wnd--2020-05-31--Analysis: 'Hard to imagine Twitter handling the situation worse'

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
For years , Twitter resisted calls to censor President Trump or even take down his entire account .
Then the leader of the free world , over a period of days , tweeted out a series of attacks on Joe Scarborough , intimating the cable news host and former congressmen murdered a female aide who , in actual fact , died of natural causes .
The dead woman ’ s husband wrote a heart-wrenching public letter to Twitter ’ s CEO , Jack Dorsey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tweets desecrating the memory of his wife .
The question of what to do about Trump was no doubt a thorny one for a company that once proclaimed itself the “ free-speech wing of the free-speech party.
” But however desperately one believes Trump ’ s tweets necessitated a response , it would be hard to imagine Twitter handling this situation worse than what it did this week .
Aside from issuing a public apology , Twitter didn ’ t do anything about the tweets that prompted the outrage .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact-check ” Trump ’ s tweets – and in doing so , Twitter provided a master class on how not to do a fact check .
On Tuesday , Trump fired off two tweets about the increase in mail-in voting expected across the country as a result of the pandemic .
Suffice it to say , he ’ s not a fan : “ There is NO WAY ( ZERO ! )
that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent .
Mail boxes will be robbed , ballots will be forged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signed .
The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people , anyone … living in the state , no matter who they are or how they got there , will get one .
That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people , many of whom have never even thought of voting before , how , and for whom , to vote .
This will be a Rigged Election .
No way !
” Twitter soon appended both tweets with an exclamation point followed by a link @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Get the facts about mail-in ballots.
” Click on that link and you see a short statement from Twitter that “ Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud.
” So here ’ s mistake No .
1 : Twitter is fact-checking opinion , not facts .
Strip away the Trumpian hyperbole and Trump is clearly expressing concern about the upcoming election .
As a result of the pandemic , we simply don ’ t know what ’ s going to happen in an election where potentially tens of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail for the first time , and whether it “ substantially ” threatens the integrity of the process .
Either way , this is clearly Trump ’ s opinion about an election that hasn ’ t happened – and try as you might , you can ’ t fact- check the future .
( That said , there is one contestable fact in Trump ’ s tweets above , which is the claim that California Gov .
Gavin Newsom is sending out mail-in ballots indiscriminately .
That ’ s not true , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t specifically refute it . )
The second mistake is that Twitter got its own facts wrong .
Twitter ’ s statement responding to the president declared , “ Fact-checkers say there is no evidence that mail-in ballots are linked to voter fraud.
” That is untrue .
To the extent that voter fraud exists , fraud associated with mail-in ballots “ is vastly more prevalent than the in-person voting fraud that has attracted far more attention , ” according to The New York Times .
A study done by Cal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in fraud associated with mail-in voting is enough of a problem that the study ’ s authors recommended states “ restrict or abolish on-demand absentee voting in favor of in-person early voting.
” There ’ s also the accompanying issue of “ ballot harvesting , ” in which a third party transports mail-in ballots to be counted .
This is legal in some places such as California , and illegal in other places such as North Carolina , where a congressional election was recently overturned after a GOP operative was caught harvesting .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service employee in Texas was convicted of bribery for selling a list of absentee voters to vote harvesters for $ 1,200 .
Trump ’ s worry that “ professionals ” will manipulate mail-in ballots to fraudulent ends in November may be conjecture , but it ’ s grounded in enough facts that calling it “ unsubstantiated ” is dubious .
Twitter ’ s third mistake is that fact-checking only works insofar as you trust the institution doing it , and Twitter has no credibility , journalistic or otherwise , to wager here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s executive in charge of “ site integrity , ” who is largely responsible for devising and implementing its new fact-checking policies , is a man with thin journalistic credentials named Yoel Roth .
Roth has his used his own Twitter account to express his vitriolic and anti-Trump political opinions .
Here ’ s one example : “ I ’ m just saying , we fly over those states that voted for a racist tangerine for a reason.
” Here ’ s another : “ ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but either way , bias against conservative users of Twitter is a long-running concern .
No one has any reason to expect Twitter executives are capable of being judicious and fair when weighing in on political debates .
Which brings us to Twitter ’ s fourth major mistake .
Its new fact-checking policy is unclear and there ’ s no reason to believe it ’ s going to be applied consistently .
So far only Trump has been fact-checked by the platform , and badly at that .
But since Twitter ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used it for indisputably dishonest propaganda reasons .
The most recent example being China , a country with actual concentration camps , unleashing a huge disinformation campaign on Twitter to deflect blame for unleashing the coronavirus on the world .
This has been ongoing for months now and Twitter has done little to stop it .
While it would be nice to believe that Twitter was making rookie fact-checking mistakes , that doesn ’ t account for the fact that the same fallacious rhetorical tactics are endemic to PolitiFact and other media fact-checkers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standards for years .
Other social media companies , notably Facebook , even rely on media fact-checkers ’ subjective and frequently tendentious judgments to censor political speech .
Twitter ’ s failed foray into fact-checking also blew an opportunity to hold Trump accountable for his vicious rhetoric .
Surveying the opinions , the good news of the last week was that nearly all conservative media outlets are on record decrying Trump ’ s odious tweets .
But any hope of bipartisan condemnation became that much harder following Twitter ’ s ham-fisted reminder that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incapable of brokering an honest discussion , even when Trump presents the opportunity on silver platter .
The worst may be yet to come .
Observers had been saying for years that social media companies ’ haphazard policing of speech was destined to provoke a political backlash .
Now Trump is issuing an executive order that threatens legal sanctions on social media companies .
It would be nice if a country that has long claimed freedom of speech as its first and most sacred right actually had a “ free-speech wing of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worrying reminder that such a thing doesn ’ t exist in Silicon Valley or Washington .
Mark Hemingway is a writer in Alexandria , Va. You can follow him on twitter @ heminator .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
By Mark Hemingway
Real Clear Politics
For years, Twitter resisted calls to censor President Trump or even take down his entire account.
Then the leader of the free world, over a period of days, tweeted out a series of attacks on Joe Scarborough, intimating the cable news host and former congressmen murdered a female aide who, in actual fact, died of natural causes. The dead woman’s husband wrote a heart-wrenching public letter to Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, begging the company to take down the tweets desecrating the memory of his wife.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The question of what to do about Trump was no doubt a thorny one for a company that once proclaimed itself the “free-speech wing of the free-speech party.” But however desperately one believes Trump’s tweets necessitated a response, it would be hard to imagine Twitter handling this situation worse than what it did this week.
Aside from issuing a public apology, Twitter didn’t do anything about the tweets that prompted the outrage. Instead, the social media company started to “fact-check” Trump’s tweets – and in doing so, Twitter provided a master class on how not to do a fact check.
On Tuesday, Trump fired off two tweets about the increase in mail-in voting expected across the country as a result of the pandemic. Suffice it to say, he’s not a fan: “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone … living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!”
Twitter soon appended both tweets with an exclamation point followed by a link where users of the site could “Get the facts about mail-in ballots.” Click on that link and you see a short statement from Twitter that “Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud.”
So here’s mistake No. 1: Twitter is fact-checking opinion, not facts. Strip away the Trumpian hyperbole and Trump is clearly expressing concern about the upcoming election. As a result of the pandemic, we simply don’t know what’s going to happen in an election where potentially tens of millions of additional Americans are voting by mail for the first time, and whether it “substantially” threatens the integrity of the process. Either way, this is clearly Trump’s opinion about an election that hasn’t happened – and try as you might, you can’t fact- check the future. (That said, there is one contestable fact in Trump’s tweets above, which is the claim that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending out mail-in ballots indiscriminately. That’s not true, and strangely, Twitter’s fact check doesn’t specifically refute it.)
The second mistake is that Twitter got its own facts wrong. Twitter’s statement responding to the president declared, “Fact-checkers say there is no evidence that mail-in ballots are linked to voter fraud.” That is untrue. To the extent that voter fraud exists, fraud associated with mail-in ballots “is vastly more prevalent than the in-person voting fraud that has attracted far more attention,” according to The New York Times. A study done by Cal Tech and MIT also confirms the increase in fraud associated with mail-in voting is enough of a problem that the study’s authors recommended states “restrict or abolish on-demand absentee voting in favor of in-person early voting.”
There’s also the accompanying issue of “ballot harvesting,” in which a third party transports mail-in ballots to be counted. This is legal in some places such as California, and illegal in other places such as North Carolina, where a congressional election was recently overturned after a GOP operative was caught harvesting. In 2017, a former U.S. Postal Service employee in Texas was convicted of bribery for selling a list of absentee voters to vote harvesters for $1,200. Trump’s worry that “professionals” will manipulate mail-in ballots to fraudulent ends in November may be conjecture, but it’s grounded in enough facts that calling it “unsubstantiated” is dubious.
Twitter’s third mistake is that fact-checking only works insofar as you trust the institution doing it, and Twitter has no credibility, journalistic or otherwise, to wager here. It was quickly noted that Twitter’s executive in charge of “site integrity,” who is largely responsible for devising and implementing its new fact-checking policies, is a man with thin journalistic credentials named Yoel Roth. Roth has his used his own Twitter account to express his vitriolic and anti-Trump political opinions. Here’s one example: “I’m just saying, we fly over those states that voted for a racist tangerine for a reason.” Here’s another: “ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.” The latter accusation merits its own fact-check, but either way, bias against conservative users of Twitter is a long-running concern. No one has any reason to expect Twitter executives are capable of being judicious and fair when weighing in on political debates.
Which brings us to Twitter’s fourth major mistake. Its new fact-checking policy is unclear and there’s no reason to believe it’s going to be applied consistently. So far only Trump has been fact-checked by the platform, and badly at that. But since Twitter’s inception, foreign governments have routinely used it for indisputably dishonest propaganda reasons. The most recent example being China, a country with actual concentration camps, unleashing a huge disinformation campaign on Twitter to deflect blame for unleashing the coronavirus on the world. This has been ongoing for months now and Twitter has done little to stop it.
While it would be nice to believe that Twitter was making rookie fact-checking mistakes, that doesn’t account for the fact that the same fallacious rhetorical tactics are endemic to PolitiFact and other media fact-checkers, who have been employing political double standards for years. Other social media companies, notably Facebook, even rely on media fact-checkers’ subjective and frequently tendentious judgments to censor political speech.
Twitter’s failed foray into fact-checking also blew an opportunity to hold Trump accountable for his vicious rhetoric. Surveying the opinions, the good news of the last week was that nearly all conservative media outlets are on record decrying Trump’s odious tweets. But any hope of bipartisan condemnation became that much harder following Twitter’s ham-fisted reminder that so many of our media companies seem incapable of brokering an honest discussion, even when Trump presents the opportunity on silver platter.
The worst may be yet to come. Observers had been saying for years that social media companies’ haphazard policing of speech was destined to provoke a political backlash. Now Trump is issuing an executive order that threatens legal sanctions on social media companies. It would be nice if a country that has long claimed freedom of speech as its first and most sacred right actually had a “free-speech wing of the free-speech party.” This week provided a worrying reminder that such a thing doesn’t exist in Silicon Valley or Washington.
Mark Hemingway is a writer in Alexandria, Va. You can follow him on twitter @heminator.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]


