A male Afghan refugee who was departing the Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the United States was detained Monday after it was discovered during pre-flight screening that he had blasting caps and other explosives materials in his carry-on luggage, three U.S. officials told Just the News.
Read MoreDay: September 7, 2021
Virginia Democratic Gov. Northam Removes Gen. Robert E. Lee Statue, to Livestream Event
The statue Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, will be taken down Wednesday, amid calls that escalated during last summer’s social justice protests that monuments and other memorials to the South’s Confederate leaders honor the country’s racist history.
The towering Lee statue was erected over 130 years ago.
Numerous other Confederate symbols across the South have already been removed, but largely without public notice, to avoid problems.
Read MoreBrushing off Supreme Court Rulings, California County Fines Church as Commercial Enterprise
While the state of California and multiple counties continue to settle with churches after imposing unconstitutional restrictions against them, one county is expanding its efforts to pursue damages against a church, claiming their worship services are a public nuisance.
In its latest request, filed Aug. 31, Calvary Chapel has asked the court to dismiss the public nuisance claim along with the $2.8 million in fines levied against it, arguing the county has not provided any evidence to support the accusation that the church has caused any harm to the public.
The battle between the county and the church began in late spring 2020 after the state and county encouraged residents to protest the death of George Floyd without numerical limitations or public health restrictions, even as the same authorities imposed severe constraints on houses of worship.
Read MoreFlorida’s General Revenue Collections Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
On Friday, September 3rd, the Legislative Budget Commission accepted a report that indicated Florida’s general revenue collections are projected to be above the pre-pandemic forecasted levels for Fiscal Year 2021-22 and Fiscal Year 2022-23.
Also, revenue collections are expected to increase approximately four percent per year throughout the forecast period.
Speaking Friday at the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, House budget leader Jay Trumbull credited Florida’s swift reopening and a history of prudent budgeting for getting the state’s finances back on track — and even above pre-pandemic estimates. Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who is co-chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, said the report indicates “the state’s budget is in great shape.”
Read MoreCommentary: Biden Surrendered to the Taliban, the GOP Must Not Surrender to Biden
Impeach Biden, court martial the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Only one man lost his job over Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller challenged Biden’s incompetent and spineless Joint Chiefs of Staff to take responsibility for their dereliction of duty that led directly to the catastrophe in Afghanistan. Taking responsibility meant resigning. Biden’s military men immediately smeared him as mentally ill and forced him out of the Marines.
Read MoreReal Rebels: Eric Clapton, Van Morrison Defy COVID-19 Groupthink
Comedians like Lenny Bruce once risked jail time to slam the status quo. Rockers routinely mock authority, like Green Day’s Grammy-winning screed against President George W. Bush, “American Idiot.”
Now, as vaccine mandates spring up across the country those rebellious groups are mostly silent about rules insisting citizens get the jab before resuming normal life.
A few, like Dee Snider, are cheering on the regulations.
Read MoreUp to 50,000 Afghan Refugees Could Be Headed for Resettlement in the U.S., but Exactly Where Is Still to Be Determined
It’s unclear how many Afghan refugees arrived in the U.S. recently, though they will mostly stay at military bases as they undergo immigration proceedings, a senior Biden administration official said during a press call last week.
Around 20,000 Afghan refugees now stay at eight military bases across the continental U.S., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said on Wednesday. The Biden administration warned nine nonprofit organizations contracted with the State Department that work with refugees to prepare for up to 50,000 Afghans to arrive in the U.S. without visas and in need of resettlement, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
“After getting tested (for COVID-19) at the airport, American citizens and LPRs (legal permanent residents) can head to their onward destination — home — while others — everyone else heads to those military bases I mentioned before,” the senior official said during a press call on Aug. 24. “There, they receive a full medical screening, and they receive a variety of healthcare services and assistance in applying for things like work authorizations, before moving on to their next destination.”
