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Election Audit Reveals Irregularities for 1 in 14 Mail-In Votes Cast.
An audit of mail-in ballots cast in Montana for the 2020 presidential election reveals a host of irregularities including evidence that “one or several persons may have filled out and submitted multiple ballots” and the failure of a county elections office to provide video footage of vote-counting. …
The post Election Audit Reveals Irregularities for 1 in 14 Mail-In Votes Cast. appeared first on The National Pulse.
Georgia Legislator Pushes Back On CNN Host’s Criticisms And ‘False Narrative’ Surrounding Georgia Election Bill
Republican Georgia state Sen. Butch Miller pushed back on criticisms from CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Tuesday, as well as the “false narrative” surrounding the election bill recently signed into law in his state.
Miller appeared on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday and attempted to refute popular arguments that the law, S.B. 202, is making it harder for people to vote.
(NEW) Donald Trump website: 45office.com
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States
Donald Trump is a major news figure but many media outlets and platforms have conspired to censor him and to censor certain information about him for political reasons. We will publish some of that difficult-to-find information here. […]
Woody Allen on Dylan Farrow’s accusation: ‘I believe she believes that’
Continuing to deny he sexually abused his daughter, the filmmaker also says, ‘She was a good kid. I do not believe that she’s making it up.’
Woody Allen gave a rare interview addressing allegations of sexual abuse by Dylan Farrow, maintaining his innocence while noting he believes Farrow “believes” she’s telling the truth.
“I believe she thinks it,” Allen, 85, told “CBS Sunday Morning” of Farrow’s previous allegations that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child. “She was a good kid. I do not believe that she’s making it up. I don’t believe she’s lying. I believe she believes that.”
The interview, which CBS says was Allen’s first in-depth, on camera American interview in nearly 30 years, was conducted in July 2020 but aired Sunday on streaming service Paramount+ for the first time amid a renewed interest in allegations against the filmmaker, thanks in part to the recent damning HBO docuseries ”Allen vs. Farrow.”
Allen has never been charged with any crimes and has repeatedly denied being inappropriate with his adopted daughter over the years. He and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, whom his ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow adopted with her ex-husband, composer André Previn, have written off “Allen v. Farrow” as fiction, slamming it as “a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods.”
“It’s so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained,” Allen said in the July interview. ”And they still prefer to cling to if not the notion that I molested Dylan, the possibility that I molested her. Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that.”
He added: “There was no logic to it, on the face of it. Why would a guy who’s 57 years old and never accused of anything in my life, I’m suddenly going to drive up in the middle of a contentious custody fight at Mia’s country home [with] a 7-year-old girl? It just — on the surface, I didn’t think it required any investigation, even.”
Allen told CBS he would like to reach out to Dylan Farrow but has not spoken to her since the allegations surfaced.
In the early ’90s, Mia Farrow, still Allen’s girlfriend at the time, learned that he had struck up a relationship with her 21-year-old adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, upon discovering he had nude photos of Previn. Allen, 56 at the time, and Mia Farrow ended their relationship soon after.
“The last thing in the world that anybody wanted was to hurt anybody’s feelings,” Allen said. ”What we wanted to do was to eventually make it known that we had a relationship.”
He added he was “totally surprised” at the onset of his relationship with Previn and initially had “no interest in her whatsoever,” but “she turned out to be the deepest relationship in my life.”
When asked if he ever considered a relationship with his girlfriend’s adopted daughter to be inappropriate, Allen said “no,” adding there was “never a moment that it wasn’t the most natural thing in the world … it didn’t give me pause, because the relationship with Soon-Yi was very gradual. It wasn’t like I went out with her one night and kissed her.”
Despite Allen’s reputation as a man who dated younger women — and one who portrayed characters who dated younger women — Allen maintains the 35-year age gap between himself and Previn was a deviation from the norm, and that his relationship with Mia Farrow had reached a point of being a ”relationship of convenience” and was “never going to be a marital relationship.”
“I would say of the many women I’ve dated in my life, many women, they were all what the appropriate police would call appropriate, age appropriate — Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, Louise Lasser, my first wife — until Soon-Yi, which is unusual for me.”
He added: “If you’d have told me I was going to wind up married, and happily married, to an Asian woman much younger than me, not in show business, I would have said ‘the odds of that are very slim. I don’t think you’re going to be right.’ But that’s what happened.”
In 2018, CBS’s Gayle King spoke to Dylan Farrow, who shut down Allen’s claims that her allegations were merely a vessel for Mia Farrow to seek revenge over his relationship with Previn.
“What I don’t understand is, how is this crazy story of me being brainwashed and coached more believable than what I’m saying about being sexually assaulted by my father?” Dylan Farrow said. “Except every step of the way, my mother has only encouraged me to tell the truth. She has never coached me.”
She added: “He’s lying and he’s been lying for so long.”
Allen and Previn, now 50, have been married for 23 years and have raised two adopted daughters now in college, which Allen claims is proof of his innocence: ”They don’t give two baby girls to someone they think is a pedophile.”
How does he feel about those in Hollywood and the public who have condemned him? “They’re well-meaning but foolish,” he says, accusing them of “enabling this lie” against a “perfectly innocent person.” But he says he ultimately isn’t bothered by what others think about him.
“Do I care that some guy sitting at home or some woman is thinking, ‘I don’t care what investigators say, I still believe he’s a pedophile’? It’s as meaningful as a person sitting at home saying, ‘I believe him and he’s a wonderful guy and he’s gotten a raw deal,’ “ he said.
Read more at usatoday.com
Just who is it attacking Asian Americans?
CNN ran no less than 3 gazillion segments about a supposed “surge” in violence against Asian Americans this week, but there was something really strange about each one. Though the anchors and reporters were careful to note the race of the victims, they studiously avoided saying even a word about the race of the attackers.
It’s not really that strange. It’s because the suspects seen on video in each of the attacks were black. Do you think CNN might have showed more urgency in identifying their race had they been white? I do!
