Eight Industries Venezuela Nationalized (Besides Oil)

Caracas, Venezuela

Venezuela has experienced one of the sharpest economic declines in modern history—rampant inflation, near-famine, and an exodus of millions of asylum seekers. Yet there remains disagreement over what caused it.

Many refuse to blame socialism, instead citing the collapse of oil prices, corruption, its abandonment of democracy, and other factors. If socialism did play a role, it was a small one, says Venezuelan writer Francisco Toro in the Washington Post, citing “a unique mix of circumstances, in which socialism is just one ingredient.”

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Confederate Statues Removed in Memphis Given to Sons of Confederate Veterans

  Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) received the statues of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest Tuesday from a Tennessee nonprofit group almost two years after being removed from public parks in Memphis. Bruce McMullen, the city of Memphis’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the statues have been permanently removed from Memphis and Shelby County. Furthermore, McMullen said the statues were given to the Forrest family and the SCV to “display them as they wish.” Paul Gramling, the commander-in-chief for SCV, confirmed this news on his Facebook page. “Ladies and gentlemen…….I am writing this in order, I hope, to cut down on the speculation of recent events and news from Memphis. Yes, it is true, the statues are no longer in Memphis or Shelby County. They are in an undisclosed, safe and secure location,” he said. Gramling also asked people to not make any “disparaging remarks” about Memphis or city officials to make sure nothing jeopardizes their “efforts and negotiations that still remain.” “Please trust that the Forrest family and National SCV leadership are on top of every aspect of this endeavor,” he said.   SCV and Memphis officials had been in an ongoing court…

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Taylor Swift Decries Soros for Buying Her Music Rights

  Taylor Swift on Thursday blasted music manager Scooter Braun and the billionaire George Soros family for allegedly buying the rights to her music. Swift made the remarks during her acceptance speech for Billboard’s Woman of the Decade award Thursday, according to a story by Breitbart. She lamented the “unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying our music as if it’s real estate — as if it’s an app or a shoe line.” Braun, 38, purchased the independent record label Big Machine and the master rights to Taylor’s first six albums. Soros allegedly provided the cash. According to Rolling Stone and Yahoo News: “This just happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent,” Swift said during her speech, which also discussed sexism in the music industry. “After I was denied the chance to purchase my music outright, my entire catalog was sold to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in a deal that I’m told was funded by the Soros family, 23 Capital and that Carlyle Group. Yet, to this day, none of these investors have bothered to contact me or my team directly — to perform their due diligence on their investment. On their investment in me. To…

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Teen Hospitalized After Being Savagely Attacked on Florida School Bus for Wearing Trump Hat

A14-year-old boy was hospitalized last month after being savagely beaten by a group of older black teens on a school bus in Hamilton County, Florida, and now shocking video of the brutal attack has been released online. The boy’s mother said on Twitter that her son Tyler was attacked because he wore a Trump 2020 hat to school. She is calling the vicious interracial assault a hate crime.

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What to Expect in the Justice Department’s FISA Report

Michael Horowitz

The Justice Department’s watchdog will release a much-anticipated report Monday scrutinizing the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016.

Republicans have eagerly awaited the report, believing it will reveal that the FBI abused the foreign surveillance court process in order to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Democrats hope the report will show that the FBI had a sound basis to investigate the Trump campaign.

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