Month: July 2020

Thomas Sowell is a truth seeker who grew up in Harlem and is one of the wisest men of our times. In his new book, Charter Schools and Their Enemies — published on June 30, 2020, his 90th birthday — he exposes the hypocrisy of our politicians, teachers’ unions, and public school bureaucrats.

Exclusive: GOP Influencer Alexander Ali Warns Rookies Blowing Trump’s Relection

July 15, 2020July 14, 2020 Neil W. McCabe

Ali Alexander is something of veteran in the Republican digital game and he sees warning signs for the reelection of President Donald Trump–and he cannot keep quiet about. When Alexander was growing up he learned politics when his lawyer mother took him with her to phone-bank for local judges,…

UK Backtracks on Giving Huawei Role in High-Speed Network

July 15, 2020July 14, 2020 The Associated Press

Britain on Tuesday backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the U.K.’s new high-speed mobile phone network amid security concerns fueled by rising tensions between Beijing and Western powers.

Britain said it decided to prohibit Huawei from working on the so-called 5G system after U.S. sanctions made it impossible to ensure the security of equipment made by the Chinese company.

LA Teachers Union Demands Defunding of Police, Medicare-for-All and Ban on New Charter Schools as Conditions for Reopening Schools

A major Los Angeles teachers union said in a research paper issued Thursday that the reopening of schools should be conditioned upon the passage of Medicare-for-All at the federal level, along with a slew of other left-wing policy staples at the state and local levels.

“It is time to take a stand against Trump’s dangerous, anti-science agenda that puts the lives of our members, our students, and our families at risk,” United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a statement unveiling the paper. “We all want to physically open schools and be back with our students, but lives hang in the balance. Safety has to be the priority. We need to get this right for our communities.”

Commentary: Biden Sides with China, World Health Organization Again as Trump Begins Process of Leaving the WHO

“On my first day as President, I will rejoin the [World Health Organization] and restore our leadership on the world stage.”

That was former Vice President Joe Biden reacting on Twitter to President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S from the World Health Organization (WHO), the group that uncritically repeated China’s false claims in mid-January that there was no human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary: Drug Overdoses Has Been Another Deadly Cost of COVID-19 Lockdowns

Bodies are arriving at Anahi Ortiz’s office faster than he can process them.

“We’ve literally run out of wheeled carts to put them on,” Ortiz, a coroner in Columbus, Ohio, recently told the Washington Post.

Mueller Prosecutor Calls for a Roger Stone Re-Do

July 15, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Andrew Weissmann, a top prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, is seeking a re-do of sorts in the investigation, saying in an op-ed Tuesday that Roger Stone should be hauled before a grand jury to answer questions about his interactions with President Donald Trump in 2016.

Writing in The New York Times, Weissmann also pushed a false claim about the criminal charges against Stone, whose prison sentence Trump commuted on Friday.

Tuberville Defeats Sessions, Wins Alabama Senate GOP Primary

July 15, 2020July 14, 2020 The Associated Press

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost the Republican nomination for his old Senate seat in Alabama to former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, likely ending a long political career with a bitter defeat egged on by President Donald Trump.

Tuberville, 65, beat Sessions in Tuesday’s Republican runoff as Sessions fell short in his attempted comeback for a seat he held for two decades before resigning to become Trump’s attorney general in 2017.

FBI Fielded More Background Checks for Gun Buyers in June Than Ever Before

July 15, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The FBI ran nearly 8 million background checks for gun purchases from March to June, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Background checks for firearm purchases in June reached 7.8 million, up 136% from last year. Checks for civilians pursuing a license to carry were the highest recorded in the last 20 years, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the WSJ reported.

Minnesota House Committee Declares ‘Racism Embedded in Foundation of America’

July 15, 2020July 14, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A Minnesota House committee approved a resolution Tuesday declaring racism a statewide “public health crisis.”

The resolution passed out of the House Rules Committee and now heads to the House floor for debate, with a final vote expected for July 20.

Justice Ginsburg Treated in Hospital for Possible Infection

July 14, 2020July 14, 2020 The Associated Press

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was being treated for a possible infection and was expected to stay in the hospital for a few days following a medical procedure, the Supreme Court said in a statement Tuesday.

The court said that the 87-year-old Ginsburg went to a hospital in Washington on Monday evening after experiencing fever and chills. She then underwent a procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August when she was treated for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas.