Asians Rarely, Though Increasingly Face Hate Crimes
Americans have been targeted for their Asian ancestry more often in recent years but the incidents remain rare. There were 158 anti-Asian hate crimes reported in 2019 by police agencies to the FBI, up from 148 the year before. The FBI won’t release its 2020 data until the fall but in 16 of the country’s largest cities, according to an analysis by researchers from California State University (CSU) in San Bernardino (pdf), there was an increase to 122 incidents in 2020 from 49 the year before. The data has come to the forefront of media attention after a 21-year-old man killed eight people in several massage parlors in the Atlanta area on March 16. Six of the victims were Asian women. Many such parlors are known to illegally offer sexual services and are most commonly staffed by Chinese immigrants, many of whom have fallen victim to human trafficking rings. Authorities said …
Massage Parlors Attacked by Gunman Busted in Prostitution Stings
According to documents released Friday, the two massage parlors targeted by a deranged gunman in Atlanta Tuesday had both been subjects of prostitution stings by police, despite claims to the contrary by Atlanta’s mayor.
“As far as we know in Atlanta, these are legally operating businesses that have not been on our radar,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said after the shootings. “Not on the radar of [the Atlanta Police Department].”
Between the two parlors, 12 people were arrested in the busts. The latest prostitution sting happened in 2013.
“Almost all the arrests came in undercover stings where an officer paid for a massage and an employee offered sex or a sex act for more money,” the Washington Post reported.
Police visited the two massage parlors 21 times, according to the records.
The prevailing narrative pushed by the political left is that the shootings, which left eight victims dead, six of whom were of Asian descent, were a “hate crime” against the Asian community. But the gunman, 21-year-old Robert Alan Long of Woodstock, reportedly confessed that he targeted the massage parlors because they fed into his own sexual addiction, not because of the race of those operating them.
The third massage parlor attacked by the lone gunman was in Cherokee County, and does not appear to have run afoul of the law the way the others did.
However, according to one report, all of Long’s targets “have detailed recent reviews on an online site that leads users to places that provide sexual services.”
Still, the political left is running with the racism narrative.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Asian American leaders in Georgia Friday.
Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen, a Democrat and the first Vietnamese American member of Georgia’s general assembly, described the shootings as the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to dabroscareports@gmail.com.
Photo “Police Tape” by Tony Webster. CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Atlanta Shooting Suspect Charged with ‘Malice Murder’ and Aggravated Assault
Atlanta massage parlor shooting suspect 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long has been charged with “malice murder” and aggravated assault, a county sheriff announced Monday. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Long, who is accused of opening fire at three spas, killing eight people including six of Asian descent, could still face further charges. “Working with jurisdictions across Georgia, Robert Aaron Long was quickly apprehended and now faces malice murder and aggravated assault charges in our jurisdiction,” the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. Malice murder is an offence in the state of Georgia that alleges express or implied malice. Long took “full responsibility” for the shootings on the night of March 16, officials said last week, adding that the 21-year-old may not have targeted the parlors out of a racially motivated animus but because he wanted to end his sexual addiction. Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds told reporters last week …
Suspected Atlanta gunman Robert Aaron Long had been to spas before
The alleged gunman who shot up three Atlanta-area spas, killing eight people including six Asian women, “may have frequented” some of the locations and had a “sex addiction,” it was revealed on Wednesday.
Atlanta shooting suspect said killing of Asian women wasn’t racially motivated, blames sex addiction
The man suspected of killing eight people, including at least four Asian women, in three separate shootings in Georgia allegedly admitted to the killings and told authorities they were not was not racially motivated.
The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, said the shooting, at three spas outside of Atlanta, were connected to his “addiction to sex,” authorities said.
Elizabeth Warren Calls Filibuster Racist Months After Filibustering Tim Scott Police Reform Bill
by Thomas Catenacci
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the filibuster racist Thursday, months after she filibustered Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform legislation.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the filibuster is both racist and shouldn’t be permitted in the Senate since it gives the minority veto power, according to Axios. The legislative filibuster, which dates back to the 1800s, is a rule that requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass in the Senate.
“The filibuster has deep roots in racism, and it should not be permitted to serve that function, or to create a veto for the minority,” Warren told Axios on Thursday. “In a democracy, it’s majority rules.”
Warren added that the founders didn’t intend for the filibuster to be implemented in Senate legislative procedure, according to Axios. Rather, it was designed to give southern states the ability to veto any anti-slavery or civil rights law they opposed, Warren said.
Warren first announced her opposition to the filibuster in 2019, CNN reported.
However, Warren filibustered Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform bill in June, CNN analyst Scott Jennings noted. After Democrats blocked his bill, Scott criticized them, saying he was “amazed” by their actions.
Given how often Warren filibustered when she was in the minority, does this make her a racist? Anyone who covers this without mentioning her record is not telling the full story. https://t.co/RshVmFZBOC
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) March 18, 2021
“If my colleagues had issues with the legislation, they should have accepted that we were willing to give them multiple amendment votes so that we can make the necessary adjustments to get this across the president’s desk,” Scott said.
Calls to eliminate the filibuster have gained momentum since President Joe Biden took office as legislation continues to pass in the House but stalls in the Senate. Biden along with many congressional Democrats have endorsed removing the procedure.
Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have repeatedly said they oppose killing the filibuster.
Manchin recently explained that removing the filibuster effectively removes the involvement of the Senate minority in legislating.
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Thomas Catenacci is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Senator Elizabeth Warren” by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
The post Elizabeth Warren Calls Filibuster Racist Months After Filibustering Tim Scott Police Reform Bill appeared first on The Georgia Star News.
‘Marrying my husband made me realise I was racist’: Harry and Meghan’s new strategist says
Genevieve Roth believes that all white people are ‘rife with internalised racism and unconscious bias’. She is the founder of Invisible Hand, a ‘female-led diverse team’ based in New York.
Evanston, Illinois, to Pay Reparations to Black Families Harmed by Decades of Racist Housing Policies
Evanston, Illinois, has become the first city in the United States to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination and the lingering effects of slavery. The Chicago suburb’s City Council voted 8 to 1 to distribute $400,000 to eligible Black households, with qualifying residents receiving $25,000 for home repairs or down payments on property. The program is being funded through donations and revenue from a 3% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana, and the city has pledged to distribute $10 million over 10 years. “There’s no way to express how significant this is,” says Danny Glover, an actor and activist who is a member of the National African American Reparations Commission. “Imagine how that resonates beyond Evanston, Illinois. Imagine the kind of discourse that happens, the discussions in community by ordinary citizens about reparations.” We also speak with Robin Rue Simmons, a member of the Evanston City Council and reparations advocate, and Dino Robinson, a historian and executive director of the Shorefront Legacy Center, the only community archive for Black history on Chicago’s suburban North Shore.
