Monthly Archives: March 2021

Defund sanctuary cities. Defund Planned Parenthood. Build the wall. These are just some of things Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promises to do when he takes back control of the Senate that is, if Democrats dare to strike down the filibuster.

Its a great to-do list, the kind of things the conservative base elects Republicans every few years to do. When President Donald Trump took office in 2017 and the GOP controlled both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, though, none of it happened. Why not?

Its true that although Democrats had already begun loudly promising to do away with the filibuster (a parliamentary tactic to protect the minority that the left, of course, calls racist), it was still in place during those Republican majorities. But McConnell didnt even really try to accomplish any of the above. He didnt even make a stink about it. While the House, a majority-ruled chamber, passed a litany of conservative legislation, McConnell barely sniffed, leaving acts to languish with neither fight nor even feint.

Take legislation to defund sanctuary cities cities that have decided to shield violent and criminal illegal immigrants from deportation. The House passed the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act in June 2017, with even then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan going to bat for it. So what did McConnell do? He didnt do anything.

Now, in the Senate, you need 60 votes to bring a bill to the floor without risking that old filibuster, where opposing senators are allowed to debate an issue for as long as they can stand. Every Democratic senator coming twice to the floor to rail against the terrible GOP would be a tough thing to overcome, right?

Pulling the grand 2017 filibuster off, however, would have been a little more difficult than it sounds. To start, Democrats would have had to tackle the simple logistics of the matter: McConnells 115th Senate was literally the oldest in American history. The average average age was nearly 62, with twice as many octogenarians as there had ever been before in Senate history. Which among them would be filibustering? How many of the 75-year-olds would stand for 12 or more hours?

Sure, but that still left a few young bucks. And whether youre Sen. Ted Cruz or Sen. Elizabeth She Persisted Warren, Senate shenanigans have a habit of creating folk heroes. But remember what Democrats would have been fighting against here: a bill to literally protect American citizens from violent criminals who should not even be in this country at all. How would that play during the hours or days or even weeks of a concentrated filibuster effort? Who was willing to stand and rail against it? New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, sure. Californias Kamala Harris, who was then still a senator, wouldnt have missed the party. But was West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin going to come down to fight on this one? No. No, he was not.

And do you know who wouldnt have minded whether or not Manchin, for example, stayed upstairs during that fight? The next West Virginian thinking about challenging the septuagenarian politician for his seat. Booker and Harris, he knows, will give him all the material he needs for a few good TV ads.

But lets say, for the sake of argument, defunding cities that have abandoned their most vulnerable citizens in favor of illegal criminals was just too much heat for Republicans. How about Kates Law, the bill named for Kate Steinle, a beautiful 32-year-old woman gunned down in broad daylight as she walked with her father along a pier in California. Her killer, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, had been deported five times before he killed Kate.

Putting aside weak-kneed House Republicans who, before passing it, stripped the law of its teeth mandatory minimum sentencing for those deported criminals who return McConnell didnt even bring it up for a vote. Why not? Seriously, Republicans: Explain with a straight face how all the Senates young progressive up-and-comers benefit nationally from filibustering Kate Steinle.

The right loves to complain that the left is able to pass its agenda by telling real human stories and using emotion while the right struggles to fit all its statistics onto a bumper sticker, but what about this one? Do you know what you get when Harris comes down to filibuster Kates Law? In all chances, you get no Vice President Harris.

And yes, yes, these fights would take time; time away from judges, from tax reform important initiatives, even if they do repeatedly seem to help corporations more often than the middle- and working-class voters who elect Republicans. But when McConnell cares about something actually cares about it we see how quickly his tune changes.

Mitch McConnell, for example, cares about war in the Middle East. He really, really likes it. So at the top of 2019, when Democrats filibustered his Strengthening Americas Security in the Middle East Act, he came down on them like a Baghdad sandstorm. And then, when it took 24 days and four cloture votes to ram it down Democrats throats, he even gave a speech bragging about the fight. It was a fight he wanted.

There are only two rules in the U.S. Senate exhaustion and unanimous consent, former Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott once observed. And the second only applies when the first has been reached.

Which brings us to the real reason we dont see defunding for sanctuary cities, broadsides on the abortion machine, or a finished wall: The majority of senior Republicans dont care about those issues, dont want to fight on those issues, and as soon as election-time is over, would prefer to see them in the rear-view mirror. Those fights spook the Chamber of Commerce. Lockheed doesnt benefit from them.