Read MoreTaking Down Pro-Life Websites, Donating to Planned Parenthood: How Tech Companies Are Fighting Texas’ Abortion Law
Several major tech companies spoke out against the Texas Heartbeat Act, taking down pro-life websites and funding out-of-state abortions.
The “Texas Heartbeat Act” enacted May 19, prohibits abortions after the unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law includes a provision providing a civil cause of action to sue a person who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion,” and may result in a plaintiff receiving $10,000 or more for each abortion found to be in violation of the law.
Read MoreU.S. Officials Looking Into Afghan Child Trafficking Amid Reports of Child Brides at Evacuation Intake Centers
U.S. officials are reportedly looking into allegations that older men who recently evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, are sexually abusing young girls whom they claim are their “brides.”
The State Department is reportedly seeking “urgent guidance” from other agencies on how to deal with the troubling issue, after it emerged at intake centers in the United States and abroad.
Read MoreUniversity Faculty Training Lists ‘Perfectionism,’ ‘Sense of Urgency’ As Indicators of ‘White Supremacy’
Faculty and graduate students at Colorado University – Boulder were recently encouraged to reject “neoliberal” concepts of time, as well as to avoid “cultural norms of white supremacy” like “sense of urgency” and “individualism” in their classrooms.
The university’s Equitable Teaching Conference, hosted by the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, convened instructors and graduate students for virtual sessions on how to use “equity-minded practices” in the classroom. Attendance at the conference was entirely voluntary; faculty and instructors were not required to participate.
Read MoreGuinean President Ousted in Apparent Coup, Military Officer Says
Military officers allegedly arrested the president of Guinea and threw out the country’s constitution on Sunday, CNN reported.
“We will no longer entrust politics to a man. We will entrust it to the people. We come only for that; it is the duty of a soldier, to save the country,” Guinean army officer Mamady Doumbouya said in a statement broadcasted Sunday, CNN reported.
The West African government, constitution and all other institutions are now dissolved, and every Guinean land and air border is closed to travel, Doumbouya said.
Read MoreThe University of Pittsburgh to Hire Professor of ‘Oppression’
The University of Pittsburgh has posted a job listing for an assistant professor of “Structural Racism, Oppression, and Black Political Experiences” as part of a larger initiative to hire academics who work on issues of equity and inclusion.
The job listing states that “desirable research and teaching interests include, but are not limited to: race and ethnic politics, identity, democratic behavior, activism and collective action, representation, urban or local governance, health and healthcare policy, technology policy or algorithmic bias, environmental justice, ethnic or international conflict, migration, post-colonialism/post-imperialism.”
Read MoreFeds Say California Too Expensive to Welcome Afghan Refugees
by Cole Lauterbach Afghan refugees looking to resettle in the U.S. are being discouraged from picking California as a destination, despite the state having significant Afghan population centers. In the days after the U.S. announced it would resettle refugees fleeing a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, governors across the country…
Read MoreChinese-Owned TikTok Overtakes YouTube in US
After former President Donald J. Trump attempted to ban TikTok, a popular video streaming social network, the Chinese-owned company has overtaken Google-owned YouTube in popularity in the United States.
“App users in the UK and US are spending more time on TikTok than on YouTube, a new report suggests,” BBC reported. “Data from app monitoring firm App Annie indicates that average time per user spent on the apps is higher for TikTok, indicating high levels of engagement.”
Read MoreEuropean Union Health Agencies See ‘No Urgent Need’ for COVID-19 Boosters Among Fully Vaccinated
The two leading European health agencies determined Thursday that COVID-19 booster shots are not necessary for fully vaccinated individuals who do not have compromised immune systems.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency issued a statement saying the current priority should be vaccinating all eligible individuals. Booster shots should be considered only for those with compromised immune systems.
Read MoreThe Political Time Bomb for Biden Inside the Latest Jobless Numbers
While the unemployment rate for Americans dropped in August, there is a political time bomb buried in the statistics for President Joe Biden and a Democratic Party increasingly focused on equity: black joblessness shot up significantly.