Sen. Tim Scott Hammers Democrat Hypocrisy Using ‘Racist’ Filibuster Against Him
Joe Biden rambled his way into the debate over eliminating the senate filibuster this week. According to Joe it’s a relic of the Jim Eagle Jim Crow era. He didn’t have a good answer when asked, if he really feels that way, why not call for its elimination now. Jen Psaki didn’t have a good answer when challenged if Biden thought the filibuster was Jim Crow adjacent all the times he supported the filibuster. Funny how the rhetoric changes with the wind. Like all the Democrats calling the filibuster racist in 2021 after using the filibuster to block Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform bill in 2020.
If you’re quick to point out the OBVIOUS hypocrisy there, you are not alone. Tim Scott agrees.
Tim Scott blasts Dems overuse of ‘racist’ to describe opponents’ politics
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It was a frustrating, irritating moment where the Democrats used the filibuster to block police reform that would have positively impacted disproportionately African American communities. Here’s what we know about the Democrats. They were for the filibuster before they were against the filibuster. I keep asking myself, will the real Chuck Schumer please stand up?
[Democrats] use the word racist whenever they’re trying to scare people into their corner.
I saw somewhere on Twitter the argument that “historians” and “fact-checkers” agree that the filibuster is a legacy of the Jim Crow era. The clear implication that anyone who supports it is raaaaaacist. For the fecal matter and giggles of doing so, let’s say they are sincere in their belief. The obvious question is if Democrats were celebrating the legacy of Jim Crow all the times they used the filibuster. Tim Scott is an example. The multiple times they filibustered crucial coronavirus aid comes to mind as well. I also wonder if Donald Trump’s predecessor was a Jim Crow stan when he supported the filibuster as U.S. Senator. These all seem like obvious questions to challenge the left on.
Unless — and I’m just spitballing here — Biden, Democrats, woke supremacists, “historians” and those “independent” “fact’ checkers all know that they’re full of sh!t. We should consider that as an option.
Biden ‘Attempts’ to Talk About Abusing the Filibuster | Louder With Crowder
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REPORT: Investigation Clears Cafeteria Worker At Elite College Smeared As Racist By Student, But Now She Has Trouble Finding A Job
A student at an elite Massachusetts college accused a cafeteria employee and janitors at the school of racial discrimination, but after an investigation cleared everyone involved, the cafeteria employee still can’t shed the student’s accusation years after the incident, The New York Times reported.
PIERS MORGAN: I’m not a racist and neither is Sharon Osbourne but that didn’t stop the woke mob lynching her
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9414297/PIERS-MORGAN-Im-not-racist-neither-Sharon-Osbourne.html
Continue reading PIERS MORGAN: I’m not a racist and neither is Sharon Osbourne but that didn’t stop the woke mob lynching her …
Gina Carano Responds To Former Senator Heidi Heitkamp Calling Her A ‘Nazi’ On ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’
Gina Carano responded to former Democratic North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp’s accusations that the actress is a “Nazi” and more during “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“Here we have more of the dehumanizing phase of cancel culture,” the 38-year-old actress tweeted Monday, along with a clip of the former senator accusing her of being involved with “white supremacy.”
GOP congressman: It’s racist to suggest voter ID requirements hinder African-Americans
Rep. Brooks joined John Solomon for a wide-ranging interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
Facts Matter (March 29): Heavily Armed Antifa Rioters Stormed Oregon Capital
At the southern border, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) attempted to take a video of the migrant detention facility, but he was blocked by a Biden staffer who told him to respect the rules. Meanwhile, city officials in Baltimore have announced that they are permanently no longer going to prosecute “low-level” crimes like prostitution and drug […]
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Protesters, National Guard spar over locks on fence outside Chauvin courthouse
Protesters and the National Guard are clashing in Minneapolis — over padlocks. Police brutality protesters in Minneapolis have been placing padlocks with the names of people killed by police on the fencing surrounding a courthouse where George Floyd’s accused killer is standing trial. But shortly after the locks go up outside Hennepin County District Court,…
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Former Officer’s Trial in George Floyd’s Death Begins
The trial for former police officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death is underway. The jury heard opening statements Monday.
The post Former Officer’s Trial in George Floyd’s Death Begins appeared first on NTD.
Commentary: Movement Grows to Recall Progressive District Attorneys
by Edward Ring
The advocacy group “Fair and Just Prosecution” says the goal of progressive criminal justice reform is to create “a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion, and fiscal responsibility.” Starting around 2016, this movement picked up momentum across the United States, primarily by funding candidates in county district attorney elections. There are now dozens of cities and counties with elected district attorneys that are enforcing massive shifts in prosecutorial conduct.
Reforms were needed. But so far, they have been a disaster.
While the most visible source of funding for these district attorney candidates is the notorious George Soros, the movement is much bigger than the agenda of one billionaire. It taps a core belief of progressives, that America’s criminal justice system is punitive and disproportionately targets nonwhite and low-income communities. It also taps into a sentiment shared by progressives and libertarians, that “victimless” crimes, primarily drug related, should not be crimes at all.
It would be a mistake to assume that no legitimate motivations inform these progressive district attorneys and their donors. Along with the careerism, hatred for American institutions, desire to wreak havoc on our society, and even well-intentioned but hideously misapplied desire for social justice, there are problems that need to be fixed and ideas that ought to be tried. But so far, in every city and county where progressive district attorneys have taken office, crime is rising, with entire neighborhoods awash in filth, chaos, and lawlessness.
Places where progressive district attorneys are now elected and in office include the major cities of St. Louis, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Austin, as well as Columbus, Ohio; Aurora, Colorado; and Michigan’s Oakland County, a suburb of Detroit. But California, naturally, is where the progressive prosecutors have achieved the most reach.
California’s Example
Four major counties in California now have progressive prosecutors, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has a resume that suggests radical “reforms” are in his DNA. This headline, posted by NBC News when he was elected in December 2019, says it all: “Parents guilty of murder and raised by radicals, Chesa Boudin is San Francisco’s next district attorney.”
