoverished state.”
In Utah. the state’s delegation asked for Biden to reconsider what they called an arbitrary decision. While it’s common for an incoming administration to pause high-level agency decisions, they argued that such a widespread suspension of routine permitting decisions normally made in the field is unprecedented. Industry groups said the order effectively brings all regulatory activity to a halt, from routine requests that arise during the normal course of business to requests for rights of way for new pipelines designed to gather more natural gas as part of efforts to reduce venting and flaring — practices that Democrats have targeted in their fight against climate change.
“It really has the opposite intent,” said Robert McEntyre, spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. “It means some natural gas is not going to be captured, and that’s not what operators want to do. They want to capture it and send it to market.”
New Mexico’s sole Republican in Congress, freshman Rep. Yvette Herrell, was the only member of the state’s delegation to speak out publicly after Biden’s order was issued. She said she supports Republican-backed legislation to prevent the administration from imposing a moratorium on new drilling permits on federal lands. The issue has been a thorny one for Democrats in New Mexico, where the oil and gas industry has been vilified over pollution concerns despite its role as the state’s top economic driver. Aside from funneling revenues to the state’s coffers, the industry supports about 100,000 direct and related jobs.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told the AP Friday that the administration is reviewing the federal action and the short- and long-term fiscal implications for the state.
“Certainly we all understand the critical importance of this industry to New Mexico’s bottom line and of the imperative to diversify our state economy and energy portfolio,” Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said in an email.
Steve Pearce, chairman of the state Republican Party, said drilling was beginning to pick up in New Mexico’s share of the Permian Basin because of rising oil prices. But he said he’s concerned that activity could evaporate.
“I think we’re going to see companies choosing not to invest in New Mexico and take their jobs and drilling to Texas just 3 miles away,” Pearce said. “They can just scoot across the border where they don’t have federal lands.”
The executive order includes an exception giving some senior U.S. Interior Department officials authority to approve actions that otherwise would be suspended. But industry officials expect there to be a bottleneck given the amount of requests nationwide.
The order has drawn praise from environmentalists, who have been seeking to rein in development across the West.
“Any step toward fixing the broken federal oil and gas leasing program is a step in the right direction,” said Mark Allison, director of the group New Mexico Wild.
In New Mexico, activists have been pushing to stop drilling outside the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, saying there are culturally significant areas that could be damaged by unchecked development. The fight has spanned both Democrat and Republican presidential administrations.
A coalition of groups on Thursday amended an ongoing lawsuit, seeking to overturn the sale of 42 leases that cover nearly 70 square miles (181 square kiometers) in the area. The groups argue that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management rushed public comment on the leases.
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One of the executive orders enacted “a 100-day pause on deportations for some undocumented immigrants,” according to the Texas Tribune.
More from the Texas Tribune:
The pause in deportations, which begins Friday, is part of a review and reset of enforcement policies within Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agencies as the Biden administration “develops its final priorities,” according to a DHS statement.
The moratorium applies to “certain noncitizens ordered deported to ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety” according to the DHS. That category excludes any immigrant who is “suspected of terrorism or espionage, or otherwise poses a danger to the national security of the United States,” those who entered after Nov. 1 and those who have voluntarily waived any rights to remain in the country, according to a DHS memo.
Carlson said that his team obtained an internal email sent to ICE officers in Texas.
The email read, “As of midnight tonight, stop all removals. This includes Mexican bus runs, charter flights and commercial removals (until further notice) … all cases are to be considered [no significant likelihood of removal in foreseeable future].”
“Release them all, immediately. No sponsor available is not acceptable any longer,” the message added.
According to Carlson, the directive is the “result of the complete chaos” that resulted from Biden’s sweeping executive order.
The official who sent the email noted that he was just “the messenger” explaining the directive. In other words, It wasn’t his idea. It was Joe Biden’s. Now, this email was news to us. The memorandum from the Biden administration to halt deportations did not call for people here illegally to be released from detention. So we made some calls, and we learned that the Department of Homeland Security is currently hammering out how to enact the memorandum. It does not specifically call for the instant release of all migrants in detention.
So what was this memo about? Just the result of the complete chaos that resulted when the incoming administration changed a policy this big on its first day without explaining what it means.
As TheBlaze reported, Biden is expected to introduce comprehensive immigration reform within the beginning months of his administration in a massive package that will include a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants.
Biden is also expected to reverse or roll back most of Trump’s immigration policies.
Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland has introduced the first bill of the 117th Congress, a bill that would profoundly transform the way America conducts its elections. H.R. 1 is a breathtaking power grab by the Democrats and threatens the very bedrock of our democratic republic by nearly guaranteeing one-party rule in Washington for years to come.
According to a statement on Sarbanes’ website, “the 2020 election underscored the need for comprehensive, structural democracy reform. Americans across the country were forced to overcome rampant voter suppression, gerrymandering and a torrent of special-interest dark money just to exercise their vote and their voice in our democracy.”
Sarbanes tells his constituents that “H. R. 1 is a transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package” intended to “clean up corruption in Washington, empower the American people and restore faith and integrity to our government.”
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The stated purpose of H.R. 1, ironically called the “For the People Act,” is: “To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.” The full text of H.R. 1 can be viewed here.
The real purpose of the bill is to make permanent many of the changes made to state voting systems and procedures ostensibly to facilitate voting in the age of COVID-19.
One of the most notable features of H.R. 1 is that it strips states of the right to set their own standards for how elections are to be conducted. Election laws will be determined at the federal level.
Under this bill, states would be required to promote the use of mail-in voting, to offer online applications for voter registration, and to provide automatic and even same-day voter registration.
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H.R. 1 would all but eliminate voter ID laws. It would prohibit states from “requiring identification as a condition of obtaining a ballot.” However, the bill would allow a state to require “a signature of the individual or similar affirmation as a condition of obtaining an absentee ballot.” After all, we must protect the integrity of our elections.
In Section 1005, the bill seeks to prohibit a state “from requiring applicants to provide more than last four digits of Social Security number.” Currently, in some states, if an individual without a driver’s license registers to vote, an applicant is required to supply the full Social Security number.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021A.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.
Though the majority of Gen Z is not engaged in scriptural study and has a distrustful relationship with religious institutions, they are eager for trusted adults, including religious leaders, to invest in their lives.
“The State of Religion & Young People 2020,” a new study by the Springtide Research Institute, collected data from over 10,000 surveys and over 150 interviews with young people ages 13–25. It found that Gen Z is largely not engaged in scriptural study, with just 12% saying they’re attending gatherings for this purpose.
Additionally, nearly 40% describe themselves as religiously “unaffiliated,” whether agnostic, atheist, or nothing in particular. Interestingly, the study shows 60% of surveyed young people who are not involved with organized religion describe themselves as “spiritual,” and 19% indicate they attend religious gatherings at least once a month.
Today’s young people are also the “loneliest of any generation,” the study found, with 60% saying they feel “very isolated.” The study notes this phenomenon is likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced young people to socialize, learn, and engage with one another virtually.
“The inner and outer lives of Gen Z are complex, and the world they live in, it’s complicated. The way that young people form bonds, make meaning, and live out their values is constantly changing. This is without a doubt the most diverse generation that has ever existed,” Josh Packard, executive director of Springtide Research Institute, said.
Nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) young people who were surveyed said they have three or fewer meaningful interactions per day. About 4 in 10 say they have nobody to talk to and nobody who really knows them well, and two in 10 young people (21%) with no meaningful interactions per day said they never feel like their life has meaning.
However, the study found that a single meaningful interaction reduces the number to 4%, underscoring the importance of relationships. Sixty-nine percent of surveyed individuals who have one adult mentor reported that their life has meaning and purpose. A staggering 85% who have two to four adult mentors and 91% of those who have five or more adult mentors said their life has meaning and purpose.
Young people crave “relational authority,” the study found. Seventy-nine percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “I am more likely to listen to adults in my life if I know that they care about me,” and 87% of young people said they trust adults who take time to foster relationships.
The study also found that Gen Z is eager for more productive and empathetic conversations around politics, but feel dismissed by the adults in their lives.
“Our data show that … checking the boxes affiliated or unaffiliated on a survey doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story about young people’s religious identities,” Packard said. “It doesn’t tell us what we need to know about the things that young people long for and where they belong to. More important than checkboxes, behaviors. More revealing than affiliation, relationships.”
“The State of Religion & Young People 2020” corroborates earlier studies revealing the complicated way Gen Z approaches issues of religion and spirituality. A 2018 study from the Barna Group characterizes Gen Z as the “first truly ‘post Christian’ generation,” with only 4% adhering to a biblical worldview.
However, another report from the law firm Becket found that 74% of Gen Z respondents felt that faith was “at least somewhat important” during the pandemic, putting them above the 62% average of all generations.
Speaker and author Sadie Robertson Huff, 23, recently said her generation is craving mentors and discipleship. She advised her peers to “invite” older Christians to the table and listen to their wisdom.
“Sometimes, our generation is fearful to ask for a mentor or fearful to ask to be discipled, but we crave it,” she said. “And so if you are in the older generation, … if you came up to us and said, ‘Can I disciple you?’ I know my answer would be yes every time. And I know a whole lot of people who would agree with me who are my age.”
