Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated– $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.
Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated– $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.
Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. | Wikimedia Commons/Farragutful
The District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser have agreed to pay $220,000 as part of a legal settlement with a local Baptist church that sued the city over in-person worship restrictions during the pandemic.
Last September, Capitol Hill Baptist Church sued the district over the government’s ban on outdoor worship services that had more than 100 people in attendance. In a settlement agreement and release approved on Thursday, the city agreed to pay $220,000 to the counsels representing the church, which broke down to $210,000 for the law firm WilmerHale and $10,000 for the national legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute.
As explained in the settlement, the district has lifted earlier meeting restrictions so that Capitol Hill Baptist can gather indoors for worship services.
“The District agrees that it will not enforce any current or future COVID-19 restrictions to prohibit CHBC from gathering as one congregation in the District of Columbia,” explained the settlement.
“The District further agrees that, should it decide that new restrictions on religious gatherings are necessary during the current, or any future, COVID-19 (or variant thereof) public health emergency, it will not impose restrictions on CHBC that are more restrictive than the restrictions on comparable secular activities, as defined by the Supreme Court.”
Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for the First Liberty Institute, said in a statement that Capitol Hill Baptist “is relieved and grateful that this ordeal is behind them.”
“All Capitol Hill Baptist Church ever asked is for equal treatment under the law so they could meet together safely as a church,” stated Sasser. “Government officials need to know that illegal restrictions on First Amendment rights are intolerable and costly.”
In March 2020, as part of the effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bowser issued an executive order restricting the capacity for religious services of 10 or more people. The restriction was eventually expanded to no more than 100 people or 50% of the building capacity.
The 850-member Capitol Hill Baptist filed its lawsuit last September, arguing that the restrictions unfairly burdened houses of worship compared to comparable secular entities. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, granted an injunction in favor of the church last October, arguing that the “current restrictions substantially burden the Church’s exercise of religion.”
“… the District has failed to offer evidence at this stage showing that it has a compelling interest in preventing the Church from meeting outdoors with appropriate precautions, or that this prohibition is the least-restrictive means to achieve its interest,” wrote McFadden.
Soon after, the church held its first outdoor service since the litigation began, meeting at Anacostia Park in Southeast D.C. on a Sunday morning. The attendees wore face masks and maintained social distancing in keeping with the official public health recommendations at that time.
“It is absolutely appropriate to take stock, to give thanks, to give honor to whom honor is due, to recognize the many blessings that our government continually secures and provides for us,” Associate Pastor Bobby Jamieson preached at the October 2020 service.
“The only conditions that justify disobedience to legitimate government authority, legitimate earthly authority are when they either command something God forbids or forbid something God commands.” Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is lifting the ban on indoor dining for restaurants. Isn’t that great news? It’s probably just a coincidence that she is doing this two days after Joe Biden was sworn in as president. Democrats would never have shut down our economy for purely political reasons, right?
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.
Supporters of President Trump continued to make their way through the halls of the U.S. Capitol after breaching security Wednesday afternoon. One broke into Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and kicked up his boots on her desk.
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 3:42 p.m.):
President Trump once again called for an end to the violence at the U.S. Capitol as the situation has progressively worsened.
He was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, who tweeted that the “violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now.”
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 3:32 p.m.):
One person has reportedly been shot inside the Capitol Building. Based on video of the incident, a young woman appears to have been seriously injured in the neck. Warning: The video is extremely graphic and may be upsetting to some viewers.
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 3:24 p.m.):
There is currently some confusion over whether additional law enforcement are on their way to protect the U.S. Capitol as protesters have breached the building with the full Congress present.
NBC News reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested National Guard troops to come and clear rioters, but others have reported that the request has either been denied or not yet granted.
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 3:10 p.m.):
Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly been evacuated from the U.S. Capitol amid the escalating situation, as some individuals protesting the 2020 election results breached security and entered the House and Senate chambers.
Video from within the House chamber showed that lawmakers had been cleared from the room and protesters were inside. One protester appeared to be engaged in a standoff with police.
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 2:58 p.m.):
President Trump called on supporters protesting outside the U.S. Capitol to respect law enforcement and “stay peaceful,” as reports surfaced showing groups of protesters fighting with police and inside the Capitol Building.
UPDATE (Jan. 6, 2:30 p.m.):
Both chambers of Congress went into recess and the U.S. Capitol was reportedly placed on lockdown Wednesday afternoon as Trump supporters reportedly breached security and entered the Capitol Building.
BlazeTV reporter Elijah Schaffer posted video showing a small group of individuals fighting with police inside the building. At one point, some were right outside the Senate chamber as lawmakers convened inside.
