May 2021 - Page 8 of 8 - The Minnesota Sun

Alabama A&M Shutters Confucius Institute

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Alabama A&M University in Huntsville is the latest school to close its Confucius Institute.

According to a press release from Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), the university’s board “voted to close their Confucius Institute and end their relationship with the Communist Chinese Party.”

“Confucius Institutes are nothing more than Communist Chinese Party propaganda and spying units,” said Rep. Brooks. “For nearly a year, I, and other patriotic Alabamians have called on Alabama A&M University and Troy University to close their Communist Chinese Party-controlled Confucius Institutes.”

Illegal Immigrants Fly American, Courtesy of Biden Border Policy

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

About 14 separate families or groups of illegal immigrants boarded a flight Thursday at McAllen International Airport in Texas, the man in charge of border security during the Trump administration told The Daily Signal.

Mark Morgan, former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said he watched from a nearby seat as the illegal immigrants boarded the American Airlines flight just after 3 p.m. CDT at the airport of the border town.

“By the eighth or ninth family is when I decided to take pictures,” Morgan told The Daily Signal on Friday. “I decided to take a video when I saw a large family with an infant child.”

Texas Counties Declare Disaster over Border Crisis, More to Follow

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 The Center Square

Four Texas counties have issued disaster declarations and called on the governor for help because of escalated crime in their communities resulting from a surge in illegal immigration.

In response, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked counties and state agencies to report the financial costs to his office in an attempt to be reimbursed by the federal government for the strain being placed on law enforcement. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star last month in an effort to divert Texas DPS, Ranger, and National Guard resources to the border to reduce cartel- and other-related crimes stemming from the surge of illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Atascosa, Goliad, Kinney, and La Salle have issued disaster declarations, saying the “health, life, and property” of their residents are “under imminent threat of disaster from the human trafficking occurring on our border with Mexico.”

Commentary: Two Studies on Immigration and Race, with Surprising Details

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Group of people holding small American flags

Two mainstream think tanks have published new studies on immigration and race in America that come to the typical, safe conclusions. But a look at the data inside shows something more interesting.

A new Cato Institute report defending immigration begins by contending that immigrants are unlikely to negatively affect states’ fiscal health. But within the study’s findings, Cato may have inadvertently provided a new reason to oppose immigration.

Using state budgets as a proxy for the quality of economic institutions from 1970-2010, the authors of the Cato study assert that “a larger share of immigrants at the state level is correlated with slower state revenue and spending growth in the short-term, measured by total per capita government revenue and expenditure growth.” In other words, the more immigrants there are in a state, the less the state tends to take in in taxes and the less it spends on services. This is hardly groundbreaking; we have always known that immigration is linked to welfare chauvinism.

Commentary: Virginia Can’t Seem to Make up Its Mind About Its New Math Curriculum

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Classroom of students with teacher at blackboard

What the heck is going on with the Virginia Department of Education?

A little over a week ago reports surfaced that the state would be doing away with advanced math classes for all grades except 11 and 12.

But then reports came out noting the state’s education chief disputed those reports, saying “absolutely acceleration is not going away in mathematics courses.”

Police Refuse to Enter George Floyd Zone, Make Battered Woman Come to Them

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Mural of George Floyd on the side of a building

The Minneapolis Police Department apparently will not enter the so-called “Free State of George Floyd” to respond to crimes.

In the early morning hours of April 29, a woman was pushed out of a window during a domestic dispute on the corner of East 38th Street and Elliot Avenue, sustaining multiple injuries, according to a police scanner watchdog. The woman dialed 911 to get help but was told that police would not come to her aid because she was inside George Floyd Square, an autonomous zone which has designated itself “cop-free.”

“Is it possible to have her move at least a block away, maybe [to] 38 and 10th?” a responding police officer can be heard asking dispatch in a recorded radio conversation.

Over 100 American Colleges Demand Students Get Vaccinated

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

As American schools begin the process of slowly reopening at all academic levels, over 100 colleges and universities are implementing the strictest requirements by demanding that all students receive a coronavirus vaccine before returning to school, according to CNN.