Huff also said she believes church leaders are asking “too little” of the younger generation and often make “excuses” for them.
“I’ve sat in a room with church leaders who I love and adore. … But there are times where I’ve even heard them say things like, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t do a conference at night because that is the night that college kids like to party.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s why we should do a conference that night because people are going to party if we expect too little,’” Huff said.
“Let them [decide] if they’re going to go with the world or if they’re going to go with God because you’ve got to make that decision,” she stressed.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) joined Lou Dobbs on Thursday night to discuss the radical moves by Joe Biden and the persecution of the middle class.
During their discussion, Lou turned his focus to the leadership of the Republican Party. The popular pro-Trump host blasted the GOP leadership for spitting on the Trump voters who delivered a landslide 74 million votes to the Republican Party this year and saved the House and Senate races.
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Lou Dobbs warned the Republican Party that they are about to lose their base!
He’s right!
Lou Dobbs: The fact of the matter is, working men and women and their families right now have no representation. This president has made clear who has his priority, his attention, his interest. President Trump, as you say, stood up for the working – men and women and their families. And, it’s stunning to me that the Republican party right now doesn’t understand the threat that he poses. Because, I think of those 74 million Americans, if they continue to be insulted by the leadership of both political parties they are going to say, “The hell with you.” And the Patriot Party will be born and it will be born with extraordinary strength and power.
Via Lou Dobbs Tonight:
FOX Business reports:
DC Mayor Bowser confirms indoor bar and restaurant service to resume at 25% capacity starting Jan. 22
Washington, D.C., will roll back its COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining beginning Friday, Jan. 22 at 5 a.m., allowing restaurants and bars to return to 25% capacity, or no more than 250 people.
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The move, first announced on Wednesday in a tweet by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff, John Falcicchio, aligns with the end of an “Inauguration Pause” on city’s Phase 2 reopening activities.
The “Inauguration Pause” was an extension of a Dec. 23 order implemented to flatten the curve amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which was set to expire on Jan. 15. Bowser cited ongoing “public health and safety” concerns as the reason for the extension, following a riot at the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters on Jan. 6 that left five people dead.
In addition to shutting down indoor dining, the order closed museums and the D.C. Circular Route along the National Mall. It also limited libraries to pick-up and drop-off services only for three weeks, ordered the Department of Parks and Recreation to offer reservations for individual swim and fitness room sessions only and required that all non-essential business employees telework, with the exception of in-person staff needed to support minimum operations.
Don’t question the timing of this at all.
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It’s all just a coincidence. Carry on.
“This is a half-cocked mission and they are not Nancy Pelosi’s servants.”
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, speaks during a news conference with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, not pictured, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. / Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“[Governor Ron DeSantis] says he ordered the National Guard to come home from the U.S. Capitol because ‘they’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants’ and ‘this is a half-cocked mission at this point and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home,’” reported Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas.
A stunning 25,000 troops from across the nation were ordered to D.C. to secure the inauguration of Biden. As noted by The Daily Wire, disturbing photographs circulated Thursday evening revealed our National Guard troops sleeping in cold parking garages.
“Thousands of National Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and have been photographed having to sleep in parking garages while temperatures in the nation’s capital were set to dip down to near-freezing temperatures,” The Daily Wire reported. “The photos of the living conditions that the National Guardsmen were forced to endure come after Democrats took complete control of the federal government this week following Joe Biden being sworn in as the nation’s 46th president.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott (TX) reacted quickly to the report, too, ordering on Thursday night that members of the Texas National Guard return from D.C. back to Texas, The Daily Wire reported.
“I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state,” Abbott said on Twitter.
Earlier in the week, the Abbott ripped into the so-called “loyalty” screening of the tens of thousands of National Guards troops sent to D.C. for the inauguration. Linking to a piece from The Washington Post concerning the excess screening of 25,000 National Guard troops, Abbott posted: “This is the most offensive thing I’ve ever heard. No one should ever question the loyalty or professionalism of the Texas National Guard.”
Notably, service members are already screened for ties to extremism or other potential flags. Thus, the latest screenings seem to be excessive and perhaps linked to suspicion directed at supporters of President Donald Trump after the Capitol riot. The Associated Press in a Monday report on the screening, for example, named supporters of the president as potential threats to a Biden inauguration.
“No one should ever question the loyalty or professionalism of the Texas National Guard,” the governor said via Twitter on Monday. “I authorized more than 1,000 to go to DC. I’ll never do it again if they are disrespected like this.”
“I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state.”
This follows bi-partisan outcry at pictures of Guardsmen sleeping on the concrete floors of the garages in freezing temperatures. A Guardsman told Politico “Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed.”
Guard units had been told to leave Capitol grounds facilities where they had been staying for the two weeks leading up to the inauguration. There was reportedly only one electrical outlet and one bathroom for 5,000 troops and no internet reception.
Over 25,000 Guardsmen from around the country were ordered to Washington DC following the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol, in order to provide additional security for the inauguration. The guard has been on station for two weeks and were seen in pictures last week before the inauguration sleeping on the floors of the Capitol before cots were brought in.
Following public outcry and pushback from many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Guardsmen were welcomed back to the Capitol buildings on Thursday night.
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More than 20,000 troops protected Joe Biden’s sham inauguration on Wednesday. Virtually no one showed up to see senile Joe slur his way through his swearing-in ceremony. The military felt completely abandoned by the DC elites.
Via Jack Posobiec.
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Ann Coulter | Posted: Jan 20, 2021
Source: AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Why can’t liberals ever just let Trump hang himself? Isn’t what he’s actually done bad enough? No, the media always have to punch up the story, layering lie upon lie, until normal people are forced to say, I don’t want to defend the guy, but that didn’t happen.
This was the whole point of my book “Resistance Is Futile,” written at the outset of the Trump administration:
“[M]y advice to the Resistance is: Get Trump on the worst thing he’s actually done, and stop running off with Wouldn’t it be great if he raped and murdered a nun? You’re right: If Trump had done that, he would be finished, done, put a fork in him. Unfortunately, he hasn’t committed that particular crime.”
Even after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, the media felt the need to pile up the false accusations.
Their first order of business was to turn it into a story about race.
The Trump riot has as little to do with race as any story in 21st-century America. COVID, immigration, tax cuts, the stimulus — I could come up with a racial angle for any of those.
Your assignment: Make the siege at the Capitol a story primarily about race relations.
You, a normal person, one week later: I’m stumped.
But to our media, the main point to be made about the riot was: Can you imagine what would have happened if black people had done that?
An unarmed Trump supporter crawling through a window at the Capitol was shot dead. Please name the black protester killed by the police throughout 2020’s incessant BLM riots, lootings and arsons. He’d already be on a postage stamp.
During the 2015 BLM riots in Baltimore after a heroin dealer, Freddie Gray, died in the back of a police van, the mayor announced that she was giving “those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”
If you look at a mob storming the Capitol to protest Biden’s certification as president and immediately think, This is a story about black people!, you’ve got racism on the brain.
— Renee Zellweger Wins Oscar for Best Actress
Oh like she would have gotten if it she were black. I don’t think so!
— Nobel Prize for Physics Awarded to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for “Discovery of a Supermassive Compact Object at the Center Of Our Galaxy”
Does anyone seriously believe that the prize would have been awarded if the discovery had been made by Black Lives Matter?
— Denver beat the Knicks 114-89
Can you imagine Denver intentionally running up the score like that on a white team?
I’m beginning to suspect that conservatives are the only people who were genuinely appalled by Trump supporters storming the Capitol. The left’s consistent reaction has been: OK, what do we have to do to make it look bad?
It must be awkward to have to work up a high dudgeon about the Capitol protest after spending half of 2020 saying “mostly peaceful” protests were OK, even if beyond the “mostly” there was a lot of arson and looting.
SOLUTION: A riot is not bad unless it can be denounced as “racist.”
Liberals were indignant with Sen. Tom Cotton for saying Trump should send in troops to restore order during the George Floyd riots. His New York Times op-ed making this point was slapped with a disclaimer from the editors that’s nearly as long as the original column.
Today, there are more troops on patrol in D.C. than in actual war zones.
But, this time, instead of calling the militarization of our nation’s capital “fascist” — as the Times’ Michelle Goldberg dubbed Cotton’s proposal — the very presence of troops is cited as proof of how awful the Jan. 6 riot was.
Liberals have got to learn that their neuroses are not proof of their opponents’ perfidy. The hysterical deployment of more than 20,000 troops to Biden’s inauguration says something about them, not the rioters.
Similarly, cable news has been featuring Democrats giving long, emotional TV interviews describing their fears during the storming of the Capitol. I was afraid they’d kill us all! What if they’d started lynching senators? They could have taken hostages! I fully expected a mass shooting. I thought the building would collapse on top of us! What if they’d had a nuke?
Oh my gosh! What did they actually do?
They broke four windows, took selfies and threw papers on the ground.
How many people died?
Four — all Trump supporters.