“Full anarchy at this ‘mostly peaceful’ demonstration,” Schaffer wrote. “The people have pushed through & are storming to main chambers.”
Original story below
Hundreds of Trump supporters breached security barricades and stormed up to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as both chambers of Congress convened to affirm the Electoral College votes cast in the 2020 election Wednesday afternoon. Thousands had traveled from out of state to gather in Washington in protest of the election, which President Trump and his allies have maintained was fraudulent.
Things appeared to carry on peacefully earlier in the day, but as the joint session of Congress kicked off in the early afternoon, a large group of individuals appeared to storm through outer barricades surrounding the Capitol building, where lawmakers deliberated inside.
Video posted to Twitter by Washington Post reporter Rebecca Tan showed Trump supporters approaching the rear of the building.
Then, BlazeTV reporter Elijah Schaeffer posted video as the group reached the outside of the building and were confronted by police.
“Trump supporters have breached the Capitol building, tearing down 4 layers of security fencing and are attempting to occupy the building — fighting federal police who are overrun,” he tweeted. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Thousands, police can’t stop them.”
(Content Warning: Video contains vulgar language)
More video from the scene posted on social media showed a large group of individuals continuing to wrestle with law enforcement outside the U.S. Capitol.
Politico’s Melanie Zanona reported that the Madison building on Capitol Hill was evacuated as a result of the increasingly hostile protests.
It is unclear at this point whether the storming of the Capitol was a coordinated or impromptu event. Interestingly, a paper notice found in the National Mall indicated that “a national militia” was being organized to “defend the Constitution and the Republic.” However, there is no evidence connecting the movement from the crowd with the notice.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Lisa Fithian is a radical revolutionary who has been organizing chaos operations and antigovernment demonstrations in the United States for decades. Lisa Fithian was a key organizer of violent demonstrations that caused the shutdown of the 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle, Washington.
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Fithian is an anti-capitalist revolutionary.
Police use gas to push back World Trade Organization protesters in downtown Seattle on Nov. 30, 1999. The protests delayed the opening of the third WTO conference in Seattle. (Indymedia)
While you were going to work, paying your bills, taking the kids to their ballgame… Lisa Fithian was training activists. This is an eye-popping video by the EAGFoundation. The video shows anti-capitalist radical Lisa Fithian training Chicago union teachers on how to stage their arrests for the camera in 2011:
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Lisa Fithian held training sessions in the St. Louis area during the Ferguson rioting in 2014. And this revolutionary is now plotting violent takeover of Washington DC next week following the presidential election.
Win or lose the communists are going to rip this country apart next week! Be warned. Be prepared!
Earlier today journalist Millie Weaver posted video of leftist groups including Black Lives Matter, being led by Lisa Fithian, and including federal employees plotting their mass chaos in the nation’s capitol next week.
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Fithian is heard in the video telling her minions to support their cohorts with guns who are plotting to take over federal buildings.
UPDATE– Filmmaker Jeremy Segal was on America’s Voice with Frank Gaffney on Thursday discussing organizer of the revolution Lisa Fithian.
Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.
Tens of thousands gather for Let Us Worship on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 25, 2020. | Photo: The Christian Post
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of Christians from all over the country assembled on Sunday evening to worship on the National Mall to intercede for the nation amid an ongoing pandemic and tense election season.
As part of worship artist Sean Feucht’s multi-city nationwide tour called Let Us Worship, the Sunday event was the 45th place the California-based musician had led worship, often in places where violence and discord have manifested earlier this year such as Seattle, Minneapolis, and Portland, Oregon. A cold drizzle periodically rained down on the crowd with temperatures in the 40s.
Feucht explained from the stage that the Let Us Worship movement was in part born out of alarm and distress over California Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies related to the shutdown of churches, particularly his words prohibiting singing. These draconian measures, he said, have caused many in the Church to react in fear and intimidation but the Church should be comprised of the least fearful people.
Pastor Jentezen Franklin speaks to tens of thousands of people at the National Mall for Let Us Worship night, Oct. 25, 2020. | Facebook/Sean Feucht
Participants who drove to or flew into the nation’s capital for the event spoke of the importance of the times and the dire need to pray and worship given the tumultuous political climate.
Gail Hawkins, who co-pastors New Life City church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband, Alan, said in an interview with The Christian Post that she had been watching what Feucht had been doing and felt compelled to make the trip to D.C.
“Something struck a chord in me that I needed to be here this weekend,” she said, “so we just followed the lead of God and we came.”