There are some issues the wall, probably, and abortion where Democrats will fight with everything theyve got. Theyll wear pink sneakers, raise money, invoke Christian civil rights leaders who likely wouldnt have anything to do with their cause, stage cry-ins. They will be hard fights. Then again, even the Democrats seem to be learning a few of those fights are major losers for them. Now lets see if the Republicans ever realize the issues they win on are winners after theyre elected.

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The Filibuster Was Never The Real Reason McConnell Ignored Conservatives - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Federalist Senior Editor Christopher Bedford and Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky discuss how two weeks to slow the spread turned into a year of tyrannical lockdowns and fearmongering by hypocritical elites that infringe on American freedoms.

Before we knew what this was, it did make sense to react as, you know, many cities did. It was just that those restrictions lingered beyond after we started to learn more about COVID, Jashinsky said.

Even when more information about COVID-19 emerged, draconian lockdowns, bureaucratic overreach, and extensive regulation continued, Bedford noted.

There are a lot of stories of personal tragedies that occurred because of absolutely insane bureaucratic overreach and people who had no sympathy and no humanity in them and they just worship at the altar of the system and Fauci, Bedford said. Every single one of our centers of power, elite power are completely opposed to America, completely opposed to religion, completely opposed to any traditional idea of sort of society, opposed to our founding, and opposed to our freedoms.

Although some parts of America remain open and free Bedford noted, losing every single power center, all of the commanding heights of corporations and sports, as weve seen in the last week on the military, shows just how screwed we are. Were in trouble.

Read Bedfords article Celebrating One Year Of Rebellion Against Dr. Fauci And The Governments Arbitrary Tyranny here.

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How A Year-Long Pandemic Changed The Country Forever - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Federalist Western Correspondent Tristan Justice and Executive Editor Joy Pullmann join Staff Writer Jordan Davidson. They break down how governors who were once celebrated for their draconian lockdowns and strict pandemic responses are now facing the consequences of infringing on the rights of their constituents.

A year ago, there were a lot of rising stars in Democratic Party who were really making a name for themselves with this pandemic. They were becoming lockdown liberal heroes whereas all the Republican governors who were refusing the one-size-fits-all approach and allowing their states to be free and embrace a policy of personal responsibility without shutting down their state were endlessly vilified in the press, Justice explained.

Now that multiple governors including Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, and Gavin Newsom face investigations, potential impeachment, and even a recall, Justice and Pullmann agree the corporate medias bashing of Republican leaders such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for keeping their states open and encouraging of Americans to cede their rights to hypocritical politicians was not the correct pandemic response.

Natural rights are not something that you get when youre comfortable and happy, Pullman explained. Thats the reason that they had to be secured in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is because in times of panic and terror and tyranny and weakness, they are going to be among the first things that go Once theyre gone they can never be regained.

The American population has become so apathetic to our individual libertiesand that should be really concerning to a lot of Americans who really care about the United States beingthe last country on earth to really provide as many freedoms as we do, Justice agreed.

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Once Pandemic Heroes, Democratic Governors Are Now Tyrannical Villains - The Federalist

A Fulton County, Georgia lawsuit claiming fraud in the 2020 presidential election has led the judge overseeing the case to heavily consider unsealing ballots, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We want to do this in such a way that dispels rumors and disinformation and sheds light, Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero said at a hearing Monday.

An investigation was conducted on the allegations that illegal activity transpired at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on the night of the election. The secretary of states office dismissed them in December.

If Amero were to unseal the ballots, they would reportedly be reviewed by several election experts, including the co-founder of VoterGA Garland Favorito, who filed the lawsuit. Favorito notably said in December on a Georgia radio station that Trumps loss in the state cant be a human error. More than 30 lawsuits have been filed in Georgia over the election.

On Monday, former President Donald Trump released a statement in response to The Washington Post and other outlets correcting articles on a widely reported phone call between Trump and Francis Watson, the Georgia secretary of states chief investigator. The Wall Street Journal released the audio of the Dec. 23 phone call, forcing outlets to retract previously reported quotes from anonymous sources.