wnd--2020-05-31--'Supreme Shariah judge' says Muslims are allowed to kill Israelis

The Palestinian Authority 's top religious authority declared in a recent TV appearance that the Quran effectively gives Muslims the authority to kill any Israeli .
Mahmoud Al-Habbash , who was appointed as supreme Shariah judge by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas , said there of 10 `` transgressions '' against which Palestinians are `` commanded '' to fight , '' said the Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch , or PMW .
PMW said the `` transgressions '' seem `` to have been carefully selected in order to turn every single Israeli into a target that every Palestinian Muslim is 'commanded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
The `` transgressions '' cited are : `` If someone comes to attack me … my home … my land … my homeland … my property … my honor … my family … your existence … your rights … your souls . ''
`` I am commanded to fight him , '' Al-Habbash said .
`` I am commanded to confront him , I am commanded to resist them , and I am allowed to kill him if necessary as Prophet said and as this verse said : 'And kill them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ A ] s long as they are targeting … you are allowed to fight them , and also to kill them . ''
The PMW report said , `` Feigning moderation , Al-Habbash first taught that people should not be killed without reason , whether 'Muslims , infidels , idol worshippers , or people of the book ( Jews and Christians ) . '
'' Al-Habbash did n't mention Israel or Jews by name , the report said , but `` it is clear from the context and from many years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Al-Habbash and many other PA leaders that he was announcing to Palestinians that Israelis must be targeted . ''
PMW noted , for example , that Palestinians regard the very existence of Israel is an attack on `` your land . ''
`` Many PA leaders – including Al-Habbash – have said repeatedly that all of the land of the state of Israel is 'Palestinian land . '
'' Al-Habbash has rejected the idea that Israel should have even `` one grain of sand '' of what he calls Palestine .
Further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is violating Palestinian `` rights '' by not accepting millions of Arabs from refugee camps in Lebanon , Syria and Jordan .
`` The PA often claims Israel is trying to eradicate the Palestinian population , '' the report noted .
`` Recently , PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Israel 's behavior during the coronavirus crisis shows : 'the spread of the incitement to racism , and the wild desire to get rid of the Palestinian people in any way . '
'' In similar fashion , `` honor , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are being attacked , the PA has stated .
`` As is clear , Mahmoud Al-Habbash has chosen his list of capital crimes carefully to make sure Palestinians understand that every Israeli deserves an Islamic death sentence .
Palestinians are commanded to fight and allowed to kill every Israeli , '' PMW said .

The Palestinian Authority's top religious authority declared in a recent TV appearance that the Quran effectively gives Muslims the authority to kill any Israeli.
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, who was appointed as supreme Shariah judge by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said there of 10 "transgressions" against which Palestinians are "commanded" to fight," said the Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch, or PMW.
PMW said the "transgressions" seem "to have been carefully selected in order to turn every single Israeli into a target that every Palestinian Muslim is 'commanded' to fight and 'allowed' kill."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The "transgressions" cited are: "If someone comes to attack me … my home … my land … my homeland … my property … my honor … my family … your existence … your rights … your souls."
"I am commanded to fight him," Al-Habbash said. "I am commanded to confront him, I am commanded to resist them, and I am allowed to kill him if necessary as Prophet said and as this verse said: 'And kill them wherever you find them.' … [A]s long as they are targeting … you are allowed to fight them, and also to kill them."
The PMW report said, "Feigning moderation, Al-Habbash first taught that people should not be killed without reason, whether 'Muslims, infidels, idol worshippers, or people of the book (Jews and Christians).'"
Al-Habbash didn't mention Israel or Jews by name, the report said, but "it is clear from the context and from many years of demonization and libeling of Israelis and Jews by Al-Habbash and many other PA leaders that he was announcing to Palestinians that Israelis must be targeted."
PMW noted, for example, that Palestinians regard the very existence of Israel is an attack on "your land."
"Many PA leaders – including Al-Habbash – have said repeatedly that all of the land of the state of Israel is 'Palestinian land.'"
Al-Habbash has rejected the idea that Israel should have even "one grain of sand" of what he calls Palestine.
Further, the PA has claimed that Israel is violating Palestinian "rights" by not accepting millions of Arabs from refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
"The PA often claims Israel is trying to eradicate the Palestinian population," the report noted. "Recently, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Israel's behavior during the coronavirus crisis shows: 'the spread of the incitement to racism, and the wild desire to get rid of the Palestinian people in any way.'"
In similar fashion, "honor," "homes" and "property" are being attacked, the PA has stated.
"As is clear, Mahmoud Al-Habbash has chosen his list of capital crimes carefully to make sure Palestinians understand that every Israeli deserves an Islamic death sentence. Palestinians are commanded to fight and allowed to kill every Israeli," PMW said.


wnd--2020-06-01--City refuses to arrest rioters, but fines churches with more than 50 worshipers

( THE BLAZE ) -- There have been violent riots in Wisconsin 's capital of Madison , where a group @ @ @ @ @ rocks at police officers on Saturday night , according to WITI-TV .
At least 75 @ @ @ @ @ overnight .
Despite the bedlam and property damage , the Madison Police Department only made @ @ @ @ @ Sentinel politics and statehouse reporter Patrick Marley tweeted , `` Police chief says they are @ @ @ @ @ '' Interim Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl said his officers stood back during the protests @ @ @ @ @ do much to prevent the barrage of looting in the city , officials want citizens @ @ @ @ @ of more than 50 people will absolutely not be tolerated .