The “Your Neurosis Proves My Malfeasance” argument is a specialty of the feminists. If I wasn’t sexually harassed, then please explain why I gained 30 pounds? You want proof that Trump is a monster? I can’t sleep at night! Do you want to see my psychiatrist’s bill?
No, no! We believe you! But it’s not evidence that anyone did something bad to you. Your mental anguish comes in during the penalty phase, not during the guilt-finding phase.
The winner of the “You want proof? My skin has broken out!” argument was this NBC headline last week: “Some Democrats in Congress are worried their colleagues might kill them.”
The raid was disgusting, appalling, sickening, but it’s not a license for concocting imaginary accusations. Trump is bad. The thugs who stormed the Capitol are bad. You don’t need to manufacture evidence against them, media.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.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.
President-elect Joe Biden will sign 17 executive actions and orders in the first hours of his presidency on Wednesday.
The moves are expected to restore a number of Obama-era policies and reverse some of what the Biden team calls “the gravest damages” of the Trump administration.
Biden is expected to sign the executive actions from the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon after the inauguration, which is set to lay out a “forward-looking” vision for his presidency.
“He wants to roll up his sleeves and get to work as quickly as possible,” incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that some of that work will be to overturn the actions of his predecessor, President Trump, to fulfill Biden’s goals of “moving the country forward.”
In his first actions as president, Biden is set to roll back and reverse a number of Trump’s policies and directives.
End of the wall
Biden will declare an “immediate termination” of funding for the border wall construction — putting an end to a key Trump campaign and administration promise to “build a wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. The move will direct an “immediate pause” in wall construction and will “determine the best way to redirect funds that were diverted by the prior administration to fund wall construction.”
Biden will also sign an executive order that revoking Trump’s previous order that directed aggressive immigration enforcement. The Biden team said that the move will allow for the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to set “civil immigration enforcement policies that best protect the American people” and that are “in line with our values and priorities.”
“The Biden administration is going to have a very different approach to regional migration,” incoming White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, adding that there will be a “special emphasis” to address the “root causes of migration in the region.”
“The Biden administration is going to have a very different approach to regional migration.”
— Jake Sullivan, incoming White House national security adviser
Sullivan added that Biden was “committed to rebuilding the nation’s asylum system.”
Biden is also set to “preserve and fortify” the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows people who came to the United States as children to request deferred immigration enforcement and work authorization for a renewal period of two years. The Trump administration had sought to end the program since September 2017, mounting a number of federal legal battles.
Next, Biden is set to sign an executive order that will put an end to Trump’s “Muslim ban,” which Sullivan said was rooted in “religious animus and xenophobia.”
Trump, in 2017, signed an executive order suspending entry into the U.S. for individuals from mostly Muslim countries: Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. The travel ban was updated later that year to include North Korea and Venezuela. The Trump administration expanded the ban again in January 2020 to include an additional six countries.
The Biden administration’s reversal will repeal Trump’s order and instructs the State Department to restart visa processing for affected countries in an effort to “restore fairness and remedy the harms caused by the bans.”
Sullivan also said Biden’s action would strengthen screening and vetting for travelers by “enhancing information sharing” with foreign governments, while also directing a further review of other Trump administration “extreme vetting” practices.
As for the census, Biden will sign an executive order Wednesday to revoke the Trump administration’s plan to exclude non-citizens from the census and apportionment of congressional representatives. Biden’s move will also ensure the Census Bureau “has time” to complete “an accurate population count” for each state, which he will then present to Congress.
Biden also will take action Wednesday to re-engage with the World Health Organization, after Trump’s decision to withdraw in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration will “work with the WHO and our partners to strengthen and reform the organization, support the COVID-19 health and humanitarian response, and advance global health and security.”
The Biden team said Dr. Anthony Fauci would lead the Biden administration’s delegation at the WHO Executive Board meeting this week.
Biden is also expected to restore the White House’s National Security Council’s pandemic unit, which Trump disbanded early in his administration.
Back to Paris
Meanwhile, Biden will sign the instrument to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord — after the Trump administration officially left the agreement last year. The Paris Agreement was a global pact created during the Obama administration to combat climate change.
Biden’s national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, said the move will be an “important step for the U.S. to regain and strengthen its leadership opportunities,” and added that Biden has made it “abundantly clear” that climate change “poses an existential threat.”
Next, Biden is expected to sign an executive order that will roll back Trump’s environmental actions — including the revocation of Trump presidential proclamations and other actions signed that McCarthy claims “do not serve the U.S. national interest.”
The move will also revoke the presidential permit granted to the Keystone XL Pipeline — a “promise” made by Biden during the campaign, McCarthy said.
“He will sign a broad executive order that takes steps that are imperative to address our climate crisis and will create good union jobs and advance environmental justice,” McCarthy said, adding that Biden will also reverse “more than 100 of the previous administration’s harmful policies.”
With regard to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden, on Wednesday, will launch a “100-day masking challenge,” and sign an executive order requiring masks and physical distancing in all federal buildings, on all federal land and by federal employees and contractors.
Affordable housing
Biden will also extend the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums for those effected by the “unprecedented housing affordability crisis” brought on by the pandemic through March 31.
Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese said the emergency measures “are important,” but said they are “not a substitute,” and urged Congress to pass legislation.
“These measures are important, but they are not sufficient,” Deese said, while saying, however, that the steps “are immediately helpful and will help millions of families.”
Biden is also expected to ask the Department of Education to consider “immediately extending” the pause on interest and principal payments of federal student loans until Sept. 30.
Deese added that Biden “supports Congress acting immediately to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt per person.”
“These are emergency measures that will help make sure no American is put in the place to make the decision to pay their student loans or put food on the table,” Deese said, adding that this “will help to provide near-term relief.”
Meanwhile, White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice said Biden on Wednesday will put “racial justice and equity at the center of our agenda,” and will build a “whole of government approach to racial justice.”
Biden will sign an executive order to “define equity as the consistent and systemic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals” including those who “belong to underserved communities such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color; LGBTQ+ persons; people with disabilities religious minorities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
Rice said Biden will direct federal agencies to review the state of equity within their agencies, work with the Office of Management and Budget to “equitably allocate federal resources to empower and invest in communities of color and other underserved communities;” improve the delivery of government benefits services to ensure families “can access opportunity,” and more.
Biden will also sign an executive order that prohibits against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and will direct agencies to take all lawful steps to make sure that federal anti-discrimination statutes prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Other actions Biden will take Wednesday include signing a memo to extend the Deferred Enforced Departure designation for Liberians who have been in the U.S. for many years to June 30, 2022. The memo will also have Liberians work authorization extended, and will direct the secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that Citizen Immigration Services facilitates “ease of application and timely adjudication” for Liberians applying for residency.
‘Ethics pledge’
Biden will also sign an executive order to “restore and maintain public trust and government,” and will order every appointee in the executive branch to sign the “ethics pledge,” which will ensure that employees act in the interest of the American people and not for personal gain.
Biden will also issue a memo Wednesday withdrawing the Trump administration’s regulatory process in an effort to “remove those needless obstacles to regulating in the public’s interest.”
Incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain will also issue a regulatory freeze memo on Wednesday that will pause any new regulations from moving forward and give the Biden Administration a change to review any regulations that the Trump administration tried to finalize in its last days.
Jen Psaki said that in the coming days and weeks, Biden will be “announcing additional executive actions that confront these challenges and deliver on the President-elect’s promises to the American people, including revoking the ban on military service by transgender Americans, and reversing the Mexico City policy.”
The Mexico City policy forbids the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions in foreign countries.
Elliott Broidy, the former deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, received a full presidential pardon. He was convicted on one count of conspiracy to serve as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal. Trump invoked Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Ambassador Richard Grenell, among other friends of the White House, as supporters of the pardon.
The last-minute acts of clemency cap four years of controversial pardons of supporters and allies, including former 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Republican operative Roger Stone, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, former Reps. Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, and Charles Kushner, father of the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
Other recipients of Trump pardons who raised eyebrows included former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, four Iraq War veterans convicted in a Blackwater shooting, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, and Scooter Libby, who had served as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Trump pardoned Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two former border patrol agents whose cases had long been championed by immigration hawks.
Trump has also occasionally issued pardons to further the goals of criminal justice reform, such as when he granted clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time nonviolent drug offender who spent 21 years in prison. “That means you can do whatever you want in life,” Trump told her in the Oval Office earlier this year. He had previously commuted her life sentence in 2018.
Death Row Records co-founder Michael “Harry O” Harris was granted early release from prison, where he had served three decades for attempted murder and cocaine trafficking. Rapper Snoop Dogg praised the move. These acts of clemency have generally received more positive reviews than Trump’s pardons of political supporters and personal associates, rekindling the former reality TV star’s once-chummy relationship with Hollywood.
Kim Kardashian West has visited the White House to advise Trump on less famous people who could benefit from pardons and commutations. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, tweeted Wednesday night that he was “more interested” in seeing Trump’s pardons than President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees.
A number low-level drug offenders were included in the current Trump list. Some supporters had hoped he would strike against the “deep state” by pardoning WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency while a federal contractor. They were not on the pardons list.