Fulton County has not been properly audited for vote or signature verification, the former president said in his statement. They only looked at areas of the State where there most likely would be few problems, and even there they found large numbers of mistakes. We are seeking to find and reveal the large-scale election fraud which took place in Georgia. Many residents agree, and their anger caused them not to turn out and vote for two Republican Senators in the January election.

A risk-limiting audit in November announced by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger concluded, Georgias historic first statewide audit reaffirmed that the states new secure paper ballot voting system accurately counted and reported results.

Subsequently, the board of elections election chief Robert Brady was terminated after a Floyd County hand-count revealed over 2,500 uncounted ballots.

We are aware of a significant number of election irregularities, said Brad Carver, a partner at a prominent Atlanta law firm who led the effort to recommend state laws be amended for elections. And, yes, if those election irregularities had been remedied, then there would have been a different outcome in the election on Nov. 3.

In December, election officials in Ware County found that Dominion machines had malfunctioned and switched votes from Trump to Biden. Favorito has continued to assert that it is vital to take a look at ballots in Fulton County, which earned Biden about 72 percent of the vote. Nearby counties Clayton, Douglas, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb, and others leaned heavily blue in Georgia.

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Georgia Judge Eyes Unsealing 2020 Election Ballots In Fulton County To 'Shed Light' On The Truth - The Federalist

An already disturbing plot thickens in a deeply blue, wealthy school district located outside of Chicago.

Last Friday, Naperville school district 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges quadrupled down in a recorded video on the Feb. 26 Countywide Equity Institute critical race theory training. The district also sent a reportedly mandatory Google survey on March 9, due on March 16, for faculty and staff to select a book by one of the speakers to further their learning after the training. One teacher says the district has been sending mandatory surveys out every week.

Bridgess response to community concerns over leaked materials from the districts training of teachers in critical race theory, which teaches that people of paler skin than others are born racists, was to demand that taxpayers stop complaining about what he is doing with their money.

Let me be perfectly clear with our community today. We will not tolerate hateful comments and threats, the superintendent alleged, equating disagreement with violence. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, threats to the safety of our staff and presenters will never be tolerated. This is unacceptable. Naperville 203 is supporting teachers and other staff and building their capacity to create inclusive learning environments, where all students are represented, have equitable access, can meaningfully participate in all aspects of teaching and learning.

The district has disabled all comments for the superintendents video on YouTube, most certainly calling into question Bridgess claim that all students and staff ought to be able to participate in all aspects of teaching and learning.

Teachers in the district, as well as parents, have contacted The Federalist because they fear retribution if they speak openly about their concerns about the districts advocacy for racism.

What hes really trying to say to me is that he wants to flush us out and reprogram our brains, said an elementary school teacher in the district who spoke to The Federalist on condition of anonymity. He doesnt want to understand diverse perspectives. He wants me to be on the woke-side and he wants me to understand why Im white and why Im privileged, and how that affects my classroom.

A former teacher and parent whose children are enrolled in the district said its not threatening to let citizens share different opinions.

Initially, I wasnt aware of the training that happened, the parent noted. My kids did not have school, they were off Monday and Tuesday for conferences, and then again on that Friday, they had two days of school and only one was in person. And I dont know, I was unaware of it until [The Federalist] reported on it so I just think its reporting from the other side.

We cant just allow one side to make their comment and believe that its correct unless we challenge it, said Jim Ruhl, chairman of the Naperville Township Republicans. Its just a political statement theyre making, with no real results or direction.

A lot of times the drive comes from the union more than anything, Ruhl added, whose kids graduated from Naperville North High School.

Two weeks ago, local teachers union representative Dan Iverson sent a letter to faculty and staff arguing for a more equitable district and a more equitable society. See Iversons letter here.

The Federalist has attempted to contact keynote speaker Dena Simmons, as well as other speakers, multiple times for a statement. None have responded. Bridges and Assistant Superintendent Jayne Willard have dodged emails and calls, even after district employees connected The Federalist reporter to their direct line.

Simmons even took to posting The Federalists comment request on Twitter, demonstrating her unwillingness to engage in civil discourse with those who think differently than herself.

They say everything about Lets have open discourse and everything but, obviously, thats not what they want, the initial whistleblower, a district high school teacher said. They dont want open discourse unless they are being supported in their views. This shows by you trying to contact them and all their tweeting. Dena Simmons playing the victim role is crazy.