“And the timing of the event, we just know that God’s at work. And we feel like we’re in the west [part of the country] where we’re separated from the seat of government but we’re not separated because we’re all on one accord and we’re all praying and seeking passionately the hand of God in this nation.”
“And if felt like ‘for such a time as this’ that we had to be here,” she said, referencing Mordecai’s words to Queen Esther in the book of Esther.
Standing in a throng of worshipers singing the popular anthem“Way Maker” by Nigerian artist Sinach, Rhoda Mehl from Rosemount, Minnesota, told CP she felt that the spiritual significance was “breaking the heavy yoke of the heavy [spiritual] chains that were binding and suffocating the nation.”
“We get to come and sing outside and praise the Lord from the bottom of our hearts. That is what our nation was founded on — liberty, on freedom … Our worship is our weapon.
“We’re here standing ‘peacefully protesting’ by praising God, believing that this is His war, that this is His battle. And He will win.”
She came to Washington because she was disturbed by how churches were being closed and their voices silenced.
“The Church is confused about whose authority they need to respect and respond to,” she said.
“We need to fear the Lord first and then honor the king.”
Among the guests who showed up and spoke and prayed from the stage was Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri. He had just come from the U.S. Capitol, where the Senate had just voted to advance the nomination of federal appellate court judge Amy Coney Barrett to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court.
Not everyone who showed up to the event was glad to be there.
Feucht noted on his Facebook page late Sunday that spiritual breakthrough was evident given what happened to one of his team members, Charles Karuku, the senior pastor of International Outreach Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. Not long after Let Us Worship DC concluded, a Satanist threw a bucket of blood in the face of the Kenyan-American pastor, he said.
“It happened so fast,” Karuku said in a Monday phone interview with The Christian Post.
The assault occurred as he walking with some of the team to an Uber taxi near the event site.
“I didn’t even notice what had happened until two seconds after when I heard a sound like ‘boom’ and then I realized I can’t see clearly. So naturally, I touch my face and I find so much sticky stuff on my hands.”
He described the perpetrator as a 150-pound white male who stood 5 foot 5 inches tall and had been standing nearby. Karuku said he saw him out of the corner of his eye as his vision cleared. He hopes to take his blood-stained clothing somewhere to test it to see if there are any contaminants and find out what type of blood it is.
Asked if he saw any occultic symbols on the assailant’s clothing, the pastor replied that attacks involving throwing buckets of blood are “pretty typical of Satanists.”
“They tried to do this before in Washington state, in Seattle,” Karuku explained, “so it’s a repeat of something.”
“Nobody carries blood around except Satanists,” he said, adding that he believed it was from a Satanic ritual.
“I’m trying not to make it a big, big deal but try to take care of [my] body to make sure we don’t have any contamination.”
Feucht added late Sunday on his Facebook page: “You can’t keep our joy down devils!! Over 35,000 showed up to declare the name of Jesus over our nation’s Capital!! GOD ALWAYS WINS!!!!”
Echoing Feucht, Linda Enciso, a hairstylist from San Bernadino, California, felt the urge to travel to D.C. for Let Us Worship in light of the heavy restrictions on churches in her state. She believes the Holy Spirit is causing the church to stand up and not be fearful. Her friend, Isis Michael, an insurance agent from Orange County, sees the “heavens open” over America.
“We were born for a time like this,” she said, telling CP an interview next to a row of food trucks that she fervently intercedes for her kids, family, city, her home country of Egypt, and her adopted country of the United States.
Enciso chimed in: “God is gathering His children and this is the time for us to stand up. No more playing around.”
Joe Centener of Staunton, Virginia, drove a few hours to D.C. for Let Us Worship just as he did last month for The Return, a repentance and intercessory prayer rally that occurred at the exact same spot on the Mall. Now retired and working full-time for a church, he thinks God is drawing the American people into repentance and revival.
While walking to a food truck to buy a hot drink, he told CP, that “God’s going to do a cleansing and exposing because we’re praying ‘God, expose all of the evil. Make it crystal clear for every unbeliever so they can see the truth.’ And with that, they can make a decision clearly and see evil and good.”
The American Bar Association on Sunday announced that it has given Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett its highest rating. Monday is the start of Barrett’s Senate confirmation hearings.
In a Sunday letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the American Bar Association advised that Barrett is “well qualified” for a position on the Supreme Court.
On Sunday, DC Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy shared the letter on Twitter, writing, “The American Bar Association released its determination that Judge Amy Coney Barrett is ‘Well Qualified’ on the eve of the start of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.”
A portion of the letter reads, “The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the federal judiciary has completed its evaluation of the professional qualifications of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has been nominated by the President to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.”