(THE BLAZE) -- There have been violent riots in Wisconsin's capital of Madison, where a group of about 150 demonstrators threw rocks at police officers on Saturday night, according to WITI-TV. At least 75 stores were damaged or looted overnight. Despite the bedlam and property damage, the Madison Police Department only made three arrests.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel politics and statehouse reporter Patrick Marley tweeted, "Police chief says they aren't arresting people tonight." Interim Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl said his officers stood back during the protests.
While Madison didn't do much to prevent the barrage of looting in the city, officials want citizens to know that church services of more than 50 people will absolutely not be tolerated.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-06-02--Coalition demands FTC crack down on TikTok's 'abuse' of children

A coalition of privacy , education and parental organizations is asking the Federal Trade Commission to take punitive action against the Chinese-owned TikTok video-sharing app .
TikTok has broken its promises to destroy all personal information collected from users under age 13 and to check the age of new customers , contends a complaint from the coalition , led by the Campaign for a Commercial Free Children .
The organization was joined by the Center for Digital Democracy , Consumer Action , Consumer Reports , Defending the Early Years , Electronic Privacy Information Center , Public Citizen , Parent Coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christ and others .
The complaint explains TikTok , which paid a huge fine a few years ago for not knowing the age of children who use its services , had agreed to better protect children .
But it still is `` ensnaring perhaps millions of underage children in its marketing apparatus , and putting children at risk of sexual predation , '' according to a statement from Josh Grolin , the head of CCFC .
`` Now , even after being caught red-handed by the FTC , TikTok continues to flout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly 800 million monthly users .
However , one year ago , regulators issued a fine of $ 5.7 million for violating the Children 's Online Privacy Protection Act .
The investigation was settled when the company said it would delete videos from users it knew were younger than 13 and remove any videos from users whose ages were unknown .
But that , apparently , never happened .
Critics explain TikTok has not scrubbed those videos , nor has it begun obtaining parental permission before taking a child 's information , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the problems trace back to the predecessor company , called Musical.ly .
EPIC said the complaint seeks an investigation and penalties for TikTok .
The action needs to be taken promptly because it is so widely used by children , the complaint explains .
The groups noted that contrary to the consent decree under which it is supposed to operate , TikTok `` does not at any point contact the child 's parents to give them notice and does not even ask for contact information for a child 's parents . ''
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of obtaining verifiable parental consent before any collection , use , or disclosure of children 's personal information . ''
While it does allow `` younger users accounts '' with limited functionality , a child has only to re-register and list another age to get around the limits .
`` For children using regular TikTok accounts , TikTok collects vast amounts of personal information including videos , usage history , the content of messages sent on the platform , and geolocation .
It shares this information with third parties . ''
Reports repeatedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including many pre-teens , and `` one father reported that he 'deleted [ it ] from his 10-year-old daughter 's iPad after watching a streaming video in which a young girl was bombarded with sexual requests ( comments and emojis scroll across the screen during a live stream ) . ''
In another case , a 24-year-old man posing as a child used Musical.ly to communicate with a 9-year-old girl and ask her to send nude pictures .
The privacy organizations said , `` We found TikTok accounts with substantial followings featuring children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The U.S. military has banned members from using the application .

A coalition of privacy, education and parental organizations is asking the Federal Trade Commission to take punitive action against the Chinese-owned TikTok video-sharing app.
TikTok has broken its promises to destroy all personal information collected from users under age 13 and to check the age of new customers, contends a complaint from the coalition, led by the Campaign for a Commercial Free Children.
The organization was joined by the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Reports, Defending the Early Years, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Public Citizen, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, United Church of Christ and others.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The complaint explains TikTok, which paid a huge fine a few years ago for not knowing the age of children who use its services, had agreed to better protect children.
But it still is "ensnaring perhaps millions of underage children in its marketing apparatus, and putting children at risk of sexual predation," according to a statement from Josh Grolin, the head of CCFC.
"Now, even after being caught red-handed by the FTC, TikTok continues to flout the law."
The popular app has nearly 800 million monthly users.
However, one year ago, regulators issued a fine of $5.7 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
The investigation was settled when the company said it would delete videos from users it knew were younger than 13 and remove any videos from users whose ages were unknown.
But that, apparently, never happened.
Critics explain TikTok has not scrubbed those videos, nor has it begun obtaining parental permission before taking a child's information, as it also promised.
The complaint states the problems trace back to the predecessor company, called Musical.ly.
EPIC said the complaint seeks an investigation and penalties for TikTok.
The action needs to be taken promptly because it is so widely used by children, the complaint explains.
The groups noted that contrary to the consent decree under which it is supposed to operate, TikTok "does not at any point contact the child's parents to give them notice and does not even ask for contact information for a child's parents."
That means the company has "no means of obtaining verifiable parental consent before any collection, use, or disclosure of children's personal information."
While it does allow "younger users accounts" with limited functionality, a child has only to re-register and list another age to get around the limits.
"For children using regular TikTok accounts, TikTok collects vast amounts of personal information including videos, usage history, the content of messages sent on the platform, and geolocation. It shares this information with third parties."
Reports repeatedly have noted the youth of users, including many pre-teens, and "one father reported that he 'deleted [it] from his 10-year-old daughter's iPad after watching a streaming video in which a young girl was bombarded with sexual requests (comments and emojis scroll across the screen during a live stream)."
In another case, a 24-year-old man posing as a child used Musical.ly to communicate with a 9-year-old girl and ask her to send nude pictures.
The privacy organizations said, "We found TikTok accounts with substantial followings featuring children as young as four years old."
The U.S. military has banned members from using the application.


wnd--2020-06-02--Congress must stand up to China

Congress must stand up to China

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
The American people are waking up to the reality that China ’ s communist government can not be trusted .
The coronavirus pandemic has made this clear in a way that nothing else has for decades .
From the moment the virus first emerged , the communist regime in Beijing acted in a way that made a global pandemic possible and then inevitable , plunging America and the world into an unprecedented crisis .
The question now is what will Congress do to hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions ?
Every day , our nation learns more about how the Chinese Communist Party endangered American lives and livelihoods .
It started when Chinese officials did everything they could to prevent the world from learning about how a strange new sickness was sweeping through the city of Wuhan .
A brave Chinese doctor , Li Wenliang , was one of the first to raise the alarm .
Instead of listening to him , authorities punished him , claiming he was “ spreading rumors.
” He later died from the very sickness he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oppression allowed the coronavirus to spread through China and beyond essentially unchecked .
A study conducted by the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom found that if China had acted just three weeks earlier , the number of global cases would have been 95 % lower .
Sadly for Americans and the world , Beijing put secrecy ahead of the transparency needed to stop the coronavirus in its tracks .
It has since come to light that the Chinese Communist Party was well aware that the coronavirus was serious -- and spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Beijing quietly did everything it could to stock up on medical equipment .
According to Peter Navarro , director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy , China “ went out and vacuumed up all the [ personal protective equipment ] around the world , 2 billion masks they bought alone.
” During January and February , U.S. companies also exported a record amount of medical supplies to China .
Had Beijing been honest , these companies would surely have helped build U.S. stockpiles instead .
The result was a shortage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By March , personal protective equipment was unavailable and back-ordered , right as the coronavirus began tearing through communities .
Our medical workers were left holding the bag -- literally .
Some wore trash bags in lieu of professional-grade protective gear while others relied on relatives and friends to stitch together home-made masks .
Ultimately , China ’ s secrecy and oppression left America less prepared to prevent the coronavirus from taking off .
Tens of thousands of our fellow citizens have now died , and our economy is headed for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Much of this suffering can be laid at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party .
The American people know this , and they want action .
In recent weeks , former U.N .
Ambassador Nikki Haley launched an online petition through Stand for America to “ Stop Communist China.
” More than 300,000 people have signed it , with thousands more added every day .
This groundswell of support reflects the nation ’ s growing resolve that America must stand up to China .
For the sake of Americans ’ health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s time for our leaders in Washington , D.C. , to step up .
And some principled lawmakers are doing just that .
Rep. Andy Barr has proposed a Joint House Committee to investigate China .
Similarly , Sens .
Ron Johnson and Rick Scott have demanded an investigation into China ’ s influence on the World Health Organization , which blindly repeated Beijing ’ s claims at early stages of the pandemic .
Sen. Lindsey Graham rightly argues that China needs to be investigated , and the United States should sanction those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic .
Other lawmakers are introducing much-needed legislation .
Senators and congressmen , including Mike Gallagher , Chip Roy , and Michael Waltz , have authored bills ensuring that America knows where vital medical supplies are manufactured and encourage companies to produce critical supplies domestically .
The coronavirus has made clear that it ’ s dangerous to rely on Chinese manufacturing in times of crisis .
Securing America ’ s supply chain should be one of Congress ’ top priorities , lest our country be held hostage economically to Beijing .
These lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Their colleagues , on both sides of the aisle , should join them .
Standing up to China isn ’ t a partisan issue .
The coronavirus pandemic has caused Americans of all political stripes to recognize that the Chinese Communist Party is a threat to everything we hold dear .
Beijing has not only undermined our economy and jeopardized our security .
It bears significant responsibility for the deaths of more than 70,000 American citizens and counting .
That should be all the reason Congress needs to act .
The sooner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communist government accountable , the safer and stronger America will be .
Tim Chapman is the executive director of Stand for America .
He is former executive director of Heritage Action and a veteran aide to multiple Republican U.S. senators .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
Tim Chapman
Real Clear Politics
The American people are waking up to the reality that China’s communist government cannot be trusted. The coronavirus pandemic has made this clear in a way that nothing else has for decades. From the moment the virus first emerged, the communist regime in Beijing acted in a way that made a global pandemic possible and then inevitable, plunging America and the world into an unprecedented crisis.
The question now is what will Congress do to hold China accountable for its dangerous and deadly actions?
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Every day, our nation learns more about how the Chinese Communist Party endangered American lives and livelihoods. It started when Chinese officials did everything they could to prevent the world from learning about how a strange new sickness was sweeping through the city of Wuhan. A brave Chinese doctor, Li Wenliang, was one of the first to raise the alarm. Instead of listening to him, authorities punished him, claiming he was “spreading rumors.” He later died from the very sickness he tried to warn others about.
Such oppression allowed the coronavirus to spread through China and beyond essentially unchecked. A study conducted by the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom found that if China had acted just three weeks earlier, the number of global cases would have been 95% lower. Sadly for Americans and the world, Beijing put secrecy ahead of the transparency needed to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.
It has since come to light that the Chinese Communist Party was well aware that the coronavirus was serious -- and spreading. Even as it downplayed the threat, Beijing quietly did everything it could to stock up on medical equipment. According to Peter Navarro, director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, China “went out and vacuumed up all the [personal protective equipment] around the world, 2 billion masks they bought alone.” During January and February, U.S. companies also exported a record amount of medical supplies to China. Had Beijing been honest, these companies would surely have helped build U.S. stockpiles instead.
The result was a shortage of desperately needed medical supplies in America. By March, personal protective equipment was unavailable and back-ordered, right as the coronavirus began tearing through communities. Our medical workers were left holding the bag -- literally. Some wore trash bags in lieu of professional-grade protective gear while others relied on relatives and friends to stitch together home-made masks.
Ultimately, China’s secrecy and oppression left America less prepared to prevent the coronavirus from taking off. Tens of thousands of our fellow citizens have now died, and our economy is headed for a severe recession, if not worse.
Much of this suffering can be laid at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party. The American people know this, and they want action.
In recent weeks, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley launched an online petition through Stand for America to “Stop Communist China.” More than 300,000 people have signed it, with thousands more added every day. This groundswell of support reflects the nation’s growing resolve that America must stand up to China. For the sake of Americans’ health, security, and prosperity, it’s time for our leaders in Washington, D.C., to step up.
And some principled lawmakers are doing just that. Rep. Andy Barr has proposed a Joint House Committee to investigate China. Similarly, Sens. Ron Johnson and Rick Scott have demanded an investigation into China’s influence on the World Health Organization, which blindly repeated Beijing’s claims at early stages of the pandemic. Sen. Lindsey Graham rightly argues that China needs to be investigated, and the United States should sanction those who were responsible for not reporting the pandemic.
Other lawmakers are introducing much-needed legislation. Senators and congressmen, including Mike Gallagher, Chip Roy, and Michael Waltz, have authored bills ensuring that America knows where vital medical supplies are manufactured and encourage companies to produce critical supplies domestically. The coronavirus has made clear that it’s dangerous to rely on Chinese manufacturing in times of crisis. Securing America’s supply chain should be one of Congress’ top priorities, lest our country be held hostage economically to Beijing.
These lawmakers deserve praise for taking up these issues. Their colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, should join them.
Standing up to China isn’t a partisan issue. The coronavirus pandemic has caused Americans of all political stripes to recognize that the Chinese Communist Party is a threat to everything we hold dear. Beijing has not only undermined our economy and jeopardized our security. It bears significant responsibility for the deaths of more than 70,000 American citizens and counting.
That should be all the reason Congress needs to act. The sooner our elected officials hold China’s communist government accountable, the safer and stronger America will be.
Tim Chapman is the executive director of Stand for America. He is former executive director of Heritage Action and a veteran aide to multiple Republican U.S. senators.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]