In alignment with new racist statewide civics mandates, Naperville 203 required district employees last week to fill out a Google Form. Teachers had to select one of six books written by the antiracist speakers to further [their] equity learning. It is due Tuesday.

Any time theres a disagreement over whether or to what degree to follow the new CRT-based standards, the pro-CRT side will have the upper hand now, said Stanley Kurtz, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Who will dare to go against state policy knowing that superiors can use that policy as the rationale for a poor performance review and such? Ive heard that some Illinois teachers are thinking of retiring early because of the new standards. I dont blame them.

Below is the form obtained by The Federalist, which has been marked up to conceal the selection of an educator at the persons request.

Coaching for Equity by Elena Aguila argues that America is rooted in white supremacy. It also claims that white people cannot be discriminated against. Racism, as we know it, Aguilar writes, wouldnt exist without white supremacy. Racism is based on the ideology that white people are superior. When I use the term white supremacy in this book, which I do a lot, I mean the mindset and belief system of white superiority that has become institutionalized in policy (page 7).

Structural racism is at the root of educational inequities. People created inequitable systems and, intentionally and unintentionally, we perpetuate unjust systems, Aguilar writes on page 30. Inequitable systems were constructed by ruling powers to subjugate large populations and keep people enslaved, disempowered, disenfranchised, and marginalized. Educational inequity is the result of intentional design.

One elementary school teacher with children in the district read Coaching for Equity and was deeply disturbed, the teacher told The Federalist.

The entire tone of the book was racist, the teacher said. To me, arent we treated with racism when I have to read stuff like this? I felt like I was being judged for my thoughts and beliefs because of the color of my skin. The [book] is categorizing me into that Ive had this privileged life. They are drawing a wedge between all of us.

The teacher also noted that Naperville school district employees were required to go into Zoom breakout rooms to agree with being depicted as racists based solely on the color of their skin.

They are forcing conversations on us, the educator said. I felt forced to speak in a way that fit their narrative and not the narrative of my heart.

Naperville School District officials are promoting the books of Woke Ed Inc., a multimillion-dollar industry peddling the propaganda of critical race theory ideologues to our K-12 students, through their teachers, said Asra Q. Nomani, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a parent advocate in northern Virginia. Author Sara Ahmed hijacks young brains with the notion they are racist with unconscious bias and microaggressions against people they dont even know. And recommended author Paul Gorski sells services through a consulting firm, Equity Literacy Institute, which monetizes equity assessment and equity planning leadership among his goodies for sale.

The other required readings are just as radical.In Sara K. Ahmeds book,

Christopher Emdins

The book by Paul Gorski is titled Bias and inequity reside in every crevice of institutional culture and practice: policies, curricula, communication practices, decisionmaking processes, Gorski writes (page 168).

On March 9, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream reported on the second Federalist Naperville training article,which educators claim caused an uproar among district leaders.

Teachers in a suburb of Illinois doubling-down on antiracism training that suggests Trump voters are racist and white supremacists. The Federalist reporting on a Countywide Equity Institute training in which a PowerPoint slide reportedly said the slogan Make America Great Again is covert racism comparable to the N-word, hate crimes, lynching, and the KKK, Bream said.

The rise of critical race theory is the product of decades of leftist dominance at Americas colleges and universities. A generation has been educated in postmodernism, neo-Marxism, and their spin-offs in various schools of identity politics, said Kurtz. Many people believed these ideas would fade once graduates hit the real world and began to pay taxes. That turned out to be wrong. The survival of our republic rests on how we educate the next generation. Decades of leftism in the schools have put our republic at risk.

Teachers said an email Bridges sent on March 10 included a notice that said distribution of this message will be considered a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy and subject to potential discipline. They say this is the first time to their knowledge that such a notice has been provided on district communications. But what is Naperville 203 trying to hide?

Bridges said the following in regard to the Countywide Equity Institute at Naperville 203 school district in the email obtained by The Federalist:

I want to thank everyone for their participation in the Countywide Equity Institute. Discussions about systemic inequities and/or institutional racism help one understand how our current state (well-documented disparities and inequities) came to be. The next phase of this learniing is to increase discourse among staff and understand diverse perspectives and determine the next steps in our learning plan based on the needs of all stakeholders. Equity work can be uncomfortable and we expect that. It is how we respond to it that matters. Even when uncomfortable, it is through open dialogue that healing and change will begin. I am continually proud of our work in this are and all of our staff who are on this journey with us

If Bridges seeks to permit ideological diversity and fair treatment of all, why are comments turned off on his YouTube video? Why is he threatening with calls of potential discipline for any faculty and staff who might seek to hold him to account in the public square by potentially circulating taxpayer-funded emails?