“As you know, the Standing Committee confines its evaluation to the qualities of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament,” the letter continues. “A substantial majority of the standing committee determined that Judge Barrett is ‘Well Qualified,’ and a minority is of the opinion that she is ‘Qualified’ to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.”
The letter concludes, “The majority rating represents the Standing Committee’s official rating.”
As noted by the Daily Wire, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in 2001 referred to the American Bar Association’s judicial ratings as the “gold standard by which judicial candidates are judged.”
On Sunday night, Barrett released the opening statement she plans to issue on Monday morning.
A portion of her remarks read:
Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. But courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.
That is the approach I have strived to follow as a judge on the Seventh Circuit. In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court, and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be. I try to remain mindful that, while my court decides thousands of cases a year, each case is the most important one to the parties involved. After all, cases are not like statutes, which are often named for their authors. Cases are named for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, often through their liberty or livelihood.
You can read the remarks in their entirety here and below.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to begin the confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, rival protests took place outside the White House and the Hart Senate Office Building on Monday morning. One group, Refuse Fascism, an anti-Trump group who doesn’t want Barrett to be confirmed, started their day at the steps of the Supreme Court. Many were dressed in full hazmat suits and chanting, “No COVID test, no hearing!”which was a nod to Chairman Lindsey Graham’s refusal to make it mandatory for senators to be tested for COVID-19 before the hearing.
They held up signs supporting the Affordable Care Act, which Democrats believe is in jeopardy if she is on the highest bench, and one protester held up a sign of a clothes hanger with the phrase “Never Again,”a nod to Roe v. Wade, the prevailing law on abortion. Democrats are fearful that Barrett, who is pro-life, could swing the court the other direction if the case comes in front of the court again.
They left the Supreme Court and began marching toward the Hart Senate Office Building when they briefly encountered a larger group of pro-life protesters who want Amy to “fill the seat.”
“No confirmation until inauguration!” the anti-Trump group chanted as they passed by the pro-life organizers. Most protesters in both groups were wearing masks, but neither was actively trying to keep six feet between themselves and others.
The group in favor of Barrett’s confirmation, which included many young adults, walked around the Hart Senate Office, and they congregated outside one of the entrances to the building. With protesters holding up Barrett versions of Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” poster of Barack Obama, and others waving signs reading, “I am the pro-life generation,” they chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go!”
Barrett’s hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee will go on until Thursday. The senators on the committee and Barrett herself are set to testify on Monday, while lawmakers will then question her on Tuesday and Wednesday with outside witnesses both in her favor and against her speaking on Thursday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham opened the historic confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett by praising her as academically gifted and admired for integrity and by warning Democrats against repeating the process that dragged out the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Monday outlined the Senate schedule to usher Barrett through the confirmation process and advance her to the Supreme Court, likely before the Nov. 3 election.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, described Barrett as “in a category of excellence” that should make the nation proud but warned that the confirmation will take place in an election year.
“My Democratic colleagues will say, ‘This has never been done,’” he said, countering, “The Senate is doing its duty, constitutionally,” even though no justice has been confirmed so close to an election.
Graham said there have been 19 justices confirmed in an election year, 17 of them when the White House and Senate parties were aligned.
Monday’s hearing will be composed of opening statements by senators and Barrett, who is now a court of appeals judge for the 7th Circuit, having been confirmed to that bench by the Senate in 2017. Senators will question Barrett on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Graham said the hearing is not about “persuading each other, unless something really dramatic happens,” but said it would give Democrats a chance to “dig deep into her philosophy” and serve the same purpose for the GOP.
“Most importantly, it gives you, the American people, the chance to find out about Judge Barrett,” Graham said. “Find out for yourself.”
Graham warned Democrats that Barrett “doesn’t deserve” the treatment of Kavanaugh, who was scrutinized in an additional hearing to air accusations by a former high school acquaintance who said he sexually assaulted her.
“Let’s remember — the world is watching,” Graham said.
A “Baby Lives Matter” mural appeared on the street in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
“The ‘Baby Lives Matter’ movement is responsible for the mural. They are painting such murals around the country,” Benny Johnson, chief creative officer with the student activist group Turning Point USA, tweeted Sunday.
The mural is located in front of the Carol Whitehill Moses Planned Parenthood Center near Union Market in Washington, about 1.5 miles from the U.S. Capitol.
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Tayler Hansen, founder of the Baby Lives Matter movement, tweeted, “10 unarmed Black Americans were killed by police in 2019. They have murals all around the country.