Boudin has lived up to his stereotypes, to the point where even San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, who ordinarily would be considered radical herself, has become disillusioned. Quoting from an article published by the San Francisco Chronicle in early 2021, “Breed said—without naming anyone—that the criminal justice system could have prevented the death by holding McAlister accountable for his crimes.”
Breed was referring to Troy McAlister, who
allegedly ran a stoplight in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood in a stolen car, striking and killing two pedestrians. Police say McAlister had a gun, and methamphetamine and alcohol in his system. McAlister had a lengthy rap sheet dating back years and was released from prison after completing a sentence for robbery in April. Since then, he had been arrested several times, including as recently as December 20, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, but his arrests were referred to his parole officer, and he was not charged.
This is “restorative justice” at work. Breed went on to say “the criminal justice system in our city has failed.”
If San Francisco has acquired infamy in recent years for ungovernable, crime-ridden neighborhoods, a homeless invasion, thousands of heroin addicts, and an app—cleverly named “Snapcrap” that tracks the incidences of human feces on city sidewalks, its counterpart in Southern California boasts all these same dismal attributes, but on a much larger scale. Los Angeles County hosts the largest unified trial court system in America, and their newly elected district attorney, George Gascón (pictured above), is working from the same progressive playbook.
“Within weeks of taking office,” Politico reports, “Gascón instructed prosecutors to stop seeking the death penalty and trying juveniles as adults. He ordered a halt to most cash bail requests and banned prosecutors from appearing at parole hearings. Most controversially, he barred prosecutors from seeking various sentencing enhancements.”
What on earth did Gascón think would happen? Even before progressive district attorneys were elected in some of California’s biggest counties, it was almost impossible to police the state effectively. The turning point in California’s progressive assault on law enforcement was the passage in 2014 of Proposition 47. Supported by nearly all Democratic politicians, a smattering of libertarians, the ACLU, and several unions including AFSCME and SEIU California, this ballot initiative was misleadingly marketed as the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.”
Ostensibly to empty the jails of expensively housed “nonviolent” offenders, unintended consequences were felt immediately. Five years later, the negative consequences of Prop. 47 continue to compound and intensify. Prop. 47 freed tens of thousands of felons from state prisons and county jails back into communities. It reduced the penalty for possession of most illegal drugs including heroin and methamphetamine to a misdemeanor, and it also reduced to misdemeanor any crime where the value of property stolen doesn’t exceed $950—even for multiple offenses.
George Gascón, with plenty of help from hapless Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, now presides over a county that plays host to the largest homeless population in America, over 60,000 people. These permanent homeless encampments, an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe, are havens for criminal activity.
And small wonder. Vagrancy, petty theft, and hard drug use are decriminalized, and now Gascón’s office is preventing effective prosecution of more serious crimes. Crime rates are soaring in Los Angeles County just as they are everywhere that progressive district attorneys have been elected.
Recalls Seek to Stop the Spread
Resistance is forming, however.
The Los Angeles Times reports several of Gascón’s“reforms” have been blocked by an L.A. County judge. In particular, the judge ruled that Gascón cannot stop prosecutors from using sentencing enhancements. The lawsuit by the union representing L.A. prosecutors argues that Gascón’s efforts violate state law and, among other things, endanger public safety by making it harder to keep gang members off the streets. Now police officers are joining the rebellion, led by L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
Perhaps inspired by the unprecedented success of the recall campaign against Gavin Newsom, a nearly all-volunteer effort that collected more than 2 signatures to force California’s governor to fight for his political life in a special election later this year, earlier this month in Los Angeles, Villanueva’s Recall George Gascón committee filed a notice of intent to collect recall signatures. If the petition is approved for circulation by the L.A. County Clerk’s office, supporters will have 160 days to gather 590,000 signatures to get a George Gascón recall on the ballot.
In California these days, recalls are contagious. In San Francisco, the Recall Chesa Boudin campaign filed notice of intent to recall on February 8, and the San Francisco Department of Elections approved petitions for circulation on March 4. The campaign has until August 11 to collect and submit 51,325 valid signatures.
Effective Criminal Justice Reform and Results
Criminal justice reform can put an end to overreliance on often coerced plea bargains and punitive incarceration. But reform doesn’t have to condemn our cities to lawlessness. As balance is restored and the electorate becomes more aware of the issues, genuine progress is possible.
The injustice of harsh sentencing has to be weighed against its overall value in deterring crime. The staggering expense of incarceration, or, for that matter, the staggering expense of homeless shelters in cities riddled with corruption, has to be confronted and corrected. Not every jail must be a supermax. Not every homeless shelter has to cost $100,000 (or more) per bed. The liberty of individuals to consume drugs has to be balanced against the rights of the people who live in the neighborhoods they’ve taken over.
If George Soros and the progressive movement he represents have done one good thing, it’s that they’ve removed district attorney elections from the backwoods of political theater. These elections, which Soros and a handful of other major donors were able to quietly dominate for the last few years, picking off city after city, are no longer obscure. District attorney candidates, and the philosophy they intend to bring to office, are finally getting the scrutiny they deserve.
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Edward Ring is a senior fellow of the Center for American Greatness and co-founder in 2013 of the California Policy Center.
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Defiant Michigan Restaurant Owner Jailed After Appearing On Tucker Carlson Show
LANSING, MI- A Michigan restaurant owner has been jailed by the order of the state attorney general. Her crime? Complaining about her long-running battle against the AG on Fox News Network’s Tucker Carlson show and operating a business in the state of Michigan.
Carlson: They want you to know that defiance is the real crime
CARLSON: Marlena Pavlos-Hackney is in jail. She was arrested very early this morning, before 6 a.m. by police, taken away in ankle shackles and wrist cuffs. One of the few people in this country who gets up really early to go to work because she really cares, trying her very hardest and they grabbed her and they sent her away for longer than people who commit gun crimes in Detroit get.
Canadian Man Jailed After Referring to Biological Daughter by Wrong Pronoun
This is why we have a First Amendment in this country. It’s also why that First Amendment needs to be defended as the left tries to chip away at free speech. In Canada, they don’t have freedom of speech. The government can throw you in jail for using the wrong pronouns. As one father has found out, after referring to his biological daughter with the wrong words.