For [Bridges] to label me as a racist through the emails that hes sending makes it even more worrisome that hes the leader of our district, said one of the Naperville elementary school teachers. Hes not only misdirected in his guidance towards what the real issue is but now hes putting it on our district, creating a division with comments that are not true about teachers in our district, saying that we are targeting and were threatening. Not true at all.

If you dont fall into the sheep category of saying the right things, and you want to say something different, youre automatically going to be labeled and emails will be written about you, the teacher added.

Bridges is an employee at a large public school district and should be accountable to those who provide his extremely comfortable salary. According to public records, the superintendent is raking in $266,542 annually, the highest salary in the district. The budget for Naperville 203 was reported to be $293.6 million in 2020with revenue from local property taxes, state funding, and federal funding amounting to $258,030,941.

All teachers who spoke to The Federalist continue to request anonymity, worried about the potential repercussions from the far-left, publicly funded institution, as well as the anti-free speech standards in the public school district.

All the teachers in my department that I work with share my point of view, but are too afraid to speak out, said the whistleblower.

If Dan had the time and money to do this training, he should have used it to get our kids back in school, the parent and former educator said, alluding to the districts remote learning, which only recently changed. Theyre just trying to cover their own -sses. Our children should not feel bad because they have Trump flags on their house or they say Make America Great Again. Now were being discriminated against.

We are the people that do not see color. We are the people that want to lift every child up. But you sir, want to make me see color, said a dissenting elementary school teacher in the district, referring to Bridges.

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Ill. Superintendent Tries To Silence Community Over Critical Race Training - The Federalist

Democratic Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and city officials acknowledged the city is on track for a record number of homicides, shootings, and confiscated guns this year, following months of Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots.

It makes me absolutely sick to know that so many Philadelphians have suffered these preventable deaths, Kenney said at a press conference Wednesday. Its painfully clear that we must take new approaches.

According to new data from the Philadelphia Police department, homicides are up 30 percent in 2021 year-to-date. There have been 412 nonfatal shooting victims, whereas there were 258 last year. In total, 690 individuals have been arrested for illegal firearms compared to 355 last year. African Americans accounted for 86 percent of the shooting victims.

The city will now be holding bi-weekly briefings for the public that will be streamed on Facebook Live. The violent crime increase in Philadelphia can partially be attributed to Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner, who upheld a court diversionary program titled Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition that gives violent criminals a second opportunity to be released after a probationary period.

Krasner received $1.7 million from billionaire George Soros in 2017 in his election campaign. The Krasner campaign and Soros PAC spent about $1.9 million, which pales in comparison to the second-highest campaign money spent by Michael Untermeyer.

Soros notably invested $220 million in Black Lives Matter and other racial equity groups in July. He is also a backer of the Minnesota Freedom Fund that bailed out rioters and looters in response to the death of George Floyd. Krasner has come under fire for his controversial past of suing the Philadelphia Police department 75 times and calling law enforcement systemically racist.

In 2020, when Philadelphia was ravished by radical left organizations like Black Lives Matter and criminal opportunists who rioted, looted, and torched police cars, District Attorney Larry Krasner failed to hold the perpetrators accountable, nearby Montgomery County Commissioner Republican Joe Gale, who is currently running for governor in the Commonwealth told The Federalist.

The Philly DA is clearly more concerned with placating progressives and furthering his political agenda than maintaining law and order. This toxic attitude of indifference is why Philadelphia suffered nearly 500 homicides and over 2,200 shootings last year, Gale said.

We dont give up. We dont give in, said Kenneyin January. We are determined to save lives and create peace. We will turn the page on this dark chapter in the history of our city, and we will write the new book together. I vow to be with Philadelphians every step of the way as we take on this challenge.

In June, Kenney dropped his prior proposal to increase police funding, and instead vied to slash budgets.

We think we can police better and make sure we put the resources in the departments that can affect change and make the situation in our neighborhoods better, he said this summer. We want to approach this open-mindedly, but some of these things have to happen.