Governor Walz Extends Minnesota’s Peacetime Emergency Through August 12 as the Legislature Targets Police Reform, Bonding Bill

The Minnesota legislature kicked off its second special session Monday, and Gov. Tim Walz signed Executive Order 20-78, extending the COVID-19 peacetime emergency through Aug. 12.

Walz first declared a peacetime emergency on March 13.

Commentary: In-Person Schooling Would Be One of the Safest Activities to Reopen

Most students around the country haven’t been to school since March, when large parts of the country began to lock down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the data increasingly suggests that reopening schools entails the least risks and should be a goal of every level of government.

The early hope was that the closures would be temporary, such as Michigan’s school-closure order that was originally meant to end in April—but that was extended for the rest of the school year.

Poland’s Populist President Duda Edges Euro-Centric Challenger Trzaskowski, Earns Second Term

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 The Associated Press

Polish President Andrzej Duda declared victory Monday in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness.

The close race followed a bitter campaign between Duda and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski that was dominated by cultural issues. The government, state media and the influential Roman Catholic Church all mobilized in support of Duda and sought to stoke anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia in order to shore up conservative support.

GOP Lawmakers Urge Attorney General to Defend St. Louis Couple’s Gun Rights After Firearm Confiscation

GOP lawmakers wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr Friday, urging the protection of the firearm rights of the St. Louis couple that saw their guns confiscated after they went viral for defending their home against demonstrators, according to reports.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey were seen in a video brandishing a M16A2-style rifle and small handgun outside of their home as demonstrators broke through a private gate and encroached on their property line in June. Police executed a search warrant Friday and confiscated the couple’s rifle, and later their pistol, despite not yet filing any known charges against the pair, according to KSDK News.

Judge Theodore Chuang Rules Women Can Get Abortion Pill Without Doctor Visit

A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an Obama appointee based in Maryland, concluded that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the circumstances of the pandemic.

Mass Celebrated after Fire Damages Centuries-Old Church

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 The Associated Press

Mass was celebrated Sunday on the grounds of a historic Catholic church in Southern California that had been heavily damaged by fire a day earlier.

The blaze early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of San Gabriel Mission, which was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.

Chatham Announces Plan to Buy Newspaper Publisher McClatchy

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 The Associated Press

Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management plans to buy newspaper publisher McClatchy out of bankruptcy, ending 163 years of family control.

The companies did not put a price on the deal in an announcement Sunday. The agreement still needs the approval of a bankruptcy judge; a hearing is scheduled for July 24.

Soros’ Open Society Foundations Pledges $220 Million to Fund Efforts Promoting Racial Equality in the United States

The Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic group founded by George Soros, announced Monday that it would pledge $220 million towards initiatives focusing on racial equality in the United States.

The investment will transform the efforts of political and civil rights groups across the country, and comes as protests continue nationwide over the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police, The New York Times reported.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham Says He’ll Grant Request For Mueller Testimony

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday he will approve Democrats’ request to invite Robert Mueller to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee after the former special counsel published an op-ed in The Washington Post criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence for Roger Stone.

Analysis: President Trump Was Correct About the Rapid Economic Rebound Post-Shutdown as Another 630,000 Americans Come Off Unemployment Benefits

Another 630,000 Americans came off continuing unemployment claims the week ending June 27, according to the latest unadjusted data from the U.S. Department of Labor, proving President Donald Trump is right about the economy rapidly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic state-based shutdowns.

Since the week ending May 9, unadjusted continuing unemployment claims have dropped from 22.8 million to 16.8 million the week ending June 27, a massive turnaround of 6 million Americans who temporarily found themselves on unemployment benefits but then rapidly came off of it on a net basis.

President Thanks Ohio Man Who Turned Entire Front Lawn Into ‘Trump 2020’ Sign

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A Port Clinton, Ohio man recently turned his entire front lawn into a massive Trump 2020 sign.

J.R. Majewski, an Air Force veteran, said his 19,000-square-foot lawn is now home to one of the world’s largest Trump flags.

Former Obama Official Asks Walz to Reclose All Bars for Indoor Service in Minnesota

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

One of former President Barack Obama’s top health care officials said he asked Gov. Tim Walz to reclose all bars in Minnesota during a Sunday phone call.

Andy Slavitt, the former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said he urged Walz and Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm to close “all of the bars to indoor service across the state of Minnesota” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Minneapolis May Lay off 40 Workers, Cut Spending Projects to Fill $156 Million Budget Deficit

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey presented a plan to patch a more than $155 million revenue gap using furloughs, cash reserves and spending freezes.