The man — whose identity is reportedly under a publication ban by a British Columbia Court of Appeals to protect his child — was found in contempt of court and arrested Tuesday for calling the teen his daughter and publicly referring to him with the pronouns “she” and “her.”
The teenager was born as a female and reportedly identifies as transgender and prefers the use of male pronouns.
A Canadian court ruled that the man’s name could not be published in Canadian publications. Let that one simmer for a little bit. The Post Millennial has identified the man as Robert Hoogland. He shares his side of the story in this 2020 YouTube video.
Father: my 14-year-old daughter was destroyed by court-ordered trans hormones
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The man’s biological daughter has identified as a boy since the age of 11. At fifteen, he started hormone therapy with the support of his mother and a psychologist. Allowing minors to have this life-altering treatment and surgery has become a contentious issue. Sen. Rand Paul challenged Joe Biden’s assistant health secretary on the matter. There’s also legislation in Alabama and South Carolina looking to make the surgery illegal for minors. That’s in America. In Canada, they ruled that the father just had to let it happen and shut up about it. He didn’t shut up about it, so he was thrown in jail.
Do I care what grown adults want to do or how they feel they need to identify to live their best life? Not in the slightest. Do I have an opinion on minors getting life-altering surgery, the parents who let it happen, or the activists who claim parents have no say in the matter? You most likely are reading this after clicking a link on Facebook, so I’ll leave it at that. Though I will point out that we’re suing Facebook.
The fact that someone can be thrown in jail for saying the wrong thing is frightening. The fact that a government can rule that if someone says the wrong thing they will be thrown in jail is more frightening. No government should have that power. No citizens should allow a government to have that power. The more power you give the government, the more power the government will take. Exhibit Q: We are now on day 368 of “15 Days to Flatten the Curve.”
Thankfully, this is just in Canada. North America’s red-headed stepchild. Our Bill of Rights prevents the same from happening here. But only for now. If you don’t think left-wing activists want the same to be allowable in this country, you need to pay closer attention.
RAND PAUL: Biden’s Assistant Health Secretary is LYING To You! | Louder With Crowder
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Iowa University Officials Denied Immunity for Targeting Christian Student Group
University of Iowa administrators can be held personally accountable for denying official recognition to a Christian students group because of its faith-based leadership policy, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. A panel of three circuit judges ruled in favor of Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC), holding that the university officials do not enjoy qualified immunity—a legal shield protecting public officials from individual liability unless they violate a “clearly established” constitutional right—because they violated at least the student group’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. The case stemmed from 2017, when BLinC barred a member from serving in a leading position after he came out as gay and refused to “forgo romantic same-sex relationships” in accordance to the group’s interpretation of biblical teachings. The student filed a complaint with the University of Iowa alleging that he was discriminated against for being openly gay, while BLinC …
Scotland Passes Hate Crime Law Amid Free Speech Concerns
The Scottish Parliament has passed a controversial bill on so-called hate crimes despite concerns about its impact on freedom of speech. The bill was passed on Thursday by 82 votes to 32. It was supported by the Scottish National Party (SNP), Labour, and the Liberal Democrats. Only the Scottish Conservatives voted against it. Scotland’s regional government, led by the SNP, hailed it as a piece of “powerful legislation” that is “for the 21st century.” “Through the passing of this landmark Bill, Parliament has sent a strong and clear message to victims, perpetrators, communities and to wider society that offences motivated by prejudice will be treated seriously and will not be tolerated,” said Humza Yousaf, justice secretary for the Scottish government. But the Scottish Conservatives called the bill “a serious threat to freedom of speech.” The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in April …
Fresh hope for campus free speech
Here’s some fresh hope for free speech on US campuses: Some 200 scholars and professors from across the country launched the Academic Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting back against “cancel culture” efforts to silence faculty targeted by “woke” outrage. Sparked by conversations among faculty at Princeton University about fading support for…
Rallies for Freedom, Peace and Democracy Planned in 40+ Countries
Demonstrators in more than 40 countries gathered Saturday, March 20, for a Worldwide Rally for Freedom to call for the restoration of fundamental human rights.
Organizers of the Worldwide Rally for Freedom said demonstrators are taking a stand for five important freedoms:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of movement
- Freedom of choice
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of health
To find a demonstration near you or to follow the events on social media, click here. For general information on the organizers and event, click here.
The post Tomorrow: Rallies for Freedom, Peace and Democracy Planned in 40+ Countries appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.
Commentary: Your Freedom of Speech Ends Wednesday
The Senate’s Committee on Rules and Administration Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has announced she is holding a hearing Wednesday, March 24th at 10:00 AM ET on H.R.1/S.1, the Democrats’ misnamed “For the People Act.”
This is the first announced Senate hearing on the Democrats’ plan to do away with your freedom of speech, and if you were hoping the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration would act to correct the outrages that are central provisions of the House-passed bill, think again.
We have two ways you can help stop this disaster: First, go to Act for America’s FreeRoots campaign and use the easy online tools to let Congress know you oppose this Un-American assault on free speech and free and fair elections. Second, call your Senators via the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044), urge them politely, but firmly, to oppose H.R. 1/S. 1.
Given that the bill is almost 800 pages long, we have many specific technical and philosophical objections to H.R. 1, but most of them can be distilled down to this: H.R. 1 would set up an Un-American speech police and speech czar to monitor the political speech of everyday Americans.
Under this Democrat scheme any American who might make a political comment on their social media or personal email list, could be subject to regulation and reporting to the government and hefty fines for failure to comply.
This is contrary to the First Amendment and our traditional understanding of freedom of expression.
As we have explained in several articles, the House-passed version of H.R. 1 expands the Czar-like powers of individual government staff people by permitting the General Counsel to issue subpoenas on his or her own authority, rather than requiring an affirmative vote by the Commission.
And to ensure that these new Czars’ word is law, H.R.1 creates new standards of judicial review that weaken the rights of respondents in Commission matters.
If a respondent challenges in court a Commission decision finding that it violated the law, the court will defer to any reasonable interpretation the agency gives to the statute, but if the respondent wins at the Commission, no deference will be given to the FEC’s decision, if challenged in court. This “heads I win, tails you lose” approach harms respondents and biases court decisions against speakers.
In addition to these direct attacks on free speech our friends at People United for Privacy have pointed out the bill also includes:
· Requirements to disclose organization donors would expose citizens to harassment and intimidation.