wnd--2020-06-02--Judge: Listen up! Americans don't get 'ruled'!

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
Since the inception of this insanity , the following regulations , rules or consequences have occurred : I wo n't get COVID if I get an abortion but I will get COVID if I get a colonoscopy .
Selling pot is essential but selling goods and services at a family-owned business is not .
Pot was n't even legal and pot dispensaries did n't even exist in this state until five months ago and , in that five months , they have become essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five generations is not .
A family of six can pile in their car and drive to Carlyle Lake without contracting COVID but , if they all get in the same boat , they will .
We are told that kids rarely contract the virus and sunlight kills it , but summer youth programs , sports programs are cancelled .
Four people can drive to the golf course and not get COVID but , if they play in a foursome , they will .
If I go to Walmart , I wo n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to church , I will .
Murderers are released from custody while small business owners are threatened with arrest if they have the audacity to attempt to feed their families .
These are just a few of examples of rules , regulations and consequences that are arbitrary , capricious , and completely devoid of anything even remotely approaching common sense .
State 's attorneys in this state , county sheriffs , mayors , city councils and county boards have openly and publicly defied these orders followed by threats to withhold funding and revocation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obey .
Our economy is shut down because of a flu virus with a 98 percent plus survival rate .
Doctors and experts say different things weekly .
The defendant cites models in his opposition .
The only thing experts will agree on is that all models are wrong and some are useful .
The Centers for Disease Control now says the virus is not easily spread on surfaces .
The defendant in this case orders you to stay home and pronounces that , if you leave the state , you are putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members traveled to Florida and Wisconsin because he deems such travel essential .
One initial rationale why the rules do n't apply to him is that his family farm had animals that needed fed .
Try selling that argument to farmers who have had to slaughter their herds because of disruption in the supply chain .
When laws do not apply to those who make them , people are not being governed , they are being ruled .
Make no mistake , these executive orders are not laws .
They are royal decrees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they are being ruled .
The last time I checked Illinois citizens are also Americans and Americans do n't get ruled .
The last time a monarch tried to rule Americans , a shot was fired that was heard around the world .
That day led to the birth of a nation consensually governed based upon a document which ensures that on this day in this , any American courtroom tyrannical despotism will always lose and liberty , freedom and the constitution will always win .
[ Editor 's note : This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Politics . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
By Judge Michael McHaney
Real Clear Politics
(Note: The following is an excerpt from Judge McHaney's recent ruling in the case of Mainer vs. Pritzker, a lawsuit brought by an Illinois small business owner against the Governor's stay-at-home order.)
Since the inception of this insanity, the following regulations, rules or consequences have occurred:
I won't get COVID if I get an abortion but I will get COVID if I get a colonoscopy.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Selling pot is essential but selling goods and services at a family-owned business is not. Pot wasn't even legal and pot dispensaries didn't even exist in this state until five months ago and, in that five months, they have become essential but a family-owned business in existence for five generations is not.
A family of six can pile in their car and drive to Carlyle Lake without contracting COVID but, if they all get in the same boat, they will.
We are told that kids rarely contract the virus and sunlight kills it, but summer youth programs, sports programs are cancelled.
Four people can drive to the golf course and not get COVID but, if they play in a foursome, they will.
If I go to Walmart, I won't get COVID but, if I go to church, I will.
Murderers are released from custody while small business owners are threatened with arrest if they have the audacity to attempt to feed their families.
These are just a few of examples of rules, regulations and consequences that are arbitrary, capricious, and completely devoid of anything even remotely approaching common sense.
State's attorneys in this state, county sheriffs, mayors, city councils and county boards have openly and publicly defied these orders followed by threats to withhold funding and revocation of necessary licenses and certifications unless you obey.
Our economy is shut down because of a flu virus with a 98 percent plus survival rate. Doctors and experts say different things weekly. The defendant cites models in his opposition. The only thing experts will agree on is that all models are wrong and some are useful. The Centers for Disease Control now says the virus is not easily spread on surfaces.
The defendant in this case orders you to stay home and pronounces that, if you leave the state, you are putting people in danger, but his family members traveled to Florida and Wisconsin because he deems such travel essential. One initial rationale why the rules don't apply to him is that his family farm had animals that needed fed. Try selling that argument to farmers who have had to slaughter their herds because of disruption in the supply chain.
When laws do not apply to those who make them, people are not being governed, they are being ruled.
Make no mistake, these executive orders are not laws. They are royal decrees. Illinois citizens are not being governed, they are being ruled. The last time I checked Illinois citizens are also Americans and Americans don't get ruled.
The last time a monarch tried to rule Americans, a shot was fired that was heard around the world. That day led to the birth of a nation consensually governed based upon a document which ensures that on this day in this, any American courtroom tyrannical despotism will always lose and liberty, freedom and the constitution will always win.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]