Trump has also used the pardon power to strike back at the investigation conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller, which the president has regularly described as the “Russia hoax.” This led to the pardons of Manafort, Stone, Papadopoulos, and, to a lesser extent, Flynn. Trump repeated the phrase “Russian collusion hoax” in announcing a full pardon for Paul Erickson. Mueller’s final report did not establish the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
Bannon was charged with defrauding donors who hoped to help privately fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, a key Trump campaign promise. Bannon, a staunch proponent of the president’s populist and nationalist variant of conservatism both before and after serving in the White House, has denied the allegations. He had yet to stand trial.
In the days leading up to the final pardons, there was rampant speculation that Trump might pardon family members or even himself. Acts of clemency for Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, or Ivanka Trump, three of the president’s adult children, were thought to complicate any political future they or their spouses might be entertaining. The constitutionality of a presidential self-pardon has been debated by legal scholars.
Trump was reportedly warned by top aides not to pardon anyone involved in the “Stop the Steal” rally prior to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by die-hard supporters of the president who were protesting the certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory. The House voted to impeach Trump for inciting the riot, and a Senate trial will follow after he leaves office, potentially paving the way for legislation to prevent him from running again in 2024. Five people died in the riots.
Trump has steadfastly maintained the election was stolen due to widespread voter fraud, though he has in recent days acknowledged “a new administration” will be taking power at the conclusion of his term. The slew of pardons beginning in December were also seen as a concession that his time in the White House was coming to a close.
President Trump formally declassified a large trove of Russiagate documents Tuesday evening over objections from the FBI. The declassified documents are expected to be released by Wednesday.
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President Trump said he received the materials in a binder on December 30 and decided to declassify and publicly release the documents.
“I determined that the materials in that binder should be declassified to the maximum extent possible,” the president said.
According to investigative reporter John Solomon, the binder is about a foot tall. The FBI objected to a complete release of the documents and Trump agreed to light redactions.
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“As part of the iterative process of the declassification review, under a cover letter dated January 17, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation noted its continuing objection to any further declassification of the materials in the binder and also, on the basis of a review that included Intelligence Community equities, identified the passages that it believed it was most crucial to keep from public disclosure. I have determined to accept the redactions proposed for continued classification by the FBI in that January 17 submission,” Trump said in a memo.
“I hereby declassify the remaining materials in the binder. This is my final determination under the declassification review and I have directed the Attorney General to implement the redactions proposed in the FBI’s January 17 submission and return to the White House an appropriately redacted copy.”
John Solomon reported on Just The News that the documents will include an FBI memo outlining interviews agents did with dossier author Christopher Steele.
Just the News has already reported the materials include an FBI memo summarizing an interview agents did in fall 2017 with anti-Trump dossier author Christopher Steele, in which he acknowledged his motives for leaking the Russia collusion narrative during the 2016 U.S. election as well as tasking orders for another confidential human source to spy on the Trump campaign by posing as someone seeking a job.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 19: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2019 in Washington, DC. Republicans spoke about their desire to work on their legislative agenda despite the impeachment hearings in the House. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty …
Speaking on the Senate floor on Tuesday, McConnell said that the “mob was fed lies” and “provoked by the president and other powerful people” — effectively echoing the claims made by his Democrat colleagues, who accuse Trump of inciting the chaos that descended upon the Capitol that day.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like,” the Kentucky Republican said.
“But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation,” he continued:
McConnell’s remarks echo the statements made by many of his Democrat colleagues, who contend that Trump incited the violence despite the fact that he, at no point during his “Save America” speech, urged supporters to engage in lawless and violent acts. As the chaos unfolded, Trump — who at the time had access to his personal Twitter account — repeatedly called for protesters to respect law enforcement and refrain from violence.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” he wrote on Twitter shortly after 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
Less than an hour later, the president wrote, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
However, one week later, the House impeached Trump for the second time, with the single article asserting that Trump incited members of the crowd.
“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transfer of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government,” the article states.
“He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States,” it adds.
Ten House Republicans joined Democrats in supporting impeachment. While House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) openly opposed impeachment, he too suggested that Trump “bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.”
“He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding,” he said on the House floor last week.
“These facts require immediate action of President Trump — accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest, and ensure President-elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term,” he continued.
McCarthy told House Republicans earlier this month that Trump “told him he bears some of the responsibility for the Washington, DC, riots,” as Breitbart News detailed.
McConnell has not revealed if he would vote to convict Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, stating that he intends to “listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.” He has reportedly told colleagues that their decision will be a “vote of conscience.”
US President Donald Trump gestures during a Keep America Great Rally at Kellogg Arena December 18, 2019, in Battle Creek, Michigan. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s disapproval rating sits at just 48 percent.
There are a lot of media polls that show Trump’s approval rating in the low forties, and even in the thirties. But, over the course of the last few election cycles, we have learned that these are almost all fake polls, rigged polls, polls that in no way reflect reality. And we know this because when the ultimate poll is taken on Election Day, the media polls are all wrong. The whole point of media polls is to mislead, demoralize, and deceive the American people into believing Trump is less popular than he really is.
Time and again, Rasmussen has proven to be reliable and accurate, which tells us the insanity of the Capitol Hill riot and the corporate media’s determination to blame the president for it — even though he expressly called on that crowd to be respectful and peaceful, even though he almost immediately called for the anarchy to stop once it began (which is more than any Democrat has ever done) — is not penetrating into the electorate at large.
People don’t trust the media and are not listening to the media, and why should they? The media have lied about everything for nearly a decade now.
So basically, all this unfounded left-wing hysteria is affecting absolutely nothing outside the corporate media bubble, even though the hysteria has gone so far that we now have to look at the kabuki theater of the military shutting down Washington, D.C., which includes fences covered in razor wire. This is all being done in an effort to fool people into believing Trump supporters are some sort of danger to His Fraudulency Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Oh, and did you know there is no evidence of any threats against His Fraudulency? That’s right, none.
What’s more, in this particular poll, Trump’s job approval rating has actually INCREASED since the Capitol Hill riot. What had been a 47 percent approval rating on January 7 is now a 51 percent approval rating, a bump of four points in approval.
Because Wednesday is Trump’s last full day in office, this will be Rasmussen’s final tracking of his daily approval numbers.
I do hope that those of you still naïve enough to be fooled by the fake news media pay attention to this poll. One trick the fake media are quite good at is delivering the impression they can still shape public opinion and move that needle. But what more proof do you need of how impotent the modern-day media are than this poll?
For two weeks the public have been gaslit by every corner of the dominant culture into believing Trump called for a riot and that Washington, D.C., is under imminent threat of attack by Trump supporters (when the truth is that there’s zero evidence of any kind of attack). To back up this nonsense, His Fraudulency and Capitol Hill Democrats have basically declared martial law around the White House, and what’s the result…
Trump’s approval rating has INCREASED and he leaves office with a perfectly respectable 51 percent.
Don’t let the media grifters and liars fool you. The only power they have left is to gin up violence in Democrat-run cities.
No one else is paying attention.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
Donald Trump has reportedly spoken to confidants and aides over the last several days about possibly forming his own political party, according to a Tuesday night report from the Wall Street Journal.
The outlet reports that the move comes on the heels of Trump feeling that Republicans abandoned him following the early January attack on the U.S. Capitol as well as the GOP members who voted in favor of a historic second impeachment.
The outlet, citing inside sources reportedly familiar with the matter, said that the president would like to call the party the “Patriot Party.”
“Trump discussed the matter with several aides and other people close to him last week,” the outlet reported. “The president said he would want to call the new party the ‘Patriot Party,’ the people said.”
The Daily Wire reported that “top pro-Trump Republicans” close to the administration said that it was a “bad idea” and would effectively split the Republican Party so that it would be nearly impossible for Republicans or otherwise to defeat the Democratic Party in elections.
In a Tuesday farewell video, Trump said that his movement is “only just beginning.”
“As I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning,” he said. “There’s never been anything like it. The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day. As long as the American people hold in their hearts deep and devoted love of country, then there is nothing this nation cannot achieve.”
In his final speech as president, Trump at Joint Base Andrews said, “We will be back in some form.”
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.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.
Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, a highly decorated war hero of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars who later served as drug czar in the Clinton administration, expressed concern Monday night that armed Republican members of Congress cannot be trusted around Joe Biden when he is sworn in on Wednesday. McCaffrey made the comment while discussing reports that 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. to protect the Biden inaugural are being vetted by the FBI out of fears of an insider attack on the inauguration.
McCaffrey’s comments came during an appearance on the Peacock news discussion show hosted by Zerlina Maxwell:
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“If I was worried about anybody, I’d be worried about gun-carrying Republican congressmen being near the president. They better get them started going through the screening at the door and tell them it’s mandatory. I wouldn’t trust them within an inch of my life.”
In her first public appearance with her husband after becoming First Lady Melania Trump kicked off the Melbourne, Florida rally in February 2017 by reciting the Lord’s prayer.
The crowd cheered wildly!
What a beautiful and gracious First Lady we had the past four years.