· Due to complicated disclaimer and reporting requirements, this unfairly impacts start-ups and organizations with limited resources since they would need to consult with attorneys before communicating online.
· Eliminating safeguards placed on the IRS would allow the federal agency to become the “speech police” and target groups they oppose.
· The additional record keeping and compliance for online platforms would increase the cost to communicate online.
· Nonprofits play an important role in the public square by educating Americans – this Act would squelch their speech.
As People United for Privacy pointed out, “the DISCLOSE Act [part of H.R. 1 and S. 1] will expand the definition of political speech subject to complex government regulation. It also will trigger significant donor disclosure requirements for organizations that spend more than $10,000 on ads about policy issues that merely mention a candidate, even if the communication has nothing to do with an election. Groups, including charities, that grant more than $10,000 to another organization that then spends money discussing policy issues also will have to disclose their donors. This aggressive mandate violates Americans’ privacy, facilitates harassment, and will decrease civic engagement.
And, there’s another part of the House-passed bill that should outrage every believer in free speech.
Currently, the Internal Revenue Service is barred from issuing regulations that govern speech and citizen advocacy by nonprofit organizations after being caught systematically harassing right-of-center groups. This bill seeks to repeal that prohibition. Eliminating this safeguard would weaponize the IRS to become the “speech police.” It would also reverse recent reforms that eliminated the requirement that certain nonprofits report the confidential information of their supporters — information the IRS does not need to enforce tax law.
The entire concept of a “speech czar” is completely Un-American and antithetical to the constitutional values of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. To make sure your voice is heard, go to Act for America’s FreeRoots campaign and use the easy online tools to let Congress know you oppose this Un-American assault on free speech and free and fair elections. Then call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044), tell Republican Representatives and Senators you are speaking on behalf of the millions of Americans who cherish and rely on their right to speak freely about political campaigns and issues; tell them you demand they oppose H.R. 1 and S. 1 and the creation of “speech czars” to police political speech.
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Photo “Sen Amy Klobuchar #ForthePeople” by Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The post Commentary: Your Freedom of Speech Ends Wednesday appeared first on The Georgia Star News.
RE teacher suspended over Prophet Muhammad cartoon ‘defended his right to freedom of speech’
The teacher, who allegedly showed the cartoon to pupils at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, phoned the irate father after he had called the school and left a message to speak with him.
Award-Winning Biologist Slams Peter Daszak And WHO COVID Colleagues For Peddling Chinese Communist Party ‘Disinformation.’
Molecular biologist Dr. Richard Elbright insisted that World Health Organization COVID-19 investigators – especially Peter Daszak – were “participants in disinformation” on their recent mission to China to uncover the…
The post Award-Winning Biologist Slams Peter Daszak And WHO COVID Colleagues For Peddling Chinese Communist Party ‘Disinformation.’ appeared first on The National Pulse.
California theme parks instruct visitors to stay silent on roller coasters to stem COVID-19 spread
(JustTheNews.com) Theme parks in California, set to reopen next month, are telling visitors not to scream or shout – or even to breathe heavily – while on rides, including roller coasters.
“The California Attractions and Parks Association advises in the new guidelines for its “Responsible Reopening Plan” that theme park visitors should avoid activities that increase the spread of COVID-19, such as singing, shouting, heavy breathing and raising one’s voice,” reports People.
“This rule applies when visitors are on the parks’ rides, meaning guests are recommended to stay silent on roller coasters that usually encourage people to do anything but,” the magazine said.
Colorado loosens COVID restrictions across most of state in major — and likely final — revision of dial
Colorado’s health department moved 26 counties to the lowest level on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 dial Wednesday, eliminating most public health restrictions in those less-populated areas now at Level Green — including all caps on dining capacity at restaurants.
The “Dial 3.0” changes that took effect Wednesday, March 24, 2021, also remove all limits statewide on the size of personal gatherings. And they allow bars to reopen, at limited capacity, for the first time since last summer in counties at Level Blue, which, in the metro area, include Jefferson and Arapahoe. Last call for alcohol in those counties returns to 2 a.m., as well.
Furthermore, restaurants and gyms in Level Blue counties can operate at 100% capacity as long as they maintain 6 feet of distance between parties, though state officials concede that distancing requirement “will be a limiting factor for most indoor spaces.”
Restaurants and gyms with 5 Star state certification in counties at Level Yellow — those include Denver, Douglas, Boulder and Adams — also can resume operating at 100% capacity, provided they can meet that 6-foot distancing requirement.
Changes have not yet been made to the statewide mask mandate, which expires April 3, because officials still are reviewing public input on the plan released last week to lift nearly all requirements for facial coverings in counties at Level Green, according to the health department.
The easing of restrictions was expected as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Friday evening that it would make it easier for counties to move to Level Green on the dial, which has been used by the agency to set COVID-19 restrictions in communities based on local transmission of the coronavirus.
The revised dial is expected to remain in place until mid-April, after which the state will retire it and issue a new public health order handing most control over COVID-related restrictions to local public health agencies.
“Coloradans have made great sacrifices to protect ourselves and our communities from COVID-19 over the past year,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the health department in a statement. “While this is still a time for caution, these changes to the dial better reflect where we are in the pandemic today, and the balance we are trying to strike between disease suppression and economic hardship.”
Going green
The counties that moved to Level Green are: Moffat, Rio Blanco, Jackson, Delta, Gunnison, Ouray, Dolores, San Juan, Hinsdale, Saguache, Rio Grande, Conejos, Costilla, Huerfano, Custer, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Bent, Prowers, Baca, Phillips and Sedgwick.
Two counties — Crowley and Otero — already were at Level Green, which now places no state restrictions on restaurant, office, gym, retail, personal services or outdoor event capacity.
For counties at Level Green, the only remaining restrictions are on bars, indoor group sports and camps, and indoor seated or unseated events, all of which are capped at 50% of capacity or 500 people, whichever is fewer.
Under the proposal introduced by the state last week, the dial changes were to be followed by a modified mask order from the governor on April 4 that, in counties at Level Green, would only require masks be worn at schools by children ages 11 to 18 because they do not yet have access to vaccines.