“Almost 400,000 innocent babies were murdered by Planned Parenthood in 2019. It’s about d— time they get a mural too.”
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Earlier this month, the pro-life activist painted the same message in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Salt Lake City. In a video posted to Twitter on July 17, Hansen explained his motivation.
“In 2019, abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide. Almost 43 million children were denied the most basic right of all — life. Which is why I felt inclined to demonstrate a true peaceful protest dedicated to those abandoned without a voice,” he said.
The artist told KUTV-TV that he purposely used a paint that would wash away to avoid any criminal liability. Johnson noted in a tweet at the time, “Once leftists opened up public roads for political speech it was only a matter of time before a conservative response.”
In a statement to The Western Journal last year, Douglass Leadership Institute chairman and Human Coalition Action executive director Dean Nelson pointed out the devastating impact Planned Parenthood has had on black people and other racial minorities.
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“Planned Parenthood has a long and well-documented history of targeting minority populations,” he said.
“This agenda goes back to Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, whose life’s work was to eradicate all individuals and groups she considered ‘unfit’ to live.”
In a statement to The Western Journal on Monday, Nelson said, “I am inspired by the pro life message I saw in front of Planned Parenthood in DC. That message along with the recent statement from Planned Parenthood of Greater New York about Margaret Sanger’s racism has provoked black leaders and students to connect the dots this weekend by painting Black PreBorn Lives Matter at the same location.”
In its Abortion Surveillance report released last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined for the year 2016, African-American women accounted for 38 percent of all abortions, though black people make up only 13 percent of the overall population. Hansen launched a GoFundMe campaign for more murals to be painted in front of Planned Parenthood facilities around the country.
“The goal was simple: To draw attention to the tens of millions of innocent lives that have been ended by Planned Parenthood,” the GoFundMe page reads.
As of Monday afternoon, he had raised more than $7,400 toward his goal of $10,000.
“This was a pure passion project for Tayler,” the GoFundMe page says. “He completed the [Salt Lake City] mural by himself and spent a considerable portion of his life savings buying the material to get the job done.”
Hansen is looking to fund 10 more murals.
UPDATE, July 27, 2020: After the publication of this article, Dean Nelson responded to The Western Journal’s request for comment with an emailed statement. This article has been updated to include additional comments from Nelson.
Randy DeSoto has written more than 1,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book “We Hold These Truths” and screenwriter of the political documentary “I Want Your Money.”
Federal riot teams have been dispatched to two U.S. cities as the Trump administration gears up to shut down riots that have taken place across the country. President Donald Trump has also instructed “thousands and thousands” of soldiers and police to quell violence in Washington, D.C.
Attorney General William Barr has ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to send riot teams to Miami and Washington, D.C., according to a senior Justice Department official, NPR reported. The FBI will also deploy its Hostage Rescue Team to assist in controlling riots that have taken place in the streets of Washington, D.C., the senior official said. Protesters on Sunday night lit fires in Lafayette Park across from the White House.
Overall, 88 people were arrested in the Washington, D.C., protests, according to The Washington Post.
Trump said he was sparing no effort to restore order.
“I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation and that is exactly what I will do,” Trump said in a Rose Garden speech Monday night.
“I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,” the president went on.
“A number of state and local governments have failed to take necessary action to safeguard their residents.
“I am taking immediate presidential action to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America.
“I am mobilizing all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.”
Trump said that he will act if a city cannot control the violence on its own.
“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” the president said.
Trump also said he was bolstering security in the nation’s capital.
“As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property,” he said.
After his address, Trump walked across the street from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was founded in 1816. The church’s parish house was the target of arson during Sunday night’s riots, The Washington Post reported.
“Greatest country in the world,” Trump said as he inspected the damage, according to a White House media pool report. “And we’re going to keep it safe.”
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Each year during Memorial Day weekend, nearly one million motorcyclists and spectators participate in the Rolling Thunder “Ride for Freedom” in Washington, D.C. to honor our nation’s fallen and missing heroes — and each year since 2002, one dedicated Marine stands in the middle of the parade to salute the riders.
Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers
For the past 16 years, Staff Sgt. Tim Chambershas stood in the middle of 23rd Street near the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Wall where he shows his appreciation to each passing rider, many of whom served in the U.S. Armed Forces themselves.
However, the patriotic demonstration in 2016 was particularly awesome, as Chambers brought along a special guest — his bride.
Chambers and Lorraine Heist exchanged vows and toasted the crowd with cans of Budweiser on Sunday, May 29, 2016 in the Marine’s usual 23rd Street spot just before the annual Rolling Thunder ride commenced, according to The Daily Wire.