In the beginning of April, only about 14 campuses had announced such a policy. But by the end of the month, that number had increased exponentially. Only a handful of the schools have included possible exemptions for various medical, religious, or personal reasons. The majority of schools demanding such mandatory vaccinations are private schools.

Commentary: Cancel Culture and Why It Only Works on Republicans

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

With cancel culture running rampant and the court of public opinion more powerful than ever, it’s no wonder many Americans are afraid to speak their minds. We’ve watched as people get taken down for reasons ranging from wrong think on Twitter, to allegations of racism, bigotry or sexual assault. The latter of which seems to be a favorite tool of the Democrats, one which they dig up seemingly every time someone “problematic” pops up in opposition to their agenda.

We saw this with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, where wildly unfounded accusations were made, leading to an extensive investigation which found nothing. The Kavanaugh hearing, one of the most divisive in history, proved Democrats are willing to play dirty to win, even at the risk of destroying an innocent man’s life and reputation.

However, conservatives and elected Republicans always seem to get caught up in legal battles when these things come up, because they take a defensive stance, accepting the left’s narrative by trying to prove their innocence.

Commentary: The Vatican Museums and Persevering Through a Pandemic

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

On Monday, May 3, the Vatican Museums will reopen to the public. The Vatican Museums were founded in 1506, when Pope Julius II discovered and acquired the sculpture, Laocoön and His Sons. Today, the Vatican Museums house one of the oldest and most important art collections in the world.

The Vatican’s impressive collection consists of over 200,000 works spanning five millennia. The collection includes remarkable 15th and 16th century frescoes by Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, and Raphael, as well as stunning masterpieces by Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci. Reflecting upon her work, Vatican Museums Director Dr. Barbara Jatta said, “It’s a cultural duty undertaken with a conviction that beauty can lead to faith.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican Museums were the 3rd most visited museum in the world, hosting an average of 6 million visitors per year and generating essential funding for the Vatican.

Commentary: Journalists Become Cynical, But Not Skeptical

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 RealClearWire

Journalists and scientists have more in common than you’d think—at least they should. Scientists seek to understand and explain how the natural world works. They observe, ask questions, and approach new information with skepticism as they work through a careful process to determine what is true.

Journalists, in theory, use the same curiosity and rigor to provide the information we need to make good decisions in our lives. According to the Society of Professional Journalists, a core tenet of journalism is to “seek truth and report it.” In both worlds, negligence begins where skepticism ends, creating dangerous opportunities for peddlers of misinformation.

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) annual “Dirty Dozen” list is a perfect marriage of scientific and journalistic negligence. Each year, the EWG, a controversial, agenda-driven organic activist group, purports to rank the top 12 fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides. And each year, the media takes the bait without fail, and the coverage reads like sponsored content.

Commentary: If Biden Really Wants to Be FDR, He Should Oppose Public Sector Unions

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

President Joe Biden has made it pretty clear he idolizes Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). A painting of #32 hangs in his office, he frequently invokes the former president in his speeches, and the media often draws comparisons between the two progressives.
But as much as Biden seems to draw on FDR’s legacy, his knowledge of his positions seems to have one glaring omission. FDR was opposed to public sector unions.
Public sector unions are having a moment in the spotlight, and not in a good way. Their actions over the past year have incurred ire from all political directions. Many Americans have become aware of the role police unions play in protecting bad apples, blocking popular criminal justice reforms, and preventing transparency as extrajudicial killings and the resulting protests have demanded attention on our justice system.

Hawley Cites ‘Culture War’ in Proposal for Monthly Payments to Families with Children

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 The Center Square

Rising Republican star U.S. Rep. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is sponsoring a new measure that would give unprecedented tax cuts to parents with children, and now he is saying his bill is on the front line of the nation’s “culture war.”

The plan in question would give a fully refundable tax credit of $12,000 for married parents and $6,000 for single parents who have children under the age of 13.