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THE CROWD WENT WILD!
❤️ Melania Trump ❤️ prays The Our Father. She knows there are Evil Forces at work. God Bless them,God Bless America! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/btOmZPmDrt
— Rock (@rocksiphone) February 18, 2017
But not everyone appreciated the gesture. The demonic left was outraged at Melania’s prayer for the country.
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Melania Trump is the most beautiful and stylish First Lady in American history. The liberal media hated her. They despised her beauty and class.
Like her husband, Melania Trump was under assault for four years by the demons on the left.
On Monday Melania Trump published a farewell message to America. In her message, Melania salutes law enforcement officers, addresses the hardships of those who have overcome opioid addiction, and also calls for nonviolence during these unprecedented times.
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America was blessed to have Melania.
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The Obama-era rule immediately became subject to legal challenges after being put in place in May 2016. Within months of implementation, approximately half of the states had sued the Obama administration over the new directive. Without federal guidance, policies with regard to transgender discrimination are left to the states. But now that Biden is poised to return to the White House, the guidance, issued when he was vice president, is set to be put back in place.
Dr. Rachel Levine (Biden-Harris transition team official portrait)
“On his first day in office, Biden will reinstate the Obama-Biden guidance revoked by the Trump-Pence Administration, which will restore transgender students’ access to sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity,” a statement on the Biden campaign website says. “He will direct his Department of Education to vigorously enforce and investigate violations of transgender students’ civil rights.”
Under the guidance, all schools receiving federal funds are required to comply or risk having their funding withdrawn. The move will undoubtedly spark outcry among conservatives who do not wish to see the federal government overstepping its bounds and mandating compliance on a culturally divisive and sensitive issue. Similar legal challenges to those launched in 2016 will almost certainly follow as well.
The move should not come as a surprise, however. Biden has been telegraphing sweeping changes to LGBTQ policy for some time. On his campaign website, Biden listed a number of policy initiatives, including the enactment of the “Equality Act,” which will extend all protections found in existing federal civil rights laws to LGBTQ individuals.
The Democratic Party, which heralds itself as the party of science, has quickly moved left on the issue of transgenderism, denying the biological reality of the gender binary. While on the campaign trail late last year, Biden suggested that children as young as 8 years old should be able to legally change their gender.
Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/19/rachel-levine-assistant-health-secretary-transgender-senate-joe-biden-historic/
Picture taken May 4, 2015. REUTERS/Daniel Shanken
Dr. Rachel Levine (Biden-Harris transition team official portrait)
“Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a press release circulated Tuesday morning. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris added that Levine is “a remarkable public servant with the knowledge and experience to help us contain this pandemic, and protect and improve the health and well-being of the American people.”
The Biden team noted that Levine received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine. Additionally, she was thrice confirmed by the Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate for both her current position and to serve as the state’s physician general.
This is a developing story and will be updated with new information as it becomes available.
This undated photo provided by MeWe shows MeWe CEO Mark Weinstein. MeWe is a 4-year-old, full-featured social media company positioned as an anti-Facebook. It says it does not collect data on its users, and features a Privacy Bill of Rights. In the past year, MeWe more than doubled its membership to nearly 15 million. (MeWe via AP)
BOSTON (AP) — Some users have fled Facebook and Twitter after the platforms booted President Donald Trump and some of his confederates for inciting unrest and spreading false claims about election fraud. Some migrated to far-right friendly sites like Parler or Gab. Others joined a service that aims to stand apart.
MeWe is a 4-year-old, full-featured social media company positioned as an anti-Facebook. It says it does not collect data on its users, and features a Privacy Bill of Rights. In the past year, MeWe more than doubled its membership to nearly 15 million. In the week ending Jan. 12, it was downloaded 787,000 times from Apple and Google’s U.S. smartphone app stores, according to SensorTower.
While Trump supporters’ disaffection with Facebook has surely helped, CEO Mark Weinstein says MeWe owes its growth to “everyone who is infuriated by their data being sold down the river” by surveillance capitalists.
Weinstein spoke to The Associated Press from his Southern California home. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Where are your members? Under your “freemium” model, how many people pay for services such as additional data storage and video calling?
A: The members are 50% in North America, about 24% in Asia, 24% in Europe and 2% in Australia. Some are in South America, in Brazil and Argentina. We’re translated into 20 languages. Currently 3% to 4% of our members sign up for premium. We haven’t spent a penny on marketing. All our growth is organic.
Q: What does your capital investment and revenue look like? Who is behind the company?
A: We’ve got about $22 million from high net worth investors and our advisory board includes Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, and Sherry Turkle, perhaps the most esteemed academic expert on the impact of technology on human beings. We have fewer than 100 employees and we did $1.2 million in revenue in 2020. Revenue grew 300 percent from November to December.
Q: Your terms of service are explicit about prohibiting hateful and inciteful content and insist it will be promptly taken down. But I’ve seen some incendiary language in chats. The watchdog Alethea Group reported similar, and it was apparently taken down. How can you be sure you are adequately moderating the site, especially amid a growth spurt you say has hit 20,000 new users an hour? How many moderators do you have?
A: Social media can get messy in times like these. And just like Facebook and Twitter, and other sites that also moderate we are doing the very best we can. We are expanding our moderation team as rapidly as we can, and we’re investigating reports from our members, who are helping. (Weinstein would not disclose the size of his moderation team.)
Q: You say MeWe is not built, as its big competitors are, to serve up politically charged material.
A: We are absolutely not an opinion chamber of one side or another. We are fundamentally different by design from Twitter or Parler or Gab. We’re a social media platform like Facebook, where family members and friends connect. Your news feed is purely and exclusively everything you choose to connect to. There is nothing injected into your news feed by us or anybody else on the platform. We don’t have trending topics. We don’t have boosted content.
Q: What is your stance on potentially dangerous speech and misinformation of the type that could, say adversely impact public health during a global pandemic?
A: We have absolutely no censorship for good people who follow our rules. We don’t care what your opinion is, if you’re on the right or the left. That’s none of our business. Also, MeWe’s structural design prohibits the amplification (of misinformation). Members do moderation for us, but a very deep violation can lead to immediate removal and being reported to outside authorities. For others, a member can be placed “in jail” — temporarily suspended — and then a three-strike rule applies.
Q: You said in a 2019 op-ed piece that you don’t believe that breaking up Facebook will solve the problem of competition in social media. Is that still your thinking?
A: Breaking up Facebook would just create a lot of mini-Facebooks. It doesn’t solve the problem of surveillance capitalism.
Facebook has lobbyists worldwide influencing legislation and government officials. And it doesn’t comply with regulations, anyhow. Regulating Facebook more carefully will only serve to institutionalize surveillance capitalism, make it harder for competition and sort of legitimize their business model, which is really an illegitimate form of capitalism.
Pure capitalism is, plain and simple, delight your customer, build a relationship of love and trust. Respect them and they will be your customer for a lifetime. Facebook has completely broken that bond. Facebook is a marketing company. Facebook is a data company. They’re not a true social network. Their customers are advertisers, marketers and political operatives. MeWe’s customers are its members.
This image was on my MeWe.com account this morning. Please come and see me on MeWe.com at https://mewe.com/myworld. I am moving over there to get away from BIG TECH. Please join us.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021A.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.
The Los Angeles Times published an analysis of President-elect Joe Biden’s forthcoming policies and concluded that he wants to “make America California again.” Not the Ronald Reagan version: rather, the contemporary left-wing bubble.
The Times noted:
California is emerging as the de facto policy think tank of the Biden-Harris administration and of a Congress soon to be under Democratic control. That’s rekindling past cliches about the state — incubator of innovation, premier laboratory of democracy, land of big ideas — even as it struggles with surging COVID-19 infections, a safety net frayed by the pandemic’s toll, crushing housing costs and wildfires, all fueling an exodus of residents.
There is no place the incoming administration is leaning on more heavily for inspiration in setting a progressive policy agenda.
California has also supplied Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But it is less a “model” of a particular set of policies than an example of what the left does when it no longer has an opposition.
California is one of the wealthiest states — and also one of the poorest, with a disproportionate share of the nation’s welfare cases. The middle class is emptying out — taking with it the state’s traditionally Republican constituency.
Geographer Joel Kotkin wrote in 2018:
Rather than serving primarily as a role model, California today should be seen as much a cautionary tale. We certainly produce great wealth, but also far too much poverty. To be sure, California is now home to four of the 15 richest people on the planet and 70 percent of the 56 billionaires under 40; the Bay Area remains the most prodigious producer of high wage tech-related jobs.
But for much of the middle and working classes, more serious has been the erosion of higher-wage blue collar jobs, which have dropped by 500,000 since 2000 and by over 300,000 since the Great Recession alone. In contrast, minimum or near-minimum wage jobs accounted in 2015-16, notes the state’s Business Roundtable, for almost two-thirds of the state’s new job growth.
As companies began fleeing the state’s high-tax, high-regulation environment, then-Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledged the problem, but quipped that “smart people figure out how to make it.” Increasingly, they “make it” in other states, like Texas.