The excitement of getting married didn’t stop Chambers from taking on his role as “The Saluting Marine,” and this time, he was joined by his wife who also waved at the passing riders with appreciation for their patriotism.
“For me, this annual POW/MIA demonstration is all about doing what is right for the men and women who were sent to war and never came home and the families left behind,”Chambers wrote in a special piece for the Washington Times.“We owe nothing less than accountability and closure.”
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The Marine explained how he “accidentally” found out about the Rolling Thunder in 2001 when he was stationed at the Pentagon and visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend. The next year, Chambers returned to the same spot in full dress and walked around thanking veterans and families for their sacrifices, but he wanted to do more.
“I marched into the middle of the street and popped up the salute,”he said. “The riders passed by me on both sides, and soon I could see tears running down some of their cheeks. I was reaching them.”
Even when he became weary, as the ride can last up to five hours, Chambers remained standing and saluting — acknowledging a “sacred connection” between him and each biker.
“At the end of my first salute in 2002, hundreds of veterans thanked me for giving them a ‘welcome home’ they never received,”he said.
The year Chambers chose to dedicate his wedding day to the patriotic demonstration, his new wife stood for hours in her wedding dress welcoming and thanking the patriots alongside her Marine husband — an act that didn’t go unnoticed.
A widow whose husband had committed suicide after he returned home from war was participating in the parade that year and stopped to hug Chambers’ wife.
“She informed Lorraine that she was standing for her!” the Marine wrote about the encounter on his website. “Very powerful and put it in perspective for both of us.”
He also noted that his bride looked “so amazing” in her wedding dress and said he was “so lucky” to have a woman who supported his efforts as the Saluting Marine.
Blue states have 42 percent more mass shootings than red states after adjusting for population, according to data published by Vox, a progressive media outlet, and examined by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Vox published its data after the Orlando terror attack last Sunday, and it suggests that blue states, which tend to have extremely strict gun laws, are ironically much more likely to have mass shootings than red states with less strict gun laws.
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TheDCNF’s analysis found that 543 of the mass shootings listed by Vox occurred in blue states while only 330 occurred in red states. If adjusted to account for differences in the size of population, blue states have .381 mass shootings per 100,000 people, while red states have a mere .267.Places where Democrats controlled the state legislature were even more likely to have mass shootings than the average blue state. This means that a mass shooting, as defined by Vox, is 42 percent more likely to occur in a blue state after accounting for population differences.
The deep blue areas of Washington, D.C. and Maryland led the nation with 2.38 and .998 mass shootings per 100,000 people. Illinois, Delaware, Michigan Rhode Island, and California were relatively close behind and had more mass shootings than the blue state average, according to Vox’s data.
The typical liberal explanation for this is that mass shooters go to red states to buy guns, which they use in blue states. Even progressive Politifact finds these claims“misleading for a varied number of reasons.” This also ignores the fact that there are already roughly 360 million firearms in America, or more guns than people.
Republicans currently control the state legislature and the governor’s office of Michigan, but the state has consistently voted for Democrats in the last six presidential elections. During the last six years, the GOP has won governorships in purple and even deep blue states: Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico.
Of the top ten states by mass shootings per capita, TheDCNF’s analysis found that six of them were deep blue states. Several red states such as Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming did not have a single mass shooting.
TheDCNF concluded that a state was blue or red based on how it voted in each of the last four presidential elections. This methodology only factored in America’s 22 red states and 18 blue states. This means that if everything else was even, statistically, red states should be over-represented as there are more of them. This methodology excluded large swings states like Ohio and Florida and states, which leaned red or blue.
TheDCNF previously found that of the 998 “mass shootings” noted by Vox only 86, or roughly eight percent, meet the threshold of a “mass murder,” as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and academics. Vox’s data claimed America had 11.6 times more mass shootings than actually occurred. This lack of “mass murder” didn’t stop Vox founder Ezra Klein from tweeting out an updated map of 998 “mass shootings,” which was retweeted almost 25,000 times and favorited more than 22,000 times.
Vox’s definition of a “mass shooting” isn’t an official one taken from law enforcement or academia, but appears to be originally created by anti-gun activistsfrom the website Reddit. Vox defined a mass shooting as any shooting where four or more people are injured or killed, not counting the shooter. Criminologists and law enforcement, however define it as four or more people killed, not counting the shooter.
Daily Caller interns Dan Chaison, Josh Hamburger, Ford Springer and Jacqueline Thomas contributed to the analysis of Vox’s data that went into this report.
Nearly half of Washington, D.C. employers said they have either laid off employees or reduced the hours of employees to adapt to the District of Columbia’s minimum wage hikes since 2014, according to a report from the Employment Policies Institute.