“Starting a family and raising children should not be a privilege only reserved for the wealthy,” Hawley said. “Millions of working people want to start a family and would like to care for their children at home, but current policies do not respect these preferences. American families should be supported, no matter how they choose to care for their kids.”

Five White Farmers Sue over Loan Forgiveness Only for Blacks, Other Minorities

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Christopher Baird owns a dairy farm near Ferryville in southwest Wisconsin, not far from the Mississippi River. He milks about 50 cows and farms approximately 80 acres of pasture.

Like a lot of farmers, Baird has direct loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

But the dairy farmer isn’t entitled to a new FSA loan-forgiveness program provided as part of COVID-19 relief in the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, legislation touted Wednesday night by President Joe Biden in his address to Congress.

Baird is white. He joined four other white farmers Thursday in suing federal officials over being left out.

Midwest Farmers Among Those Challenging Biden Administration Loan Forgiveness

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 The Center Square

Field with tractor in it, loaded with hay on trailer

A pair of Wisconsin farmers are part of a new lawsuit challenging President Biden’s race-based program for farm loan forgiveness.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the suit on behalf of Calumet County farmer Adam Faust and Crawford County farmer Christopher Baird, as well as clients in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Ohio. The suit claims the farm loan forgiveness program included in the American Rescue Plan discriminates because it is only open to farmers of color.

“President Joe Biden’s signature COVID-19 relief legislation signed in March, provides billions of dollars of debt relief to ‘socially disadvantaged’ farmers and ranchers,” WILL said in a statement about the case. “But the law’s definition of “socially disadvantaged” includes explicit racial classifications: farmers and ranchers must be Black or African American, American Indian or Alaskan native, Hispanic or Latino, or Asian American or Pacific Islander. Other farmers — white farmers, for example — are ineligible.”

Residents Complain About Lack of Police in Minneapolis

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Nearly a year after the death of George Floyd, prompting calls from activists and Democrat leaders to defund the police, residents of Minneapolis are complaining that police won’t respond to their calls.

“George Floyd Square has been a place for mourning and healing for the thousands who pay a visit,” WCCO reported. “But for the people who live there, once night falls, they say it becomes a place where lawlessness abounds.”

100 Days into Biden’s Presidency, Hunter Still Owns Stake in Chinese Private Equity Firm, Business Records Show

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Hunter Biden continues to hold a minority stake in a Chinese private equity firm 100 days into President Joe Biden’s term, business records show.

Hunter Biden holds a 10% equity stake in BHR Partners through his company, Skaneateles LLC, according to Qixinbao and Baidu, two independent services that provide business records on Chinese corporations based on China’s National Credit Information Publicity System.

Joe Biden promised in October 2019 that if elected president, nobody in his family would have any business relationship with any foreign corporation or country.

Commentary: Biden’s Shameful ‘Attack on Our Democracy’ Rhetoric

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Joe Biden is either an historical illiterate or a shameless liar. Perhaps he is both.

Desperate to keep the disintegrating narrative about the events of January 6 alive, Biden, in his first sparsely attended speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, declared the January 6 protest was “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”

Marked safe from Washington Post fact-checkers, Biden continued to lie. “As we gather here tonight, the images of a violent mob assaulting this Capitol, desecrating our democracy, remain vivid in our minds,” he lamented. “Lives were put at risk. Lives were lost. Extraordinary courage was summoned. The insurrection was an existential crisis, a test of whether our democracy could survive. It did.”

Biden Offers Empty Platitudes During Speech in Georgia

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

President Joe Biden visited Duluth and gave a speech to several parked cars at a “drive-in rally” Thursday, marking his 100th day in office.

Besides touting the meager success of passing a COVID-19 stimulus, which has been Biden’s only major legislative accomplishment in his first 100 days in office, the subject matter of the speech was rather general.

Commentary: A Tale of Two Speeches

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Wednesday night was a tale of two speeches. We had President Biden droning to a nearly empty House Chamber. Then, we had Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) give the best follow-up to a presidential address to a joint session of Congress that I have ever seen.