wnd--2020-06-02--Meet the billionaires behind the LGBT movement

The report was first published at www.FirstThings.com .
Used here by permission .
Not long ago , the gay rights movement was a small group of people struggling to follow their dispositions within a larger heterosexual culture .
Gays and lesbians were underdogs , vastly outnumbered and loosely organized , sometimes subject to discrimination and abuse .
Their story was tragic , their suffering dramatized by AIDS and Rock Hudson , `` Brokeback Mountain '' and Matthew Shepard .
Today 's movement , however , looks nothing like that band of persecuted outcasts .
The LGBT rights agenda – note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has become a powerful , aggressive force in American society .
Its advocates stand at the top of media , academia , the professions , and , most important , Big Business and Big Philanthropy .
Consider the following case .
Jon Stryker is the grandson of Homer Stryker , an orthopedic surgeon who founded the Stryker Corporation .
Based in Kalamazoo , Michigan , the Stryker Corporation sold $ 13.6 billion in surgical supplies and software in 2018 .
Jon , heir to the fortune , is gay .
In 2000 he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serving the LGBT community , because of his own experience coming out as homosexual .
Arcus has given more than $ 58.4 million to programs and organizations doing LGBT-related work between 2007 and 2010 alone , making it one of the largest LGBT funders in the world .
Stryker gave more than $ 30 million to Arcus himself in that three-year period , through his stock in Stryker Medical Corporation .
Stryker founded Arcus right when the AIDS epidemic was being brought under control in the U.S. Before he started Arcus , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a development company specializing in rehabilitating historical buildings .
This would serve him well when he later renovated space for Arcus in Kalamazoo .
He was also a founding board member of Greenleaf Trust , a privately held wealth management firm also in Kalamazoo .
Jon 's sister Ronda Stryker is married to William Johnston , chairman of Greenleaf Trust .
She is also vice chair of Spelman College , where Arcus recently bestowed a $ 2 million grant in the name of lesbian feminist Audre Lorde .
The money is earmarked for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johnston have gifted Spelman $ 30 million dollars overall , the largest gift from living donors in its 137-year history .
She is also a trustee of Kalamazoo College ( where Arcus bestowed a social justice leadership grant for $ 23 million in 2012 ) , as well as a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows .
Pat Stryker , another sister to Jon , has worked closely with gay male Tim Gill .
Gill operates one of the largest LGBT nonprofits in America and has been close to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 1999 , Tim Gill sold his stakes to Quark , his computer software company , and went to work running the Gill Foundation in Colorado .
Working closely with Pat Stryker and two other wealthy philanthropists , who together became known as the four horsemen due to their ruthless political strategies , they set out to change Colorado , a red state , to blue .
They proceeded to pour half a billion dollars into small groups advocating LGBT agendas .
Gill noted in his opening introduction for Jon Stryker at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowing each other , he and Jon have `` plotted , schemed , hiked and skied together , '' while also `` punishing the wicked and rewarding the good . ''
Prior to 2015 , Stryker had already built the political infrastructure to drive gender identity ideology and transgenderism across the globe , donating millions to small and large entities .
These included hundreds of thousands of dollars to ILGA , an LGBT organization for equality in Europe and Central Asia with 54 countries participating , and Transgender Europe , a voice for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 43 countries participating ( Transgender Europe has also funded smaller organizations like TENI , Transgender Equality Network Ireland ) .
In 2008 Arcus founded Arcus Operating Foundation , an arm of the foundation that organizes conferences , leadership programs , and research publications .
At one 2008 meeting in Bellagio , Italy , 29 international leaders committed to expanding global philanthropy to support LGBT rights .
At the meeting , along with Stryker and Ise Bosch , founder of Dreilinden Fund in Germany , was Michael O'Flaherty – one of the rapporteurs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ( principles outlined in Indonesia in 2006 ) .
With the Yogyakarta Principles , the seeds were planted to bring in and attach gender-identity ideology to our legal structures .
O'Flaherty has been an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee since 2004 .
Out of the Bellagio meeting , Arcus created MAP , the LGBT Movement Advancement Project , to track the complex system of advocacy and funding that would promote gender identity/transgenderism in the culture .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ formed as an informal cross-regional group of United Nations member countries to represent LGBTI human rights issues to the U.N .
Core Group members funded by Arcus include < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > Outright Action International and Human Rights Commission .
Core Group member countries include Albania , Australia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Croatia , El Salvador , France , Germany , Israel , Italy , Japan , Montenegro , Mexico , New Zealand , Norway , Spain , the United Kingdom , the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union , as well as the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights .
These initiatives promote gender identity and transgenderism by training leaders in political activism , leadership , transgender law , religious liberty , education , and civil rights .
The lineup of Arcus-supported organizations advancing the cause is daunting : < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > Victory Institute , the < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > Center for American Progress , the < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > ACLU , the < href= '' # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > Trans Justice Funding Project , < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > OutRight Action International , < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > Human Rights Watch , GATE , Parliamentarians for Global Action ( PGA ) , The Council for Global Equality , the U.N. , Amnesty International , and < href= '' # scroll-anchor-1 '' > GLSEN .
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. ( SIECUS ) , in partnership with Advocates for Youth , Answer , GLSEN , the Human Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Planned Parenthood Federation of America ( PPFA ) , has initiated a campaign using a rights-based framework to inform approaches in reshaping cultural narratives of sexuality and reproductive health .
Sixty-one additional organizations have signed a letter supporting an overhaul of current curriculums .
In 2013 Adrian Coman , a veteran of George Soros 's Open Society Foundations ( a driver of transgender ideology that has begun initiatives to normalize transgender children ) , was named director of the international human rights program at the Arcus Foundation , to drive gender identity ideology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission .
And in 2015 , Arcus worked closely with and funded NoVo Foundation programs for transgenderism .
NoVo was founded by Peter Buffett , son of billionaire Warren Buffett .
These programs and initiatives advance gender identity ideology by supporting various faith organizations , sports and cultural associations , police department training and educational programs in grade schools , high schools ( GLSEN , whose founder was brought to Arcus in 2012 as board of directors , has influenced many K-12 school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutions – including the American Psychological Foundation ( APF ) .
Arcus funds help APF ( the leading psychology organization in the United States ) develop guidelines for establishing trans-affirmative psychological practices .
Psychologists are `` encouraged '' by those monies to modify their understanding of gender , broadening the range of biological reality to include abstract , medical identities .
Concurrently , Arcus drives gender identity ideology and transgenderism in the marketplace by encouraging businesses to invest in LGBT causes .
Lest we forget , Stryker is heir to a $ 13.6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to look at the corporations supporting LGBT during pride month this year to ascertain the success Arcus has had in this arena .
As the example of the Arcus Foundation shows , the LGB civil rights movement of yore has morphed into a relentless behemoth , one that has strong ties to the medical industrial complex and global corporatists .
The pharmaceutical lobby is the largest lobbying entity in Congress .
Although activists present the LGBT movement as a weak , powerless group suffering oppression and discrimination , in truth it wields enormous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uses to remake our laws , schools , and society .
The report was first published at www.FirstThings.com .
Used here by permission .

