North Korean Defector Yeonmi Park Brings Her ‘Warning to America’ to Chandler Event

North Korean defector Yeonmi Park spoke to a Davos in the Desert gathering at The Forum in Chandler Monday evening. The young author contrasted the totalitarian government she fled with increasing wokism in the U.S. Due to her speaking out, she said, “I have become the enemy of the woke.”

David Wanetick, who founded Davos in the Desert, spoke briefly first about the principles of the organization. It is an “anti-globalist movement dedicated to providing forums whereby business leaders, thought leaders and government servants share their ideas for safeguarding freedom and liberty.”

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Maricopa County GOP and We the People AZ Throw Happy Birthday America Party with Kari Lake

The Maricopa County Republican Committee held a Happy Birthday Party to America party with the election integrity group We the People AZ featuring Kari Lake and her new book. The book, Unafraid: Just Getting Started, was released on June 27 and The Arizona Sun Times reviewed it here. Almost 200 people RSVP’d for the glitzy event, with tickets starting at $100 each.

Lake gave a speech talking about the book, her election litigation, and plans for Arizona. Attendees received books and had them signed by Lake. Merissa Hamilton, who is heading up a chase the ballot effort for Lake with Save Arizona, registered voters at a table. The hosts provided hot dogs, apple pie, beer, and margaritas. 

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Republican Challenging Arizona Rep. Stanton Has Another Restaurant Burglarized, Blames Stanton’s Policies That are ‘Worsening Crime’

Kelly Cooper, a Republican who ran for Congress against Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) last fall, had one of his restaurants burglarized after an article came out about him announcing his intent to challenge Stanton again. Cooper is concerned the burglary may have been politically motivated, since the crime occurred just a few days after the article came out. 

Kelly told The Arizona Sun Times it could either be a regular smash and grab or a targeted political attack. He said his other two restaurants have been broken into before, but this was the most organized burglary he’d experienced. He pointed to the high percentage of felons involved with the BLM and Antifa riots, and noted that the burglars drove a white C-Class Mercedes. Additionally, the burglars only took the safe; they ignored a $1,500 iPad sitting on top of the safe and the big-screen TVs. Companies like Crowds on Demand brazenly supply paid workers to participate in protests. 

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Arizona Man Responsible for Exploiting Minors Over the Internet now Behind Bars

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) announced Friday that Devon Ray Sharma, 28, of Chandler, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of minors over the internet.

“Young women and teenagers can be easily exploited by internet predators. It takes courage for victims of these crimes to come forward and the bravery demonstrated by the victims in this case has prevented future acts of exploitation by this individual,” said Mitchell in a press release.

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Phoenix Ranked 40th Best Place to Live of 150 Biggest Metropolitan Areas

U.S. News & World Report issued its list this week of the annual best places to live, and Phoenix came in at No. 40 of the 150 most populous metro areas. The city jumped up 13 places from last year. The report emphasized Phoenix’s relatively low cost of living, warm weather, and thriving job market. The rankings are based on quality of life, job market, value of living, and desire of people to live there. 

Phoenix may have scored well this year due to a stable economy. Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News, said in a news release, “It shouldn’t be a surprise that many metro areas that saw unemployment levels skyrocket in 2020 fell in the rankings, but those with greater employment stability tended to fare well.”

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Chandler Offering $10,000 in Grants for Diversity Education

The city of Chandler, Arizona is offering grants of up to $1,000 each for anyone that can offer diversity education in its K-12 schools. A total of $10,000 may be disbursed for this initiative. Eligible applicants for this annual grant range from individual teachers to schools, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. 

According to the city guidelines, proposals from diversity education projects or programs in K-12 schools will receive first priority. The proposals must include one or more elements of diversity the city listed: age, socio-economic status, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, or sexual orientation. 

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