Cities across the country experienced notable shootings and homicide increases this summer, with as much as 265 percent in Atlanta, 130 percent in New York City, 250 percent in Los Angeles, and 525 percent in crime increases in Seattle.

At the 2020 presidential debate in September, then-President Trump harped on the corruptness of Philadelphia.

Bad things happen in Philadelphia, Trump said, bad things.

We are all responsible for what goes on here. This is our community and these are our children, said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.

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Philadelphia's Violent Crime Rate Is Spiking Thanks To Failed Leftist Political Agendas - The Federalist

U.S. intelligence agencies just issued yet another post-presidential election analysis claiming Russia meddled in the election to help Donald Trump defeat his Democratic opponent. The report also cited limited efforts by Iran and China to defeat Trump. But it appears that just like a similar intelligence report issued after the 2016 presidential election, there are good reasons to believe the new report was rigged to hurt Trump.

In early January 2017, U.S. intelligence agencies, under pressure from the outgoing Obama administration, rushed out an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump win.

The media and congressional Democrats immediately seized upon the 2017 ICA to discredit the legitimacy of Trumps 2016 election win. Over time, however, it was discovered that this ICA was not a fair and objective analysis because the rules were not followed to draft this assessment and some intelligence agencies were excluded. The ICA also was heavily criticized because it was drafted by a small, hand-picked group of intelligence analysts.

Moreover, a House Intelligence Committee investigation learned that intelligence indicating the Russians actually wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election was suppressed by then-CIA Director John Brennan.

Questions about the credibility of the new ICA revolve around a so-called minority view at the end of the report.

The ICAs minority view is one paragraph at the end of the ICA that says China took limited actions to undermine Trumps reelection and engaged in some efforts that met the definition of election interference. The strained and heavily caveated language of this so-called minority view did not follow the normal format of a dissenting view to an Intelligence Community assessment.

The reason for this almost certainly was to whitewash a Jan. 6, 2021 report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Analytic Ombudsman, which presented disturbing findings on how analysis of election interference was being distorted. This report found that intelligence analysts who follow China were hesitant to produce an evaluation suggesting Chinese interference in the 2020 election because they disagreed with Trumps policies and did not want their analysis to be used to support them. On the other hand, the Intelligence Communitys Russia analysts assessed there was clear evidence of Russian meddling in the 2020 election and accused senior intelligence officials of slowing down or not bringing this analysis to policymakers.

The ICAs failure to mention these issues, which affect the truthfulness of its analysis, or the analytic ombudsmans report are serious omissions. The fact that such a deeply flawed report critical of Trump was issued after Joe Biden took office and by a DNI named by Biden completely undermines the credibility of the ICA.

Controversy over the new ICA could have been easily avoided by allowing intelligence officers who disagreed with its conclusions to add a standard and well-argued dissent as a footnote or annex. Instead, intelligence officials included a few heavily-caveated sentences as a minority view only because they were forced to do so and because our intelligence agencies have been captured by the politically correct left, which does not tolerate dissenting views that help Republican presidents or hurt Democratic ones.

Due to the analytic ombudsman report, the new ICA on foreign interference in the 2020 election has even less credibility than the 2017 version and will further damage the reputation of American intelligence agencies in the eyes of Congress, the American people, and future Republican policymakers. This erosion of credibility is dangerous for our security because it could discourage future presidents from trusting and using U.S. intelligence to make crucial national security decisions.

This problem can be fixed with strong leadership from the White House and top Intelligence Community officials, who must initiate significant reforms to reorganize and depoliticize our intelligence agencies. Although I see no chance of this happening during the Biden presidency, it is my hope that a new Republican president will begin to implement these urgently needed reforms after he or she wins the 2024 presidential election.

Fred Fleitz is president and CEO of the Center for Security Policy. He served in 2018 as deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the National Security Council. Fleitz held national security jobs for 25 years with the CIA, DIA, Department of State, and the House Intelligence Committee staff. Twitter: @fredfleitz

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US Intel Just Released Another Rigged Report On Russian Election Meddling This Time In 2020 - The Federalist

Don Lemon is no pastor. Hes the prime-time muckety-muck over there at CNN who never fails to grace us with his ageless face, his drunken New Years Eve shenanigans, and every once in a while, a sermon.