In other words, the president who fondly boasts of a domestic policy promising to leave nobody behind has an economic recovery that is leaving a key Democratic constituency in worse shape.
“The rise in black unemployment in August is certainly troubling, considering their unemployment rates were already much higher than any other group,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said on Twitter.
Read MoreCOVID Vaccination Status Increasingly Determines Treatment Under American Legal System
Are you vaccinated against COVID-19? The answer to that question may determine how the American legal system treats you, whether an inmate, party or even lawyer.
From custody fights and bail conditions to courthouse access and grooming privileges, vaccination status is playing an outsized role in courts and jails nationwide.
An Illinois judge provoked outrage a month ago by revoking a divorced mother’s visitation rights to her 11-year-old son after Rebecca Firlit told him she couldn’t get vaccinated because of adverse reactions.
Read MoreUSDA Announces Racial Preferences in New ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ Funding
This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the USDA for $50 million in “climate smart agriculture” grants the department will award preferentially in the name of “racial equity and justice” to “socially disadvantaged” racial and ethnic classes of farmers and ranchers, as well as to “historically underserved producers.”
Despite a recent court ruling against the department for a race-based loan forgiveness program, the USDA posted notice on Aug. 25 of a funding opportunity for a new program involving such preferences, Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements.”
Read MoreCommentary: Jacob Chansley Pleads Guilty to Obstruction, Remains in Jail
Jacob Chansley, arguably the most iconic figure of the January 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol, today pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Chansley, 33, turned himself in to law enforcement and was arrested on January 9. A grand jury indicted Chansley two days later on six nonviolent counts including obstruction, civil disorder, and “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.” The remaining counts will be dropped.
Judge Royce Lamberth accepted Chansely’s plea agreement with Joe Biden’s Justice Department, which continues to arrest and charge Americans for even minor involvement in the Capitol protest. Nearly 200 defendants face the obstruction charge, a felony added to mostly misdemeanor cases. (I explained the charge here in March.)
Read MoreBiden Says He Respects Those Who Believe Life Begins at Conception, But Doesn’t Agree
President Joe Biden said Friday that though he respects Americans who believe life begins at conception, he does not agree with them.
The president discussed Texas’ Heartbeat Act, which the Supreme Court declined to block earlier this week, Friday morning with reporters. The law bans abortion after six weeks and allows “any person” to sue doctors, abortion clinics, or anyone who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.”
Read MoreWisconsin Charter Schools Growing, Overcoming Law and Misperceptions
Wisconsin charter schools are on the rise despite legal hurdles and widespread myths.
First established in 1993, Wisconsin charter schools now number 235 with 14 schools listed as new since last year. That’s a 6% upward trend.
One of the schools listed as new is the Carmen Middle School of Science and Technology South Campus. The school was categorized as new because of a location move.
Read MoreStudies Point to Varied Effects of Masking
New research published by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Bangladesh, which tracked mask-wearing among 340,000 Bangladeshi adults, indicates mask usage can considerably reduce the spread of symptomatic COVID-19.
Some medical professionals, however, remain uneasy about mask mandates in schools because of their possible impact on children’s learning and social health.
Read MoreFlorida State University Supreme Court Reinstates Student Senate President, Acknowledges First Amendment Violations
The student Supreme Court at Florida State University has reinstated Jack Denton to his position as president of the Student Senate after he was removed for his Catholic beliefs. During Denton’s lawsuit against FSU, the student Supreme Court at the school ruled that the other senators were not tolerant of Denton’s religious beliefs.
Denton was removed from his position as senate president in June due to his Catholic beliefs about BLM and other leftist organizations, as Campus Reform previously reported.
Read MoreDeSantis Likely to Support Texas-Style Abortion Legislation
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week he could see himself supporting Texas-style abortion legislation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a “heartbeat bill” banning abortions as early as six weeks, which is considered the time when a fetus develops a heartbeat and can be heard through an ultrasound.
The Texas bill, SB 8, officially came into effect on September 1 after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) denied an appeal from abortion providers.
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