The report was first published at www.FirstThings.com. Used here by permission.
By Jennifer Bilek
Not long ago, the gay rights movement was a small group of people struggling to follow their dispositions within a larger heterosexual culture. Gays and lesbians were underdogs, vastly outnumbered and loosely organized, sometimes subject to discrimination and abuse. Their story was tragic, their suffering dramatized by AIDS and Rock Hudson, "Brokeback Mountain" and Matthew Shepard.
Today's movement, however, looks nothing like that band of persecuted outcasts. The LGBT rights agenda – note the addition of "T" – has become a powerful, aggressive force in American society. Its advocates stand at the top of media, academia, the professions, and, most important, Big Business and Big Philanthropy. Consider the following case.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Jon Stryker is the grandson of Homer Stryker, an orthopedic surgeon who founded the Stryker Corporation. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Stryker Corporation sold $13.6 billion in surgical supplies and software in 2018. Jon, heir to the fortune, is gay. In 2000 he created the Arcus Foundation, a nonprofit serving the LGBT community, because of his own experience coming out as homosexual. Arcus has given more than $58.4 million to programs and organizations doing LGBT-related work between 2007 and 2010 alone, making it one of the largest LGBT funders in the world. Stryker gave more than $30 million to Arcus himself in that three-year period, through his stock in Stryker Medical Corporation.
Stryker founded Arcus right when the AIDS epidemic was being brought under control in the U.S. Before he started Arcus, he was president of Depot Landmark LLC, a development company specializing in rehabilitating historical buildings. This would serve him well when he later renovated space for Arcus in Kalamazoo. He was also a founding board member of Greenleaf Trust, a privately held wealth management firm also in Kalamazoo.
Jon's sister Ronda Stryker is married to William Johnston, chairman of Greenleaf Trust. She is also vice chair of Spelman College, where Arcus recently bestowed a $2 million grant in the name of lesbian feminist Audre Lorde. The money is earmarked for a queer studies program. Ronda and Johnston have gifted Spelman $30 million dollars overall, the largest gift from living donors in its 137-year history. She is also a trustee of Kalamazoo College (where Arcus bestowed a social justice leadership grant for $23 million in 2012), as well as a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows.
Pat Stryker, another sister to Jon, has worked closely with gay male Tim Gill. Gill operates one of the largest LGBT nonprofits in America and has been close to the Stryker family since Jon created Arcus. In 1999, Tim Gill sold his stakes to Quark, his computer software company, and went to work running the Gill Foundation in Colorado. Working closely with Pat Stryker and two other wealthy philanthropists, who together became known as the four horsemen due to their ruthless political strategies, they set out to change Colorado, a red state, to blue. They proceeded to pour half a billion dollars into small groups advocating LGBT agendas. Gill noted in his opening introduction for Jon Stryker at the 2015 GLSEN Respect Awards that, since knowing each other, he and Jon have "plotted, schemed, hiked and skied together," while also "punishing the wicked and rewarding the good."
Prior to 2015, Stryker had already built the political infrastructure to drive gender identity ideology and transgenderism across the globe, donating millions to small and large entities. These included hundreds of thousands of dollars to ILGA, an LGBT organization for equality in Europe and Central Asia with 54 countries participating, and Transgender Europe, a voice for the trans community in Europe and Asia with 43 countries participating (Transgender Europe has also funded smaller organizations like TENI, Transgender Equality Network Ireland).
In 2008 Arcus founded Arcus Operating Foundation, an arm of the foundation that organizes conferences, leadership programs, and research publications. At one 2008 meeting in Bellagio, Italy, 29 international leaders committed to expanding global philanthropy to support LGBT rights. At the meeting, along with Stryker and Ise Bosch, founder of Dreilinden Fund in Germany, was Michael O'Flaherty – one of the rapporteurs for the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (principles outlined in Indonesia in 2006). With the Yogyakarta Principles, the seeds were planted to bring in and attach gender-identity ideology to our legal structures. O'Flaherty has been an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee since 2004.
Out of the Bellagio meeting, Arcus created MAP, the LGBT Movement Advancement Project, to track the complex system of advocacy and funding that would promote gender identity/transgenderism in the culture. Simultaneously, the LGBTI Core Group was formed as an informal cross-regional group of United Nations member countries to represent LGBTI human rights issues to the U.N. Core Group members funded by Arcus include Outright Action International and Human Rights Commission. Core Group member countries include Albania, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, and the European Union, as well as the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
These initiatives promote gender identity and transgenderism by training leaders in political activism, leadership, transgender law, religious liberty, education, and civil rights. The lineup of Arcus-supported organizations advancing the cause is daunting: Victory Institute, the Center for American Progress, the ACLU, the Transgender Law Center, Trans Justice Funding Project, OutRight Action International, Human Rights Watch, GATE, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), The Council for Global Equality, the U.N., Amnesty International, and GLSEN. The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), in partnership with Advocates for Youth, Answer, GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), has initiated a campaign using a rights-based framework to inform approaches in reshaping cultural narratives of sexuality and reproductive health. Sixty-one additional organizations have signed a letter supporting an overhaul of current curriculums.
In 2013 Adrian Coman, a veteran of George Soros's Open Society Foundations (a driver of transgender ideology that has begun initiatives to normalize transgender children), was named director of the international human rights program at the Arcus Foundation, to drive gender identity ideology globally. Previously, Coman served as program director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. And in 2015, Arcus worked closely with and funded NoVo Foundation programs for transgenderism. NoVo was founded by Peter Buffett, son of billionaire Warren Buffett.
These programs and initiatives advance gender identity ideology by supporting various faith organizations, sports and cultural associations, police department training and educational programs in grade schools, high schools (GLSEN, whose founder was brought to Arcus in 2012 as board of directors, has influenced many K-12 school curricula), and universities and medical institutions – including the American Psychological Foundation (APF). Arcus funds help APF (the leading psychology organization in the United States) develop guidelines for establishing trans-affirmative psychological practices. Psychologists are "encouraged" by those monies to modify their understanding of gender, broadening the range of biological reality to include abstract, medical identities.
Concurrently, Arcus drives gender identity ideology and transgenderism in the marketplace by encouraging businesses to invest in LGBT causes. Lest we forget, Stryker is heir to a $13.6 billion medical corporation. One only has to look at the corporations supporting LGBT during pride month this year to ascertain the success Arcus has had in this arena.
As the example of the Arcus Foundation shows, the LGB civil rights movement of yore has morphed into a relentless behemoth, one that has strong ties to the medical industrial complex and global corporatists. The pharmaceutical lobby is the largest lobbying entity in Congress. Although activists present the LGBT movement as a weak, powerless group suffering oppression and discrimination, in truth it wields enormous power and influence – power it increasingly uses to remake our laws, schools, and society.
Jennifer Bilek writes from New York City. She writes at the blog the 11th Hour.
The report was first published at www.FirstThings.com. Used here by permission.


