Month: July 2020

Virginia Evicts Confederate Monuments from Its State Capitol

The Associated Press

Virginia has removed from its iconic state capitol the busts and a statue honoring Confederate generals and officials. That includes a bronze statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee positioned in the same spot where he stood to assume command of the state’s armed forces in the Civil War nearly 160 years ago.

They are the latest Confederate symbols to be removed or retired in the weeks since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked a nationwide protest movement.

Read the full story

Washington Nationals, New York Yankees Kneel Prior to the National Anthem

Admin

Prior to the start of the 2020 MLB season opener in Washington, DC, all members of both teams took a knee prior to the start of the national anthem. According to the Yankees, it was done “together in unity.”

The park was particularly silent for the moment with no fans in the stands because of the risks and worries of COVID-19, a pre-recorded rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner was played and every player and coach “took a knee” on the grass, for about 20 seconds.

Read the full story

Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

Admin

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.

Read the full story

Nashville Fire Department Captain’s Facebook Posts On BLM, Masks Draw Ire from Community

Jordyn Pair

Some community members are angry after a Nashville Fire Department captain posted derogatory comments online about protesters and mask wearing, among other controversial topics.

Tracy Turner, a captain with Fire Station 18 in East Nashville, posted comments denouncing protesters, Black Lives Matter and Democratic leadership on his public Facebook page, according to Fox 17 Nashville.

Read the full story

China Tells US to Close Chengdu Consulate in Growing Spat

The Associated Press

China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades.

The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for Beijing to close its consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas.

Read the full story

Sen. Sherrod Brown Proposes a Resolution That Declares ‘Racism’ a Public Health Crisis

Zachery Schmidt

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a resolution along with Sens. Corey Booker (D-New Jersey) and Kamala Harris (D-California) that wants to say “racism” is a public health crisis.

“We will not make progress until we acknowledge and address all of the ways that centuries of racism and oppression have harmed Black and brown Americans,” Brown said. “This resolution is an important step toward recognizing the racial disparities in healthcare that have existed for far too long while also outlining concrete action we can take now to help reverse them.

Read the full story

Sen. Ted Cruz Supports Dr. Manny Sethi Because ‘Washington Needs Strong Conservative Fighters’

Laura Baigert

MT. JULIET, Tennessee – At the last of three events held in the state Friday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said he was in Tennessee supporting Dr. Manny Sethi because Washington needs strong conservative fighters.

The support rally featuring Cruz was held at the Music City Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet, was attended by nearly 400 fro all over middle Tennessee who filled out the main auditorium and an overflow room to a standing-room-only situation that started filling up more than a half-hour before the official start time.

Read the full story

Conservative Professor Mike Adams Found Dead, Police Investigate Cause

Admin

Police in North Carolina found conservative University of North Carolina-Wilmington criminology professor Mike Adams dead in his home.

According to a local news outlet, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office visited Adams’ home to conduct a wellness check. There, they found Adams’ body, but did not confirm a cause of death or publicize any other details. Adams was 55 years old.

Read the full story

Commentary: The GOP Can Make Inroads with Hispanics by Doing These Two Things

Admin

In expected 13 percent of the electorate in the 2020 elections, American Hispanics are likely to play a crucial role in deciding contests in Arizona, Florida, and Texas. As the country’s Hispanic population grows larger, many wonder how Republicans can bring this demographic into their fold. Given that the Republican Party has dedicated a good portion of its resources to addressing this question, it’s impossible to say they’ve been ignoring Hispanics. But have they been effective?

Read the full story

Portland Mayor Tear Gassed During Wednesday Protests

Admin

Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, Oregon was tear gassed Wednesday night while he was at the federal courthouse speaking with protesters, according to a video shared on Twitter.

“I’m not gonna lie, it stings, it’s hard to breathe. Man, uh, I can tell you with 100% honesty, I saw nothing that provoked this response. It’s absolutely stunning. I’m not afraid, but I am pissed off,” Wheeler said in a video tweeted by reporter Mike Baker of The New York Times.