For counties at Levels Blue, Yellow, Orange and Red, the proposal said masks would be required for that same group of students and in any indoor public places with 10 or more people present. The existing statewide mask mandate would remain in effect in any counties reaching Level Purple, the highest phase.
State officials, in announcing Wednesday’s changes, said feedback received about the proposed mask changes will be considered before the current order expires and any decision is made on a subsequent modified order.
“COVID-19 still presents risks to healthy Coloradans, so everyone should continue to take precautions until the vaccine becomes widely available and used,” the health agency said in a news release.
Increased vaccinations
The Department of Public Health and Environment previously said it was making the changes to the dial because of the progress the state has made in vaccinating Coloradans against the coronavirus. To date, 894,526 people are fully immunized in the state.
But Colorado also has seen its months-long decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations stall and an increase in the number of cases involving the more contagious variants of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci encouraged Americans to keep public health measures in place or else risk seeing another rise in infections as is occurring in Europe, according to PBS NewsHour. Those measures include wearing masks, physically distancing and avoiding large gatherings.
Under Wednesday’s dial changes, there are no longer limits by the state on personal gathering sizes, although the Department of Public Health and Environment said it will follow guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency still recommends avoiding larger gatherings and crowds.
Currently, there are 22 counties at Level Blue on the dial. In those counties, bars can now open at 25% capacity or 75 people, whichever is fewer. Retail and business offices also can open at 75% capacity in Level Blue counties.
Seated and unseated indoor events at locations with 5 Star certification in Level Blue counties can now operate at 50% capacity with a 500-person cap, while similar events at 5 Star-certified locations in Level Yellow counties can operate at 50% capacity with a 175-person limit.
There are no state restrictions on capacity at outdoor events in Level Green or Blue counties.
Thirteen counties, including Denver, are at Level Yellow. And only Pitkin County is at Level Orange, having just been moved up to the third-highest level on the dial.
Loretto Hospital executive resigns in wake of COVID-19 vaccination scandal
The move comes as Mayor Lightfoot defended her administration and its “very robust oversight” of vaccines distributed by the city.
Anosh Ahmed, the Loretto Hospital executive at the center of a series of COVID-19 vaccination controversies, has resigned, the hospital’s board announced Wednesday night.
The board said it is continuing its investigation into actions taken by Dr. Ahmed, Loretto’s chief operating officer, after a series of stories that hospital executives had used city-supplied vaccine for the Austin community Loretto serves at vaccination events at the Trump Tower downtown and at other locations — in some cases giving shots to those who were not eligible.
“If our review should uncover anything further that indicates our processes were compromised, there will be additional consequences imposed on those responsible for these actions,” Chairman Edward Hogan said in a statement.
Before his resignation, Ahmed had been reprimanded by the hospital and given a 60-day suspension, a source told the Sun-Times Wednesday.
Lightfoot defends city oversight
The announcement came just hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her administration’s job overseeing scarce COVID-19 vaccine supplies even though Loretto and at least one other city partner were exposed in just over a week for misallocating shots, including to ineligible people.
“We have very robust oversight,” Lightfoot said at a news conference Wednesday. “We have a right to expect — and per our contract — that people abide by the rules and they give us accurate reporting. And what we’ve seen in at least two instances, that hasn’t been the case.”
Lightfoot responded to questions about the city’s protocols for making sure the COVID shots are going to where they’re intended — especially to vulnerable communities — after two problematic cases became public in just over a week.
The Loretto Hospital was caught last week after giving vaccine doses to people at Trump Tower and reportedly to at least two high-end businesses even though those shots are intended for the West Side Austin community, which has been badly affected by the virus. On Tuesday, the city said the clinic Innovative Express Care misallocated 6,000 doses of vaccine intended for Chicago Public Schools employees. The city now is withholding vaccine distributions to both the hospital and the clinic.
Clinic officials said in a statement that the issue was a miscommunication, a characterization that Lightfoot ripped into Wednesday.
“I know that’s what they’re saying but it’s absolutely false,” a visibly angry Lightfoot said.
“They’re going to say a lot of things I suspect yesterday, today, tomorrow,” Lightfoot added, “but the fact of the matter is we gave them every opportunity to get right with what the rules and responsibilities are for every provider who has the privilege of getting access to the vaccine and they repeatedly failed to hold up their end of the bargain. And so now they’re dealing with the consequences of those actions.”
She promised “very swift action” for any health care providers that don’t follow the rules of distributing vaccines to those who are the most needy and eligible under current guidelines.
The trouble at Loretto was first reported by Block Club Chicago. The online site reported Wednesday that there was another questionable vaccination event tied to Ahmed, this time at Maple & Ash, a Gold Coast steakhouse at 8 W. Maple St. The hospital vaccinated Trump Tower employees, where Ahmed has a condo, and held another event at a high-end Gold Coast watch store he frequented, Geneva Seal Fine Jewelry & Timepieces, 112 E. Oak St., Block Club has reported.
In a statement, Maple & Ash corporate parent What If Syndicate didn’t deny that employees were provided shots through Loretto and only said “there have been no sanctioned vaccination events within our company.”
Geneva Seal has not responded to requests for comment.
The hospital also has been questioned about vaccinations at Chief Executive George Miller’s south suburban church and a WBEZ-reported story detailing an invitation to Cook County judges and their spouses to jump the line and get vaccinations at Loretto.
Loretto’s board has said it is disciplining Ahmed and Chief Executive George Miller, though it has not publicly disclosed the punishment.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker weighed in on the Loretto controversy Wednesday, saying “if you’re violating those guidelines, you shouldn’t be getting vaccine to give out.”
“People who are the administrators of the vaccines need to be responsible, need to follow the rules that have been set out — the guidelines that have been set out by the state, and, in that case, by the city,” Pritzker said.