The difference between the two speeches was made vivid by Frank Luntz’s experience with a class of 15 University of Southern California students. In describing his discussion with the students on an Inner Circle webinar with me the next day, the students clearly favored Biden’s liberalism over Scott’s conservatism. Yet, when the speeches finished, the students were totally and deeply disappointed by the President’s speech. They were instead impressed by Scott’s sincerity, the power of his life story, and even his references to religion. While the students weren’t necessarily religious themselves, they thought a more spiritual approach to our current political mess would be helpful.

Watching the President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House all wearing masks even though they have been vaccinated was just painful. Far from following science, Biden, Harris, and Pelosi were clearly virtue signaling. To add to this, the absurdity of having 200 members present for a speech that usually has 1,600 people in attendance made for a very sad and depressing picture.

Giuliani: DOJ Prosecutors ‘Invaded’ His iCloud Account in 2019 While He Was Defending Trump for Impeachment Sham

May 1, 2021May 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani revealed on Fox News Thursday night that prosecutors in the Justice Department secretly “invaded” his iCloud account and seized privileged documents. Giuliani later tweeted about the potentially illegal surveillance, asking “who else are they spying on? You?”

The DOJ told my lawyer they secretly went into my iCloud account in 2019.

Who else are they spying on? You?

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) April 30, 2021

Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, gave his first television interview after the FBI raided his home to Fox’s Tucker Carlson.

The feds executed a search warrant Wednesday morning on Giuliani’s Upper East Side apartment over his alleged unregistered lobbying for foreign governments. Giuliani said about seven or eight electronic devices were seized during the raid.

President Trump told Fox Business on Thursday that Giuliani was “the greatest mayor in the history of New York” and “a great patriot.”

Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

DOJ Considering New Domestic Terrorism Laws Aimed at Violent Domestic Extremism

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

In response to continued threats of domestic extremism following the deadly riot on Jan. 6, the Department of Justice is considering new domestic terrorism laws, an official announced Thursday.

The FBI reported an elevated risk of violence associated with domestic extremists after the attack on the Capitol and increased assaults on Asian Americans, Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brad Wiegmann told the House Committee on Appropriations.

Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline asked Wiegmann about his proposal to codify a domestic terrorism charge in the criminal code.

ACLU Asks Biden Admin to Shut Down ICE Detention Facilities

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Biden administration to close 39 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities in a letter Wednesday.

People in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody reportedly experienced sexual abuse, forced sterilization, increased use of force and solitary confinement, according to the organization. The ACLU wants ICE facilities with previous reports of inhumane treatment and those located in remote locations to be closed.

“Closing detention sites should be an easy decision. Millions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted to maintain thousands of empty beds and keep asylum seekers and immigrants in inhumane and life-threatening conditions,” ACLU Senior Advocacy and Policy Counsel Naureen Shah said in a statemen

Music Spotlight: Rhonda Towns

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Bethany Bowman

Dawn Records announces a new release from its flagship artist Rhonda Towns, titled “Walking In Your Wonderful Light.” Written by Teddy Hayes and produced by Billy Sherrill in collaboration with Towns, the long-awaited and welcomed single serves as a preview to the Christian, country, and gospel music entertainer’s forthcoming six-track EP anticipated later this year.

Ohio to Allow Transgender People to Change Gender on Birth Certificates

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The State of Ohio is set to become the 49th state to allow transgender people to change their gender on their official birth certificates, Breitbart reports.

The Ohio Department of Health has decided not to appeal a federal court ruling from December that ruled the state’s ban on gender changes in birth records is unconstitutional.

The court ruling issued last December came in response to a lawsuit brought by four transgender people seeking to change their birth records. According to the Breitbart report, Judge Michael Watson, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that the Buckeye State must allow for “corrections” on birth certificates.

Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison After Police Station Arson During Floyd Riots

May 1, 2021May 1, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

A Minnesota man will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty to crime related to the arson of a police station in Minneapolis during the riots over George Floyd’s death last summer.

“Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. He was accused of lighting a Molotov cocktail that another person threw at the Third Precinct headquarters in Minneapolis,” Fox News reported.