Read the full story

White House Drops Payroll Tax Cut After GOP Allies Object

The Associated Press

The White House reluctantly dropped its bid to cut Social Security payroll taxes Thursday as Republicans prepared to unveil a $1 trillion COVID-19 rescue package, yielding to opposition to the idea among top Senate allies.

“It won’t be in the base bill,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking on CNBC about the payroll tax cut, killing the idea for now. The cut in the tax that finances Social Security and Medicare has been a major demand of President Donald Trump.

Read the full story

Movie Theater Owners to Studios: Release the Blockbusters!

Admin

by Jack Coyle   NEW YORK, New York (AP) — A long time ago in a pre-COVID universe far, far away, blockbusters opened around the globe simultaneously or nearly so. In 1975, “Jaws” set the blueprint. Concentrate marketing. Open wide. Pack them in. Since then, Hollywood has turned opening weekends into an all-out assault. Staggered rollouts still happen, of course, but the biggest films are dropped like carpet bombs. Anything less risks losing the attention of moviegoers. Global debuts north of $300 million became commonplace. Last year, “Avengers: Endgame” made well north of $1 billion in a couple days. Hollywood has now gone more than four months without a major theatrical release. While some films have found new streaming homes, the biggest upcoming ones — “Tenet,” “Mulan,” “A Quiet Place Part II” — remain idled like jumbo jets on the tarmac. The leading chains are still shuttered. Recent coronavirus spikes have forced release dates to shuffle and chains to postpone reopening to August. Now, movie houses say that despite far from ideal circumstances, it’s time for new movies. Four months of near zero revenue has brought the $50 billion annual business to its knees. While the beleaguered restaurant industry still has takeout and airlines continue…

Read the full story

St. Louis Prosecutor’s Office Appears to Have Tampered with Evidence in McCloskey Gun Case

Admin

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s staff appears to have tampered with evidence in order to press charges against the St. Louis woman who waved a gun at the Black Lives Matter rioters who stormed her neighborhood last month.

Patricia McCloskey’s gun was inoperable when she voluntarily surrendered it to the police, but prosecutors reassembled it into working order so they could charge her with a crime.

Read the full story

Study Finds That Full Lockdowns Did Not Reduce Coronavirus Mortality Rate

Admin

A study published Tuesday in The Lancet medical journal found that full lockdowns, border closures and high rates of coronavirus testing are not associated with a statistically significant reduction in the total number of critical cases or the virus’s overall mortality rate.

However, the study, which was based on data from the 50 countries with the most reported cases as of May 1, noted that lockdowns and border closures are likely associated with better overall health outcomes, as the measures helped drive down the rate of the virus’s transmission and reduce the load on hospital systems.

Read the full story

Bill Hagerty’s and Manny Sethi’s Political Contributions Since 2000 Are Extensive

Chris Butler

U.S. Senate candidates Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi have said much about each other’s political donations in recent weeks as they seek to prevail over the other in the upcoming Republican primary.

The Tennessee Star examined both candidate’s political donations at the state and federal levels since 2000. Members of the public may review the records for themselves at the Federal Election Commission’s website and at the Tennessee Online Campaign Finance website.

Read the full story

‘Walking on Eggshells’: 62 Percent of Americans Are Afraid to Express Political Views, Survey Finds

Admin

Self-censorship is on the rise according to a new Cato Institute survey that reports nearly two-thirds of Americans are afraid to share their political views.

A new CATO Institute/YouGov national survey found 62% of Americans say the political climate today prevents them from saying what they believe. This is up several points from 2017 when 58% of Americans said they were afraid to share their political beliefs.

Read the full story

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Cuts $115 Million from State Police Budget

Admin

Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.), the radical governor of Michigan who has come under overwhelming criticism for her excessive coronavirus lockdowns, has cut as much as $115 million from the budget for the Michigan State Police, as reported by Breitbart.