wnd--2020-06-01--Scrambled! Biden's options for vice-president

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
The intense and careening 2020 news cycle is reshuffling the prospects of the top contenders to become Joe Biden ’ s running mate so quickly that the shifting headlines have become a blur .
Just before Memorial Day weekend , Sen. Kamala Harris seemed best positioned to get the nod after Biden was forced to apologize for scolding African American voters that “ if you have a problem figuring whether you ’ re for me or Trump , then you ain ’ t black.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a black security guard , died while pleading for relief from a white Minneapolis police officer whose knee was pressed against his neck .
The death occurred just as many areas of the country were beginning to tentatively reopen after months of COVID-19 lockdowns .
Now the nation is caught in the throes of one of the fiercest race conflicts in decades as clashes between protesters and police have erupted across the country and looters and arson threaten many small businesses already struggling to survive .
Back in early May , before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an underground bunker as protesters threatened the White House perimeter , a column in RealClearPolitics labeled Harris “ the do no harm choice for VP.
” It ’ s an opinion that may have drawn eye-rolls from conservatives but at the time reflected the growing consensus on the left that the former California attorney general was one of the few candidates attracting a cross-section of liberal and some mainstream Democrats while not alienating the donor class .
After the past week ’ s racial unrest , however , Harris ’ law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people behind bars for marijuana crimes and threatened to jail parents of truants — is hamstringing her .
The same can be said for Rep. Val Demings , a black two-term congresswoman who previously served as the first female police chief of Orlando and represents a key region , the Interstate 4 corridor , in the critical swing state of Florida .
Her husband is Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings , who previously served as sheriff .
Although a relative newcomer to the national political scene , Demings earned plaudits on the left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impeachment managers late last fall .
But her years running the Orlando police , which has a history of criticism for using excessive force , is now under the microscope and could take her out of contention amid the current racial turmoil .
Demings on Friday didn ’ t hesitate to blame President Trump for further inciting violence following Floyd ’ s death rather than trying to bring the country together to heal .
She was referring to the Friday tweet in which Trump said he would send in the military to quell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged phrase “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts.
” “ America is on fire right now and the president of the United States is walking around with gasoline , ” she tweeted .
“ We need healing .
We need empathy .
We need justice.
” In such a quickly shifting news environment , some longtime Democratic political operatives are warning against any hasty conclusions on the VP front by ruling in or out any prospective Biden running mates before the presumptive nominee makes his selection , which he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August .
“ Vice president selections are made in the moment and reflect the presidential candidates ’ strengths and weaknesses at that specific point in time , ” said Erik Smith , a veteran Democratic operative who served as a senior adviser for message development on the Obama 2012 campaign .
“ Let ’ s see where we are in two months , ” he told RealClearPolitics .
“ We are in a dynamic time .
I don ’ t think three months ago anyone would have thought a global pandemic would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would be politically tone-deaf not to acknowledge that the last few news cycles have been the toughest on Sen. Amy Klobuchar ’ s veepstakes chances .
The senior senator from the battleground state of Minnesota was among the first of Biden ’ s 2020 rivals to endorse him just before his big Super Tuesday win , and she is the most moderate and politically compatible with Biden of all the women in the running .
After the former vice president committed to naming a woman as a running mate , Klobuchar was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – until Biden ’ s “ you ain ’ t black ” blunder in a radio interview led many to conclude that a black woman candidate would have an edge .
Ten days later , with parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul literally smoldering in the wake of Floyd ’ s death , choosing a white home-state senator who also served as a prosecutor in Minnesota ’ s most populous county is now simply untenable , according to several prominent Biden allies in the black community .
Klobuchar had a tough-on-crime record , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from black leaders in Minnesota after news reports aired criticism about her controversial murder prosecution of a black teenager named Myon Burrell .
Klobuchar has said that the case should be reviewed , and recently sent a letter to the local prosecutor ’ s office asking for an independent probe , but civil rights leaders have pressed her to demand a completely new investigation .
Critics also are renewing questions about her failure to bring charges against several police officers during her time as county attorney .
Derek Chauvin , the fired policeman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2006 for a fatal shooting while Klobuchar was working as a local prosecutor , although she left that job before a grand jury was convened in the case .
“ I don ’ t know what else to say about it [ other than ] it is a lie ” that she declined to prosecute Chauvin , Klobuchar said Friday .
“ That investigation continued into a time when I was sworn into the U.S. Senate , ” she continued .
“ I never declined the case .
It was handled and sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The grand jury decided not to charge Chauvin or the other officers involved in the shooting with any wrongdoing .
Despite the scrutiny , some influential voices in the Biden camp still view Klobuchar as the way to win over most swing voters , including suburban women and older voters who some polls show are moving away from Trump and toward Biden amid the coronavirus pandemic .
“ She ’ s our best bet to get disaffected , white , blue-collar Democrats who voted for Trump in 2016 back into the Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ed Rendell told the New York Times late last week .
“ She ’ d be the biggest help to Joe.
” But Rep. Jim Clyburn , the powerful South Carolina Democrat and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus , said Friday that the timing is terrible for Klobuchar even though he respects her and believes she is qualified to be vice president .
“ We are all victims sometimes of timing and some of us benefit tremendously from timing , ” Clyburn told reporters .
“ This is very tough timing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support for Biden helped propel him to victory in the pivotal South Carolina primary , has been lobbying hard for him to pick a black woman against others pushing for Klobuchar and more liberal factions pressing him to select Elizabeth Warren .
Amid the unrest , Clyburn , for one , is still backing Demings and Harris and says their law enforcement backgrounds should not be disqualifying but viewed in the historical context of when they served .
Several other black women are also in the VP mix and they lack the law-enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams has been actively campaigning for the job for months while Susan Rice , President Obama ’ s controversial national security adviser , is among the names regularly circulating in the media .
For some black activists , a candidate ’ s commitment to racial justice , not their skin color , is what matters most .
Just days before Floyd ’ s death roiled the country , a Morning Consult poll found that Warren would give Biden the biggest boost as his running mate .
Roughly 26 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senator on the ticket would make them more likely to vote for Biden while 23 % said it would make them less likely to do so .
Black Lives Matter movement co-founder Alicia Garza backed Warren in the presidential primary because she had the most “ robust black agenda.
” Garza is now pressing for a candidate without a law enforcement background .
“ It will be a hard row to hoe for black voters , as my grandmother used to say , especially in this moment when there ’ s so much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and policing of black communities , ” Garza told Politico over the weekend .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
By Susan Crabtree
Real Clear Politics
The intense and careening 2020 news cycle is reshuffling the prospects of the top contenders to become Joe Biden’s running mate so quickly that the shifting headlines have become a blur.
Just before Memorial Day weekend, Sen. Kamala Harris seemed best positioned to get the nod after Biden was forced to apologize for scolding African American voters that “if you have a problem figuring whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Three days later, George Floyd, a black security guard, died while pleading for relief from a white Minneapolis police officer whose knee was pressed against his neck. The death occurred just as many areas of the country were beginning to tentatively reopen after months of COVID-19 lockdowns. Now the nation is caught in the throes of one of the fiercest race conflicts in decades as clashes between protesters and police have erupted across the country and looters and arson threaten many small businesses already struggling to survive.
Back in early May, before the Secret Service was rushing President Trump to an underground bunker as protesters threatened the White House perimeter, a column in RealClearPolitics labeled Harris “the do no harm choice for VP.” It’s an opinion that may have drawn eye-rolls from conservatives but at the time reflected the growing consensus on the left that the former California attorney general was one of the few candidates attracting a cross-section of liberal and some mainstream Democrats while not alienating the donor class.
After the past week’s racial unrest, however, Harris’ law enforcement background — as a prosecutor who put people behind bars for marijuana crimes and threatened to jail parents of truants — is hamstringing her. The same can be said for Rep. Val Demings, a black two-term congresswoman who previously served as the first female police chief of Orlando and represents a key region, the Interstate 4 corridor, in the critical swing state of Florida. Her husband is Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who previously served as sheriff.
Although a relative newcomer to the national political scene, Demings earned plaudits on the left for her performance as one of seven impeachment managers late last fall. But her years running the Orlando police, which has a history of criticism for using excessive force, is now under the microscope and could take her out of contention amid the current racial turmoil.
Demings on Friday didn’t hesitate to blame President Trump for further inciting violence following Floyd’s death rather than trying to bring the country together to heal. She was referring to the Friday tweet in which Trump said he would send in the military to quell the violence in Minneapolis and used the charged phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“America is on fire right now and the president of the United States is walking around with gasoline,” she tweeted. “We need healing. We need empathy. We need justice.”
In such a quickly shifting news environment, some longtime Democratic political operatives are warning against any hasty conclusions on the VP front by ruling in or out any prospective Biden running mates before the presumptive nominee makes his selection, which he’s said will take place in early August.
“Vice president selections are made in the moment and reflect the presidential candidates’ strengths and weaknesses at that specific point in time,” said Erik Smith, a veteran Democratic operative who served as a senior adviser for message development on the Obama 2012 campaign.
“Let’s see where we are in two months,” he told RealClearPolitics. “We are in a dynamic time. I don’t think three months ago anyone would have thought a global pandemic would have shut down the country.”
Still, it would be politically tone-deaf not to acknowledge that the last few news cycles have been the toughest on Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s veepstakes chances. The senior senator from the battleground state of Minnesota was among the first of Biden’s 2020 rivals to endorse him just before his big Super Tuesday win, and she is the most moderate and politically compatible with Biden of all the women in the running.
After the former vice president committed to naming a woman as a running mate, Klobuchar was undoubtedly in the top tier of contenders – until Biden’s “you ain’t black” blunder in a radio interview led many to conclude that a black woman candidate would have an edge.
Ten days later, with parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul literally smoldering in the wake of Floyd’s death, choosing a white home-state senator who also served as a prosecutor in Minnesota’s most populous county is now simply untenable, according to several prominent Biden allies in the black community.
Klobuchar had a tough-on-crime record, and during her presidential campaign faced protests from black leaders in Minnesota after news reports aired criticism about her controversial murder prosecution of a black teenager named Myon Burrell. Klobuchar has said that the case should be reviewed, and recently sent a letter to the local prosecutor’s office asking for an independent probe, but civil rights leaders have pressed her to demand a completely new investigation.
Critics also are renewing questions about her failure to bring charges against several police officers during her time as county attorney. Derek Chauvin, the fired policeman who killed Floyd, was investigated in 2006 for a fatal shooting while Klobuchar was working as a local prosecutor, although she left that job before a grand jury was convened in the case.
“I don’t know what else to say about it [other than] it is a lie” that she declined to prosecute Chauvin, Klobuchar said Friday.
“That investigation continued into a time when I was sworn into the U.S. Senate,” she continued. “I never declined the case. It was handled and sent to the grand jury by my successor.” The grand jury decided not to charge Chauvin or the other officers involved in the shooting with any wrongdoing.
Despite the scrutiny, some influential voices in the Biden camp still view Klobuchar as the way to win over most swing voters, including suburban women and older voters who some polls show are moving away from Trump and toward Biden amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“She’s our best bet to get disaffected, white, blue-collar Democrats who voted for Trump in 2016 back into the Democratic column,” former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told the New York Times late last week. “She’d be the biggest help to Joe.”
But Rep. Jim Clyburn, the powerful South Carolina Democrat and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Friday that the timing is terrible for Klobuchar even though he respects her and believes she is qualified to be vice president.
“We are all victims sometimes of timing and some of us benefit tremendously from timing,” Clyburn told reporters. “This is very tough timing for Amy Klobuchar.”
Clyburn, whose support for Biden helped propel him to victory in the pivotal South Carolina primary, has been lobbying hard for him to pick a black woman against others pushing for Klobuchar and more liberal factions pressing him to select Elizabeth Warren.
Amid the unrest, Clyburn, for one, is still backing Demings and Harris and says their law enforcement backgrounds should not be disqualifying but viewed in the historical context of when they served.
Several other black women are also in the VP mix and they lack the law-enforcement baggage of Harris and Demings. Former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams has been actively campaigning for the job for months while Susan Rice, President Obama’s controversial national security adviser, is among the names regularly circulating in the media.
For some black activists, a candidate’s commitment to racial justice, not their skin color, is what matters most. Just days before Floyd’s death roiled the country, a Morning Consult poll found that Warren would give Biden the biggest boost as his running mate. Roughly 26% of those surveyed said placing the Massachusetts senator on the ticket would make them more likely to vote for Biden while 23% said it would make them less likely to do so.
Black Lives Matter movement co-founder Alicia Garza backed Warren in the presidential primary because she had the most “robust black agenda.”
Garza is now pressing for a candidate without a law enforcement background.
“It will be a hard row to hoe for black voters, as my grandmother used to say, especially in this moment when there’s so much tension between law enforcement and black communities and policing of black communities,” Garza told Politico over the weekend.
Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' White House/national political correspondent.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]


wnd--2020-06-01--'Law and order' have become 'riot and mayhem'