In very basic ways, California is utterly dysfunctional. Last year, it had to implement rolling blackouts because solar and wind energy, the result of years of “green” policy, could not provide the power to keep the lights on in a heat wave.
The Democrats who run the state are sheltered from the consequences of their policies by the fact that talented people are still drawn to Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the Golden State’s unparalleled climate. Thanks to the success of Big Tech and Wall Street, the state has a projected budget surplus of $15 billion in the middle of a global economic crisis.
California is expected to lose one congressional seat after the latest census, which showed the state losing population.
Former Facebook executive Alex Stamos called for conservative news alternatives OANN and Newsmax to be de-platformed during his appearance on CNN Sunday.
Stamos said, “We have to turn down the capability of these Conservative influencers to reach these huge audiences.”
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“There are people on YouTube for example that have a larger audience than daytime CNN,” he added and CNN’s Brian Stelter nodded in agreement.
WATCH:
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Alex Stamos left Facebook after a series of massive failures on his part such as allowing sexualized images of children on the platform yet he believes he is the arbiter of truth.
We’ve reported on how Antifa infiltrated the crowd at the Capital on January 6th and how Big Media is blaming their violent acts on Trump supporters. But overall we actually know very little about the events at the Capitol on that day. For example, what and who caused the deaths of the Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6th?
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The policeman whom Big Media claims died from being hit by a fire extinguisher reportedly had medical conditions and died the day after the Capitol events:
We know that Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was killed in the Capital after being shot by a Capitol policeman. But we don’t know identity of the policeman. There are reports the policeman may have been anti-Trump. We cannot confirm this till we know the shooter’s name:
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As far as the other Trump supporters killed at the Capitol we know little. One woman was reportedly trampled to death but what caused the stampede? There are reports the police started shooting tear gas without warning the Trump supporters outside the event. Is this what started the stampede?
The remaining two individuals reportedly died from natural causes. The police originally claimed the two men and Ms. Boyland died from medical emergencies (getting trampled apparently fits in this category):
The other three who died from medical emergencies were identified as 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips of Ringtown, Pennsylvania, 55-year-old Kevin Greeson of Athens, Alabama, and 34-year-old Roseanne Boylan of Kennesaw, Georgia.
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Mr. Boylan reportedly died from a stroke and Mr. Greeson reportedly died from a heart attack. But were these emergencies caused by the police creating panic by sending flash bangs and tear gas into the crowd of peaceful Trump supporters?
We need more information on the deaths of the Trump supporters. How did they die and who fired the shots that may have killed them.
January 18th, 2021 media@thekingofnews.com
Rumble video: https://rumble.com/embed/vac5b7/?pub=fii0j
YouTube video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocb-S26BdRA
Chicago, Illinois – Documentary film crew releases dramatic, never before seen footage of the 2017 Inauguration riots. The footage was gathered as part of an ongoing documentary about the fight for dominance playing out between establishment and independent news organizations. The shocking footage exposes a coordinated attack on the 2017 inauguration of President Donald Trump. Highlights include anarchists preparing for violent clashes with police (10:22), violent attacks on attendees (2:08), destruction of property (9:50), and the physical premeditated blockades that succeed in preventing voters from attending the Presidential Inauguration (3:29).
Additional highlights include interviews with blockade organizers Code Pink and Disrupt J20, whose stated goal was to “shut this inauguration down.”
Code Pink organizer Tighe Barry is asked, “Are you guys going to cause some mayhem?” His response is an emphatic “Yes sir!” (3:56) He adds, “We blocked this street because we feel like we have the right to tell them not to come into our city.” (4:27)
J20 organizer is quoted saying, “These people should be referred to as neo-nazis, as fascist, as the legitimate scum they are, so they can be wiped from this country!” (1:48)
Black Trump supporters are seen being called “Uncle Toms!” while also having their Trump hats snatched off their heads. (10:51)
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Producers of the documentary explained their decision to release this footage now, “It was never our intent to release any footage while we’re still in production. We have held this dramatic content for 4 years in anticipation of its final release in the completed film, however, recent events have convinced us of the imperative to release this excerpt now.”
The King of News has been in production since 2016, with an anticipated release of Summer 2021.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says that taxpayer funds should be used to “deradicalize” white supremacists. Speaking with supporters during a virtual town hall Friday night, Ocasio-Cortez blamed recent violence — including the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 — on white supremacy.
“The white supremacist cause is futile, it’s nihilist — it will never be realized,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The path forward for all of us is a multiracial democracy that fights for the economic and civil rights of every American.”
She added of white supremacists, “Their world will never exist. That’s why we’re seeing violence right now.”
Ocasio-Cortez was speaking in response to a question about how Americans should respond to those who believe in conspiracy theories, but were not part of the violence at the Capitol. Ocasio-Cortez warned that “this is a problem that doesn’t go away on Jan. 20,” and said it will require “many, many, many millions of hands” to help “pick up the pieces.”
Ocasio-Cortez explained that, during her time on the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, she has learned about programs that “deradicalize” white supremacists. Ocasio-Cortez blamed President Donald Trump for “pulling the plug” on funding for such programs. But if America wants to adequately address the problem of white supremacy, Ocasio-Cortez said taxpayer funding for “deradicalization” programs should be significantly increased.
“We need to double, triple or quadruple, or increase funding for these deradicalization programs en masse,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Just last week, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that all of Trump’s supporters, and perhaps the entire Republican Party, is guilty of white supremacy.
“I don’t want to hear or see the Republican Party talk about blue lives ever again. This was never about safety for them, it was always a slogan because if they actually cared about rule of law they would speak up when people break the law,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They would speak up. They would enforce fairness and equity, but they don’t give a damn about the law. They don’t give a damn about order. They don’t give a damn about safety.”
“They give a damn about white supremacy, they care about preserving the social order and the mythology of whiteness,” she added. “They lust for power more than they care about democracy.”
We never thought this day would arrive in America. Last year, we learned that they can shout “COVID” as an emergency, and our life, liberty, and property disappear. They can shout “racism,” and our inalienable right to self-defense disappears. The last thing we had was the freedom to criticize what is happening, even if there was nothing we can do about it. Now they can shout “right-wing terrorism” or “right-wing conspiracy” and say that freedom of speech no longer applies.
Leftists in this country claim that their violence is speech and our speech is violence. That is why they glorified riots last year that burned down numerous cities, caused thousands of injuries, cost billions of dollars, and elevated their cause as the most urgent grievance in need of redress. At the same time, they are pushing to criminalize not just the violent acts and actors at the Capitol on January 6, but any view or speech or assembly predicated on views that are held by those people. This is why they seem to be taking direct shots at the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech for Americans, even as they plan to grant amnesty to those whose entire presence in this country is illegal.
As everyone focuses on the corporate world violating the spirit of the First Amendment by excommunicating anyone with conservative views, watch carefully how the governmental actors are coming very close to violating the letter of the First Amendment with the force of the “law” behind it. Big tech might have a monopoly on the internet and communications, but government has a monopoly on violence, law, and the ability to restrain our liberty. If we don’t wake up immediately, our speech and freedom to assemble will be not only censored, but criminalized.
It started on January 6, when Tom Edsall published a column in the New York Times noting, “A debate has broken out over whether the once-sacrosanct constitutional protection of the First Amendment has become a threat to democracy.” This is a tried and tested tactic of the Left – to have their columnists float a radical idea as a “debate,” while their governmental actors begin working on it in earnest.
Just take stock of what we are seeing out in the open. They are now arresting people all over the country for merely being in the Capitol, even if they didn’t engage in violence, vandalism, or theft. Had this standard been applied to Black Lives Matter, there would literally have been millions of arrests. So no, this is not just about punishing those who acted violently. The FBI is placing signs all over the country asking people to report those who were at the Capitol, something that never happened even in the most deadly BLM/Antifa riots last year, or at Trump’s inauguration four years ago in D.C.
They are militarizing D.C. with 20,000 troops, when the threat of violence against Trump’s inaugural guests four years ago was exponentially greater. They are declaring emergencies in states as remote as New Mexico with no evidence of violence present. Garrett Soldano, a leader in the anti-lockdown movement in Michigan, claims the FBI paid him a two-hour visit because a local called the FBI and claimed he is a violent extremist.
If the FBI had done this when hundreds of cities were on fire for days on end with no control among local police departments, I would just feel they are being overly cautious. Given that BLM was promoted as the leader of our civic discourse and we are all being treated like terrorists, however, we should be very scared they are coming for the First Amendment, not for national security. Remember, the Justice Department seems to believe this was a planned attack. So the hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters who just came there to express their views had no idea that a few bad actors were planning this. The fact that they are hunting down anyone and everyone should scare us all.
Last week, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said emphatically that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to sentiments he disagrees with. “This idea that saying that Pennsylvania was ‘rigged’ or that we were ‘trying to steal the election’ — that’s a lie. And you do not have the right, that is not protected speech.”
Thus, from now on, Democrats can unilaterally change election law in middle of an election – up until and including abolishing Election Day in favor of mail-in ballots – and anyone who criticizes it or organizes a rally against it is subject to prosecution? These comments would be comical if they didn’t coincide with actions taken by his party coming into power in Washington that look a lot like martial law.