Whitmer made the budget cuts through Executive Order 2020-155, demanding that $115.07 million be taken from the state police budget, in addition to a slash of $392.67 million from Michigan’s Department of Corrections, and another $36.46 cut from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Read the full story

Unemployment Claims Rise for the First Time Since March to 1.4 Million

Admin

The Department of Labor reported Thursday that over 1.4 million Americans filed additional claims for unemployment last week, marking the first weekly increase in claims since March.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment had been declining each week before mid-July, but the Thursday report marks the 18th week in a row that unemployment claims have been above one million, CNBC reported.

Read the full story

Trump Calls Off Florida Segment of GOP National Convention

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has scrubbed his planned Republican National Convention scheduled for Florida next month, citing a “flare-up” of the coronavirus.

Trump’s formal renomination will still go forward in North Carolina, where a small subset of GOP delegates will still gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, for just four hours on Aug. 24. Florida was to have hosted four nights of programming and parties that Trump had hoped would be a “four-night infomercial” for his reelection.

Read the full story

Commentary: President Trump’s Case for Excluding Illegal Aliens from the Census Is Stronger Than You Think

Admin

President Donald Trump has issued an executive memorandum to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to discount illegal aliens who are subject to legal removal from the U.S. Census.

Here, the President is invoking the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 2 of the Constitution, which states, “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed.”

Read the full story

‘We Will Not Retreat’: DHS’ Chad Wolf Defends Portland Intervention Amid Riots

Admin

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the ongoing protests in Portland are “the complete opposite” of peaceful demonstrations and that the federal government would “not retreat.”

“We support and we will protect those who want to peacefully protest,” Wolf said in a press conference Tuesday. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing in Portland every night, roughly from midnight to 4:30 or 5 a.m. is the complete opposite.”

Read the full story

Commentary: The Death of Standards at the New York Times

Admin

The mainstream press has spent a lot of time and energy recently attacking Tucker Carlson, none more enthusiastically than CNN’s simpering and shrieking little eunuch, Brian Stelter. Of course Carlson, with the No. 1 rated show in the history of cable news, can laugh all the way to the bank in response to most of these critics. This is nothing new: Fox News is used to its top stars being attacked by the thought-monolith, leftist media and benefitting from the drama in the ratings. For those of us on the Right, it’s amusing and tiresome all at once.

Read the full story

US Ratchets up China Tensions, Closing Houston Consulate

The Associated Press

The United States ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, escalating tensions between the world’s largest economies as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure against China ahead of the November election. Beijing denounced the order Wednesday as “outrageous” and said it would draw a firm response if not reversed.

The physical closure of the consulate, one of six in the United States along with China’s mission to the United Nations, marked a dramatic step in increasingly contentious relations that have been strained not only by the coronavirus pandemic but by disputes over trade, human rights, Hong Kong and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Read the full story

Powerful Quake Jolts Alaska Towns, Produces Small Tsunami

The Associated Press

A powerful earthquake off Alaska’s southern coast jolted coastal communities late Tuesday, and some residents briefly scrambled for higher ground over fears of a tsunami.

There were no immediate reports of damage in the sparsely populated area of the state, and the tsunami warning was canceled after the magnitude 7.8 quake off the Alaska Peninsula produced a wave of a less than a foot.

Read the full story

Trump Deploys Feds to More States Under ‘Law-and-Order’ Push

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will send federal agents into Chicago and Albuquerque to help combat rising crime, expanding the administration’s intervention in local enforcement as he runs for reelection under a “law-and-order” mantle.

Using the same alarmist language that he has employed in the past to describe illegal immigration, Trump painted Democrat-led cities as out of control and lashed out at the “radical left,” even though criminal justice experts say the increase in violence in some cities defies easy explanation.

Read the full story

New York Planned Parenthood Condemns Founder’s ‘Harmful Connections to the Eugenics Movement’

Admin

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York condemned its founder Margaret Sanger for her “harmful connections to the eugenics movement” and vowed to remove her name from their building, according to the group’s statement released Tuesday.

“The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,” Karen Seltzer, chairwoman of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s board, said in a statement reported by the New York Times.

Read the full story