This weeks message came courtesy of Lemons appearance on The View, but it brought to mind several other times Lemon preached.Here are his top five, in no particular order.

Lets start with the latest. Talking to Meghan McCain of The View about the Vaticans recent declaration that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God cannot bless sin, which is consistent with scripture and thousands of years of church teaching, Lemon, who is gay and engaged, had a strong message communicating what he personally thinks God is about.

I think that the Catholic Church and many other churches really need to reexamine themselves and their teachings because that is not what God is about, Lemon insisted. God is not about hindering people or even judging people.

God actually hinders his people from many things. Theyre called sins, and theyre our natural, rotten tendencies that would lead us to death. Of the many messages contained in the Bible, few are as explicit as the teaching that God is, in fact, a Judge a Judge who is holy and sinless.

That leads us to another Lemon sermon.

In the middle of one of his signature rants about Donald Trump and systemic racism, Lemon launched into another sermon with Chris Cuomo, another CNN anchor who has a habit of mocking Christians and broke from his comedy routine with his scandal-ridden brother long enough to join the segment.

Jesus Christ, if thats who you believe in, Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this Earth, Lemon said.

Admittedly? Who ever admitted that, Lemon? A big part of the believing in Jesus Christ thing is confessing that he was completely perfect. Otherwise, his venture down to Earth would have been kind of a waste.

In other news, God might be gender fluid, according to the Church of Don Lemon.

God: Does he exist? More and more young people doubt he does or she, Lemon opened a 2012 segment about atheism.

While Lemons friends on the left work tirelessly to pass the ill-named Equality Act and neuter our norms, God Father, Son, and Spirit is still God, not gxd.

Churches who have clos[ed]their houses of worship amid the pandemic are doing the right thing, Lemon announced during the early days of the Wuhan virus. I want you to take a look at this scene, he said, as a picture of a church worshipping together flashed onto the screen. Look at that. Can you believe it? All those people crowded together, apparently not taking the slightest precaution.

Everyone around this country, I want you to listen to the sound of my voice, said Lemon (who loves to listen to the sound of his voice). Hear my words. Remember this: This virus does not care what you believe.

Viruses dont usually care about much. But for Christians, virus or no virus, gathering with other Christians is one of the most essential activities of all.

Did you know Jesus was black? Thats right, according to Lemon, thats the true identity of the Son of God.

If you are a person of faith in this country a good way of starting is to present the true identity of Jesus and that is as a black or a brown person, Lemon told the women of The View this week. I think we should start with a true depiction of what Jesus looked like, and put that in your home either a black Jesus or a brown Jesus, because we know Jesus looked more like a Muslim or someone who was dark rather than someone who was a blond-looking carpenter.

Well, Jesus certainly wasnt blond, although most depictions of him arent either. As Stand With Us Executive Director Michael Dickson correctly and succinctly pointed out, Jesus was a Jew.

Its curious that in a culture that clings to identity politics and frowns upon a member of one group speaking authoritatively about another group for instance, if white people talk about race issues, theyre racist, and if men talk about womens rights, theyre mansplaining that Lemon would speak so self-importantly about Christianity, but he does.

These proclamations are all from the same Don Lemon who said it was common sense that no amount of prayer would transform him into something that wasnt natural and who wrote that a belief in inerrant scripture is nave, even dangerous.

That type of thinking or non-thinking keeps many religious people enslaved to beliefs that they havent truly stepped back from and examined, Lemon penned, failing to realize that men are all enslaved to something. The question is whether we will be slaves of sin or of God.

We can all hope and pray Lemon meets God the true God, not gxd or a fake Jesus who wasnt perfect but until then, turn off Lemons CNN bully pulpit, and dont take your theology tips from him.

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5 Times Don Lemon Preached Garbage Theology From The TV Pulpit - The Federalist

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis denounced critical race theory at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, vowing to expressly exclude it from the states public schools.

Florida civics curriculum will incorporate foundational concepts with the best materials and it will expressly exclude unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory and other unsubstantiated theories, DeSantis said. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money.

No matter if your family came on the Mayflower or you became a naturalized citizen, these principles belong to you, DeSantis said.

DeSantis said Florida would receive $106 million in pandemic-associated federal dollars. A new proposal by DeSantis would provide an additional $3,000 to public educators who are credentialed to teach American civics. About $16.5 million of the pandemic funds would be allocated to training educators and principals in civics.