George Floyd 's name and death will forever be associated with the abominable barbarous behavior exhibited this weekend past .
The organized riots and destruction taking place since the death of Floyd have been nothing less than a nationwide satanic black mass intended to honor destruction , lies , terrorism , thievery , murder , hatred , ad nauseam under the pretense of skin-color injustice .
It will be interesting to see if the absence of masks and the complete disregard for social distancing causes a spike in COVID-19 numbers in the cities infested with rioters and looting .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death of Floyd to spread the damnable lie seized upon by the abysmally ignorant and uninformed whose assertions of national racism are foolishly preposterous .
America is not a racist country – a lie pushed by fools , idiots and skin-color pimps such as Tom Perez , chairman of the Democrat National Committee ( DNC ) .
Perez seized upon the death of Floyd to foment victimhood , hatred , rage and riot as a form of lucifarian equipoise for blacks that makes neo-Leninists and Alinskyites proud .
But then , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a documented uninterrupted record of racism and bigotry for centuries .
Civilized human beings would have protested with the decorum of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. No one can point to savage animalistic barbarianism in one single protest led by Dr. King .
His marches and protests were peaceful despite Democratic mayors , governors and police departments who vented their hatred with fire hoses , dogs and clubs .
America is a nation of laws despite what 's argued by Democrats , fools and those who would be perennial gold medalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Olympic sport .
Consider LeBron James who has taken it upon himself to become the bipedal personification of George Kelly 's Personal Construct Theory , which argues , `` Psychological disorder is any personal construction which is used repeatedly in spite of consistent invalidation , '' i.e.
, repeating the same thing failure after failure is a psychological disorder .
The DNC 's Perez wrote in an email letter addressed to me : `` Your commitment to electing leaders who believe this country can live up to the basic ideals of its founding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ i.e.
, Democrats ] forward . ''
Perez is right about my `` commitment to electing leaders who believe this country can live up to the basic ideals of its founding . ''
That 's why I support President Trump .
It 's precisely the reason that I 'll work tirelessly to defeat Democrats and RINOs .
The Founders of America set forth a Constitution and system of laws that were not to be abrogated by mobocracy and pagan villainy that 's been used to destroy entire neighborhoods and the lives of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aftermath of Floyd 's death is n't what our Founding Fathers envisioned .
Reasonable people must conclude that because we 're a nation with a system of jurisprudence , we allow the courts and departments of investigation to unravel wrongful acts , which when adjudicated to be wrongful acts , are punished to the extent consistent with the crime .
And , if disappointed by a finding , pursue the legal recourses available for same .
Like it or not , that 's our system .
I 'm not defending the police officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'm defending our system of law and order , because it 's glaringly transpicuous that `` law and order '' have been exchanged for riot and mayhem .
And who benefits from such behavior ?
It certainly is n't the dead man 's family .
It certainly is n't those businesses and property owners who have their lives destroyed by thugs and criminal elements who should have fire hoses turned on them .
Why should innocent men and women die , be mauled and suffer the loss of property for those who view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spree opportunity ?
To that end I argue that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is culpable for the riot and mayhem in large part , because in my opinion , he was the accelerant that fueled the fires of destruction .
Frey rushed to the cameras and made incendiary remarks , including calling the death of Floyd murder , casting himself as prosecutor , judge and jury .
It was Frey who incited violence by using verbiage that generated Pavlovian response by blacks who were enjoined by corrupt domestic terrorist groups like Antifa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by design through Soros-funded groups .
We 've witnessed professional athletes who are almost as skilled at punt , pass , kick and score baskets as they are producing babies out of wedlock , getting arrested for battery , rape and busted for any of a plethora of drug offenses protest – only to have the outcomes prove law enforcement not guilty of charges against them .
We saw this in the Michael Brown shooting , and we saw this with Freddie Gray in Baltimore and other similar cases where law enforcement were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was examined during trial .
The one thing I can assure every person reading this article is that the fear of police shooting and beating a person for absolutely no reason other than color of skin ended when Democrats were ousted of power in the South and racist Democratic domestic terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan were defanged .
I conclude with the fact that from 1976 to 2011 , 94 % of all blacks killed , which was approximately 280,000 , were murdered by other blacks .
Where 's the riot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is n't the domestic terrorist group Black Lives Matter protesting and rioting over the number of dead black young men killed by other blacks , in Chicago in the past two weeks ?
Why are n't black ministers , actors , so-called black athlete-activists decrying the industrialized murder of blacks by abortion ?
White Planned Parenthood , baby-killing death centers are singularly responsible for the extermination of more than one-third of the black population .
Why is n't `` Low-Bron '' James protesting that ?
Could it be because he and his boyz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Order Mychal Massie 's new book , `` I Feel the Presence of the Lord , '' a collection of devotions intended to encourage the reader to seek and see the Lord in every aspect of life .

George Floyd's name and death will forever be associated with the abominable barbarous behavior exhibited this weekend past. The organized riots and destruction taking place since the death of Floyd have been nothing less than a nationwide satanic black mass intended to honor destruction, lies, terrorism, thievery, murder, hatred, ad nauseam under the pretense of skin-color injustice.
It will be interesting to see if the absence of masks and the complete disregard for social distancing causes a spike in COVID-19 numbers in the cities infested with rioters and looting. But I digress.
Loathsome Democrats are using the death of Floyd to spread the damnable lie seized upon by the abysmally ignorant and uninformed whose assertions of national racism are foolishly preposterous.
America is not a racist country – a lie pushed by fools, idiots and skin-color pimps such as Tom Perez, chairman of the Democrat National Committee (DNC). Perez seized upon the death of Floyd to foment victimhood, hatred, rage and riot as a form of lucifarian equipoise for blacks that makes neo-Leninists and Alinskyites proud. But then, that's what Democrats do despite them having a documented uninterrupted record of racism and bigotry for centuries.
Civilized human beings would have protested with the decorum of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. No one can point to savage animalistic barbarianism in one single protest led by Dr. King. His marches and protests were peaceful despite Democratic mayors, governors and police departments who vented their hatred with fire hoses, dogs and clubs.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
America is a nation of laws despite what's argued by Democrats, fools and those who would be perennial gold medalists if being uninformed and ignorant were an Olympic sport. Consider LeBron James who has taken it upon himself to become the bipedal personification of George Kelly's Personal Construct Theory, which argues, "Psychological disorder is any personal construction which is used repeatedly in spite of consistent invalidation," i.e., repeating the same thing failure after failure is a psychological disorder.
The DNC's Perez wrote in an email letter addressed to me: "Your commitment to electing leaders who believe this country can live up to the basic ideals of its founding is what continues to move us [i.e., Democrats] forward."
Perez is right about my "commitment to electing leaders who believe this country can live up to the basic ideals of its founding." That's why I support President Trump. It's precisely the reason that I'll work tirelessly to defeat Democrats and RINOs.
The Founders of America set forth a Constitution and system of laws that were not to be abrogated by mobocracy and pagan villainy that's been used to destroy entire neighborhoods and the lives of the innocent. What has transpired in the aftermath of Floyd's death isn't what our Founding Fathers envisioned.
Reasonable people must conclude that because we're a nation with a system of jurisprudence, we allow the courts and departments of investigation to unravel wrongful acts, which when adjudicated to be wrongful acts, are punished to the extent consistent with the crime. And, if disappointed by a finding, pursue the legal recourses available for same. Like it or not, that's our system.
I'm not defending the police officers nor am I defending Floyd. I'm defending our system of law and order, because it's glaringly transpicuous that "law and order" have been exchanged for riot and mayhem.
And who benefits from such behavior? It certainly isn't the dead man's family. It certainly isn't those businesses and property owners who have their lives destroyed by thugs and criminal elements who should have fire hoses turned on them. Why should innocent men and women die, be mauled and suffer the loss of property for those who view the death of Floyd as a shopping spree opportunity?
To that end I argue that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is culpable for the riot and mayhem in large part, because in my opinion, he was the accelerant that fueled the fires of destruction.
Frey rushed to the cameras and made incendiary remarks, including calling the death of Floyd murder, casting himself as prosecutor, judge and jury. It was Frey who incited violence by using verbiage that generated Pavlovian response by blacks who were enjoined by corrupt domestic terrorist groups like Antifa, who are funded unwittingly by taxpayers and by design through Soros-funded groups.
We've witnessed professional athletes who are almost as skilled at punt, pass, kick and score baskets as they are producing babies out of wedlock, getting arrested for battery, rape and busted for any of a plethora of drug offenses protest – only to have the outcomes prove law enforcement not guilty of charges against them. We saw this in the Michael Brown shooting, and we saw this with Freddie Gray in Baltimore and other similar cases where law enforcement were found innocent after all of the evidence was examined during trial.
The one thing I can assure every person reading this article is that the fear of police shooting and beating a person for absolutely no reason other than color of skin ended when Democrats were ousted of power in the South and racist Democratic domestic terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan were defanged.
I conclude with the fact that from 1976 to 2011, 94% of all blacks killed, which was approximately 280,000, were murdered by other blacks. Where's the riot and protest over those lives? Why isn't the domestic terrorist group Black Lives Matter protesting and rioting over the number of dead black young men killed by other blacks, in Chicago in the past two weeks? Why aren't black ministers, actors, so-called black athlete-activists decrying the industrialized murder of blacks by abortion?
White Planned Parenthood, baby-killing death centers are singularly responsible for the extermination of more than one-third of the black population. Why isn't "Low-Bron" James protesting that? Could it be because he and his boyz need them to send their women to?
Order Mychal Massie's new book, "I Feel the Presence of the Lord," a collection of devotions intended to encourage the reader to seek and see the Lord in every aspect of life.