The deficit followed the COVID-19 pandemic and riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody, which combined brought a steep drop in parking, utilities and general revenue.

Commentary: At a School Near You, ‘Whiteness Studies’ Aims to Denigrate Its Subject

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

If you had told me a couple of years ago that a book like Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism would be topping the bestseller lists and receiving accolades from all over, I wouldn’t have believed it.

And I’m speaking as someone who, in my 2012 book The Victims’ Revolution: The Rise of Identity Studies and the Closing of the Liberal Mind, warned about the dire ascendancy of identity studies, which are far less about education than about ideological indoctrination and the promotion of social activism.

Rep. Mo Brooks Calls for Investigation After U.S. Army’s Chaney Pickard Sends Race-Baiting Email, Labels ‘MAGA’ Slogan and More ‘White Supremacy’

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Debra Heine The U.S. Army sent an email to its military and civilian members after the Fourth of July that included a graphic that claimed innocuous words and phrases like “colorblind,” “all lives matter” and the Trump Campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” are evidence of “white supremacy.”…

Lakers Star LeBron James Won’t Wear Social Justice Message on Lakers Jersey

LeBron James says his thoughts on social justice can’t be contained on the back of a basketball jersey.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar won’t wear one of the NBA-approved social justice messages on the back of his jersey when the NBA resumes competition later this month in the Orlando bubble.

Facebook’s Software Kit to Blame for Popular Apps Crashing

Friday’s widespread crashes of popular apps running on the iPhone’s iOS operating system — including Tinder, Spotify and Pinterest — serve as a reminder that Facebook is still tracking you through your phone using sophisticated software, even if you’re not browsing the social network.

Early Friday, users of the apps reported crashes when they tried to open them up. Facebook attributed the problem, which was quickly fixed, to a bug in its software development kit, or SDK, a tool developers use to integrate their apps with Facebook.

Google Selects Mississippi Site for First US Operations Center

Google’s first U.S. operations center is coming to northwest Mississippi.

The company announced Thursday it will lease a new 60,000-square-foot (5,574 square-meter) facility in Southaven, Mississippi, near Memphis, Tennessee. Google expects the site, which will provide customer and operations support to customers worldwide, to be operational by summer 2021.

Amazon Says Email to Employees Banning TikTok Was a Mistake

Roughly five hours after an internal email went out Friday to Amazon employees telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones, the online retailing giant appeared to backtrack, calling the ban a mistake.

“This morning’s email to some of our employees was sent in error,” Amazon emailed reporters just before 5 p.m. Eastern time. “There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok.”

Fire Destroys Much of 249-year-old Church in California

A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.

Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said.

Biden-Sanders Proposal for DNC Convention Includes Increased Taxes, Tuition-Free Community Colleges, Other Spending Increases

A task force created by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., his former political rival, released policy recommendations for the Democratic Party Convention platform committee to consider.

Called the “unity platform,” it emphasizes expanded federal spending and taxation in nearly all platform areas. It calls for increased federal funding for housing, infrastructure, Social Security, and a large-scale government-run jobs program, and increases taxes on higher income earners.

Thousands of North Carolina Voters Double-Voted, Watchdog Group Finds

Thousands of voters in North Carolina voted twice in one or both of the past two elections, according to a court filing in the key battleground state.

Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity group, announced Thursday that it had filed a brief in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina outlining the number of double votes.

Commentary: Demoralization, Destabilization, Crisis, and Normalization Are the Four Stages of a Marxist Takeover

by Scott McKay It’s important to understand that this is a revolutionary moment in American history, and it isn’t a bad idea to act in ways that would fall under the traditional description of “accordingly.” But it’s also important to understand that the revolution taking place in America is…

White Singing Group Formerly Known as Lady Antebellum Seeks Legal Ruling to Confirm Appropriation of Name ‘Lady A’ from Black Singer

July 13, 2020July 12, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

The white country band formerly known as Lady Antebellum has chosen to show racial “sensitivity” by suing to appropriate the name “Lady A” from Anita White, a black singer who has used the moniker for decades.

Lady Antebellum on June 11 said they would start going by the name Lady A since “antebellum” carried racial connotations, Billboard said. The suit was filed July 8 in Nashville’s U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

North Minneapolis Democrat Says City Facing ‘Real Emergency’ Amid Ceaseless Violence

July 13, 2020July 12, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A north Minneapolis Democrat said his constituents are “facing a real emergency” as the city continues to experience alarming levels of gun violence.

“Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe in their own neighborhood, but right now many people are experiencing gun violence at unsustainable levels,” Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Minneapolis) said in a statement released Saturday. “The neighborhoods I represent in north Minneapolis are facing a real emergency.”

Walz Calls Another Special Session, Says He Will Extend COVID-19 Emergency Powers

July 12, 2020July 11, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz said he plans to extend his COVID-19 peacetime emergency declaration for another 30 days when lawmakers return to St. Paul Monday for a special session.

The governor announced Friday night that he has convened a special legislative session for July 13, the same day his peacetime emergency declaration is set to expire. According to Minnesota law, the governor must convene both houses of the Legislature if he wishes to extend a peacetime emergency when the Legislature is not in session.

Commentary: Biden, the Puppet of the Far Left

“Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Deepen Their Cooperation,” reports the New York Times this week. The story underlines what a puppet of the far left Joe Biden has become. He is taking his policy cues from a socialist and his supporters.

“Allies of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders unveiled a sweeping set of joint policy recommendations on Wednesday, a significant if tentative sign of cooperation among Democrats as Mr. Biden’s campaign continues its appeals to the progressive left,” says the Times. “Mr. Biden is expected to adopt many of the recommendations, which were submitted by six policy task forces and cover a wide range of issues including health care, criminal justice, education and climate change.”

Serbia Police Detain 71 After Fourth Night of Virus Protests

July 12, 2020July 11, 2020 The Associated Press

Serbian police detained 71 people after clashes during the fourth night of anti-government protests against the Serbian president that were initially sparked by his plans to reintroduce a coronavirus lockdown.

Fourteen policemen were injured in the rioting Friday evening when hundreds of right-wing demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building in downtown Belgrade, police director Vladimir Rebic said Saturday. Many demonstrators and several reporters were also injured in the protests. More protests were expected Saturday night.

TikTok Hires Former GOP and Democratic Congressional Staffers to Lobby on US Policy Ahead of the Election

TikTok has hired several Democratic and Republican operatives to lobby the U.S. governmental amid concerns that the social media platform represents a national security threat.

The company hired several operatives recently to lobby on TikTok’s behalf, including Michael Hacker, who worked as a senior advisor to Democratic House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, CNBC reported Friday. TikTok hired two executives from the Internet Association as well, according to the report.

Commentary: Hong Kong Is the Place Chinese Communists Are Working to Destroy

China’s communist government has brought an end to the siege of Hong Kong, or at least a beginning of an end. Their secret police seized a 33-story hotel to establish a new headquarters in the city of nearly 7.5 million people who have lived most of their lives in a human rights-supporting, Western-style democratic system.

Trump Touts Education, Economic Opportunities for Hispanics

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday creating a program aimed at improving Hispanic Americans’ access to education and economic opportunities.

“We will expand our efforts across all of the federal government to create educational and economic opportunity for Hispanic Americans,” Trump said to applause in the Rose Garden, describing the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.

Guest Lineups for the Sunday News Shows

July 12, 2020July 11, 2020 The Associated Press

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services Department official overseeing the nation’s coronavirus testing efforts; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Giroir; Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md.; Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools district.
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. surgeon general; Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix; Terry Shaw, president and CEO, AdventHealth; Tom Wyatt, CEO of KinderCare.
CNN’s “State of the Union” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; Mayor Carlos Gimenez of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
“Fox News Sunday” — DeVos; Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University.

‘Shock’ Poll Shows Trump on Track to Win Reelection

A new poll conducted by the Washington based Democracy Institute for the Sunday Express shows President Trump tied with his rival Joe Biden at 47 percent, but surpassing him in the electoral college 309 to 229.

These positive results for Trump come amid a constant drumbeat of negative media coverage in recent weeks that paints his electoral chances in November as virtually nil.

Government Memo Shows FBI Did Not Think Michael Flynn Intentionally Lied

The Justice Department this week provided Michael Flynn’s lawyers with a long-rumored government memo which shows that FBI officials did not believe that the former national security adviser intentionally lied in a White House interview at the center of his legal battle.

The memo, dated Jan. 30, 2017, and published Friday, also said that FBI investigators did not believe that Flynn was working as an agent of Russia.

Conflicting Reports: John Durham May or May Not Wait Until After Election to Bring Indictments