The minimum wage in the District of Columbia has increased from a $8.25 hourly rate in 2014 to the current rate of $11.50 per hour. Mayor Muriel Bowser advocated a $15 minimum wage in her State of the District address earlier this year.
“In recent months, the City Council in D.C. has considered enacting a number of new labor mandates, including a higher minimum wage, a bill that would fine employers for schedule changes, and a family leave policy funded by a tax on employers,”the report says.
The institute surveyed 100 employers in Washington, D.C. to understand how they would react to a further minimum wage hike.
“Employers affected by the proposed increase to a $15 minimum wage were asked if they had either reduced the number of employees on their staff, or reduced the hours of current employees, to adapt to recently enacted minimum wage increases,”the report says. “Nearly half of employers surveyed had already taken one of these steps—suggesting that 2014-16 minimum wage increases haven’t been absorbed through higher prices alone.”
According to the report, just over half of the businesses surveyed said they planned to raise prices in order to offset the cost of a minimum wage hike. Thirty-five percent said they would likely reduce staffing levels and 37 percent said they would reduce employees’ hours or reduce the number of hours they were open for business. Thirty-one percent of businesses said they were very likely to hire more skilled workers in the future to offset the higher wage.
One in five businesses said they would move out of the District of Columbia and into Arlington, Virginia where the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Sixteen percent of businesses surveyed said they were somewhat likely to close their business if the minimum wage hike were implemented and 6 percent of businesses said they would likely close.
“These results are consistent with the best and most recent published research on the minimum wage, which finds that past increases (at lower proposed wage levels) have reduced employment for younger and less-educated employees,”the report states.
“These proposed laws have encouraged a perception that D.C. is becoming less friendly for businesses,” the report says. “Two-thirds of surveyed businesses agreed with this sentiment, with half strongly agreeing that D.C. is becoming a business-unfriendly city.”
While Bowser did not comment on this specific report she said that there was consensus that a $15 minimum wage was the right thing to do for the District of Columbia.
“We are glad there is consensus around a $15 minimum wage and welcome the ongoing conversation on how best to support our workers, while creating an environment where businesses can start, grow, and thrive in all 8 wards,” Bowser said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ali Meyer is a staff writer with the Washington Free Beacon covering economic issues that expose government waste, fraud, and abuse. Prior to the Free Beacon, she was a multimedia reporter with CNSNews.com where her work appeared on outlets such as Drudge Report and Fox News. She also interned with the Heritage Foundation and Pacific Research Institute. Her Twitter handle is @DJAliMeyer, and her email address is meyer@freebeacon.com.
Farrakhan is stirring the masses for an event of large proportions to take place in Washington D.C. Not only is he asking for people to die for this event, but he is seeking them out specifically and telling them they must do so because of a tyrannical nation.His event called the 1 Million Man March is scheduled for 10-10-15.
Now how many of you would take a bullet for this man?
How many of you would march on Washington threatening to kill people and then asking 10,000 to die if they really are behind him and his cause?
Retaliation! If the federal government won’t intercede in our affairs, then we MUST rise up and kill those who kill us; stalk them and kill them and let them feel the pain of death that we are feeling!
Retaliation! If the federal government won’t intercede in our affairs, then we MUST rise up and kill those who kill us; stalk them and kill them and let them feel the pain of death that we are feeling!#JusticeOrElse(an excerpt from the message delivered July 30, 2015 in Miami at Mt. Zion Baptist Church)
Then there is the website justiceorelse.com that offers even more hate and vicious behavior and threats.
And a quote he gives on his website as well showing even more “force” than we have heard from him before.
“If we are denied what rightfully belongs to us then there has to be unified action that we take that will force the justice that we seek.” − The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
But it is the video that screams volumes. He has called out for 10,000 men who would rather DIE than to let things continue as they are in Washington D.C. and everywhere else he can nail down. WATCH how the crowd reacts. I hope that the right people get this out there because 10-10-15 is not that far away.
In a vitriolic speech at the Metropolitan AME church in Washington D.C., Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan called white people “sinful by nature” and said that the cops who arrested the man who killed nine people at a black church in Charleston, S.C. last week were happy he did so.
“White folks march with you because they don’t want you upsetting the city. They don’t give a damn about them nine,” Farrakhan said of the nine people murdered by white supremacist Dylann Roof at the historic Emanuel AME church last Wednesday. “When they arrested him they took him to the Burger King,” Farrakhan continued, citing news reports. “You know what they were saying? ‘You did a good job. Killed all them niggers.’”