In other words, if you watch the language the Left is using about our speech and the actions the Biden administration and the governors are taking, it’s quite evident that Big Tech is not the only thing we have to worry about. If nothing changes, I predict that even if Parler is able to become completely independent in the private market, the government, which has the ultimate monopoly on power, will shut it down.
Already in 2019, Richard Stengel, the Biden transition “team lead” for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that the First Amendment needs curtailment. “All speech is not equal. And where truth cannot drive out lies, we must add new guardrails. I’m all for protecting ‘thought that we hate,’ but not speech that incites hate,” wrote Stengal.
This is pretty bizarre coming from a side of politics that already controls 99% of all speech and big business that controls speech. What exactly are they afraid of? If anything, we are the ones who should be scared of their speech, given the monopoly they hold.
Well, George Washington already warned us about the motivations of those who clamp down on speech. “For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter,” said Washington in an address to the Continental Army on March 15, 1783.
The question facing patriots in the coming days is quite simply this: Will we allow that final domino to fall?
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.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.
Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/15/john-rich-others-industry-being-muzzled-expressing-anger-targeting-conservatives/
A Day In The Life With “Celebrity Apprentice” Finalist John Rich (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
“The list of country artists calling me is growing by the day who are saying they’re being ‘muzzled’ by the industry when it comes to them expressing their frustration and anger about the targeting of conservatives, and suppression of free speech by the powers that be,” the 47-year-old superstar singer tweeted to his many followers. The comments were noted by Fox News in a piece published Friday. “#BlackBall.” (RELATED: Ivanka Trump Calls Out Rioters, Says ‘The Violence Must Stop Immediately’)
“Someone’s ‘opinion’ doesn’t dictate what is true/false,” he added in a follow-up tweet. “Not my opinion, or yours. Free speech means SPEAKING FREELY.” (RELATED: Celebrities, Political Personalities Denounce Violent Insurrection At Capitol Hill)
“When ‘fact checkers’ wipe out platforms based on their ‘opinion’ of what you say being True/False, it’s akin to historic movements that always ended in disaster,” Rich concluded. (RELATED: Lead Singer Of English Funk Band Says He’s ‘Not’ The Viking Seen Rioting Capitol)
The “Big and Rich” singer‘s comments come after Twitter announced it had suspended President Donald Trump’s social media account following the riot at the Capitol.
“It’s an honor to be attacked for professing my loyalty to God, Country and family,” he added. “If big tech liked me, I’d take it as an insult. #OnwardChristianSoldiers.”
As previously reported, last week a “Save America” rally was held in Washington, D.C. where Trump spoke to supporters and said he would walk with them to the Capitol to “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women” challenging his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
The rally eventually turned into a riot, with video surfacing of supporters fighting Capitol Hill police to get into the building. The violence has led to the deaths of five people.
In this photo Kevin Seefried was pictured with Antifa rioter Aaron Mostofsky, a registered Democrat, on the stairs in the US Capitol. Kevin Seefried and his son Hunter were arrested Thursday in Delaware. Kevin Seefried was pictured in the White House carrying a Confederate flag during the riots.
Kevin and Hunter Seefried were within a group of people that had a confrontation with police at the U.S. Capitol and who “verbally confronted” U.S. Capitol Police. There is one Kevin Seefried listed in Delaware. He is listed a registered Democrat.
We have not confirmed this.
The Hill reported:
Kevin Seefried, the man pictured carrying the Confederate flag into the Capitol during last week’s riot, was arrested on Thursday in Delaware.
Seefried was arrested for his participation in the deadly Capitol riot that occurred last Wednesday, two law enforcement officers told The New York Times.
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The FBI’s Washington field office sent out a tweet on Sunday asking the public for any information they had on the man carrying the Confederate flag during the Capitol raid.
Seefried participated in a march from THE WHITE HOUSE to the US Capitol. President Trump spoke at the Ellipse.
The FBI’s statement of facts says:
On January 12, 2021, both Kevin Seefried and Hunter Seefried participated in voluntary and separate interviews with the FBI. Both defendants confirmed their participation in the events at the Capitol as discussed herein. Kevin Seefried also explained that he brought the Confederate Battle flag seen in Exhibit A to the District of Columbia from his home in Delaware where it is usually displayed outside. Defendant Kevin Seefried told law enforcement that he had traveled with his family from Delaware to the District of Columbia to hear President Trump speak and that he and Hunter Seefried participated in a march from the White House to the Capitol led by an individual with a bull horn.
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Project Veritas released video of Jack Dorsey laying out the roadmap for future political censorship — censoring Trump was just the beginning.
“We are focused on one account [@realDonaldTrump] right now, but this is going to be much bigger than just one account, and it’s going to go on for much longer than just this day, this week, and the next few weeks, and go on beyond the inauguration,” Dorsey said in a video recorded January 8.
Dorsey: “So, the focus is certainly on this account [@realDonaldTrump] and how it ties to real world violence. But also, we need to think much longer term around how these dynamics play out over time. I don’t believe this is going away anytime soon.”
Dorsey: “You know, the U.S. is extremely divided. Our platform is showing that every single day.”
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WATCH:
Jack Dorsey has repeatedly lied to lawmakers about targeting conservatives for censorship.
In a webinar hosted by The Heritage Foundation‘s Angela Sailor Monday, policy experts spoke at length about the ways in which critical race theory and the identity politics it underpins have sown hostile division into public life while claiming to combat racial injustice.
Broadly defined, critical race theory utilizes race as the lens through which every area of life is examined, categorizing everyone into oppressor and oppressed groups. The racial theory is the child of critical theory, the scholars explained, and most Americans do not agree with its ideological claims but it is being pushed strongly by elites and has entrenched special interests in many public institutions.
Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, noted in her remarks that among the most influential arenas where critical race theory is being furthered is through the approximately 14,000 public school boards across the country. Those boards indelibly shape the minds of schoolchildren and many are approving the use of the curriculum materials based on the 1619 Project, a series of New York Times reporting that frames the arrival of African slaves on the shores of the United States as the central feature of the American founding. This view stands in stark contrast to the the idea that nation was birthed at the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
“More than 4,500 classrooms around the country have begun to incorporate the 1619 Project curricular materials into their content,” she said.
Burke and her colleagues specifically asked school board members and families across the country about the 1619 Project and 50% of all parents and 70% of school board members said that they do not want schools to use the instructional materials rooted in the idea that slavery is the center of the national narrative. Likewise, 70% of parents and 74% of school board members believe that slavery is a tragedy that harmed the nation but freedom and prosperity represent who Americans are.
Their data showed that only 25% of parents and 17% of school board members believe that students should be taught that the founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written and that U.S. history must thus be reframed.
Jonathan Butcher, a senior policy analyst at Heritage, explained that what the CRT worldview does is dismantle social and governmental norms and foments a new kind of intolerance.
“Critical theory is not a sympathetic perspective with policy goals that lead to racial reconciliation, freedom, and opportunity. That’s not what it is. It’s talking about subjugation and retribution,” he said, referencing a paper he co-authored with fellow panelist and author Mike Gonzalez.
One of the founders of CRT calls for “transformative resistance strategy” in response to the rule of law and the U.S. constitutional republic, he said. According to those who adhere to the theory, they are “highly suspicious of the liberal agenda” with liberal in this sense meaning classical liberal values from the Enlightenment, he noted.
Gonzalez, author of The Plot to Change America, offered during his remarks that it is important to realize that the far left feels emboldened to repress conservative ideas and are calling for vast institutional change, noting its grip on the government, culture-making institutions, Big Tech, and many Fortune 500 companies.
At base, CRT is “a tool for changing the country,” he said, a tool that undermines societal foundations and holds that the rule of law and jurisprudence is to preserve the privilege of those who write the laws.
Christopher Rufo, a journalist and visiting fellow at Heritage Foundation, has been examining how the theory has been operating within institutions, HR programs, and in federal government agencies.
At the National Nuclear Laboratories in New Mexico, CRT-based training sessions were held in which white male executives were taken to a resort and were forced to undergo a series of exercises to deconstruct their white male identity, something that the trainers claimed was akin to the Ku Klux Klan, mass killings, and MAGA hats, he explained. The men were asked to condemn themselves and then write letters of apology to women and people of color and apologize for their whiteness. Similar training efforts and exercises were taking place across the federal bureaucracy but President Donald Trump canceled them with an executive order. 
Rufo is now working on reporting that will show how this ideology is being inculcated into K-12 students. An upcoming story he will soon publish highlights how 3rd graders are being tasked with deconstructing their intersectional identities, which is “slicing and dicing their own internal self-image on the axes of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, transgenderism … and then ranking themselves on a hierarchy of power and privilege.”
“They’re taking these tenets that were once limited to academia and now trying to basically inject them into the bloodstream of every institution from kindergarten to the federal government,” he said.
“They are now training elementary school students how to hold protests, how to disrupt the system, how to become revolutionaries.”
The theory, which promises a utopia of sorts and racial equality, is not aiming to build anything but rests in negation that relies upon the thrill of revenge yet offers nothing to the margins of society, Rufo argued.