Contributing: Mary Mitchell, Mitchell Armentrout, Madeline Kenney
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
No Surge in COVID Two Weeks After Mask Mandate Lifted in Texas
After two weeks of lifting its mask mandate and allowing businesses to open at full capacity, Texas is not seeing a surge of new COVID-19 cases. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued an executive order (pdf) that went into effect on March 10 to loosen COVID-19 restrictions. Although the government’s statewide mask mandate was lifted, individual businesses were still able to “limit capacity” or impose mask mandates at their own choosing. But in Austin and Travis County, residents 10 years or older still have to wear a mask outside their home after a district judge refused to grant Attorney General Ken Paxton a restraining order that would have ended a mask mandate enforced by Travis County and City of Austin officials. The trial is set to take place on Mar. 26. Texas had been witnessing a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations prior to Abbott’s announcement ending the restrictions. …
Judicial Watch Sues for Records of New York, Pennsylvania COVID-19 Nursing Homes Policies
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for records about New York and Pennsylvania nursing home policies and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) failed to respond to a December 7, 2020, FOIA request (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health of Human Services (No. 1:21-cv-00612)) for:
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Division of Nursing Homes Director Evan Shulman and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Quality and Safety Oversight Group Director David Wrightand Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Division of Nursing Homes Director Evan Shulman and Pennsylvania Deputy for Quality Assurance Susan Coble regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Quality and Safety Oversight Group Director David Wright and Pennsylvania Deputy for Quality Assurance Susan Coble regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Division of Nursing Homes Director Evan Shulman and New York Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
Communications, including emails and text messages, between Qualityand Safety Oversight Group Director David Wright and New York Department of Health Executive Deputy Commissioner Sally Dreslin regarding policies and procedures for nursing facilities during COVID-19. The timeframe of this request is February 18, 2020 to June 1, 2020.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn are investigating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of that state’s nursing homes during the pandemic. As of March 3, 2021, 15,430 nursing home and other long-term care residents in the state have died from COVID-19, according to the New York Long Term Care Community Coalition.
In February, Cuomo’s top aide reportedly admitted that New York withheld information about the coronavirus death toll in the state’s nursing homes out of fear that the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal government.
In Pennsylvania, as of February 25, at least 12,000 of the nearly 24,000 deaths attributed to coronavirus in that state reportedly occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Republicans in the state legislature have renewed calls for an investigation into how Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has dealt with these facilities, specifically the state’s policy requiring that the facilities accept COVID-positive patients.
According to a report by Spotlight PA, coronavirus reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Health were “consistently missing data” on nursing homes. The state’s health department was headed during most of the pandemic by Dr. Rachel Levine, who has been nominated for a position in the Biden administration.
“Thousands of nursing home residents in New York and Pennsylvania may have died thanks to those states’ COVID-19 mandates,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The public, particularly those who lost loved ones due to the policies of the Cuomo and Wolf administrations, have a right to know the full truth about this public health scandal.”
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The post Judicial Watch Sues for Records of New York, Pennsylvania COVID-19 Nursing Homes Policies appeared first on Judicial Watch.
Smokers prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine shots by CDC and Gov. J.B. Pritzker — not by Chicago (LIVE UPDATES)
Here’s the latest news on how COVID-19 is impacting Chicago and Illinois. Follow here for live updates.
Latest
City snuffs out smokers, says they won’t have priority for vaccine
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Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesBeing a regular visitor to Flavor Country might get you to the front of the line for a COVID-19 shot in most of Illinois and beyond, but not in Chicago.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised eyebrows when it included smokers on the list of people who should be prioritized for vaccination because of increased vulnerability to the coronavirus due to underlying health conditions.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker followed suit when he expanded the state’s pool of eligible vaccine recipients last month. So did officials in suburban Cook County, which will start inoculating people 16 and older with chronic conditions beginning Monday.
But Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady have snuffed out eligibility for smokers when registration opens to more residents with the city’s launch of vaccination Phase 1C on March 29.
“In this interim period where we just have very limited vaccine, we’re using the state’s 1B+ guidance, but we did not include smokers in that,” Arwady said during an online Q&A last week.
Read the full story from Mitchell Armentrout here.
News
9:17 a.m. Cook County to prioritize vaccinations in 32 suburbs
Cook County health officials will prioritize coronavirus vaccine appointments in more than two dozen of the hardest-hit suburbs to ensure equal access to the life-saving shots.
The 32 suburbs given high priority for shots were predominantly communities of color in the west and south suburbs, the Cook County Department of Public Health announced Friday.
The department used two risk-factor indexes to identify the municipalities most adversely impacted by COVID-19. Those indexes — the COVID-19 Vulnerability Index and Social Vulnerability Index — considered factors including socioeconomic, household composition and disability, minority status and language.
Residents can register for an appointment online at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov.
New Cases & Vaccination Numbers
- Public health officials on Friday announced 135,525 more COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered statewide.
- The Illinois Department of Public Health also reported 2,380 new cases of the disease were diagnosed among 92,161 tests.
Analysis & Commentary
9:20 a.m. Loretto Hospital leaders deserve more than a ‘harsh reprimand’ for misuse of COVID shots
I was pleasantly surprised when Loretto Hospital, a small hospital in Austin, was chosen to kick off the city’s campaign to get Chicagoans vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19 virus.
The city’s honor did two things:
- It pushed the issue of health care disparities from handwringing to action.
- And it elevated the profile of a community hospital that desperately needed its own shot in the arm.
Sandwiched between the massive Loyola University Medical Center in nearby Maywood and the sprawling medical district to the east, Loretto has struggled to be recognized as a credible provider of care in an area that desperately needs access to quality health care.
Hospitals like Loretto have suffered because too often community residents with financial resources and good insurance choose to go elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the goings-on since those first shots of the Pfizer vaccine went to Loretto’s hospital workers are shocking. Instead of focusing on the Austin community, where there is no shortage of people waiting to be vaccinated, the vaccine also was given to workers at Trump Tower’s posh hotel and apartments — where Loretto’s chief operating officer, Dr. Anosh Ahmed, owns a unit.
Before the furor died down over that came reports that Cook County judges and their spouses were “invited” to get shots even though it wasn’t their turn. And then this bombshell Friday: 200 members of the hospital CEO’s church, Valley Kingdom Ministries International in Oak Forest, were given doses of Loretto’s supply of the coveted vaccine.
CDC Director Warns of Possible ‘Avoidable Surge’ in Covid Cases
(Bloomberg) Americans must recommit to wearing masks and taking other Covid-19 mitigation measures to avoid a new surge of the virus in the U.S., the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.
Ex CDC director Robert Redfield believes COVID ‘escaped’ from Wuhan lab as early as September 2019
The former director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, says he believes COVID-19 ‘escaped’ from a lab in Wuhan and may have been circling in the US since September 2019.