Farrakhan, who is known for fiery sermons, was on hand at Metropolitan AME to announce plans for the Millions for Justice Mobilization event to be held on the National Mall in October. The event will mark the 20th anniversary of Farrakhan’s Million Man March, which was also held in Washington. During his speech,which was posted in full to the website Justice or Else, Farrakhan addressed the controversy surrounding the Confederate flag. Roof, 21, posted numerous pictures online of himself waving and carrying the flag. South Carolina lawmakers have called for it to be removed from the state house, and numerous retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon have decided to no longer sell the flag or apparel bearing it. But Farrakhan said he saw little difference between that flag and the Stars and Stripes.
“I don’t know what the hell the fight is about over the Confederate flag,” the 82-year-old minister said. “We need to put the American flag down because we’ve got as much hell under that as the Confederate flag.”
Farrakhan also devoted much of his speech to attacking whites. “White folks, you’ve got to get out of your sinful nature,”he said, while asserting that black are “not sinful by nature.” “You are righteous by nature,”Farrakhan told the cheering audience, “but made sinful by your intercourse with a sinful people who rebel against God.” Everywhere the white man has gone his nature drove him to kill. Kill the brown. Kill the red. Kill the yellow. Kill my own white brother, and kill the black and make sure that the black never rises again.”
Farrakhan’s two-hour sermon took a strange, sexualized turn when he began discussing white peoples’ birth rates and stereotypes about white women’s anatomy. He said that “the white man” is “coming after the black woman because that’s the way he’s going to have a future.” “Because your womb is what’s going to give him a future. Because right now whites are dying a natural death. Their birth rate is down under zero meaning that more of them are dying and less of them are coming to birth.”
Of white women, Farrakhan said: “There was a time when they had a behind like an iron board. I don’t know what happened to that iron board, because at the end of that board there’s a lump, you know what I mean? They call it a Brazilian butt, and they’re out working out.”
A bill introduced by D.C. lawmakers would grant some immigrants lacking U.S. citizenship the ability to vote in municipal elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2015 would allow D.C. residents who are not U.S. citizens but meet the federal definition of having permanent residency status to cast ballots in local elections, including races for mayor and the D.C. Council as well as initiatives and charter referendums. D.C. Council member David Grosso, at-large independent, introduced the legislation Tuesday.
In a statement announcing the introduction of the bill, Mr. Grosso cited statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau that indicate the District is home to nearly 54,000 foreign-born residents who are not naturalized U.S. citizens.
“These are taxpayers who should have the opportunity to have their voices heard in local elections,”he said.
Similar bills were unsuccessfully introduced in 2013 by Mr. Grosso, and in 2004 by then-D.C. Council member Jim Graham.
Neighboring Takoma Park also allows non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections.
September 11, 2001 was just 13 years ago. College freshmen were between the ages of five and six, juniors and seniors in college would have been nine or ten. Regardless, the events on that day are such that should not go unremembered, not discussed or untaught. After all, America was attacked on our own soil. Islamic terrorists brought the fight to our door.
Yet, to watch this video of college students asked about the significance of that date, only six out of 30 knew the answer. But 29 of them could name a Hollywood star whose nude photos were leaked recently.
The Young America’s Foundation visited the George Washington University campus in Washington, D.C., a city that was one of the targets on that tragic day, to ask students about current events. What was discovered was that rather be knowledgeable about important things happening in our world, they were overwhelmingly clueless.
In addition to their inability to state the significance of 9/11, few could identify who ISIS is or name one of the Americans who were recently beheaded by the group. In fact, one male student had not even heard that these two beheadings happened. At least he looked truly shaken up and distraught, near the point of vomiting, when he learned the news, weeks later, but perhaps he should try watching a little FOX News and less Bachelor in Paradise.
As you watch this video, ask yourself if the Department of Education, formed under the then worst president ever, Democrat Jimmy Carter, has improved the education of our children in this country or simply subjected them to progressive propaganda and a type of ignorance that is on full display.
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Reported By 
Chambers and Lorraine Heist exchanged vows and toasted the crowd with cans of Budweiser on Sunday, May 29, 2016 in the Marine’s usual 23rd Street spot just before the annual Rolling Thunder ride commenced, according to 
Andrew Follett, Energy and Environmental Reporter, 06/20/2016
BY: 
Nearly half of Washington, D.C. employers said they have either laid off employees or reduced the hours of employees to adapt to the District of Columbia’s minimum wage hikes since 2014, according to 
$11.50 per hour. Mayor Muriel Bowser 
Chuck Ross, Reporter 06/24/2015
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