The Heritage Foundation discussion comes amid ongoing debate over CRT among evangelicals, with some influential leaders, including John Piper and Tim Keller, rejecting it.
More recently, a group of Southern Baptist seminary presidents released a statement declaring that CRT is incompatible with their beliefs while denouncing racism. The statement sparked outrage among some within the Southern Baptist Convention, forcing at least two black pastors to cut ties.
A group of pastors, including SBC’s first and only black president, responded with a statement, lamenting that “the actions of some in the SBC appear to be more concerned with political maneuvering than working to present a vibrant, gospel-loving, racially and culturally diverse vision.”
“Many who recognize systemic injustices are labeled as ‘Marxists,’ ‘Liberals,’ and ‘Critical Race Theorists,’ even though they are theologically orthodox and believe in the total sufficiency of Scripture,” they said. “[W]e stand firmly in opposition to any movement in the SBC that seeks to distract from racial reconciliation through the gospel and that denies the reality of systemic injustice.”
Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/president-elect-biden-announces-1-9-trillion-american-rescue-plan-2649947011.html/
“We have no time to waste when it comes to getting this virus under control and building our economy back better,” said Biden. The plan will likely add trillions of dollars to the already ballooning debt since the economic crisis, caused by government mandated shutdowns in response to the virus, began.
The American Rescue Plan will include $1,400 stimulus payment checks that will be added on top of the $600 checks that were issued under the last stimulus. Biden said the $600 provided per person so far is “not enough.” The proposal would also provide $440 billion to struggling communities, small businesses, educators, public transport workers, and first responders. Biden also called for an increase the minimum wage across the country to $15 an hour.
More than 2 million Americans have contracted COVID-19 and more than 385,000 deaths have been attributed to the virus across the country.
Ann Coulter | Posted: Jan 06, 2021 3:00 PM
Source: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Now that the Georgia runoffs are over, let’s talk about Donald Trump.
When we really needed all hands on deck in Georgia, Trump was a wrecking ball. He went down to Georgia and insulted everyone, refusing to talk about anything but himself. Based on his rally speech this week, Trump apparently thinks he won the November election because there was a red wave for everyone except him. How else could all those Republicans win congressional seats on his “coattails,” while he lost?
There are other ways to interpret the election results, such as that Trump didn’t have any “coattails.” In Texas, for example, Trump won, but Sen. John Cornyn got more votes — the first time a Texas senator has bested a Republican president in a couple of decades.
Maybe Americans are terrified of the Democrats, but also sick of Trump.
From the moment the election was over, Democrats were single-mindedly focused on winning the Georgia runoffs. By contrast, Republicans indulged in their usual circular firing squads, while Trump kept the base distracted with his petulance about the November election. (Yes, the Democrats cheated. They always cheat. Maybe somebody should have done something about it before the election.)
With Republicans facing these two crucial runoffs, Trump was too narcissistic to care about anything but his personal issues, and he busily set landmine after landmine for the candidates.
After Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue had triumphantly voted for the coronavirus relief bill, Trump began attacking it as a “disgrace” and ridiculing the paltry $600 individual payments.
Let’s see, who had negotiated this “disgrace” again? Trump’s own Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. But Trump was too busy denouncing the November election to pay attention to the negotiations.
For a week, Trump pretended he wasn’t going to sign the bill. In the end, he signed it, but waited so long to do so that instead of Georgia voters receiving their checks days before the runoff, they’ll be getting their checks sometime later this week.
Fantastic.
Then Trump launched vicious attacks on the (admittedly ridiculous) Georgia governor and secretary of state, blaming them for his loss in the state. Republicans needed every vote in this election, and surely there are some Georgians who prefer those guys to Trump. But Trump forced Loeffler and Perdue to choose between him and their own elected Republican leaders.
It also didn’t help that we’re in the middle of another COVID surge. You can’t blame Trump for the coronavirus, a gift from China to the entire world. Trump did better than most world leaders, especially with Operation Warp Speed.
The usual problem with Trump is that he’s all talk, no action. He talked about the massive fraud that would ensue with mail-in ballots … but did nothing. He talked about “LAW & ORDER” as cities burned to the ground … but did nothing. He talked about the wall … but built only about dozen miles of it.
With COVID, it was the reverse. Trump did the right things, but wouldn’t shut up. Worst of all, he talked to Bob Woodward.
To Woodward: I could curl your toes with some of the stories about this virus! See, I get these briefings every morning …
An hour later to the public: It’s gonna be great. This will be over by Easter.
That’s not a strong leader rallying the country. It’s a con artist telling you to put all your money on a stock that’s about to tank. Worst of all, it shows you who he is that Trump so desperately wanted Woodward to like him and was stupid enough to think he could win him over.
For all that, Trump had it all! He won the presidency by running on wildly popular issues that no other candidate would touch. He had devoted followers. For the first two years of his presidency, he had a Republican House and Senate.
Oh grief that Earth’s best hopes rest all with Thee!
Trump could have been a massively popular president and won reelection comfortably, if only he’d kept faith with his voters. Even people who abhorred him would have had to say, I thought he was a coarse vulgarian, but he was right about China ripping us off, he was right about the border, and he was right about standing up to crazy woke culture.
The 2020 election should have been like Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection (49-state landslide). Like Trump, Reagan ran on popular issues left on the ground by other candidates — primarily his vow to destroy the Soviet Union and reignite the economy by slashing government.
But — and here’s the big difference — Reagan kept his promises.
Not Trump! Instead — in the greatest bait-and-switch in American history — he promptly turned his presidency over to nimrods Jared and Ivanka, while he watched TV and tweeted. Suddenly, the populist hero was replaced with two idiots, who were all about being friends with the Kardashians and sucking up to Goldman Sachs.
Why don’t we have a wall? Why didn’t Trump impose a tax on remittances to make Mexico pay for it? Why are American workers still training their cheap labor replacements?
Answer: Stephen Miller, Trump’s crucial immigration aide during the 2016 campaign, survived his first year in the White House only by convincing Ivanka he was working on “Women’s Issues.” He spent his remaining three years with his nose up Jared’s butt.
We knew about the hucksterism. There was no warning about the kids.
The Republican Party’s only hope is to become a populist party, but without a shallow, narcissistic ignoramus as its head.
What is the point of being slavishly loyal to a person who is loyal to no one (except his numbskull kids)? Trump has sold out everyone who was ever faithful to him — Jeff Sessions, Kris Kobach, Chris Christie, Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, and, of course, his own voters.
Half of the betrayed are still desperately seeking Trump’s favor by signing onto the futile “Stop the Steal” effort. Not good enough for the administration! But good enough to humiliate themselves in Trump’s final days in office. At the first Stop the Steal rally in Washington, Trump didn’t even show up. He went golfing.
Give up the cult of personality, Trumpsters, or at least find someone with a better personality.
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.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.
donald trump wall / AP Photo/Alex Brandon
“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking, and NO vandalism of any kind,” the president said in a statement to reporters that was first published by Fox News.
Trump reminded his supporters that he did not stand for violent protests amid reports that there were other uprisings planned around the country.
“That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for,” he said. “I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
Trump’s message was released Wednesday afternoon as the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, moved to impeach the president on the basis that he incited the mob of his supporters to attack Capitol Hill.
A senior Trump adviser told Fox News that the president wanted Big Tech companies to “join with him” to secure a peaceful transition of power.
“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and surely we can all come together to deliver this important message and not continue to play partisan politics,” the adviser told Fox News.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) said he will propose to make the “Black National Anthem” the official US hymn in an effort to “bring the country together.”
“To make it a national hymn, I think, would be an act of bringing the country together. It would say to people, ‘You aren’t singing a separate national anthem, you are singing the country’s national hymn,’ ” Clyburn told USA Today.
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Via USA Today:
U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., wants a song about faith and resilience long revered in the Black community to become the national hymn and help unite the country after centuries of racial turmoil.
Clyburn, the House majority whip, plans to introduce a measure as early as this week that would make “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black national anthem, the national hymn and give it a special place alongside the country’s anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
In a separate effort to “unite the country,” Joe Biden said his administration will help Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans rebuild and reopen their small businesses – Whites need not apply.
Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/jim-jordan-calls-democrats-double-standard-fiery-speech-impeachment-proceedings/
Jordan spoke as the House moved forward with the process of impeaching President Donald Trump, citing last week’s Capitol incursion and Trump’s words and action before, during and after the violence. Jordan is among the Republicans opposing impeachment, which is likely to pass the House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said impeachment is unlikely to make it on the Senate calendar until after Trump’s term in office has ended.
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“In his opening remarks, the Democrat chair of the Rules Committee said that Republicans last week voted to overturn the results of an election. Guess who the first objector was on Jan. 6, 2017? First objector: the Democrat chairman of the Rules Committee,” Jordan said, referring to Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.
“And guess which state he objected to? Alabama. The very first state called. Alabama. President Trump, I think, won Alabama by like 80 points,” Jordan said, before consulting notes and saying that Trump in fact won the state by 30 points.
What Did You Say? 
Written
on January 22, 2021