In his speech, the governor laid out a plan to put $6.5 million toward public service advocacy programs between schools and the government, and $7 million for civics curricula that provide students with foundational concepts.

The proposed plan directly opposes civics mandates in the state of Illinois that call for critical race theory training, for instance. Illinois recently approved Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards that call for educators to assess their biases, and how those biases affect, how they access tools to mitigate their own behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, unearned privilege, Eurocentrism, etc).

In February, a House bill in West Virginia was introduced by Republican Reps. Riley Keaton, Josh Holstein, Trenton Barnhart, and Johnnie Wamsley, to prevent critical race theory in education. In New Hampshire, Republican Rep. Keith Ammon sponsored a bill to ban the promotion of race essentialism, collective guilt, and race-based harassment, in schools.

On day one of his presidency, Joe Biden issued an executive order to rescind former President Trumps ban on critical race theory training for employees in federal agencies and contractors.

See the original post:

Ron DeSantis: Florida Schools Will Not Teach Critical Race Theory - The Federalist

I feel like its time we had a discussion about a now very topical subject. Our rights. Specifically as laid out in the Bill of Rights. Beautiful, God-given rights that would have been lost long ago without the Second Amendment.

Our founders put the right to bear arms in the number two spot for a very good reason. It was their way of saying, Here are your top five God-given rights, and here is how you defend them.

With very serious enemies of those rights and specifically the right to bear arms, in the White House the Second Amendment is once again a very hot topic of conversation. As such, it needs to be understood as thoroughly as possibly. What does it mean sentence by sentence? Lets find out:

A well-regulated militia: This has been interpreted to mean different things depending on the view of the interpreter. The Left wants it to mean the National Guard or similar force. The Right says it means the people. George Mason of Virginia famously said, What is the militia? It is the whole of the people. Those words are used to support the people argument.

However, if you read the Federalist Papers and the letters of the Founders you come to a slightly different meaning.

In essays 27 through 29 of the Federalist Papers (written by Alexander Hamilton), you clearly see that the term, a well-regulated militia, means a standing professional army. An army in the control of the central or federal government.

It is important to know that the citizens of the new United States of America had a very strong aversion to the government having a professional army. Such armies have been used throughout history to subjugate societies everywhere. The people of the USA did not want that.

This desire creates a problem because a nation, any nation, absolutely needs a military to remain free and sovereign.

That brings us to the second portion of the sentence, being necessary to the security of a free state,

Hamilton and Madison were attempting to convince the people of the necessity and assure them it could be done without threat of subjugation.

If it were to be written in the common speech of today, we might say it like this: A professional military, including a Navy, is necessary for the security of a free nation; however, because it is a danger to allow the government to have that military and navy, every citizen must be armed and trained if possible.

They wrote it as a constitutional right.

Far too often these days, we tend to use the term self-defense and that allows the enemies of the Constitution to claim its not necessary, because the police protect us. The police and that very military.

As citizens of our country, we are always ready to respond in a minute, (Minute men and women) are the militia in waiting. We are not a well-regulated militia. We are armed because of the inherent danger of that very necessary well-regulated militia. It really is very simple and straight forward.

I read one book of letters from the Revolutionary War period and do not remember the name of the writer, but he stated The Second Amendment allowed the average citizen to remain armed in a fashion equal to or in excess of the common soldier. A fairly high percentage of the people that owned their own firearms had rifles.

Today we call them Kentucky rifles, though most were made in Pennsylvania. Accurate to sometimes 300 or 400 yards. The weapon used by military was a musket, unrifled, and very inaccurate.

When Biden says we dont need AR-15s for self-defense, hes right. We do, however, need them to remain armed equal to or in excess of the common soldier, or as close as possible on a budget. We need them to prevent the subjugation of ourselves.

When we speak of the Second Amendment we need to speak of it in those terms, the ability to defend our freedom. Stopping a burglar or killing a trophy elk are just very nice bonuses.

In the future when you hear Biden or Harris say that you dont need an AR-15 to hunt deer understand its a distraction. Dont fall for it.

Rusty Rogers is a resident of Saratoga who pens a weekly article for the Rawlins Times.

Originally posted here:

The Second Amendment | Opinion | wyomingnews.com - Wyoming Tribune